A message from the Chair of Governors
'Governors have an excellent understanding of the work of the school. They visit often and are highly visible among the school community'
Governors
Ofsted 2016
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the governor section of this website. Berrywood is a school which cares deeply about the quality and experience of learning for our children. Under the leadership of our head teacher, Mr Chris Reilly, with close oversight from the governing body, the school has been in an accelerated process of improvement since our last Ofsted inspection. As a result of this it is very pleasing to both feel and see the enthusiasm and excitement for learning from all of our children. The use of both indoor and outdoor learning environments assists the school in providing a broad and balanced approach to educating the whole child with enrichment from sports, music and the arts. We are fortunate to have a committed group of governors drawn from the parent body, staff and from our local community. A mixture of experience and skills coupled with a commitment to being well trained and well informed enables governors to hold the school to account for the quality and experiences of learning available to our children. Good schools have strong and effective governance and being strong, supportive and effective is what we expect from ourselves. All of Berrywood’s governors have analysed their training needs to ensure they can challenge and support effectively and visit the school regularly in order to see what is happening in school for themselves. We are committed to supporting Berrywood to be a safe, enjoyable and effective place for children to learn and develop. Parents and members of the community who wish to contact a governor or enquire about supporting the school’s governance are welcome to do so via the school’s office. With best wishes to all staff, parents and children Alison Millman Chair of Governors
Being a governor is an enormously challenging and rewarding opportunity. The personal benefits can be summarised as follows:
- A sense of satisfaction through knowing children will benefit from your efforts.
- The opportunity to develop new skills and to strengthen existing ones.
- The opportunity to work with a wide range of people from a variety of social, culural and religious backgrounds.
- The opportunity to gain an understanding of, and experience in, key areas such as finance, personnel, target setting and strategic planning.
- The opportunity to gain an awareness of the education system as a whole.
- Through solving problems ranging from finance to site management; human resources to marketing; pupil welfare to curriculum development, every governor is guaranteed to broaden their skills and knowledge in some ways and this can be enhanced through training offered by local education authorities and other external bodies. All decisions are made with the consensus of the whole governing body which brings into play the softer skills of teamwork, communication and tolerance.
- There is also the very real sense of adding value and giving children the best possible opportunity in life. The additional opportunity for personal and career development cannot be underestimated.
Our Governing Body
Contact the Clerk
Our current Clerk is: Mrs Julie Woolley Tel: 01489 780068
Contact the Chair of Governors
If you wish to contact the Chair of Governors you can either:-
- Send an email to office@berrywoodprimary.co.uk and put ‘Chair of Governors’ in the subject field. If possible, it is always helpful to add a little bit of context at this stage. This email will then be forwarded on by the Clerk.
- Send or bring a letter to the school addressed to the Chair of Governors. This can be posted, handed in at the reception, or posted in the post box in the school foyer.