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Governance at Allendale Primary

Governance at Allendale Primary School

Whether you are a pupil, parent, prospective parent, member of staff, member of our local community, or someone interested in becoming a governor, thank you for your interest in our website. I hope you will take the time to read about how Allendale Primary School is governed and who is involved.
I feel very privileged to be the current Chair of Governors at Allendale Primary School. Over the past few years there have been many changes at APS and I am confident that our school will continue to go from strength to strength during my term as Chair.

Yours sincerely
​
Mrs Cheryl Litster Smith
Chair Governors

 

How is our school governed?

All schools are required to have a Governing Body whose role is to have a strong focus on three core strategic functions:

  1.     Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
  2.     Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and        its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
  3.     Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

The Governing Body is made up of volunteers who, as a whole group, have the knowledge, skills and time to be able to perform these strategic functions. Here at Allendale Primary School we have 12 places on our governing body. We meet as a full governing body at least once per term but the majority of our work takes place in committees which also meet at least once per term. As well as being members of committees, our “non- staff” governors also take an interest in all areas of the curriculum.

How are we doing?

All our governors work hard to support, challenge and hold the school to account so that Allendale Primary School is successful both now and in the future. We have a high attendance record of all governors at both full board and committee meetings.
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Following our very positive Ofsted Inspection report in November 2023, the leadership team, both staff and governors, have continued to drive the school forward towards our vision. The Ofsted inspection report can be read by following the link on this website. The Inspection team stated that “Governors perform their duties well. They hold leaders to account and support with the school’s strategic direction. ”

During 2024 / 2025 we:

  • Monitored the use and impact of assessment systems for foundation subjects to ensure that they are meaningful and effective without adding unduly to workload.

  • Evaluated the breadth and impact of CPD for teachers and teaching assistants.

  • Supported the headteacher and deputy headteacher in their new roles to ensure that workload is effectively managed and that aspirations remain high.

  • Monitored the effectiveness of strategies used in the curriculum to make explicit the connections between children’s different areas of learning through revisiting and retrieval.

  • Monitored the use of school funds through the Pupil Premium Action Plan, Sport Premium Action Plan and school budget, to ensure value for money and to judge impact.

  • Evaluated inclusion in the school by looking at a wide range of curriculum areas and extra curricular offerings and assessing the engagement of all groups but especially those with SEND.

During 2025 / 2026 we will:

  • Monitor the effectiveness of strategies employed to accelerate progress in writing across the school.

  • Monitor standards in maths across the school and the effectiveness of interventions implemented to further raise standards.

  • Evaluated the effectiveness of changes to behaviour management processes in school, particularly the ‘When The Adults Change’ approach.

  • Support with the extending of the school’s age range to incorporate Allendale Preschool into the new Nursery provision.

  • Support curriculum coordinators in evaluating the foundation subject provision across the school.

  • Help to promote the school to the wider community.