Hello, I am Barry Bond, the Chair of Governors at Green Park School. I have been a Governor at Green Park since around 1994 and the Chair of Governors since 1998. During the time that I have been involved with the school there has been much change. We took over the buildings of the adjoining nursery school which enabled us to increase the number of pupils from 60 to over 100 and, thanks to the hard work and commitment of staff and support from other people who raise funds, we have been able to transform the school inside and also the external grounds and play areas. This was commented upon at the Ofsted inspection in 2006. We have also extended the age range for the school so that we now have children from three years old up to nineteen. The needs of our children have also changed and we have children with complex and profound learning and medical needs. This has meant our staff, with support from the appropriate professional staff, continually updating their skills and knowledge so that our pupils have the very best education and standards of care.
If you wonder about the role of the Governing Body I think that Governors would say that we try to ensure that we can get the best for the children at Green Park. We support the Head Teacher and the Leadership Team to try to make sure that we get the correct financial budget from the Local Education Authority and the correct levels of support from other professionals so that every child receives their entitlement to a good education, and more if possible. As well as attending Governors’ meetings once a term you will often see Governors at school attending committee meetings, interviewing to fill posts, taking part in celebration events or school activities, or just being here because we like to be in school. Some Governors also network with staff and Governors from other schools, Officers of the Authority and Elected Members through bodies such as the Schools Forum and Scrutiny groups, and this raises the profile of the school as well as keeping us up to date with the latest developments. We have been very involved with the development of the new school ensuring that our children will get the very best facilities which will enable them to enjoy their learning in bright, secure surroundings. As the first phase of construction is nearing completion we are all looking forward to being able to move some of our classes into the new building.