Governance Kenya

How is the school governed and controlled?

Obviously the school conforms to the requirements of the Ministry of Education, whose many standards and requirements are relatively high by African norms.

When Bombolulu Secondary School and Training Foundation was established, opening in January 2023, standards and governance were uppermost in our plans, together of course with educational excellence and our ethos “creating great people”.

Our aim is to ensure excellent and unquestioned levels of integrity throughout the organisation, without constraining our talented teaching team through more bureaucracy than is necessary.

The Board of Governors

At the top of the management structure is the board of governors, set up with reference to the formal models you see in England.

Our chairman of the board of governors, Enos Kiforo, is a well experienced teacher and educational administrator with a Master’s in Education. His wife just happens to own a primary school and is a prominent member of Rotary.

Our deputy chair is Ben Clay, who is an entrepreneur and a former teacher. He is also a trustee of the charity, providing a communication link between the school and the charity outside the more formal reporting. We also have two Rotarian professionals on the board, plus two elected parent representatives, one male and one female.

Our head teacher obviously attends the meetings of the board of governors, together with the school manager, and we will invite community representatives whenever it’s appropriate.

Day to day operation and management of the school

The head and all of our teachers are fully qualified and again they operate with clear and open reporting structures in place.

They are very ably supported by our school manager, Nancy Wangila, who looks after all the administration, finance, property and compliance areas. Nancy has a diploma in business management and is experienced in finance. This allows the teaching staff to focus on educational matters as well as providing a further level of control. Two of our teachers are also trained counsellors, there to support our children when they have personal or educational problems.

We also have a parent teacher association to get feedback and input from parents and connect further with the local community.

And finally, at the sharp end, we have an elected pupil president and vice president to represent the views of the pupils to the teachers.

Policies and procedures

The school operates with many similar policy standards to those found in UK schools. Specifically, we obviously have a very robust written safeguarding policy. We have a business plan and formal meeting structures and reporting in place, all of which is totally transparent.

How is the charity governed?

As you would expect, the charity is operated and governed in accordance with the Charities Act 2006 and the reporting and operating requirements of the Charities Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. The charity has been set up as a CIO – charitable incorporated organisation.

A Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is a corporate form of business designed for (and only available to) charitable organisations in England and Wales.

The Charity Commission is stringent about the need for educational establishments in England and Wales and overseas to have all the correct safeguarding policies and procedures in place. As part of the approval process for the charity we are required to submit a wide range of information including the formal safeguarding policy and the written business plan for the school.

The object of the charity contained in the charity constitution, registered with the Charity Commission, is “To advance the education of children and adults in Mombasa and surrounding areas by providing facilities for education and work experience training.”

The charity has a professional and experienced Board of Trustees that oversee the strategic planning and operation of the school.

The school has been assisted by Alan Brighton from ActionCOACH for the past few years to help guide the Chair of Trustees, Sally Searle, in managing the finances, governance, publicity and fundraising agendas.

The accounts are registered with the Charities Commission annually and the finances are externally assessed by an independent examiner prior to being submitted.