Membership of the Executive Committee

At least three governors and must include the Headteacher, Chair of Governors and Vice Chair of Governors.

The current membership of the committee is:

1. The Headteacher
2. The Chair of Governors
3. The Vice Chair of Governors
4. Chair of Committees 

Responsibilities of the committee

1. School planning.
2. School budget.
3. Staffing and resources.
4. Pupil behaviour including behaviour policies and pupil behaviour panels.
5. School admissions.

Training required:

Members of this committee will have completed training covering the following within 12 months of joining the committee:

• Admissions;
• Exclusions;
• The governing body’s responsibilities for the school budget;
• The governing body’s responsibilities for human resources.
• Safeguarding and safer recruitment
• Data and assessment 

Chair of the Executive Committee

• The chair of the committee to be a governor and appointed by the full governing body.
• A governor who is employed to work at the school cannot be appointed as Chair of this committee.

Quorum

• The quorum for the Executive Committee is 3 governors.

• The quorum for any Pupil Behaviour Panel constituted from this committee is 3 governors.

Meetings of the committee

• To meet at least once each school term.

Agendas

• A clerk to the committee to be appointed by the committee at its first meeting each academic year.
• Agendas and all relevant papers to be circulated to committee members before each committee meeting.

Minutes/ confidential minutes

• The minutes for the Executive Committee hearing should be taken by the Clerk to the Committee and circulated to all governors as soon as is practicable following each meeting.
• The committee can decide to make sections of the minutes confidential for reasons such as protecting individual’s personal data and contractual reasons but the committee should still ensure that minutes comply with the letter and spirit of the Freedom of Information Act.

Review

• Membership and terms of reference to be reviewed and adopted annually at the autumn term full governing body meeting.

Advice

• The Strategic Director for Children’s Services or his/her appointed officer will be consulted and offer advice as appropriate.

1.

SCHOOL PLANNING FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AS NECESSARY

The responsibilities of the Executive Committee are as follows:

1. To advise the governing body on its statutory obligations under the National Curriculum requirements.
2. To monitor the achievements of pupils in all subjects of the National Curriculum, and in all statutory, and non-statutory areas, of school life.
3. With the assistance of staff, to provide information to the governing body about how the curriculum is taught, evaluated and resourced and how it meets the needs of learners.
4. To review the policy and provision for collective worship, and for religious education, and make appropriate recommendations.
5. To review and approve the policy and provision for sex education.
6. To evaluate the quality of teaching and learning in the school.
7. To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of leadership and management within the school.
8. To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum strategies within the school.
9. To review and evaluate performance data, any other relevant information, and evidence related to standards and achievement.
10. To identify areas of underperformance in the school, and agree strategies, priorities, and targets in order to raise the achievement of pupils and standards within the school.
11. To approve the statutory targets for the school for raising the achievement of pupils.
12. To review and contribute towards the school’s self-evaluation judgments.
13. To contribute to and approve the school improvement/development plan.

Useful documents:

The school’s Raise online data

School’s curriculum statement/policy

National curriculum

Homework policy

Marking and assessment for learning policies

Policy for collective worship/policy for religious education

Policy for sex education

School self evaluation form

School improvement/development plan

Reports from the school improvement officer/external consultant

OfSTED judgements

2.

SCHOOL BUDGET FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AS NECESSARY

The responsibilities of the Executive Committee are as follows:

1. To ensure that the recognized financial accounting standards criteria (such as the Schools Financial Value Standard) are met at all times, and that procedures are in place to ensure this.
2. To advise and make recommendations on all financial matters.
3. To ensure that a three year financial plan and or projections, for the school, are in place.
4. To be responsible for monitoring the implementation of any deficit reduction plan, should one be required.
5. To receive any financial audit reports and monitor the implementation of any recommendations contained in the report.
6. To review and recommend to the governing body the financial delegation policy for approval.
7. To implement, and monitor, the scheme for financial delegation for the school.
8. That all Government and local authority financial regulations are followed and adhered to.
9. To set the school budget and monitor its implementation and management.
10. To approve and monitor capital expenditure.
11. To approve and monitor any service level agreements and contracts entered into by the school.
12. To monitor the expenditure of specific designated funds.
13. To receive and approve the audited accounts for the school.
14. To provide reliable information and make appropriate recommendations and decisions to enable the governing body to comply with required financial regulations.
15. To ensure that appropriate financial procedures are in place for all other school held funds, including annual audit of the accounts, and the school fund.
16. To contribute to the School Improvement/Development Plan in relation to budget issues, where appropriate.

Useful documents:

School budget performance management statements from the local authority.

3.

STAFFING AND RESOURCES FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AS NECESSARY

The responsibilities of the Executive Committee are as follows:

Staffing

1. To review, the recruitment and procedures for the recruitment of all school staff and ensure they comply with safer recruitment guidelines.
2. To appoint staff in the senior leadership team (excluding the headteacher and the deputy headteacher as these appointments are the responsibility of the full governing body).
3. The appointment of staff outside the senior leadership team to be delegated to the headteacher and the appropriate staff at the school.
4. The full governing body will seek advice and support from the school Human Resources Adviser, and School Improvement Officer/External Consultant for the appointment of a headteacher.
5. To review job descriptions and person specifications as appropriate with the committees involvement with the recruitment process for specified appointments.
6. To review policies relating to staffing matters as required.
7. To ensure that procedures are in place for managing staffing issues, through adoption of the local authority policies and to ensure that all staff are made aware of these.
8. To review all staffing related procedures, and adopt/recommend them for adoption, and to ensure that staff are informed of them.
9. To determine the school staffing requirements and establish the annual and longer term salary budgets and other costs relating to staffing matters (e.g. staff development) in accordance with the budgets available.
10. To review the staffing structure whenever a vacancy occurs, and at least annually, in relation to the School Improvement/Development Plan.
11. To ensure that appropriate performance management policies and procedures are in place in accordance with local and national requirements, and that they relate to the school improvement/development processes and the continued professional development of school staff.
12. Monitor the operation and outcomes of performance management arrangements, and review the policy, and its operation, every year.
13. To ensure that opportunities and resources are available for continued professional development for all staff, and are implemented with reference to the School Improvement/Development Plan.
14. To contribute to the School Improvement/Development Plan in relation to staffing issues, where appropriate.

Pay

1. To review and approve the whole school pay policy on an annual basis.
2. To apply the criteria set by the whole school pay policy in determining the pay of each employee on an annual basis (excluding form the meeting any paid staff but including the headteacher) and making sure all staff receive an annual statement of their pay.
3. To receive recommendations from the headteachers Performance Management Review and approve the headteachers pay (paid staff of the school and the headteacher should withdraw for this item). Human resources are to be consulted regarding any proposals for changes in the Individual School Range (ISR).
4. To ensure that proper liaison takes place with the city council in respect of the pay function and that procedures are in place for all necessary documentation to be supplied to the council for payroll purposes.
5. To contribute to the School Improvement/Development Plan in relation to pay issues, where appropriate.

Useful documents:

The school’s HR policies and procedures

The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document

Safer Recruitment legislation and guidance.

Performance Management Regulations

4.

PUPIL BEHAVIOUR (INC. BEHAVIOUR POLICIES AND PUPIL BEHAVIOUR PANELS)

The responsibilities of the Executive Committee are as follows:

1. To prepare and recommend to the governing body a written statement of general principles on behaviour in the school for the guidance of head, staff, parents and others.
2. To review the school’s behaviour policy, annually.
3. To contribute to the School Improvement/Development Plan in relation to behaviour issues, where appropriate.
4. To consider (via a Pupil Behaviour Panel constituted from the membership of the Executive Committee in line with the terms of reference for the panel outlined in 4a below) any representations made by the parents of a pupil excluded for a period of 5 school days or fewer in one term (and which does not bring the pupil’s total number of days of exclusion to more than 5 in one term) and placing a copy of their findings on the pupil’s school record.

*Important Note: The committee cannot direct re-instatement in these cases.

1. To convene a meeting to consider the exclusion of a pupil in the case of a fixed period exclusion of more than 5 but no more 15 days in one term (which does not bring the pupil’s total number of days of exclusion to more than 15 in one term).
2. To convene a meeting to consider the permanent exclusion of a pupil or a fixed period exclusion of more than 15 days in one term (which brings the pupil’s total number of days exclusion to more than 15 days in one term.

Important notes for responsibilities 3 & 4:

• A lunchtime exclusion is treated as a fixed period exclusion equivalent to half a day.
• The panel’s role is to review the exclusion, only the Headteacher can exclude.
• The panel cannot increase the severity of the exclusion.
• The panel can uphold the exclusion or direct the pupil’s reinstatement immediately or by a particular date.
• If they cannot direct the pupil’s reinstatement because the period of exclusion has ended and the pupil has returned to school, they can place a copy of their findings on the pupil’s school record.

Exclusions and Public Examinations

If a pupil were to miss a public examination as a result of exclusion the committee should meet prior to the date of the examination. If this is not possible the chair of governors may, exceptionally, use his/her emergency powers, to act and consider the exclusion. These are the only circumstances where the chair of governors can alone, with local authority and clerk’s advice, review an exclusion. The parent would, however, in these circumstances, still have the right to make oral representations to the committee, or to the chair of governors.

In some circumstances, at their discretion, and depending upon the nature and seriousness of the exclusion, the committee may allow an excluded pupil on the premises for the sole purpose of taking a public examination.

• 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.

• 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 appeals 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.

Useful Documents:

Equal Opportunities Policy

School Behaviour/Behaviour Policy

Exclusions Guidance 2008 – see website www.education.gov.uk

4.a.

PUPIL BEHAVIOUR PANEL FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Membership of pupil behaviour panels

Members of any pupil behaviour panel will be chosen from the membership of the Executive Committee subject to the following restrictions:

• The Headteacher cannot be a member of any pupil behaviour panel.
• Any governors who have been previously involved, or have prior knowledge of the case(s) being considered should not be chosen.

Chair of a panel

To be appointed by the members of the each panel when it is convened.

Quorum for a panel

3 governors

Meetings of the panel

• As required and held within the statutory timescales.
• At a meeting the panel may consider more than one exclusion so long as it complies with the statutory time limits relating to each one.

Agendas

• A clerk to the committee to be appointed by each panel when it is convened.
• Agendas and all relevant papers to be circulated only to committee members who are on the panel for any hearing 5 working days before the meeting (or less if agreed by all parties).

Minutes/ confidential minutes

• The minutes for the Pupil Behaviour Panel hearing should be taken by the Clerk to the Committee and classified as confidential.

Review

• Membership and terms of reference to be reviewed and adopted annually at the autumn term full governing body meeting.

Advice

The Strategic Director for Children’s Services or his/her appointed officer will be consulted and offer advice as appropriate.

5.

ADMISSIONS FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The responsibilities of the Executive Committee are as follows:

1. To respond to the Local Authority’s (LA) annual consultation on the LA schools admissions policy, on behalf of the governing body.

Useful documents:

The Admissions Code

The appropriate LA School Admissions Report for Governors