BANKS LANE JUNIOR SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY MEETING
SPRING TERM 2015 MINUTES
Date: 17 March 2015
Time: 4.30 pm
Venue: The School
GOVERNORS PRESENT
Mrs Jackie Graham (Chairperson), Cllr Sue Derbyshire, Mrs Gill Officer, Mrs J Humphreys, Mr David Bennett,
Mrs Debbie Fitzgerald., Mrs Nicola Taylor, Mrs Karen Wood, Mrs Janet Knott, Mr James Cash,
Mrs Jane Moorhouse, Mrs Catherine Wyld, Mr Ed Milner (Headteacher)
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr Andrew Lane Governor Support Officer
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received and accepted from Mr Jonathan Vali and Mrs Emma Priestley,
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations regarding the forthcoming agenda items.
3. BUSINESS
(i) PREVIOUS GOVERNING BODY MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2014 were not presented at this point; these would be circulated upon receipt.
MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS GOVERNING BODY MINUTES
There were no matters arising.
(iI) PREVIOUS COMMITTEE MINUTES
RESOLVED - That the minutes of the meetings of the following committees, copies circulated previously, (a) be approved and (b) be authorised for publication subject to publication:
· Steering – 16 January 2015
· Resources – 27 January 2015
· Community and Safeguarding – 28 January 2015
The minutes of the recent Achievement committee would be e-mailed shortly to governors - Action
(ii) MATTERS ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS COMMITTEE MINUTES
Much of the committee business would be taken under the Headteacher’s termly report.
(III) RECONSTITUTION
Governors considered the recommendation of the Steering committee. During the careful consideration which ensued, the following points were made:
· As there had been no response from Mr Holland and Mrs Sheridan to the Clerk’s request for clarification of their governorships and they were also absent from this meeting without having tendered apologies, they would be removed from the governing body membership.
· The following were appointed as co-opted governors with effect from 1 September 2015: Cllr Derbyshire, Mr Vali, Mrs Taylor, Mr Cash, Mrs Officer.
· Mrs Fitzgerald and Mrs Moorhouse would be stepping down as governors at the end of the school year.
· There would be elections for three parent-governors and one staff governor in the autumn term - Action
· Mrs Wood and Mrs Wyld would look at producing a flyer to attract interest from parents – Action
· To widen staff input into the governing body, the staff governor election would look to attract interest from non-SLT members
· The reconstitution would take effect from 1 September 2015
(iv) RECIPROCAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR PAY APPEALS COMMITTEE
Due to the size of the governing body, this was deemed not applicable.
It was agreed that the Resources committee plus Mrs Wood would meet to refine the school’s pay policy – Action
The following committee membership was clarified:
Pay – Mr Vali, Mr Bennett, Mrs Wood
Pay Appeals – Mrs Wyld, Cllr Derbyshire, Mrs Humphreys
4. TEACHING AND LEARNING
The priorities were highlighted in the Head’s report.
5. BUDGET
This had been covered in detail at the recent Resources committee meeting.
The following matters were also noted:
· Mrs Officer had met with the School’s LA Finance Officer to look at a worst case budget scenario; the indicative budget showed the School c£20k above that.
· An end of year carry-forward of c£115k was envisaged; funds were committed for:
- Grounds improvements: £20k
- Extra staffing
- Support for cross-curricular themed work, possibly £1k per year group.
· The Resources committee had agreed the School LA buy-backs with the addition of Corporate Purchasing.
· Water usage was being carefully monitored.
· KQ – What were the School’s meals arrangements ? The contract would be with SSK for another year. Concern was expressed that the school was not being reimbursed for energy consumption for meals which were cooked and provided to other schools. Mrs Officer would also be looking to apply charges to SSK for wear and tear recompense of school fixtures and fittings
6. (i) HEADTEACHER’S TERMLY REPORT
The report of the Headteacher was presented and discussed.
(ii) MATTERS ARISING FROM THE HEADTEACHER’S TERMLY REPORT
· The Headteacher recorded his appreciation of all Mrs Fitzgerald’s work as SENCO and ensuring that pupils were supported.
· The “Learning Powers” initiative had been launched; this would build on the success of the Growth Mindset. Pupils were encouraged to view their learning powers in the palm of their hand”; to further promote this awareness, children were encouraged to identify a “superhero” who represented one of these learning powers.
· The Big Maths scheme had been purchased; this would be supported by a full staff in-set in September.
· In order to reinforce the drive on Numeracy and Literacy, the School would be trialling a revised morning timetable, with separate 90 minute slots for each subject.
· There had been considerable liaison with the Infant school at both SLT and governance levels. In his role as “Governor Champion”, Mr Bennett reported on the recent numerous and detailed meetings which he had attended and was pleased to highlight the considerable progress which had been made in cementing closer ties with the Infant School.. Mr Bennett was due to meet with the Infant School’s Vice-Chair of Governors to carry out a “pupil voice” survey to gauge pupil feedback. Governors acknowledged that significant time investment had been made in this development and that this had implications in terms of other priorities in the School Improvement Plan being deferred. Governors recognised that this was, however, a key priority.
· It was evident from the disappointing progress levels in the autumn tem that there were challenges to be addressed in how assessment was being carried out particularly by NQTs, with an over-reliance on using formal written tests. The School would need to learn from the transition in readiness for next year. KQ – How was the “Assessment without Levels” impacting on School ? This was proving challenging, particularly as the School was also having to embed the new curriculum at the same time. The dilemma was how to judge progress in the context of the new expectations.
There were no other matters arising.
7. UPDATE ON STANDING ITEMS
School Improvement Plan (SIP) Update
Governors agreed that the SIP needed to reference the Infant liaison.
Appraisal
This was ongoing in school. As indicated earlier, the school pay policy would be refined.
Report on Racist Incidents
The Headteacher reported that there had been no racist incidents during the autumn term.
The Chair and Headteacher completed and signed a Nil Return form; the Clerk then undertook to return the form to the appropriate section within Services to People.
Report on Physical Incidents
The Headteacher reported that there had not been any incidents during the autumn term where the use of physical intervention procedures had been necessary.
8. GOVERNOR DEVELOPMENT
* The Steering committee had reviewed the progress against priorities in the Governing Body Development Plan.
* Governors were encouraged to make use of the Modern Governor application which contained useful governor-related links and resources.
9. L.A. BRIEFING PAPERS
(i) Safeguarding
(ii) Health and Safety
(iii) What Maintained Schools Must Publish Online
(iv) SEND
(v) Assessment Without Levels (Primary)
(vi) DFE Updates
The reports were noted.
Mrs Officer added that the School was largely compliant with the online provision requirements. The School’s Accessibility Plan would be added, while an inclusion on British values would also be posted.
10. DATES
Full Governing Body
Monday 14 July at 4.30pm
Committees
Resources: Wednesday 13 May at 4.30pm
Steering: Friday 15 May at 10.00am
11. A.O.C.B.
· Governors’ terms of office – there were no current issues.
· Freedom of Information request – a FoI request had been received from an outside sporting group which related to accessibility on to the school grounds. Governors agreed that the Headteacher’s stance on this current issue was the correct one, while the Headteacher undertook to obtain advice from the LA on a response to the request.
There being no other business to discuss, the Chairperson thanked everyone for attending and the meeting closed at 6.55pm
BANKS LANE JUNIOR SCHOOL SPRING TERM 2015 GOVERNING BODY MEETING ACTION POINTS
MINUTEPOINT / ACTION REQUIRED / ACTION FOR / ACTION
DATE TO BE COMPLETED
3 / Circulation to Governors of Achievement committee minutes / Clerk to Governors / Post-Meeting
3 / Arranging of parent/staff governor elections / Clerk to Governors / Autumn term
3 / Production of parent-governor recruitment leaflet / Mrs Wood/Mrs Wyld / Post-Meeting
3 / Refining of School pay policy / Resources/Pay committees / Post-Meeting
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