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Governance at Reading School

Reading School is an Academy Trust which operates as an exempt charity and a company limited by guarantee, not having share capital.

The Trust's details are:

      Company name: Reading School

      Company registration number: 07475515

      Principal and registered office: Erleigh Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5LW

The charitable objective for which Reading School was established is “to advance for the public benefit education in the United Kingdom, in particular but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing by establishing, maintaining, carrying on, managing and developing a School offering a broad and balanced curriculum.” The Trust currently operates one selective secondary day and boarding boys’ school.

The Academy Trust delegates to the School’s Governing Body all aspects of running and managing the school, including responsibility for setting and monitoring the overall strategic direction of the Charitable Company and the School. The Governing Body currently consists of fourteen governors: two are appointed by the Reading Foundation (the charity which holds in trust the endowments and property of the School), two are elected by staff, and four are elected by parents of students at the School; the Headmaster is ex officio a governor; the remaining governors are appointed by the Academy Trust.  A list of current governors is available via the link below.

The Governing Body in turn delegates all aspects of the day-to-day management of Reading School to the Headmaster who has overall responsibility for the School. The Headmaster manages the school through a leadership team (the SLT), which comprises the Deputy Headmaster, the Finance Director, the Chief Operations Officer, the Assistant Headteachers and the Executive Assistant. All school staff are ultimately managed by the Headmaster and report to him.

The Governing Body meets six times each year, and appoints committees to oversee specific aspects of the School’s activities. The majority of the committees meet four times each year. These committees are responsible for detailed consideration of key strategic issues within their remit and for giving advice to the Headmaster and the SLT, as well as holding them to account for all aspects of the school’s performance. However, the committees have relatively few decision-making powers, as most of the key decisions, including those affecting the schools finances and overall strategy, are reserved to the Governing Body itself.

In addition to the above there are committees which meet as and when required to deal with staff and student appeals.

There is also a Headmaster’s Performance Review Committee which meets 3 times each year to appraise the Headmaster’s performance.

The committee structure and the terms of reference and delegations for each Committee are reviewed annually by the Governing Body, and changes are made to ensure that they are fit for purpose. These reviews are informed by governors undertaking regular self-evaluation the effectiveness of the various committees.

The agendas and minutes of the Governing Body and its committees are available to anyone who wishes to see them (subject to certain restrictions to preserve confidentiality). Anyone who wishes to see the agenda or minutes of a meeting should contact the Clerk to the Governors (Email address shown below).

The School seeks to ensure parental engagement through the appointment of elected parent governors, regular communications from the Headmaster, regular parents’ evenings, and regular parental surveys.

The School seeks to play an active part in the local community through a range of partnerships with local schools, the local authority and other educational organisations in the Reading area. These aim to improve educational standards and increase social mobility. The School also places a high priority on beneficial national and international partnerships.

Parental engagement and the effective community partnerships fall within the remit of the External Relations and Pastoral Care Committee, which works in partnership with the Headmaster to advise the Governing Body on their development.

The Curriculum & Standards Committee (chaired by Mr Faulkner) is responsible for academic performance and the school's curriculum policy, ensuring that it is complies with legal and OFSTED requirements and that it supports the strategic direction of the school. The Committee has delegated powers to agree detailed school policies relating to its remit, appoint link governors for academic departments and to initiate action in response to link governor reports.

The External Relations & Pastoral Care Committee (chaired by Mr Hudson) is responsible for external relations, partnerships, safeguarding, pastoral care of students and boarding, governor skills and training, staff welfare, student and parental relations. It has delegated powers to agree detailed school policies relating to its remit.

The Finance Committee (chaired by Mr Fisher) is responsible for the sound management and planning of the academy’s finances and resources, for ensuring effective monitoring and probity, and for implementing and operating effective audit and risk management processes. It has delegated powers to effect virements within the School's Scheme of Financial Delegations and its Approved Budgets, to action (but not to the extent of taking legal proceedings) the recovery of debts due to the School, to agree detailed school policies relating to its remit, including the School's Financial Procedures Manual, and to appoint the auditors of the Academy and the Responsible Officer.

The Property and Projects Committee (chaired by Mr Kenwrick) is responsible for maintaining the school’s land and premises, school cleaning and catering, security, health & safety, building projects, capital bids and asset management. It has delegated powers to authorise maintenance works and appoint contractors (within approved budgets and subject to school tendering policies), to set charges for the use of school premises, to agree specifications for capital and maintenance works, cleaning, grounds maintenance and catering services, and to agree detailed school policies relating to its remit.

The Admissions Committee (chaired by Mr Fisher) is responsible for admissions arrangements and policies and has delegated power to set the pass mark in relation to admission examinations.

The Staff Pay and Performance Committee (chaired by Mr Follen) is responsible for staff pay and conditions, employment policies, performance management, and arrangements for senior appointments. It has delegated power to make staff pay progression decisions with approved salary scales.

Financial Benchmarking 
The schools financial benchmarks can be found here on the gov.uk website.

Reading School Trade Union Facilities Time
Trades Union representatives are entitled by law, to reasonable paid time off from their regular employment to enable them to undertake relevant training and perform official union duties. Trade Union representatives, and members, may also request unpaid time to undertake such Union related activities. Together these arrangements constitute facility time.

It is necessary for schools to publish information on their website regarding the amount of facility time taken each year by employed staff who are union officials. In addition, there is a requirement to publish information with reference to Schedule 2 of the Trade Union (Facility Time publication requirements) regulations 2017.

What was the total number of Reading School employees who, at some point, were relevant union officials in the Academic Year 2022-2023? Two

What % of their working hours were spent on facility time and what % of the total spent on facility time in relation to the school budget cost? 0%

The information is published in the Governing Annual Report.

More Information

Any queries about the School’s governance arrangements should be directed to the Chair of the Governors, Mr Bob Kenwrick or to Mr Stephen Vale, Clerk to the Governors, Reading School, Erleigh Road, Reading RG1 5LW, email: govsclerk@reading-school.co.uk

Reports