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THIS SURVEY
In December 2019, Council approved the implementation plan for the reinstatement of the opportunity for Leavers and ORs to apply for election as Roedean Governors upon payment of a fee.  Before finalising arrangements, Council would like ORs’ feedback on the implementation plan via this survey.

This survey is being managed by the Council Working Group which was charged by Council to recommend the implementation plan, not by the School’s Alumnae Office.  It will remain open until 29 February 2020.  It should take c. five minutes to complete. 

REINSTATING THE GOVERNORSHIP OPPORTUNITY
In June 2019, Council agreed a Resolution to reinstate this opportunity, with the first elections of new Governors to take place at the Corporation’s 2020 AGM.  This is on 6 May 2020.  The Resolution states:

“Henceforth any eligible Roedean School Leaver (who has attended Roedean for two years or more and has reached school-leaving age) will be invited to stand for election as a Roedean Governor at the following Annual General Meeting of the Corporation and pay a modest subscription fee.  This invitation will be issued retroactively for any prior eligible Leavers not yet invited for election since this practice was interrupted in 2004, also including eligible Leavers prior to 2004.”

ROEDEAN GOVERNORS
There are currently over 3,000 Roedean Governors, of whom less than one third are regularly active.

A Roedean Governor is a member of Roedean School, which is a Corporation under the Royal Charter and is also a registered charity.

There are three elements to Roedean’s governance: (i) operational management, led by the Head, which reports into Council; (ii) Council, whose members are Councillors, which is the School’s governing body, responsible for managing and administering the business and affairs of the Corporation; and (iii) Governors (the members of the Corporation).

The role of a Roedean Governor is prescribed by the School’s constitution - the Royal Charter.  Voting as a body, Governors’ responsibilities include: the election of 10 Councillors; the removal of any Councillor; the election/removal of other Governors; to consider the Corporation’s Annual Report & Financial Statements; and to raise resolutions at EGMs.

These responsibilities are mainly exercised at General Meetings (AGMs/EGMs), with Governors having the right to vote in person and, with some limited exceptions, by proxy.

Roedean is one of only a few schools to have such a structure.  The Founders' intention regarding the role of ORs in the governance of Roedean was confirmed in a 'Letter to Old Girls' in 1924:

“…it is of essential importance for the future of the School, that as many as possible of its Old Girls should become Governors, so that the Governors of the School shall be an active and influential body, representative of all the periods of the school life, ensuring that the most suitable among their number are elected to Council.” 

Until 2004, all eligible ORs were offered Governorship by way of a single lifelong fee. The interruption of this practice has led to an ageing Governor population and now Council and Governors have been working together on a plan to restore this practice, including the payment of a fee, for the long-term benefit of the School.

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS TO GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK ON COUNCIL’S IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOVERNORSHIP RESOLUTION.  THANK YOU. 

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* 1. My OR details:

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* 2. I grant my permission for the Council Working Group to pass my OR details (as per Q1) to Council for sole use with regards to the implementation plan of the Resolution:

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* 3. I grant my permission for the Council Working Group to pass my OR details (as per Q1) to the School's Alumnae Office for sole use with regards to the implementation plan of the Resolution:

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* 4. I support Council's decision to reintroduce the long-standing practice, designed by Roedean's Founders, of offering Leavers and non-Governor ORs the right to apply to be Governors for a fee:

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* 5. The fee to become a Governor under this initiative should be set at a level which at least covers the cost to the School of communicating, and engaging, with Governors:

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* 6. Council has decided that the one-off fee level in 2020 will be £450 which will cover the costs of communicating, and engaging, with Governors.  This may also lead to a surplus arising over time. How would you like any surplus to be spent?  (Tick as many boxes as you want to.)

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* 7. Council has decided that the opportunity to apply to be a Governor should remain available to an OR throughout her lifetime.  Do you agree?

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* 8. Council has decided not to offer an instalment plan option for payment of the lifetime fee whereby an OR would become a Governor only after she had paid her final instalment.  This is because an instalment plan option would add costs to the School and would increase the administrative complexities in managing candidates' applications.  Do you think that this is appropriate?

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* 9. Council has committed to being transparent with Governors about the source and use of the funds raised from new Governor fees in the School's Annual Report and at the Corporation's AGM every year.  Do you agree that this is appropriate?

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* 10. Council has defined the eligibility criteria for a Leaver/non-Governor OR to apply to be a Governor to be the same as for membership of the ORA (a minimum of two consecutive years at Roedean and not having been expelled) and that the candidate is a member of the ORA.  Do you agree that these eligibility criteria are appropriate?

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* 11. Council has defined the "school-leaving age" in the Resolution for a candidate to apply as 18, in line with legal adulthood (including, for example, the national voting age).  This is also the Government age requirement for someone to be in either full-time further education or training.  Do you agree or do you think it should be different?

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* 12. Do you have any other comments about the implementation plan?

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* 13. Are you already a Roedean Governor?

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* 14. If you are not already a Governor, are you interested in becoming one?

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* 15. If answered Q14:
I grant my permission for the Council Working Group to pass my contact to Council for sole use with regards to the implementation plan of the Resolution:

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* 16. If answered Q14:
I grant my permission for the Council Working Group to pass my contact details to the School's Alumnae Office for sole use with regards to the implementation plan of the Resolution:

0 of 16 answered
 

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