Terms of Reference
Mere's Edge Federation
Terms of Reference 2023/24
Our federation Governing Body meets on monthly basis because we have found this is the most efficient and effective way to structure meetings to ensure that the strategic direction of the federation is maintained. The whole Governing Body deals with the following areas:
Premises, Security and Health and Safety
Finance
General Personnel
Curriculum and Standards
Committees listed below meet as and when required. Apart from Salaries, Performance Management and Employment Committee (specifically named within Governor Structures), committees are composed as required from any eligible serving governor. Jacky Warren has been appointed as clerk to the committees.
CRIFTINS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & COCKSHUTT CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY
PUPIL DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE
The main functions of this committee are to:
-in certain circumstances, to conduct a hearing to decide whether action to exclude a pupil is appropriate;
-Re-consider its decision if recommended or directed to do so by the Independent Review Panel.
The review of the school behaviour policy is undertaken annually by the whole governing body.
1.TERMS OF REFERENCE
The committee’s responsibilities are set out in Schedule 1.
2.MEMBERSHIP
a)The membership of the committee shall be:
Three governors
Governors employed at the school shall not be appointed to the committee.
b)Members of the committee and the named reserve(s) shall be appointed annually at the autumn term meeting of the governing body.
c)One of those appointed to the committee shall be appointed chairman/chair of the committee EITHER at the autumn term meeting of the governing body or by the committee itself.
d)Should a vacancy arise a successor shall be appointed by the governing body at its next meeting following receipt of the resignation and members so appointed shall serve until the next annual review.
e)The governing body will appoint the clerk. The head cannot be the clerk.
3.QUORUM
All members of the committee must be present. A named reserve shall attend in place of any member of the committee who is unable to be present at a meeting.
4.MEETINGS
The committee shall meet as and when necessary at other times and meetings shall be called by the clerk.
5.PROCEEDINGS
a)The Committee shall be conducted in accordance with the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 and with any other regulations or directions that may be issued.
b)Confidential minutes shall be kept of each meeting of the committee and shall be circulated to all members of the committee before being signed by the chairman/chair.
c)A confidential summary of decisions taken in individual cases shall be submitted for information to the next meeting of the governing body.
d)The minutes shall be kept in a separate confidential minute book.
SCHEDULE 1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1.To keep under review the use of exclusion within the school and to report on this to the governing body at least once in each academic year.
2.Where the headteacher:
a) excludes any pupil in circumstances where the pupil would, as a result of the exclusion:-
i) be excluded from the school for a total of more than 5 school days but not more than 15 school days in any one term, but only if the parent requests a meeting, or
ii)lose the opportunity to take any public examination,
b) excludes a pupil permanently, or
c) decides that any exclusion of a pupil should be made permanent;
The governing body shall:
consider the circumstances in which the pupil was excluded;
consider any representations about the exclusion to the governing body made by:
the relevant person *
the LA
iii)allow each of the following:
a)the relevant person *
b)an officer of the LA to attend a meeting of the governing body and make oral representations about the exclusion;
iv)consider any oral representations so made;
v)consider whether, provided it is practical to do so, the pupil should be reinstated and if so give an appropriate direction to the headteacher and inform the relevant person and the LA of their decision. If not they shall inform the relevant person the headteacher and the LA of their decision and in the case of the pupil who has been permanently excluded give the relevant person notice of his right of appeal.
4.In the case of all other decisions to exclude made by the headteacher the governing body shall receive any written representations by a relevant person* about the exclusion and shall consider those representations.
5.To agree a submission on behalf of the governing body, to nominate a member of the committee to appear at and to make any arrangements for the governing body to be represented at the hearing of any appeal submitted by parents against a decision of this committee to an independent review panel.
6.Re-consider its decision if recommended or directed to do so by the Independent Review Panel.
* Definition – relevant person means in the case of a person under the age of 18 his or her parent and in the case of a pupil who has attained the age of 18 the pupil him/herself.
CRIFTINS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & COCKSHUTT CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY
COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE
The main functions of this committee are:
-to consider any complaints which the headteacher nor the chair of governors have been able to resolve following the procedure adopted by the governing body;
-to review the complaints procedure (annually).
1.TERMS OF REFERENCE
The committee’s responsibilities are set out in Schedule 1.
2.MEMBERSHIP
a)The membership of the committee shall be:
four governors
b)No governor employed to work at the school shall be appointed to this committee.
c)Members of the committee shall be appointed annually at the autumn term meeting of the governing body.
d)One of those appointed to the committee shall be appointed as chairman/chair of the committee EITHER by the governing body OR by the committee.
e)Should a vacancy arise on the committee a successor shall be appointed by the governing body at its next meeting following receipt of the resignation and members so appointed shall serve until the next annual review.
g)The governing body will appoint the clerk who cannot be the headteacher.
3.QUORUM
The quorum shall be all three members of the committee. A named reserve shall take the place of any member of the committee who is unable to be present at a meeting.
4.MEETINGS
a)The committee shall meet as and when necessary to fulfil its responsibilities.
b)Meetings of the committee shall be called by the clerk of the committee.
5.PROCEEDINGS
a)The committee shall be conducted in accordance with the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 and with any other regulations or directions as may be issued from time to time.
b)Confidential minutes shall be kept of each meeting and shall be circulated to all members of the committee before being signed by the chairman/chair. A report shall also be submitted to the next meeting of the governing body.
c)The minutes shall be kept in a separate minute book.
SCHEDULE 1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1.On behalf of the governing body to consider any formal complaints which the head and chair of governors have been unable to resolve under the school’s complaints procedure.
2.In relation to a formal written complaint to acknowledge it, investigate the complaint and send a suitable response to the complainant.
3.Where the complainant requests it, to hear representations from the complainant, the head and chair of governors and to send a suitable response to the complainant.
5.To review annually the school’s complaints procedure and the relevant website information, and recommend to the governing body any changes considered necessary.
CRIFTINS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & COCKSHUTT CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY
SALARIES, PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYMENT ISSUES COMMITTEE
The main functions of this committee are to:
-consider and review the appraisal (performance management) and pay policies for the school;
-undertake the appraisal of the headteacher’s performance
-review staff salaries including determination of teachers’ performance related pay progression.
-consider staff grievances or harassment cases.
1.TERMS OF REFERENCE
The committee’s responsibilities in relation to salaries and performance management are set out in Schedule 1.
The committee’s responsibilities in relation to other employment issues are set out in Schedule
2.MEMBERSHIP
a)The membership of the committee shall be:
four governors (one shall be a foundation governor).
John Dicken, Louise Reeves, Cath Wilson, Janet Garguilo
b)No governor employed to work at the school shall be appointed to this committee.
c)Members of the committee and the named reserve shall be appointed annually at the autumn term meeting of the governing body.
d)One of those appointed to the committee shall be appointed as chairman/chair of the committee EITHER by the governing body OR by the committee.
e)Should a vacancy arise on the committee a successor shall be appointed by the governing body at its next meeting following receipt of the resignation and members so appointed shall serve until the next annual review.
f)The governing body shall appoint the clerk who shall not be the headteacher.
g)The head shall be entitled to attend meetings of the committee when the salaries of other staff are being reviewed.
3.QUORUM
The quorum shall be three members of the committee. A named reserve shall take the place of any member of the committee who is unable to attend a meeting.
4.MEETINGS
a)The committee shall meet as and when necessary to fulfil its responsibilities.
b)Meetings shall be called by the clerk of the committee or and, wherever possible, seven days’ notice should be given to members with an explanation of the purpose of the meeting.
5.PROCEEDINGS
a)The committee shall be conducted in accordance with the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 and with any other regulations or directions as may be issued from time to time.
b)Minutes shall be kept of each meeting and shall be circulated to all members of the committee before being signed by the chairman/chair. A report shall also be submitted to the next meeting of the governing body.
c)The minutes shall be kept in a separate minute book.
SCHEDULE 1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1.To prepare and submit to the governing body recommendations for the adoption of:
a)an appraisal (performance management) policy and
b)a pay policy for the school.
2. To operate in accordance with statutory appraisal (performance management) framework and the school’s adopted policy as follows:
to select/appoint an external adviser to support with the headteacher’s appraisal (performance management) process.
to take advice from the appointed external adviser when agreeing objectives and reviewing the head’s performance.
to agree performance objectives with the headteacher and determine the standards against which his/her performance will be assessed.
to conduct the annual appraisal of the headteacher’s performance.
to determine whether the outcome of the appraisal of the headteacher’s performance meets the criteria for pay progression as covered under the adopted pay policy.
to support the head with the annual report to the governing body on appraisal (performance management) arrangements and outcomes.
to hear any appeal by a teacher against entries made within their appraisal (performance review) statement.
3.To determine annually, as required by the School Teachers Pay and Conditions regulations and within the scope of the adopted appraisal (performance management) and pay policies and the salaries budget adopted by the governing body, the salaries of the teaching staff employed at the school having regard to recommendations received relating to any performance related pay progression.
4.To determine annually, in accordance with the adopted pay policy, any appropriate regulations and agreements and any other advice issued by the local authority and within the salaries budget adopted by the governing body, the salaries and gradings of support staff.
5.To deal with any other matters relating to salaries and appraisal (performance management) that may be referred by the governing body.
SCHEDULE 2
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1.To consider staff grievances where there is a referral to the committee under the grievance procedure adopted by the governing body. The committee will consider the grievance and seek to resolve the matter following a process and hearing conducted in accordance with the adopted procedure
2.To consider staff complaints of harassment where there is a referral to the committee under the procedure adopted by the governing body. The committee will consider the complaint and seek to resolve the matter following a process and hearing conducted in accordance with the adopted policy.
CRIFTINS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & COCKSHUTT CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY
APPEALS COMMITTEE
The main function of this committee is to decide whether to uphold or overturn a decision (not relating to staff dismissal or staff discipline) taken by a committee of the governing body which has been referred to this committee for consideration.
1.TERMS OF REFERENCE
The committee’s responsibilities are set out in Schedule 1.
2.MEMBERSHIP
a)The membership of the committee shall be:
three governors (who shall not be members of the Salaries, Performance Management and Employment Issues Committee).
b)No governor employed to work at the school shall be appointed to this committee.
c)Members of the committee shall be appointed annually at the autumn term meeting of the governing body.
d)One of those appointed to the committee shall be appointed as chairman/chair of the committee EITHER by the governing body OR by the committee.
e)Should a vacancy arise on the committee a successor shall be appointed by the governing body at its next meeting following receipt of the resignation and members so appointed shall serve until the next annual review.
f)The governing body shall appoint the clerk who can not be the headteacher.
3.QUORUM
The quorum shall be all three members of the committee. A named reserve shall take the place of any member of the committee who is unable to be present at a meeting.
4.MEETINGS
a)The committee shall meet as and when necessary to fulfil its responsibilities.
b)Meetings of the committee shall be called by the clerk of the committee.
5.PROCEEDINGS
a)The committee shall be conducted in accordance with the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 and with any other regulations or directions as may be issued from time to time.
b)Confidential minutes shall be kept of each meeting and shall be circulated to all members of the committee before being signed by the chairman/chair. A report shall also be submitted to the next meeting of the governing body.
c)The minutes shall be kept in a separate minute book.
SCHEDULE 1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
To hear any appeal arising from the decision of any committee or individual governor or the head in whom any executive power has been vested which it is not the responsibility of any other committee to hear. Any appeal will be conducted in accordance with the relevant procedure adopted by the governing body.
CRIFTINS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & COCKSHUTT CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY
STAFF DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL COMMITTEE
The main functions of this committee are to decide whether:
•a member of staff (including the headteacher) should be dismissed under disciplinary procedures/made redundant/dismissed due to ill health;
•not renew a member of staff’s contract.
1.TERMS OF REFERENCE
The committee’s responsibilities are set out in Schedule 1.
2.MEMBERSHIP
a)The membership of the committee shall be:
three governors
Governors employed at the school shall not be appointed to the committee.
b)Members of the committee and the named reserve(s) shall be appointed annually at the autumn term meeting of the governing body.
c)One of those appointed to the committee shall also be appointed as chairman/chair of the committee either by the governing body or by the committee itself.
d)Should a vacancy arise a successor shall be appointed by the governing body at its next meeting following receipt of the resignation and members so appointed shall serve until the next annual review.
e)The governing body shall appoint the clerk. The head cannot be the clerk.
f)The chairman/chair of governors, if a member of the committee, shall stand down and take no part in the committee’s proceedings if action against the head is being considered, and shall be replaced by a named reserve.
3.QUORUM
All members of the committee must be present. A named reserve shall attend in place of any member of the committee who is unable to be present at a meeting.
4.MEETINGS
a)The committee shall meet as and when necessary.
b)A meeting shall be called by the clerk of the committee.
5.PROCEEDINGS
a)The committee shall be conducted in accordance with the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 and with any other regulations or directions that may be issued.
b)Confidential minutes shall be kept of each meeting of the committee and shall be circulated to all members of the committee before being agreed by the chairman/chair.
c)A confidential summary of decisions taken shall be submitted for information to the next meeting of the governing body.
d)The minutes shall be kept in a separate minute book.
e)The headteacher (except where he/she is the person concerned) and the Corporate Director shall be entitled to attend, for the purpose of giving advice, all proceedings of the committee.
SCHEDULE 1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1.Under the disciplinary procedure for headteachers or capability procedure for headteachers adopted by the governing body, to consider formal action against the head of the school and to make a determination as provided for under either procedure. Any decision will follow a formal meeting conducted in accordance with the adopted procedure and will be subject to the head having a right of appeal. The committee will be responsible for the future review of any sanction short of dismissal as required under the relevant procedure.
2.Under the disciplinary or other relevant procedures (ie relating to capability, redundancy or incapability due to ill-health) adopted by the governing body, to make any initial determination that any member of staff employed at the school by the Local Authority, for whom the governing body has an employment responsibility, should be dismissed from their post.
3.Before taking a decision on dismissal, to give the member of staff concerned an opportunity to make representations on the proposed action and to consider those representations at a formal meeting conducted in accordance with the relevant adopted procedure. (Under the adopted disciplinary procedures the committee is empowered to issue a disciplinary sanction short of dismissal where it is determined that the member of staff concerned should not be dismissed).
4.Where it is determined that a member of staff should be dismissed, to ensure that the member of staff and the Local Authority are notified of the decision, the reason for it and that the member of staff has a right of appeal against the decision.
CRIFTINS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & COCKSHUTT CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY
STAFF DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL APPEAL COMMITTEE
The main function of this committee is to decide whether to uphold or overturn a decision taken by the staff disciplinary/dismissal committee of the governing body which has been referred to this committee for consideration.
1.TERMS OF REFERENCE
The committee’s responsibilities are set out in Schedule 1.
2.MEMBERSHIP
a)The membership of the committee shall be:
three governors
Governors employed at the school shall not be appointed to the committee.
b)Members of the committee and the named reserve shall be appointed annually at the autumn term meeting of the governing body.
c)One of those appointed to the committee shall also be appointed as chairman/chair of the committee either by the governing body or the committee itself as decided by the governing body.
d)Should a vacancy arise a successor shall be appointed by the governing body at its next meeting following receipt of the resignation and members so appointed shall serve until the next annual review.
e)The governing body shall appoint the clerk. The head cannot be the clerk.
f)The chairman/chair of governors, if a member of the committee, shall stand down and take no part in the committee’s proceedings if an appeal against the dismissal of the head is under consideration, and shall be replaced by a named reserve.
3.QUORUM
All members of the committee must be present. A named reserve shall attend in place of any member of the committee who is unable to be present at a meeting.
4.MEETINGS
a)The committee shall meet as and when necessary.
b)A meeting shall be called by the clerk to the committee.
5.PROCEEDINGS
a)The Committee shall be conducted in accordance with the School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 and with any other regulations or directions that may be issued.
b)Confidential minutes shall be kept of each meeting of the committee and shall be circulated to all members of the committee before being signed by the chairman/chair.
c)A confidential summary of decisions taken shall be submitted for information to the next meeting of the governing body.
d)The minutes shall be kept in a separate confidential minute book.
e)The headteacher (except where he/she is the person concerned) and the corporate director shall be entitled to attend, for the purpose of giving advice, all proceedings of the committee.
SCHEDULE 1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1.Under the disciplinary procedure or capability procedure adopted by the governing body to consider any appeal against a sanction short of dismissal issued by the head or by the staff discipline/dismissal committee to a member of staff employed at the school by the local authority and for whom the governing body has an employment responsibility.
2.Under the disciplinary or other relevant procedures (ie relating to capability, redundancy or incapability due to ill health) adopted by the governing body, to consider any appeal against a decision of the staff discipline/dismissal committee to dismiss from their post a member of staff employed at the school by the local authority and for whom the governing body has an employment responsibility.
3.Before taking a decision on any appeal, to give the person concerned an opportunity to make representations or present their grounds for appeal at a formal meeting conducted in accordance with the relevant adopted procedure. (Under the adopted disciplinary procedures the committee is empowered to issue a disciplinary sanction short of dismissal where it is determined that the member of staff concerned should not be dismissed).
4.To ensure that the member of staff concerned and the local authority is notified of its decision on the appeal.
CRIFTINS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & COCKSHUTT CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY
STAFF DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL COMMITTEE
1.TERMS OF REFERENCE
The committee’s responsibilities are set out in schedule 1.
2.MEMBERSHIP
a) three governors
Governors employed at the school shall not be appointed to the committee.
b)Members of the committee and the named reserve(s) shall be appointed annually at the autumn term meeting of the governing body.
c)One of those appointed to the committee shall be appointed as chairman/chair of the committee either by the governing body or the committee itself as decided by the governing body.
d)Should a vacancy arise a successor shall be appointed by the governing body at its next meeting following receipt of the resignation and members so appointed shall serve until the next annual review.
e)The governing body shall appoint the clerk. The headteacher cannot be the clerk.
f)The chairman/chair of governors, if a member of the committee, shall stand down and take no part in the committee’s proceedings if action against the headteacher is being considered, and shall be replaced by a named reserve.
3.QUORUM
All members of the committee must be present. A named reserve shall attend in place of any member of the committee who is unable to be present at a meeting.
4.MEETINGS
a)The committee shall meet as and when necessary.
b)A meeting shall be called by the clerk of the committee.
5.PROCEEDINGS
a)The committee shall be conducted in accordance with the School
Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 and with such other regulations or directions as may be issued from time to time.
b)Confidential minutes shall be kept of each meeting of the committee and shall be circulated to all members of the committee before being agreed by the chairman/chair.
c)A confidential summary of decisions taken shall be submitted for information to the next meeting of the governing body.
d)The minutes shall be kept in a separate confidential minute book.
e)The headteacher (except where he/she is the person concerned) and the corporate director shall be entitled to attend, for the purpose of giving advice, all proceedings of the committee.
SCHEDULE 1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1.Under the disciplinary procedure for headteachers or capability procedure for headteachers adopted by the governing body, to consider formal action against the head of the school and to make a determination as provided for under either procedure. Any decision will follow a formal meeting conducted in accordance with the adopted procedure and will be subject to the head having a right of appeal. The committee will be responsible for the future review of any sanction short of dismissal as required under the relevant procedure.
2.Under the disciplinary or other relevant procedures (ie relating to capability, redundancy or incapability due to ill-health) adopted by the governing body, to make any initial determination that any member of staff employed at the school by the governing body should be dismissed from their post.
3.Before taking a decision on dismissal, to give the member of staff concerned an opportunity to make representations on the proposed action and to consider those representations at a formal meeting conducted in accordance with the relevant adopted procedure. (Under the adopted disciplinary procedures the committee is empowered to issue a disciplinary sanction short of dismissal where it is determined that the member of staff concerned should not be dismissed).
4.Where it is determined that a member of staff should be dismissed, to ensure that the member of staff is notified of the decision, the reason for it and that the member of staff has a right of appeal against the decision.
NB
These terms of reference continue to apply where, following an agreement reached between the governing body and the local authority under the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, the member of staff has been appointed to the school as a direct employee of the authority. Where it is determined that any such member of staff should be dismissed, then the committee will ensure that the local authority is notified of its decision and the reason for it.
CRIFTINS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & COCKSHUTT CE PRIMARY SCHOOL & NURSERY
STAFF DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL APPEAL COMMITTEE
1.TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Committee’s responsibilities are set out in schedule 1.
2.MEMBERSHIP
a)The membership of the committee shall be:
three governors
Governors employed at the school shall not be appointed to the committee.
b)Members of the committee and the named reserve shall be appointed annually at the autumn term meeting of the governing body.
c)One of those appointed to the committee shall also be appointed as chairman/chair of the committee either by the governing body or the committee itself as decided by the governing body.
d)Should a vacancy arise a successor shall be appointed by the governing body at its next meeting following receipt of the resignation and members so appointed shall serve until the next annual review.
e)The governing body shall appoint the clerk. The head cannot be the clerk.
f)The chairman/chair of governors, if a member of the committee, shall stand down and take no part in the committee’s proceedings if an appeal against the dismissal of the head is under consideration, and shall be replaced by a named reserve.
3.QUORUM
All members of the committee must be present. A named reserve shall attend in place of any member of the committee who is unable to be present at a meeting.
4.MEETINGS
a)The committee shall meet as and when necessary.
b)A meeting shall be called by the clerk to the committee.
5.PROCEEDINGS
a)The committee shall be conducted in accordance with the School
Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 and with any other regulations or directions that may be issued.
b)Confidential minutes shall be kept of each meeting of the committee and shall be circulated to all members of the committee before being signed by the chairman/chair.
c)A confidential summary of decisions taken shall be submitted for information to the next meeting of the governing body.
d)The minutes shall be kept in a separate confidential minute book.
e)The headteacher (except where he/she is the person concerned) and the corporate director shall be entitled to attend, for the purpose of giving advice, all proceedings of the committee.
SCHEDULE 1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1.Under the disciplinary procedure or capability procedure adopted by the governing body to consider any appeal against a sanction short of dismissal issued by the head or by the staff discipline/dismissal committee to a member of staff employed at the school by the governing body.
2.Under the disciplinary or other relevant procedures (i.e. relating to capability, redundancy or incapability due to ill health) adopted by the governing body, to consider any appeal against a decision of the staff discipline/dismissal committee to dismiss from their post a member of staff employed at the school by the governing body.
3.Before taking a decision on any appeal, to give the person concerned an opportunity to make representations or present their grounds for appeal at a formal meeting conducted in accordance with the relevant adopted procedure. (Under the adopted disciplinary procedures the committee is empowered to issue a disciplinary sanction short of dismissal where it is determined that the member of staff concerned should not be dismissed).
4.To ensure that the member of staff concerned is notified of its decision on the appeal.
NB
These terms of reference continue to apply where, following an agreement reached between the governing body and the local authority under the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2021, the member of staff has been appointed to the school as a direct employee of the authority. The committee will ensure that the local authority is notified of its decision on the appeal brought by any such member of staff