Highfield Church needs four new Foundation Governors for Highfield School

Why a Foundation Governor? Highfield School has been around since 1848. It was a part of the church school agenda to shame the governments of the time into providing education for everyone. The Church of England has always played a large part in primary education, across the country, because of this. The Diocese of Winchester still has a role in the school. The school is voluntary aided - meaning it has a Trust, based in the church and diocese, that contributes to building costs and so has real influence over the school's running. The Foundation Governors are the way the Trust is represented on the Full Governing Body. There needs to be more Foundation Governors than any others in order to secure the Trust and hold onto the Christian character of the school. As a part of the Diocesan input, periodically they send their own inspection team (SIAMS -Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) to check out the Christian character of the school, in all its aspects. As Foundation Governors we have responsibilities to help in the preparation for this.

What does a Foundation Governor do? Firstly, you're elected by the PCC to represent the church, in all matters to do with the governance of the school. It's a real opportunity to serve the church and the community in a specific way. Current governors will explain what they have done and why they feel it so worthwhile. They have, sadly, all come to the end of their terms - and we thank them so much for all their hard work over a challenging time in the school's history.

The Full Governing Body (FGB) meets every month. Some members may take on additional responsibilities for eg the safeguarding governor (see Janine Finney for details). You're only ever overseeing the area for which you've taken responsibility, and not micro-managing. The school has excellent staff who are on top of their briefs. We're not required to be expert at all. But we're there to be a critical friend. Your term will last for 4 years. 

What to do now? If you think this is something you might be being called to do, to serve God actively in the community of Highfield, please do get in touch with either Alan Hunt, who is the Chair of Governors at a.hunt@highfieldschool.co.uk or Sarah Archer at associatevicar@highfield.church.