Governor Area Briefings
Briefing Notes
Spring Term 2016
School Governance & Workforce Development
Education School Improvement, Department of Children’s Services,
Future House, Bolling Road, Bradford BD4 7EB
Tel: 01274 439400
e-mail:
8
School Governance & Workforce Development Governor Area Briefing Notes: Spring Term 2016
CONTENTS
Briefing Note:
1. Governing Body Agenda Items for the Spring Term
2. Consultations on Government Proposals concerning interventions in ‘Coasting’ schools and in Schools Causing Concern
3. National Funding Formula for Schools and Academies
4. Construction Design Management (CDM) Regulations
5. Introduction of monthly updates from Sir Michael Wilshaw
NOTES FOR AREA REPRESENTATIVES
You have received these briefing notes as one of the governors representing your school governing body at the School Governor Area Briefings. They are intended to ‘signpost’ those issues your governing body may need or wish to address in the Spring Term 2016.
You are not intended to be an expert on all these matters but to have information which enables you to draw them to the attention of your colleague governors. There will be an opportunity to ask questions on items included here at the briefing meetings on November 9 at Future House or November 10 at Eastwood Primary, both at 6.30pm
These notes are printed so that they can be detached and separated as individual documents.
Please feel free to copy any of them so you can give a copy of the appropriate note to the Chair of any committee or a particular governor with responsibility for the matter it outlines.
Most briefing notes identify a person to contact if your governing body needs further information or advice.
The production of these notes is one of the services provided by the School Governor Service to all schools in the District. Thank you for the work you do in support of your school and its children.
Clive Linnett
Head of School Governance & Workforce Development
Tel: (01274) 439400
BRIEFING NOTE 1
Governing Body Agenda Items for the Spring Term
Spring 2016 - Items in bold are statutory requirements which governors need to address at some point during the year
First Meeting / Publish proposed admission arrangements for Autumn term next year (schools which are admissions authorities)RAISEonline reviews
Review progress against School Improvement Plan (or second meeting)
Second Meeting / Agree curriculum plans for next year, (e.g. options)
Agree staffing structure
Receive Headteacher’s Report
Standards Fund Allocations linked to school improvement
Consider purchase of LA services
Identify future work
Draft budget for next financial year – maintained schools
Report from Governor Area Briefing
Other items which should be discussed on a regular/planned basis:
q Monitor School Development/Improvement Plan
q Write new policies/review existing policies and agree review schedule
q Reports from Committees
q Governors’ visits to school
q Governor development and training (to include succession planning for any governors whose term is coming to an end)
q Reports from governors who have attended training and discussion of its implications for the work of the governing body
q Induction of new governors
School Governance & Workforce Development
Tel: (01274) 439400
BRIEFING NOTE 2
Consultations on Government Proposals Concerning Interventions in ‘Coasting’ schools and in Schools Causing Concern
The following is the information published by the DfE at the consultation launch:-
Aconsultation was launched on 21 October 2015 and will run to 18 December
‘on proposals to speed up the transformation of failing schools and schools that are deemed to be ‘coasting’ - delivering on the government’s commitment to extend opportunity and ensure all children are supported to reach their full potential.
The tough new powers, first put forward by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan in the Education and Adoption Bill in June, will allow the government to swiftly intervene and turn around failing schools. The measures will sweep away the bureaucracy previously exploited by opponents with ideological objections who could delay or obstruct the process by which academy sponsors take over to improve the running of schools. In some cases, campaigners have delayed intervention by drawing out debates, refusing to provide important information and blocking vital decisions.
Schools also eligible for intervention will be those which fall within a new definition of ‘coasting’ where performance data shows that, year on year, they are failing to ensure their pupils reach their potential. Unlike failing schools, where there is no question that swift intervention is required, coasting schools will be offered help.
The consultation seeks views on the proposed definition of a mainstream school which is coasting as well as the options for developing a coasting definition for special schools and for pupil referral units.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said:
We are committed to delivering on our manifesto commitment to transform failing and coasting schools so that every child has the benefits of an excellent education.
Over the course of the last Parliament, we saw a million more pupils in good or outstanding schools. The measures outlined in this consultation will focus on the next million, extending opportunity to young people right across the country.
Views are also sought on a revised ‘Schools causing concern’ guidance, which sets out how regional schools commissioners will use the new powers in the bill to turn around failing schools and to challenge coasting schools and other cases of underperformance’
Log on for information about both consultations and the opportunities to respond:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/intervening-in-failing-underperforming-and-coasting-schools
School Governance & Workforce Development
Tel: (01274) 439400
BRIEFING NOTE 3
National Funding Formula for Schools and Academies
Governors will be aware from previous updates and briefing notes of the anticipated move to a national funding formula for schools and academies. There is much interest in national Press currently about this and the Government has committed to its introduction as soon as possible, though this will not be until April 2017 at the earliest.
Proposals for what this national formula will look like have still to be published. We expect further announcements following the autumn Spending Review, which takes place on 25 November 2015. We expect then that the Department for Education (DfE) will engage in detailed consultation with authorities, schools and academies and other stakeholders over the spring 2016 for possible implementation from April 2017 i.e. affecting the 2017/18 financial year.
We expect a national funding formula to deliver significant changes across the schools’ funding system, affecting early years, primary, secondary and high needs funding. We also anticipate significant changes (quite possibly reductions), implemented over time under transitional protections, in the levels of funding received by individual schools and academies in the Bradford District.
At this stage then, we would like governors to be aware that a consultation on a national funding formula is expected to take place over spring 2016. Governors, with the help of their headteachers and business managers, will wish to engage with this consultation and will need to respond to information provided by the DfE and by the Local Authority about possible impact.
Governors must also be aware of the possibility of significant changes to their school’s funding and must think about this within their 5 year budget planning. A key message is ‘do not panic’; we would expect any changes to be implemented under transitional protection, meaning that the impact of any reduction or increase in funding will take a number of years to fully materialise.
The Local Authority will engage with schools and will publish further information as soon as this comes from the DfE. This is already a high priority discussion item for Bradford’s Schools Forum.
If you have any immediate questions about this matter, please contact Andrew Redding 01274 432678.
BRIEFING NOTE 4
Construction Design Management (CDM) Regulations
· CDM regulations changed in April 2015 placing more responsibility ontheClient. In many case the school is the client.
· The client must be named and must appoint aPrinciple DesignerandPrincipal Contractorif there is more than one contractor.
· The Client has a number of legal duties that they must perform.
· All construction work must have awrittenConstruction Phase Safety Plan. There is a free app to create plans for smaller schemes on theConstruction Industry Training Board(CITB) website.
H&S Accountability
Overall accountability for health and safety lies with the employer of the members of staff in the school. Who the employer is will vary according to the type of school. This can be a local authority, board of governors, an academy trust, a charity, company or partnership.
However day-to-day running of the school including responsibility for the health and safety of staff and pupils is delegated to the head teacher and school management team.
Head Teacher
Head teachers and the school management team, in consultations with governors, have considerable autonomy in the day-to-day running of their schools.It is important that headteachers exercise this autonomy in line with their employer’s policies, procedures andstandards. In many cases this will be the local authority.
N.B. The HSE has the power to prosecute any individual or organisation involved in anysafety related incident. They will look to prosecute individuals if they have behavednegligently.
School Building Notification
· All schoolsthat use Council land or buildings need tonotify the Councilbefore any building works/building alterations are undertaken on their campus.
· At the point of notification schools will receive free guidance and support to help ensure the project is planned and managed safely
· The Council plans to create a short online training course to explain the new CDM regulations. This will helpto ensure that individuals and schools are protected from prosecution and fines.
Darren Starkey
Programme Manager
Education Client Services
Tel: 01274 437366
1st Floor, Integrated House, Westgate Hill Street, BradfordBD4 6N
BRIEFING NOTE 5
Introduction of monthly updates from Sir Michael Wilshaw
As from October 2015 there will be monthly updates on the Ofsted website highlighting different aspects of our education system, based on emerging inspection evidence, the Chief Inspector’s firsthand observations and the considered views of those working in the system.
The following are extracts from the October update. For the full text visit
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hmcis-monthly-commentary-october-2015
Our primary schools have never been so good
· Compared with 2012, over 60,000 more primary school pupils this year achieved a good level of reading and writing, and a standard of mathematics that will set them up confidently for secondary school.
· The proportion of 6 and 7year olds reaching the expected standards in literacy and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 has also improved over this period and now stands at around 90% for both.
· Inspection evidence and judgements very much confirm this upward trajectory of improvement. There were 2,293 more good and outstanding primary schools in the last academic year than in 2011 to 2012 and 219 fewer inadequate ones.
· The flair and fluency with which young children are reading as a result of the now well established teaching of phonics helps explain the progress we’ve also seen in writing over the last few years.’
· The strong focus we now see on higher standards of grammar and punctuation from the earliest years of primary school is also something I welcome This altogether more structured and systematic approach to learning grammar, spelling and punctuation throughout the primary years means that our children are becoming more confident in tackling challenging writing tasks
· As a consequence, the vast majority are ready for the transition to secondary school education.
Concerns for the most able:
Recent surveys identified that pupils, who have achieved so much at primary school, are not supported well enough to build on that momentum when they enter secondary school.
· Much of the good, structured work done in primary schools on understanding and using correct grammar, both when writing and when speaking, is lost when pupils enter the secondary phase.
· The rigour with which spelling, punctuation and grammar is being taught at primary stage is often not developed sufficiently at secondary stage, especially in the foundation subjects like history and geography.
· This slows down all children, but is particularly damaging for the most able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds who disproportionately fail to fulfil their earlier potential when they come to sit their GCSE examinations. In 2014, for example, around 5,000 disadvantaged pupils who attained the highest levels at the end of key stage 2 failed to achieve a grade B in English and mathematics at age 16.
· Ministers are worried about how the move from primary to secondary education is being managed. I’m aware they are looking at the idea of introducing resit tests in year 7 for those pupils who don’t achieve the expected standards at age 11. They can certainly count on my full support. As I made clear in the key stage 3 report, I stand fully behind any action that will sharpen the focus on the vital transition between primary and secondary school.
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/themostablestudentsanupdateonprogresssincejune2013)
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keystage3thewastedyears)
School Governance & Workforce Development
Tel: (01274) 439400
8