Vacancies
We currently have the following vacancies:
PARENT GOVENOR (1 vacancy)
Deadline: 12pm on 30th June 2023
I am writing to let you know that we will have a vacancy on our Governing Body for a Parent Governor with effect from September 2023 and that we are going to undertake the required election process in the coming weeks. You and every individual parent/guardian/carer of a child enrolled at Alexandra is entitled to a vote in this important election process, which we are starting today with this request for nominations.
The Governing Body of Alexandra comprises 11 Governors in addition to the Head Teacher - 6 x Co-Opted Governors, 2 x Parent Governors, 1 x Staff Governor, 1 x Local- Authority-nominated Governor and 1 x Associate Governor. We are a group of committed and enthusiastic individuals from a variety of backgrounds, predominantly based in North Kingston, who work collaboratively as volunteers to improve the education and wellbeing of the children in our care. You can read more about us here.
Attached to this letter is a description for the role of a governor at Alexandra. The Parent Governors fulfil exactly the same functions and have exactly the same responsibilities as the other types of governor. However, they are elected by their fellow parents/guardians/carers rather than being subject to an assessment and selection process by the Head Teacher and other governors. It may be helpful for me to clarify a common misunderstanding about the role of Parent Governor - their role is not to act as a spokesperson for the views of parents (that is the role of the Parent Council) but to provide a parental viewpoint to the governance of the school ie they are representative parents, rather than representatives for all parents.
It is an exciting and challenging time to join the Governing Body of Alexandra in this 50th anniversary year of its opening. We are beginning to develop our long-term plans for the future to ensure that the school can sustainably deliver on its mission to ‘establish lifelong learning: rooted in knowledge and enriched by experience’ for our community, both now and long into the future. So I hope you will consider whether this Parent Governor vacancy might be an opportunity for you to play an active role in the governance and leadership of the school into the future. As you know, inclusion is deeply important to all of us at Alexandra and, as a Governing Body, we are keen to be leaders and role models on this. So I do urge anyone who maybe thinks that this role might not be for them to think again, as this is genuinely an opportunity for all. There is a comprehensive induction and training programme available from the school and local authority to support the new governor.
If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else (with their agreement), or would just like to know a bit more first, please do get in touch with me through the school office and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have about the role and explain next steps. The deadline for receipt of nominations is 12pm on 30th June 2023.
Thank you all for considering this call for nominations and I will be in touch again with an update once nominations have closed.
Best wishes
Lorraine Slattery
Chair of Governors