Operations Group Meeting – 19th November 2014

(Local WAMG)

PRESENT

/ Karen Feeney, Therese McNulty, Alison Bennett, Chris Prowse, Helen O’Neill, Hans Formella, Stefan Simms, Mary Lancaster and Amanda Calver
APOLOGIES
CHAIR / Karen Feeney
MINUTES / Joanne Minton
LOCATION / PH 0.22
DATE / 19th November 2014
TIME / 2.00pm – 4.00pm
No / Item / Points discussed/action agreed / Who? When?
Action?
1 / Welcome and introductions / KF -Welcome and introductions
2 / Notes of Last Meeting/matters arising /
  • Terms of Reference – Claire has reviewed doc. (updated TOR attached)
Job Descriptions – Alison’s review of premises JDs is currently in progress. Therese informed group that on 21/11/14 there is a consultation of TA standards. which are due out in Spring term. Once published these will be used to revise TA JDs. Clerks to GB JD and pay also in the process of being reviewed.TM will report back to group. ML asked whether special needs TAs are being considered in process.TM recommended group viewing EGFL guidance on special schools – see link below to see if required..
JD for special school support assistants )
HF raised the subject of students with extreme disabilities and HO mentioned, the soon to be, compulsory paediatric first aid training in EYFS settings. This is already compulsory for all school settings.This is different from recent guidance on supporting children with medical needs – see link below.
DfE statutory guidance on Supporting children in schools with Medical Conditions
Pay policy. . SS received 80+ pay policies (PPs) to review with short return time, so unable to view all. ML felt consultation should include all unions as she has not seen level of docs and is worried about support staff PPs. KF – important to ensure that all school and staff are clear about process. SS – policies should be seen sooner, so there are fewer conflicts before they are ratified by GB. HF – GB training not very well attended.
TM confirmed that NQT agreement was sent out via gatekeeping in the summer term.
Employee policies. Grievance policy being updated by Mark. Need to qualify if put in.- not happy about what? Mark is hoping to finalise by end of year and publish on EGfL.
Religious observance days - CP informed group that due to elections, there was no update, so pending. /
JM to send ML, HF & HO EGFL links
5 /

Support Packages for Teachers

/ SS informed group of Nicky Morgan TES survey on the teacher workloads - online untill 21/11 (Nicky Morgan doc attached) Major response 35,000+ so far. He cited the importance of survey as currently 40% teachers leave within 5yrs of starting – never to return.
Nicky Morgan to give out recommendations of reducing workloads after Xmas.
SS voiced his concern about Ofsted not seeing marking as relevant and now more focus on English and Maths data.
(Ofsted inspections – clarification for schools doc attached)
KF informed group, as an Ofsted inspector, that Ofsted felt that there is too much emphasis on marking and not progress in books Current guidance to inspectors was to view the picture as a whole e.g. Assessment of teaching, progress and data over time, listen to the voice of the child = good practice. Ofsted are not saying not to give grades, just review the manner in which they are given and used for. HF glad KF mentioned Ofsted approach as HTs often feel they are being judged, LA should encourage nurturing culture.
AC mentioned the difficulties ‘older’ teachers felt with the pressure to change and thus feeling more stressed.
KF felt that steer to schools would be:
  • to encourage a more holistic approach when making judgementson the quality of teaching
  • Look at how we can help school to manage the new approaches to testing and assessment
  • Ealing LA provides strong support for NQTs, but yrs 2&3 needs to be looked at as this seems to be a time when teachers need support especially if they want to be middle leaders.
KF- Ealing Link Officers are supporting schools to make judgments on the impact of teaching over time. Prompts have been provided to LOs and to schools to support the process. /

6 /

Union learning reps (CPD)

/ HO went on a great 2 day Well Being course and felt that this is an area that is not valued enough. Group all agreed that the benefits of developing this area would be positive, but approach would have to be tailored to different environments. Group all agreed, even without structured ‘Well Being’ training, small consistent gestures valuable in relieving pressure.
7 /

School Improvement Updates

/ Ofsted
KF – ongoing changes to Ofsted framework
  1. Separate judgements at sixth form and EYFS
  2. SMS increased emphasis following Trojan Horse case & similar events nationally
  3. Promote education of culture and values
  4. Preparing children for modern Britain
Point 4 - TM informed group that focus would be on the ethos and values of schools, appreciation of the world we live in, and how schools developed school vision TM cited the positive example in Brent where a Muslim and Jewishschool had forged links.
HO informed group of excellent SACRE document on self reflection. See below for link

Safeguarding
KF –following a number of child protection cases including the Daniel Pelka case in Coventry in 2012, inspectors have been drilling down on Safeguarding issues – the aim is to ensure all concerns are followed up.
ML said support staff often felt that they were not listened to. CP said post DP case LA emphasis was on informing appropriate personnel. Anyone can ring up CP lead. AC, in her experience as a supply teacher, felt that SENCO under a lot of pressure as individuals not aware of outcomes. HF was surprised schools were not aware.
KF reiterated that there is always mileage in emphasising processes.
HF – Cited ‘Disqualification by Association’ school questionnaires that some personnel were very wary of. HF had planned to send out guidance, but asked CP if he could look at beforehand. Group all agreed, after some discussion, that real issue was one of trust and not whether individual was aware of ‘associates’ history. To be raised at WFSG / HF to send doc to CP
8 /

Future ways of working/terms of reference

/ KF – review purpose of group
SS – new bullets in terms of reference
  • Working conditions and well being
  • Recruitment and retention
Suggestion of a separate meeting with interested parties & possible sub groups if this group wishes to focus on specific policies
SS concluded by saying that he would like meetings to continue. KF is keen to maximise attendance.
9 /

AOB

/ Change any future meeting dates from Wednesday to Tuesday / JM
NEXT MEETING:
DATE / 11th March 2015
LOCATION / Perceval House PH M0.22
TIME / 14.00 – 16.00
CHAIR / Karen Feeney
AGENDA ITEMS
Proposed future dates
7th July 2015