Governance

Please see below for documents relating to the governing of Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy.

Vacancy for Parent Governor

The Board of Trustees is looking to recruit two new members to join us on the next part of our improvement journey. The Board is refreshing its leadership, skills and experience so that we can offer effective challenge and support to school leaders as we continue on our rapid improvement journey.

Lord Lawson has always aimed for a partnership with parents which undoubtedly brings great benefits to our students. One of the most significant ways you can help in promoting this aim is to volunteer to be a Parent governor.

The governing body’s main tasks are:

To ensure that the school has a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction;
To hold the Principal to account for the educational performance of the school and its students;
To oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its funds are well spent.

Parent governors are welcomed as valued members of our team and play a vital role in ensuring the governing body is aware of the views of parents and the local community. We feel sure that there are parents/carers prepared to take on this important role and give their time and commitment to helping us to continue to improve the school’s performance.

Periodically, we undertake an audit to ensure we have the right knowledge, skills and experience on the Board to enable it to undertake its role effectively. With this in mind, we would especially welcome expressions of interest from members of our community with experience and skills in:

accounting and finance;
marketing;
income generation;
procurement and quality assurance.

We would also welcome those of you with links to local businesses and employers. Training and support will be available to help you develop into the role. This will include in-house mentoring and support as well as access to external governor training from the Local Authority.

The role involves attending at least 7 meetings per year during term time, usually on Wednesday evenings. These would consist of two Full Governing Body meetings in the Autumn term and one each in the Spring and Summer terms (4 in total); plus, three other committee meetings throughout the year, which would either be the Academy Management Committee or Student Progress Committee. Additionally, we expect Trustees to be able to visit the Academy at least twice per year during the school day to undertake ‘link visits’ with staff and departments to see the work that is being done and experience the atmosphere in the school. We also need colleagues who are willing to train to support disciplinary committee panel meetings.

If you feel you can help in this capacity please complete the nomination form which will need to be returned to the school by the end of the school day on Thursday 2 December 2021. Completed nomination forms can be returned electronically to: swakefield1@lordlawson.academy or alternatively they can be posted to: Mrs S J Wakefield and should be marked Private and Confidential – all forms will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

For the necessary documentation and supporting information for applications can be found using the following links:

Guidance as to who can serve as a School Governor: https://www.lordlawson.academy/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Guidance-as-to-who-can-serve-as-a-School-Governor.pdf

Parent Governor Nomination Form: https://www.lordlawson.academy/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Parent-Governor-Nomination-Form.docx

Please note that if successfully elected, the School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 states that:

“Where a governor is elected or appointed on or after 1 April 2016 and does not hold an enhanced criminal record certificate, the governing body must apply for such a certificate in respect of that governor within 21 days after his or her appointment or election”

Failure to apply for a DBS check within 21 days will result in disqualification and removal from the governing body.

If there are more nominations than vacancies, we will hold a ballot which will close on Friday 17 December 2021, and you would be sent a voting paper accordingly.