‘Go and do Likewise’ Luke 10:25-37, The Parable of the Good Samaritan

We live with love and compassion, seeking help in times of need

 

 

LOCAL GOVERNING COMMITTEE’s TERMS OF REFERENCE

September 2025

 

 

Admissions Committee:

 

Quorum: Three Governors including the Headteachers.

 

Regularity of Meetings: three per year, with two weeks’ notice and other meetings arranged as necessary

 

to implement and monitor the Trust and governor strategy within the realm of the Committee’s remit

to keep under review documentation provided for parents in connection with the admissions and appeals processes and annually recommend to the Trust Board and Local Governing Committee (LGC) the Admissions arrangements for the School (incl. criteria for oversubscription), proposing changes when relevant

to call upon named Governors to whom the responsibility has been delegated, to consider and determine all applications for admissions to the school in accordance with the agreed policy (authority is delegated to the Headteachers to admit applicants when such admission will not cause the number in the relevant year group to exceed the PAN)

ensure that the annual consultation process is carried out properly, including LGC approval

to present the Trustees’ and Governors’ case at Admissions Appeals hearings and any other proceedings involving admissions.

to work with the Local Authority to meet the local need for places at the school in current and future years.

 

Careers Link Governor

 

to implement and monitor the governor strategy within the realm of the Committee’s remit

to oversee the strategy for careers education and guidance and ensure the school is meeting its legal requirements

to ensure the careers strategy is developed in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks and informed by the requirements set out in the DfE statutory guidance.

to take a strategic interest in careers education and guidance and encourage employer engagement.

formulate, review, monitor and approve the policies on:

A: Provider access

 

Disciplinary Panel

 

Quorum: Three Governors (None of the governors will be an employee of the school) The Chair shall be appointed by the Panel on an ad hoc basis. The Panel members can also be Trustees.

 

Regularity of Meetings: Hearings arranged as necessary

 

to implement and monitor the trustee and governor strategy within the realm of the Committee’s remit

to carry out the Local Governing Committee’s responsibilities for reviewing exclusions and suspensions

to comply with the Trust and Local Governing Committee’s statutory obligations as set out by the DfE in their document: Suspension and permanent exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral Units in England, including pupil movement – guidance 2023 and/or associated statutory guidance/legislation

to consider representations, if made, by parents of a pupil suspended for 1 - 5 school days in aggregate in a term, and to ensure that a note of the Committee’s views on the suspension is placed on the pupil’s record, with a copy of the Headteacher’s suspension letter

to review at a meeting: (a) suspensions of 6-15 days, if the parents make representations and request a review meeting (b) all suspensions of more than 15 school days in aggregate in a term (c) all suspensions and permanent exclusions which would deny a pupil the chance to take a public examination or National Curriculum test; (If convening a meeting before the exam date is not possible, this decision can be taken by the Chair of the Local Governing Committee using their emergency powers) (d) all permanent exclusions

to represent the Trust and/or LGC at any hearing of the case by the Independent Review Panel and to prepare the Trust/LGC’s statement.

to consider staff disciplinary matters referred to the LGC by the Headteacher(s) and take appropriate follow up action

to consider appeals against dismissals made by the Headteacher(s)

to consider capability appeals following the staff capability procedures

to consider staff grievances following the staff grievance procedures

 

Governor with responsibility for Leadership and Management:

 

to implement and monitor the trust and governor strategy within the realm of the Committee’s remit

to monitor and, where necessary and/or appropriate, challenge the School’s development priorities and its self-evaluation of progress towards these priorities undertaken by the senior leaders

to be aware of the leadership opportunities being made available to all members of staff

providing support for the Headteachers to enable rigorous and robust management, especially at times when difficult personnel decisions must be made

to work with the Headteachers to ensure that all Governors remain aware of their responsibilities to challenge and hold senior staff to account for student achievement.

to monitor appointments of all staff

to offer exit interviews to employees leaving the school and to identify any trends.

to monitor the performance review procedures and in conjunction with the CEO and Trust Board ensure arrangements are in place for the Headteacher(s)

to ensure strategies are in place for succession planning, especially in respect of professional development (CPD) opportunities that enable staff and governors to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of leadership and management

to be informed of any disciplinary action against a pupil or employee and any trends identified.

to support and promote the Headteachers’ wellbeing

 

Pastoral Committee

 

Membership of the Committee: Wherever possible there will be at least 2 Governors appointed with the consent of the ODBE representing separate parishes from within the School’s designated area. In addition, the Wargrave Secondary Headteacher (or delegated representative), Charvil Primary Headteacher (or delegated representative), a Staff Governor and the subject leader for Religious Education will be members of the Committee.

 

Quorum: Three Governors.

 

Regularity of Meetings: three per year with two weeks’ notice

 

Responsibilities: Recognising that the school aims to preserve and develop its religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England, the Committee will advise the Governing Body on its statutory obligations and in particular it will:

 

formulate, review and monitor the policy on: -

              A: Anti-bullying & racist incidents (Secondary and Primary)

B: Behaviour (Primary & Secondary)

C: Educational visits

D: RE & PSHE (Primary & Secondary)

E: RSE (Secondary and Primary)

F: SMSC policy

G: Spiritual Development (Secondary and Primary)

 

review and monitor the effectiveness of the school’s Christian Vision and its impact

ensure the provision of Collective Christian Worship for students at the School reflects both the spirit and letter of the law.

working with members of the School’s Leadership Team and Head of Religious Education to monitor and evaluate the provision for and outcomes of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural  education and Collective Worship at the school, drawing upon the guidance of the SIAMS Self-Evaluation and Inspection Framework.

contribute to, monitor and support the work of the School within the community, in particular its work with other Church schools, local and national charities, the Diocese of Oxford, local parishes and people from other faith communities, to further enhance community cohesion.

Regular review of charitable giving from across the school to monitor its appropriateness.

encourage, promote, facilitate and celebrate activities that bring to life the School’s values of Courage, Respect, Honesty, Dedication, Equality and Love, (e.g. voluntary service within the local community including through Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme).

encourage, promote, monitor and support the wellbeing of the Headteachers, staff and student bodies.

support the school in promoting excellent pupil behaviour, monitoring any bullying, harassment and peer on peer sexual abuse incidents annually and support the school in identifying any trends and promoting any antibullying and harassment work.

monitor whether the school’s behaviour management policy is sufficiently flexible to respond to vulnerable pupil groups challenging behaviour in the most effective way for those children;

ensure provision of high-quality religious education.

monitor and support the effective provision of a PSHE and SRE curriculum.

ensure the school is promoting British Values and is adhering to the Prevent policy.

monitor and support the provision of cultural capital and character education including the breath of school trips offered.

monitor what the impact is of any of the school’s policies, e.g. on charging for educational visits and extended school activities, on subgroups of pupils such as disadvantaged, looked after children etc

to implement and monitor the trust and governor strategy within the realm of the Committee’s remit

 

Pay Committee

 

Quorum: Three Governors plus the Headteachers. None of the Committee members, save for the Headteachers, shall be an employee of the school.

 

Regularity of Meetings: three per year with two weeks’ notice.

 

to implement and monitor the trust and governor strategy within the realm of the Committee’s remit

approve pay progression for all employees including the SLT and where appropriate consider Headteacher recommendations

review and approve, if appropriate, any recommendations made by the STPCD and/or Headteachers to increase the pay scales

review annually the TLR structure

consider and recommend to the Trust Board additional benefits to employees outside remuneration

 

Primary Committee

 

Quorum: Three Governors plus the Charvil Primary Headteacher (or a delegated representative of the Headteacher.)

 

Regularity of Meetings: three per year with two weeks’ notice.

 

In relation to Early Years and Key Stages 1 and 2:

to implement and monitor the trust and governor strategy within the realm of the Committee’s remit

to have oversight of Trust Board and LGC achievement targets for all learners

to monitor the plans and actions taken at school to ensure progress towards these targets

review learner outcomes e.g. result in the light of the targets set and report regularly on these to the LGC

to monitor funding, learning needs/provision, curriculum and standards for all students including subgroups of pupils (disadvantaged, LAC, SEND, more and most able, EAL etc) except for PSHE and SRE;

to anticipate and be aware of the implications of curriculum developments proposed internally and/or required by the DfE; to provide a challenging sounding board for SLT’s plans and to monitor the impact (in learning outcomes, if possible) of specific curriculum developments save for PSHE and SRE.

to regularly review and make recommendations to the LGC in respect of the school’s curriculum aims

to monitor and review curriculum plans as part of the School’s budget preparation, considering the impact of these plans on resources, school organisation and future learning outcomes 

to make recommendations to the LGC and Trust Board for the School’s Improvement Plan

to oversee the primary phase website and ensure its compliance

to ensure that the looked after children (LAC) have the same opportunities as all other pupils

To monitor whether looked-after and previously looked-after children have made the expected or better levels of progress in line with their peers (i.e. educational, social and emotional progress);

to monitor the pattern of attendance and exclusions for all pupils

to monitor whether the school’s policies are sensitive to the needs of LAC, e.g. in accessing out of school hours learning, respecting the children’s wishes and feelings about their care status or generally meeting their needs as identified in their personal education plans (PEPs);

to ensure that relevant staff receive appropriate training and that all staff have regular CPD supporting their understanding of LAC.

to monitor that the additional monies through Pupil Premium Plus and top up funding provided for the LAC has an impact and improves the outcomes and opportunities for that young person.

to ensure equality of opportunity for all students regardless of ability, aptitude, physical access and background

to have oversight of and recommend Equalities Objectives to the LGC

to report to the LGC on the School’s SEND procedures and advise on how they are impacting on the achievement of students with learning difficulties

to have oversight of the impact of the SEND budget on learning outcomes (especially in relation to ‘Closing the Gap’)

to provide support for the School’s SENCO

support the Primary in preparing for inspections

formulate, review, monitor and approve the policies on: -

A: Accessibility (Primary)

B: Attendance (Primary)

C: EYFS

D: Medical needs and children with health needs that cannot attend school

E: Online safety

F: SEND (subject to final LGC approval) (Primary)

 

Designated Safeguarding Governor

to build an effective relationship with the DSLs that allows for appropriate support and challenge

to arrange monitoring visits with the DSLs to learn about the school context and how this influences the approach to safeguarding, understand the school/trust’s safeguarding strengths and areas for development, discuss (without specific pupil details) any safeguarding incidents and to monitor progress on any strategic safeguarding priorities

to ensure the DSLs have received the training they need including on Prevent and are well supported to carry out their role and to seek assurance that staff are up to date with policy and practice

to build a knowledge and understanding of the school’s safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring these are effective, regularly reviewed and updated

to observe (through arranged visits) how the culture of safeguarding is working within the school, understand how safeguarding is built into the school curriculum and how pupils are taught about staying safe (including online safety)

to use any safeguarding audits to help ascertain the robustness of safeguarding procedures and systems and to use data to spot trends, for example, absence rates for looked-after children

stay up to date on relevant guidance and policy (including local guidance), ensuring the board are made aware of any changes to their safeguarding responsibilities

to report to the Local Governing Committee following monitoring meetings with the DSLs

to ensure safeguarding is given suitable coverage and prominence within the LGC’s strategic discussions 

to support the LGC’s oversight of the school record of the single central record

to ensure there are effective filtering and monitoring IT systems in place at the Primary and Secondary phases

 

Standards, Achievement, Learning and Teaching (SALT):

 

Quorum: Three Governors plus the Headteacher (Wargrave) or delegated member of the SLT.

 

Regularity of Meetings: three per year with two weeks’ notice.

 

For key stages 3, 4 and 5:

to implement and monitor the trust and governor strategy within the realm of the Committee’s remit

to have oversight of the Trust Board and LGC’s challenging achievement targets/KPI’s for all learners

to monitor the plans and actions taken at school to ensure progress towards these targets

review learner outcomes e.g. external examination results in the light of the targets set and report regularly on these to the LGC

to monitor funding, learning needs/provision, curriculum and standards for all students including subgroups of pupils (disadvantaged, LAC, SEND, more and most able, EAL etc) save for PSHE and SRE; 

to anticipate and be aware of the implications of curriculum developments proposed internally and/or required by the DfE; to provide a challenging sounding board for SLT’s plans and to monitor the impact (in learning outcomes, if possible) of specific curriculum developments save for PSHE and SRE

to regularly review and make recommendations to the LGC in respect of the school’s curriculum aims

to monitor and review curriculum plans as part of the School’s budget preparation, considering the impact of these plans on resources, school organisation and future learning outcomes 

to make recommendations to the LGC and Trust Board for the School’s Improvement Plan

to oversee the website and ensure its compliance

to report to the LGC on the School’s SEND procedures and advise on how they are impacting on the achievement of students with learning difficulties

to provide support for the School’s SENDCo(s)

to ensure that the looked after children (LAC) have the same opportunities as all other pupils

to monitor the pattern of attendance and exclusions for all pupils

to monitor whether the school’s policies are sensitive to the needs of LAC, e.g. in accessing out of school hours learning, respecting the children’s wishes and feelings about their care status or generally meeting their needs as identified in their personal education plans (PEPs);

to monitor how the teaching and learning needs of looked-after and previously looked-after children are reflected in school policies, in particular in relation to interventions and resources;

to ensure that relevant staff receive appropriate training and that all staff have regular CPD supporting their understanding of LAC.

to monitor that the additional monies through Pupil Premium Plus and top up funding provided for the LAC has an impact and improves the outcomes and opportunities for that young person.

formulate, review, monitor and approve the policies on: -

A: Acceptable internet usage

B: Attendance (Secondary)

C: Exam contingency

D: Management of non-examination assessments (exams)

E: Medical needs & children with health needs who cannot attend school

F: Post 16 bursary

G: SEND (Secondary)