Portfield School (Autism Wessex)

GOVERNORS INFORMATION

Portfield School is designated as a non-maintained special school. This means that the school is 'owned' by Autism Wessex not by a Local Authority. Because Autism Wessex is the 'proprietor' of the school our governance is slightly different to the 'norm'.

The main impact of this is that the Board of Trustees that are responsible for Autism Wessex are also ultimately responsible for the running of the school. As you can imagine that's a very big job for a team of volunteer trustees, so they in turn entrust the school to a board of elected governors and delegate to them the operational oversight of the school and expect them to support the school and hold it to account on their behalf, reporting in to the trustees any issues that occur and requesting any further support that is needed. The trustees can also challenge the governors and/or school leaders at any time on our policy, practice and outcomes.

This is a really fortunate position for the school to be in as we benefit from having not only a team of experienced school governors, but also a team of experienced and driven charity trustees to support our work. Both the governors and the board of trustees are heavily involved in the life of the school. A representative chosen from the Trustee Board or Governing Body will also always be involved in the appointment of key senior staff such as the Head Teacher, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the school with them, to set the school's aims and policies to ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.

Portfield School Governing Body:

Mr Mike Leese

Chair and Trustee Governor

Date of appointment : 20/2/18
Appointment by: vote during Governor meeting
Declaration of interest: none
Attendance past 12 months: 100%
Full voting member

Joan Dampney

Vice Chair and Trustee Governor

Date of appointment: 11.02.16
Appointment by: vote during Governor meeting
Declaration of interest: none
Attendance: 100%
Full voting member

Harold Klug

Parent Governor and Safeguarding Lead

Date of Appointment: 11.02.16
Appointment by: vote during Governor meeting
Declaration of interest: none
Attendance: 100%
Full voting member

Linda Differ

Staff Governor and SMSC Lead

Date of appointment: 09.07.15
Appointment by: staff vote
Declaration of interest: none
Attendance: 100%
Full voting member

Alice Cherry

Teacher Governor and SEN Lead

Date of appointment: 09.07.15
Appointment by: Teacher vote
Declaration of interest: none
Attendance: 75%
Full voting member

Alison Casey

Head Teacher Governor

Date of appointment: 20.02.18
Appointment by: automatic
Declaration of interest: none
Attendance: 100%
Full voting member

Dr Sarah Morris

Community Governor and Safeguarding Lead.

Date of appointment: 23.02.17
Appointment by: vote during Governor meeting
Declaration of interest: none
Attendance: 75%
Full voting member

Mrs Larissa Cribb

Parent Governor

Date of appointment: 13.10.16
Appointment by: vote during Governor meeting
Declaration of interest: none
Attendance: 100%
Full voting member

Mr Anthony Braine

Clerk

Parley Lane, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 6BP

T: 01202 573808