Our Governing Body
Governors play a very important role in the strategic leadership and management of the school. Elemore Hall is fortunate in having a strong, committed and vibrant Governing Body drawn from different walks of life. Each member brings their own individual skills, knowledge and experience to the group, and whilst a Governor can develop these further through experience, training and spending time at the school.
A key role of Governors is to be aware of what is happening in school and to challenge the operation of the school (as a critical friend) through the Headteacher, this better enables Governors to be able to fulfil their responsibilities. Governors receive regular reports on all aspects of school, these include information from the Department for Education and County Council, reports from the Headteacher, presentations by key staff, independent visitor and Ofsted reports, meetings with staff, attendance at school events, etc. Through the different information sources, Governors become knowledgeable and more involved in the school.
Governor Structure
When full, the Governing Body has 15 members. From the group a Chair and a Vice-Chair are elected every two years. It is up to the individual Governor to decide how much time they can devote to the role. We ask all governors to attend the Full Governing Body meetings that take place once a term.
If they have the time, Governors can be members of smaller committees which meet at other times to discuss specific areas of school. At Elemore the two main committees that meet termly are the Finance, Personnel and School Environment Committee and the Curriculum, Standards and Every Child Matters Committee (all governors can attend these committees even if they are not a member of the particular committee). In addition to these we have committees that meet occasionally when required to look at other aspects of school life that are not predictable such as Recruitment, Discipline and Complaints.
Deputy Heads are invited to all Full Governing Body, Finance, Personnel & School Environment Committee and Curriculum, Standards & Every Child Matters Committee meetings. Other members of the school Core Leadership Team attend Governing Body Meetings when appropriate.
Our Governors
Derek Sayer (Chair) (Co-opted Governor)
Kirsty Beeston (Vice Chair) (Co-opted Governor)
Angela Darnell (Chair of C,S&ECM Comm) (Co-opted Governor)
Michael Walsh (LA appointed Governor)
Peter Tymms (Co-opted Governor)
Cathy Lee (Co-opted Governor)
Jon Niblo (Co-opted Governor)
Michael Hunter – (Headteacher)
Ian Hird (Co-opted Governor)
Nicola Tietz (Staff Governor)
Sally Glover (Co-opted Governor)
Catherine McCabe (Co-opted Governor)
Lou Mitchell (Parent Governor)
Vacancy (Parent Governor)
Vacancy (Parent Governor)
Also invited to all FGB, CS&ECM Committee and FPSE Committee meetings
David Lord – Deputy Head
Andrea Davies – Deputy Head
Governor Pen Pictures – more information coming soon
Record of Governor Attendance 2024-5
| Dec of Interest | Full Autumn Term 4/11/24 | Full Spring Term 25/3/25 | Full Summer Term 16/6/25 | FPSE Comm Autumn 11/11/24 | FPSE Comm Spring 7/4/25 | FPSE Comm Summer | Curric Comm Autumn 7/10/24 | Curric Comm Spring 17/3/25 | Curric Comm Summer | Pay 11/11/24 | Complaint 10/12/24 | First 4/2/25 | |||
| Derek Sayer | 24/9/24 | / | / | / | / | / | / | / | / | / | |||||
| Kirsty Beeston | 11/1/24 | / | A | / | |||||||||||
| Angela Darnell | 2/9/24 | / | / | / | / | / | A | / | / | / | |||||
| Michael Walsh | 28/10/24 | / | / | / | / | / | / | ||||||||
| Peter Tymms | 21/1/25 | / | / | / | / | / | / | / | |||||||
| Jon Niblo | A | ||||||||||||||
| Richard Royle | 10/3/25 | / | / | / | / | / | / | / | |||||||
| Ian Hird | 10/3/25 | / | A | A | / | ||||||||||
| Nicola Tietz | 28/2/24 | / | / | / | |||||||||||
| Cathy Lee | 16/10/24 | A | / | / | |||||||||||
| Catherine McCabe | 5/11/24 | / | / | A | |||||||||||
| Sally Glover | 1/11/24 | / | / | / | / | A | / | / | |||||||
| Lou Mitchell | 9/3/25 | – | / | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Michael Hunter | / | / | / | / | / | / | / | ||||||||
| Andrea Davies | / | / | / | / | / | / | |||||||||
| David Lord | / | / | / |
/ = present A = Apologies sent and accepted n/a = not applicable
Committees:- App = Appeals, F = First/Pay Review, FPSE = Finance, Personnel & School Environment, CSECM = Curriculum, Standards and Every Child Matters
How To Become A School Governor
If you require further information on the roles and responsibilities of School Governors or you are interested in becoming one, please visit the Durham County Council website School Governor section or contact the school.
Statutory Guidance for Governing Bodies
Elemore Hall School adhere to the statutory guidance from the Department for Education. This means that governing bodies must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the constitution of governing bodies in maintained schools.
For further information about our governors please view or download the documents below:
- The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools
- Elemore Hall School – Governor Code of Conduct
- Elemore Hall School – Governor Induction Policy
Committee Terms of Reference
- Curriculum, Standards and Every Child Matters Committee
- Finance, Personnel and School Environment Committee
Governor Attendance in past years
Schools are required to display a record of Governor attendance at meetings for each school academic year.
KEY
✓ – Attended meeting
A/A – Apologies sent and accepted by meeting
N – Did not attend
n/a – Not a member of the committee
Record of Governor Attendance 2023-2024
Record of Governor Attendance 2021–2023
Archived Attendance
You can also view previous years attendance on our website.
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