The Governing Body is a corporate and legal body with a responsibility for the conduct of the school with a view to supporting the school’s vision and mission, providing a broad and balanced curriculum in a safe and stimulating environment.

The vision and mission of Swanmore Primary School are:

‘To strive for every child to achieve more than they thought possible so they are inspired to become learners for life’

‘We aspire for every child to succeed in learning, demonstrating excellent rates of progress, surpassing the National Expectation.’

…..and the values we hold are:

Respect, Love and Charity

The Governing Body is made up of 8 Foundation Governors (with a particular role to support the Christian ethos of the school), 1 Co-opted Governor, 2 Teacher Governors (including the head teacher), 2 Parent Governors and a Local Authority Governor. The Full Governing Body (FGB) meets six times a year, with a number of committees in place to do the detailed work needed to offer the support and challenge required from the Governing Body.

School governors are volunteers who help to run the school and are involved in decisions about all aspects of managing the school – such as running buildings and budgets, supporting the head teacher and the setting of standards of school discipline. They also help to make big decisions about the school’s long-term goals. They are there to support head teachers, to challenge and  ask questions and make sure the head teacher is taking the school in the right direction.

The most important qualities for being a governor are enthusiasm, commitment and an interest in education. You don’t need teaching experience, but where, in recent years, the role of the governing body has become very much more vital to the running of the school it is helpful if governors can also bring in skills from other areas of life. It can be time-consuming but it is very rewarding.

All governing bodies have statutory functions to perform and at Swanmore Primary School these are delegated to four separate committees. This makes the administration of our statutory duties much easier to manage, report and monitors all aspects of teaching and learning

Each committee has 4-7 members and their composition is determined at full governors’ meetings, with a Chair elected for each one. The terms of reference, constitution and membership is reviewed annually, giving governors the opportunity to change committees within their term of office - although membership tends to remain the same once governors settle into their roles. We are fortunate that many of our Governors have specific professional and other skills which they can bring to individual committees and the FGB.

Governors visit the school undertaking ‘Learning Walks’ around the classrooms and buildings, they are often at the school gates in the morning and after school, they attend social events and they attend the formal meetings.  They talk to children, staff and parents to inform their decision making.  If you see a governor (they wear a badge when in school) they would be happy for you to stop and talk to them anytime.

Please feel able to contact myself or any of the other governors, more formally, at any time using the following email:  governors@swanmoreapps.com

The school’s Vision Statement is:

‘As children succeed, we succeed... no child is left behind’

Swanmore Church of England Primary School's Christian values of Honesty, Love and Respect strive to develop children into caring, reflective and proactive individuals; aspiring for the greatest achievement in all they do, seeking to improve themselves and the world around them.