About the College
Governance
Chair of HLC members
MRs CHARLESWORTH
Since Horizon Community College opened in 2012, our aim has always been to provide a first class education for all our students. The college is part of HCAT, a cross-phase multi academy trust based in Barnsley. The HCAT trustees are the governors of the Trust’s schools, but delegate many of their responsibilities, particularly around school improvement, to local committees.
Our role as Horizon Local Committee (HLC) is to agree the college’s vision and strategy, and offer supportive challenge to staff who provide the best possible education for our students, equipping them to move successfully on to the next stage in their lives. We scrutinise the college’s improvement priorities, hold regular standard and operations meetings, and investigate in detail our link areas.
We are immensely proud of what our staff offer in terms of the breadth and ambition of the curriculum they teach, and also the part they play in the wellbeing of students, in addition to offering personal development opportunities and extra-curricular activities.
We are proud of our students who showed maturity and commitment throughout the pandemic both in the college and when engaged in remote learning during lockdowns. They continue to show their maturity and commitment as they strive to be the best they can be. We’re so pleased that families have worked in partnership with us to ensure that their children’s experience at secondary school has been positive and fruitful.
All HLC members are invested in the success of our students. We are proud that the college is inclusive and outward-looking, forward-thinking and pro-active, collaborative, and a learning community at every level. We value our staff and students, and our wider stakeholders, as we work together to improve opportunities, skills and life chances for our young people in Barnsley.
OUR HLC Members
Chair of HLC Members
MRs Charlesworth
Co-opted
Responsible for
Committee member Training
Health and Safety
Staff workload and welfare
Policies
Personal Development
Term
Appointed – June 2023
End of Term – June 2027
HLC Member
MRS GOSTELOW
Co-opted
Responsible for
Leadership and Management, including Governance
Staffing and Finance
Behaviour and Attitudes
Term
Appointed – June 2023
End of Term – June 2027
HLC MEMBER
Mrs Donelan
Co-opted
Responsible for
Term
Appointed – May 2024
End of Term – May 2028
HLC MEMBER
Mrs Nixon
Parent
Responsible for
Term
Appointed – October 2023
End of Term – October 2027
Becoming a Committee Member
College CommiTtee Members have a varied and important role
helping the school run effectively and to have a positive impact on student outcomes.
The purpose of our committee is to provide:
· strategic leadership
· accountability and assurance
· strategic engagement
The role of the Committee Member
The committee member role is strategic rather than operational. Committee members don’t get involved with the day to day running of a school, instead supporting and challenging the school’s leadership team to drive college improvement.
Committee members usually attend around 6 meetings a year. Being a college committee member is a commitment and a responsibility, but offers you the chance to see first-hand the impact you can make in improving education for children in your community.
Horizon is part of HCAT Multi-Academy Trust. The trust board is the governing body but delegates many functions to the local committee, chiefly around school improvements.
Who can be a School Committee Member?
You don’t need to be an experienced professional – it’s about attitude as well as expertise
School governing boards need skilled people to help them run effectively, but both hard and soft skills are needed around the table.
Schools need skills, such as problem solving or negotiation or team working as much as specific expertise.
All committee members are subject to an enhanced DBS check as part of College Safeguarding Protocols.
Committee members do not need specific skills to undertake their duties on the local committee body. However, in certain areas the school can benefit from a committee member who has a specific expertise they can bring to the work of the local committee body.
The local committee body needs to ensure committee members have the necessary skills and commitment, including to challenge the school to bring about improvement, and hold leaders to account for performance.
Check the Department for Education’s guidelines about the requirements for becoming a committee member.
Types of appointments on the Horizon Local Committee
Co-Opted
appointed by the governing body
FOUNDATION/TRUST
appointed by The Holgate Trust
PARENT
elected by parents of children registered at the school
Local authority
nominated by the Local Authority, appointed by the governing body
Expectations
You can expect
What we expect
To be offered training opportunities
To have a mentor during your first year as a committee member
To have a better understanding of how the college works
To work and be part of a team making the best decisions for college staff and students
To attend 85% as a minimum, of all local committee meetings
To attend specific training to enhance your own personal committee member development e.g. Health & Safety Training
Show commitment and challenge to the college e.g. by asking questions
Show loyalty and support to the College
Attend meetings with your link area staff and produce a report on the findings annually for the local committee body
The Seven C's of a Governor
Committed
Devoting the required time and energy to the role and ambitious to achieve best possible outcomes for young people. Prepared to give time, skills and knowledge to developing themselves and others in order to create highly effective governance.
Confident
Be of an independent mind, able to lead and contribute to courageous conversations, to express their opinion and to play an active role on the board.
Curious
Possess an enquiring mind and an analytical approach and understanding the value of meaningful questioning.
Challenging
Providing appropriate challenge to the status quo, not taking information or data at face value and always driving for improvement.
Collaborative
Be prepared to listen to and work in partnership with others ad understanding the importance of building strong working relationships within the board and with executive leaders, staff, parents and carers, pupil/students, the local community and employers.
Critical
Understanding the value of critical friendship which enables both challenge and support, and self-reflective, pursing learning and development opportunities to improve their own and whole board effectiveness.
Creative
Able to challenge conventional wisdom and be open-minded about new approaches to problem-solving; recognising the value of innovation and creative thinking to organisational development and success.
How can I become a HLC Committee member?
If you are interested in becoming a Horizon Community College committee member, now that you know more about the role, you will need to write to our Governance officer, Ellie Laight (ellie.laight@hcacademytrust.education) and tell us about yourself, to:
- Demonstrate evidence of the appropriate skills and experience you have and how these can be used on the local committee body
- Express your willingness to undertake training to develop your skills
- Make a commitment to the values of the college
- Be able to give sufficient time to contribute effectively to the work of the local committee