Administrator (Clerk) to the School Board

Job description

ADMINISTRATOR (CLERK) TO THE SCHOOL BOARD

Lanchester Primary School

120 hours per year to be worked flexibly, term time only

H7 19 – 23 £32,061 - £34,434 + £1,045 fringe allowance FTE

Actual starting salary - £2,244.53 per year including fringe

Required immediately

We are seeking an Administrator (Clerk) to the School Board to join the team at our Trust school - Lanchester Primary School. The post holder will be required to work flexibly in order to meet the needs of the School Board with some meetings being held in the evenings.

Whilst the main School Board meetings are set a year in advance, you will also be supporting panels for complaints and exclusions, should the need arise at other schools within the Trust. This panel work will require flexibility in approach and times, with many panels being held in the evenings.

Main duties and responsibilities

The Clerk will:

● Provide effective clerking and administration of all School Board meetings and panels

● With the Chair and Headteacher, prepare a focused agenda for each meeting

● Liaise with those preparing papers to make sure they are available on time, and distribute the agenda and papers as required by legislation or other regulations;

● Ensure meetings are quorate

● Record the attendance of Governors at meetings (and any apologies – whether they have been accepted or not), and take appropriate action in relation to absences, including advising absent Governors of the date of the next meeting

● Draft minutes of School Board meetings (including sub-committees), indicating who is responsible for any agreed action with timescales, and send drafts to the Chair and the Headteachers

● Circulate the reviewed draft minutes to all Governors (or members of the relevant sub-committee), Headteacher and the Trust Clerk within the timescale and as stated in the School Board Terms of Reference.

● Follow-up any agreed action points with those responsible and inform the Chair of progress in a timely fashion.

There are 4 meetings of the School Board each year. From time to time, there will be additional panels convened to hear exclusions or complaints and grievances in your own school and other Trust schools.

2. Provide advice to the School Board:

● Act as the first point of contact for Governors with queries on procedural matters;

● Access appropriate legal advice, support and guidance, and where necessary seek advice and guidance from the Trust Governance Lead or Trust Clerk on behalf of the School Board

● Inform the School Board of any changes to its responsibilities as a result of direction from the Trust Clerk and/or changes in relevant legislation

● Offer advice on best practice in governance matters including on committee structures and self- evaluation

● Ensure that statutory policies are in place, and are revised when necessary

● Co-ordinate the School Board meeting schedule to ensure it dovetails with the Trust Meetings’ Schedule

● Support new Governors induction materials and ensure they have access to appropriate training courses and guidance documents, including any agreed Code of Practice and the Trust Governance Handbook

● Contribute to the induction of Governors and those taking on new roles.

3. Membership

● Assist with the elections of governors and advise Governors and appointing bodies in advance of the expiry of a governor’s term of office, so elections or appointments can be organised in a timely manner

● Chair that part of the meeting at which the Chair is elected, giving procedural advice concerning conduct of this and other elections and ensure a recommendation for appointment is passed to the Trust Board for approval.

● Maintain a register of Governor pecuniary interests and ensure the record of Governors’ business interests is reviewed regularly and lodged within the school

● Ensure Disclosure and Barring (DBS) has been carried out on any Governor when it is appropriate to do so

● Maintain a record of training undertaken by members of the School Board; and

● Maintain Governor meeting attendance records and advise the Chair of potential disqualification through lack of attendance

● Advise the School Board on succession planning (of all roles, not just the Chair).

4. Manage Information

● Maintain up to date records of the names, addresses and category of School Board governors and their term of office, and inform the School Board, Trust Clerk and any relevant authorities of any changes to its membership

● Keep the governance section of the school website up to date and ensure all documentation required to be there is up to date, accessible and compliant with current DfE requirements and legislation.

● Maintain copies of current terms of reference and membership of any sub-committees and working parties and any nominated Lead Governors e.g. Child-protection, SEND

● Maintain a record of signed minutes of meetings in school, and ensure copies are sent to relevant bodies and the Trust on request as stated in the School Board Terms of Reference, and are published as agreed at meetings;

● Maintain records of Trust Board and School Board correspondence

● Ensure that all School policies including statutory policies and other school documents approved by the School Board are properly maintained, updated and communicated in accordance with agreed cycles including liaison with policy owners for updates and publication as agreed, for example, on Every and on the websites.

5. Personal Development

● Participate in the Trust Clerking network

● Undertake appropriate and regular training and development to maintain knowledge and improve practice, including the NGA Clerk’s Development Programme

● Keep up-to-date with current educational developments and legislation affecting school governance

● Participate in regular performance management which will include self-review against the DfE Clerking competency framework.

6. Additional Services

The clerk may be asked to undertake the following additional duties:

● Clerk any statutory appeal committees/panels the School Board is required to convene (this may be at other schools within the Trust)

● Participate in, and contribute to the training of Governors in areas appropriate to the clerking role

● Maintain a file of relevant Department for Education (DfE) documents

● Maintain archive materials

● Prepare briefing papers for the School Board, as necessary

● Support the Chair in conducting skills audits and the criteria for appointing new Governors relevant to vacancies

Perform such other tasks as may be determined by the School Board from time to time

Person specification (knowledge, experience and training)

Essential

The clerk should be able to provide evidence of the following:

Able to maintain confidentiality
Able to remain impartial - There should be no connection to the school
Able to work as part of a team and also able to work independently using their own initiative
Be a person of integrity
Very good listening, oral and literacy skills

Experience in writing agendas and accurate concise minutes
Pays attention to detail and ensures work is of a high standard

Good ICT including keyboarding skills

Efficient organisational skills – able to organise their time, organise meetings and work to deadlines

Experience/understanding of record keeping, information retrieval and dissemination of a range of documentation

Proficient in using the internet to access relevant information;
Able to build relationships with others and maintain contacts with outside agencies e.g. RSC, EFSA and the DfE

Demonstrate a willingness to attend appropriate training and development
Flexibility – able to work at times convenient to the School Boards, including evening meetings
Able to travel to meetings in other schools within the Trust, with a UK driving licence and a car
Be available to be contacted at mutually agreed times

Models the Trust’s core behaviours – ‘We display transparency, kindness and respect in all our interactions with others, and support each other in all our endeavours. We are tenacious in our desire to make the difference together’.

Desirable

Experience of working with school governors
Understanding of the statutory duties of school governing bodies (School Boards)
Knowledge of educational legislation, guidance and legal requirements
Knowledge of Equal Opportunities and Human Rights legislation;
Knowledge of GDPR and data protection regulations
Have already attended or make a commitment to attend the NGA Clerks' Development Programme or its equivalent.

Compliance

The post holder is required to be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection; health and safety; confidentiality; and data protection and report all concerns to an appropriate person.

Safeguarding

We are committed to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. A Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate will be required for all posts.

Additional Information

All staff are required to participate in training and other learning activities and in performance management and development as required by the Trust’s policies and practices.

This job description is a guide to the duties the post holder will be expected to undertake.
It is not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive and will be subject to change as working requirements dictate and to meet the organisational requirements of the Trust.

Supervision/Job Context

The post holder is managed by the Head of Governance and Compliance

Contacts

The post holder will work with the clerking team, headteacher and the governors