Constitution
CONSTITUTION - STS GOVERNING BODY
- Name
- The name of the Association shall be ‘Surrey Tamil School’, hereinafter referred to as ‘STS’
- Administration
- Subject to the matters set out below, the Association and its property shall be administrated and managed in accordance with this constitution and the annexes therein, by the STS Governing Body, constituted in this constitution.
- Vision of STS
- To fulfil the desire among the Tamil Community living in the UK to enrich their rich culture and language while actively seeking to integrate with the wider community.
- Mission of STS
- To provide an accessible facility to meet towards the demands of the community expressed in the Vision Statement, and to identify, develop and provide such other services to the community which promote social inclusion, welfare and cultural diversity in the Royal Borough of Kingston Council in a strategic way that match or complement the work of the Council and its objectives.
- The mission of STS is primarily be accomplished by establishing and running a school in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames area for:
- Teaching of Tamil Language, Speech, Drama and Ethical Studies for 5-18 year old students;
- Teaching of Fine Arts mainly carnatic music for 5-18 year old students;
- Teaching of Tamil Language and Fine Arts for over 18 year old students;
- Promoting out of school activities for young people by providing facilities to develop their skills in sports activities as appropriate;
- Providing assistance with mainstream curriculum for the needy students;
- Providing facilities for adult education as appropriate;
- Providing facilities for physical activities for adults as appropriate;
- Providing facilities for community welfare services;
- Providing facilities for such other services as identified from time to time by the STS Trust.
- Power and Authorities
- In the accomplishment of the mission but not otherwise, STS Governing Body may exercise the following powers:
- To formulate and implement the necessary procedures for achieving the mission of STS;
- To co-operate with other organisations with similar aims and objectives;
- To do other such things in good faith as are necessary for the accomplishment of the mission of STS; these shall be detailed in the STS Business Plan (Annex 2) and be updated annually by the STS Governing Body.
- Employment of any paid staff shall be subjected to the approval of the STS Trust.
- STS Trust
- The names of the Trustees (Eight in number) of the STS are given in Annex 3 of this constitution under the subtitle ‘Board of Trustees’.
- Membership
- Membership of STS shall be open to anyone who fits into the following categories
- All Trustees of STS are Full Members;
- Parents or guardian of students under eighteen will become Full Members after 24 weeks of enrolment with no arrears;
- Students of over eighteen will become Full Members after 24 weeks of enrolment with no arrears;
- Parents of past students, past students, past and present teachers of STS are eligible to become Associate Members;
- Anyone who subscribes to the objectives of STS shall become Associate Members subject to the approval of STS Governing Body.
- Every Full member shall be entitled to a single vote.
- Associate Members shall not be entitled to vote.
- STS Trust shall determine Annual Subscription for members. STS Trust may also waive, reduce or extend the time limit for payment under special circumstances.
- Election of Governors
- Members of STS Trust and up to eleven elected members shall form the Governing Body. STS Trustees may opt out to join Governing Body in any particular year. The Head Teacher shall be co-opted to the Governing Body with no voting rights.
- The Chairman, Secretary and the Treasurer for the Governing Body and for the STS Trust are the same and elected by the Trustees, amongst the Trustees, in accordance with the Constitution of STS Trust.
- At the AGM held in July, full members of STS shall elect from themselves up to eleven members for one year period for the Governing Body. The election shall be conducted by the Chairman and the Secretary. The nomination forms for the candidates shall be submitted to the Secretary who shall on receipt display the names of the candidates on the school notice-board. No governors elected from the full members shall serve for more than two years, unless there is no other willing candidate to stand for the position.
- The candidates and proposers/seconders of candidates shall be Full Members.
- Both parents of a child shall not serve in the Governing Body at the same time.
- Governing Body
- Governing Body shall elect a Vice Chairman, Assistant Secretary and Co-ordinators for each of Academic Affairs, Cultural Events, Sports Activities and Community Affairs among the non-Trustee members. If there is no willing candidate among the non-Trustee members for a particular position then the STS Trust shall appoint a Trustee for the position. No one shall hold the same position for more than two consecutive years unless there is no willing candidate to stand for the position. The updated list of Governors and their positions shall be given in Annex 3 of this constitution.
- The duties and powers of the co-ordinators shall be defined in Annex 8 of this Constitution which may be amended as necessary by the Governing Body. The co-ordinators shall carry out their duties in agreement with the Chairman and the Secretary. Any omission or ambiguity with respect to the duties and powers shall be raised with the Governing Body for clarification.
- The Governing Body may appoint Task-Related sub-committees consisting of Governors, provided that all acts and proceedings of any such sub-committees shall be fully and promptly reported to the Governing Body. Up to two members external to the Governing Body may be co-opted to sub-committees with the consent of the Governing Body. The details of sub-committees shall be recorded in Annex 8 of this constitution.
- The proceedings of the Governing Body shall not be invalidated by any vacancy among their number or by any failure to appoint position holders.
- Cessation of a Governor
- A Governor shall cease to hold office if the person:
- is considered to be inappropriate from acting as a Governor based on the CRB check;
- fails to abide with the Rules of Conduct, refer to Annex 1;
- becomes incapable by reason of mental disorder, illness or inquiry of managing and administrating his or her own affairs;
- fails to be present in the school during the hours based on the work schedule without the consent of the Chairman/Secretary;
- is absent without the consent of the Governing Body for three consecutive meetings;
- resigns as a Governor by notice to the Governing Body in writing.
- Any Governor can raise a call under Clause 22, for action against another Governor by requesting the Chairman and/or the Secretary, stating the reasons clearly. The Chairman/Secretary shall give an opportunity for both parties to explain the incident at a Governors meeting. The Governing Body shall then decide on the matter based on simple majority of the members present, using secret voting if required. The parties of the incident shall not participate in the voting. However, any person lodging the call on behalf of another person can participate in the voting. If appropriate, the Governing Body shall give verbal warning to the relevant member on the first occurrence of an incident, written warning on the second occurrence and, on the third occurrence the Governing Body suspend the member from the Governing Body for three months.
- In exceptional circumstances, the Governing Body may remove a member from Governing Body permanently. The decision to remove a Governor based on Clause 22 (b), (c), (d) or (e) shall be endorsed by at least two-thirds of the Members present, by secret ballet, in a Governors Meeting called for this purpose. However, CRB check failure (Clause 22(a)) will lead to automatic removal from Governing Body.
- Head Teacher
- Head Teacher (or Acting Head teacher) is the highest academic office in STS and shall execute the vision of STS.
- Head Teacher is the key interface with the Governing Body and the Academic Staff. The job description for the Head Teacher is given in Annex 9.
- Any instructions or issues from the Governing Body to the academic staff shall be communicated by the Chairman and/or the Secretary via the Head Teacher. Any academic related issues or grievances from the academic staff or the parents or the students shall be dealt first by the Head Teacher. Head Teacher may raise the matter with the Chairman and/or the Secretary, if considered necessary. No other Governors shall interfere with Head Teacher’s work without the authorisation of the Governing Body.
- The Chairman, the Secretary, the Treasurer and appropriate co-ordinators may attend academic staff meetings scheduled by the Head Master with the approval of the Governing Body.
- Employment of Paid Staff
- Employment of any Paid staff shall comply with the STS Employment Procedure, refer to Annex 5.
- Communication
- In collaboration with the Chairman, the Secretary shall carry out all the external communications and copy them to the Chairman. The Secretary, at his/her discretion, shall forward such communication to other Governors, if considered necessary, for the effective function of the Association. Any external communications received by the Chairman/Secretary shall be copied to each other and to any other Governors as necessary.
- All internal communications by the Chairman, the Secretary or by the Treasurer shall be copied to each other. Such communications shall also be forwarded to other Governors at the discretion of these position holders.
- With the consent of the Governors, the Secretary may delegate certain external communications to another Governor. The delegated member shall copy all his/her correspondence to the Chairman and the Secretary.
- Financial Matters
- The funds of the Association, including all set-up loans, fees, donations, contributions and other incomes shall be paid into an account operated by the STS Trust in the name of the Association. Treasurer shall have the overall responsibility for all the financial matters, including collection of fees and other charges; raising invoices; paying wages and hire charges; and the management of the bank account.
- The funds of the Association shall be managed in accordance with the Constitution of STS Trust.
- Prior authorization of the Treasurer shall be sought for all the outgoings who shall obtain consent from the Chairman and Secretary prior to approval.
- On behalf of the STS Trust, the Treasurer shall keep and maintain proper accounts and records of the finances including assets, receipts, expenditure, credits, liabilities and other relevant matters. Treasurer shall submit details of the Bank Balance at each Governors meeting including the details of income and expenditure during that period.
- The financial year shall be 1 April to 31 March. The financial statement of accounts shall be disclosed at a Governors meeting before being displayed on the STS Notice Board. The audited statement of accounts shall be presented at the AGM.
- Delegations of Tasks
- The Chairman, Secretary and the Treasurer are legally responsible for the administration of STS on behalf of the Governing Body. At least one of them shall be present in the school at all the time and this responsibility shall not be delegated.
- With the consent of the Governing Body, the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer or any co-ordinators may delegate or assign selected tasks to other Governors with the approval of the Governing Body. The chairman and the Secretary shall jointly produce a work schedule to meet these requirements and the day-to-day activities of STS.
- Governing Body Meetings and Proceedings
- The Governing Body shall call at least two governors meetings per term, giving two weeks’ notice.
- Special/Emergency Meetings may be held if considered necessary by the Chairman or Secretary, or if requested by at least one third of the Governors in writing to the Secretary, giving one week notice.
- Governors shall send any items for the agenda at least one week before the meeting. There shall be a quorum when at least half of the Governors are present at the meeting. In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman shall chair the meeting. If both are absent, then the Governors present shall choose a Governor to chair the meeting before any other business is transacted.
- Every matter shall be determined by a majority of votes of the Governors present and voting on the question. In the case of equality of votes the Chairman of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.
- The Secretary shall keep minutes of the proceedings of meetings. The minutes shall be circulated within two weeks after the meeting.
- Data Protection
- Governors shall not release any information connected with STS to anybody outside the Governing Body unless required by law in which case the authorisation of the Governing Body shall be obtained prior to releasing the data.
- Equal Opportunity Policy
- STS shall adhere to the STS Equal Opportunity Policy, refer to Annex 5.
- The services provided in accordance with Clause 5 of the Constitution are available to anybody despite their race, religion, gender, age or any disabilities.
- Child Protection Policy
- STS shall adhere to the STS Child Protection Policy, refer to Annex 6.
- Amendments to the Constitution
- Any alteration or amendments to this Constitution shall only be adopted by the STS Trust.
- Arbitration
- Disputes that cannot be resolved within the Governing Body shall be referred to STS Trust for arbitration.