Are you interested in making a real difference in your local community?

Would you enjoy being part of an experienced team helping to support the leadership of a high performing Secondary School in Kingston?

The Local Governing Board (LGB) supports the Leadership Team at Chessington School in Kingston Upon Thames, in its mission to provide a high performing mixed secondary school and sixth form that keeps all children at our very centre. We believe that every child can achieve great things when supported by excellent teachers, a challenging curriculum and engaged families.

Students enjoy first-rate teaching in a superb learning environment. Our talented staff have high aspirations for our students and are committed to improving the quality of their work to ensure that everyone reaches their full potential. The Leadership Team and LGB play a key role in ensuring this continues.

Chessington School is part of the Every Child Every Day (ECED) Multi Academy Trust which also runs four other schools. We are currently looking to expand the team on the Chessington School LGB.

We are keen to bring governors from the community with a variety of different skills, including (but not limited to) Finance, Human Resources, Education, knowledge of SEND, inclusion and working with vulnerable groups, or governance – however this is not a necessity. It is more important to have Governors who are committed to supporting the school with their time and expertise, with some ad-hoc availability during school hours.

The Role of Co-Opted Governor:

The Board of Trustees delegates key responsibilities and powers to the LGB Members, in accordance with a ‘Scheme of delegation’ – this highlights the key areas of responsibility for the LGB. The LGB is crucial to helping the school to raise standards. Some of the key roles of the LGB

include:

● Challenge and supporting the Leadership Team to deliver the school improvement plan

● Ensuring that standards are being raised, and that outcomes and progress of students continue to improve

● Ensuring that all funds are spent to maximise impact for students and well spent

● Engaging with the Trustee Board to support them in making informed decisions as set out in the Scheme of Delegation

Time commitment

● Eight face to face meetings at the school per year during the week (usually between 4.00 PM and 6.00 PM start time)

● An annual Trust conference

● One ‘learning walk’ at the school per term based on a particular delegated area of responsibility

● Ad hoc activities such as involvement in key staff recruitment or appraisal/exclusion panels

● Participating in distance learning and face-to-face training to increase your knowledge

We are particularly looking for people who have time and capacity to offer during school hours.

Additionally, the school leadership actively encourages Governors to help support them on specific strategic projects. Spending time with the school helping them can be really rewarding.

Support and Training

A full induction plan is provided especially focussed on or your first 6-12 months, with a mentor also being available.

There is full membership provided to independent governance associations offering a variety of online training sessions covering all aspects of governance. Most individuals involved with school governance feed back that they grow from the experience both in terms of ‘giving back’, but also for their own personal and professional development.

Could You Use Your Employer's Volunteering Scheme?

Many professions allow Governance experience to be counted towards Continued Professional Development (CPD) or allocated volunteering leave. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) believes that there is a robust business case for employers to support their staff to volunteer in governance roles and many employers give employees reasonable time off to carry out their duties.

*If you would like to apply, please complete the attached application form (not the application on My New Term) and send it directly to Laura  Bent, Clerk to the Governors at: clerk@chessington.kingston.sch.uk.