CLAPGATE PRIMARY SCHOOLGOVERNING BODY
Minutes of the meeting held onWednesday 20 March 2013 at 4pm
PRESENT / J Rush (Chair) / J Norton (Acting Headteacher)L Simpson (Acting Headteacher)
M Bartholomew / J Jewkes
E Hallas / N Maxfield
A McCoy / D Picken
E Shield / L Spirrett
P Truswell / K Whitfield
IN ATTENDANCE:Karen Clay - (Clerk, Governor Support Service)
1.00 / APOLOGIES AND MEMBERSHIP ISSUES / ACTION1.01 / Resolved: that apologies were received and accepted from M Rider and M Voller.
2.00 / MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING
Resolved: that minutes of the meetings held on Wednesday 6 February 2012 and Wednesday 27 February were agreed as a correct record and the Chair was authorised to sign the minutes accordingly.
3.00 / MATTERS ARISING
There was nothing further that would not be covered within the main meeting.
4.00 / COLLABORATION UPDATE
4.01 / The Chair reminded governors of the situation regarding why the school was considering forming a collaboration with Westwood Primary School.
4.02 / The Chair informed governors that since the last meeting she and the Chair of Westwood Primary School had met with HR to discuss the salary ranges for the Executive Head teacher and Head of school. Governors were informed that the salary range proposed by the two Chairs for the Executive Head was outside the range suggested by HR; the two chairs felt that the salary range should be higher because the role of Executive Head would carry more responsibility. The Chair told governors that the proposed salary range would cost the school more than the current structure in place but governors were assured that there was enough money in the budget to cover this. The Chair informed governors that the proposals had also been discussed with the school’s Finance Officer who had agreed that there were options for moving money from other areas of the school’s budget to make the appointment affordable. The Chair proposed that governors agree to the salary range suggested by the two chairs, move forward on the plans and offer the jobs with a proposed start date of 2 June 2013.
4.03 / In response to governor’s questions it was clarified that the Executive Head would be paid on a higher scale than she would have been put on if she was appointed just as a Head teacher of a single school of this size which would be a group four school. The new Head of the Clapgate would be on a slightly lower pay scale for the school. A governor raised concerns about agreeing to the proposals without seeing figures and hearing the justification for going beyond HR’s recommended level for a group four school. Value for money was also questioned as it was suggested that the Executive Head may not have more responsibility because they would have two other Head teachers to share the workload.
4.04 / The Chair reminded governors that it was not appropriate to discuss actual salaries but the ranges were disclosed. The formula for calculating the Individual School Range (ISR) was explained and governors were informed that, when combining pupil numbers for both schools, the range would be group four which was 14-27 points. The Head was currently on point 21 so HR had suggested that the Head be offered a scale of 20-27 as they were looking at the role as if it was working across a single school. The Chairs, however, felt that there was more responsibility in the role of Executive Head across two schools with more accountability. Governors were reminded that the two schools would be run separately so would, therefore, have two budgets and two Ofsted inspections. It was, therefore, agreed with HR that a salary range of 27-32 could be put forward for governors to approve. Governors were reminded that the school would pay half of the salary.
4.05 / Governors argued that the two Head’s of schools would be equally responsible for the Ofsted inspections.
4.06 / In response to a governor’s question it was noted that the Head of school’s salary range was one point less than it would be currently. Governors were reminded of the difficulty of recruiting as the school was not seen to be very attractive at the moment.
4.07 / In response to further questions the Chair informed governors that HR had stated that Fran and Zoe could be appointed by Clapgate because the move was seen to be an expansion of their current roles. The roles at Westwood would be advertised nationally. Governors were assured that HR had approved the proposals and were reminded that, if the school was to recruit the roles nationally, they would not be able to appoint anyone before Christmas. Governors asked if this approval had been put in writing by HR. The Chair informed governors that it had not been formally written down yet as it would depend on the governors’ decisions tonight.
4.08 / The Chair reiterated that HR’s advice had been to pay the Executive Head on a group four range but governors were reminded that it was the responsibility of the governing bodies to set the range for the school and do the recruitment; HR can only offer advice.
4.09 / A governor stressed that they felt that governors should be given more detail of the process that the two chairs had gone through to come to the conclusion to go against HR’s advice and pay the Executive Head on a higher range. The Chair reiterated that the Executive Head would have more responsibility than a Head would usually have and governors were reminded that the school needed to be able to recruit quickly in order to move the school forward. The Head reminded governors that the school would be seen to be vulnerable by Ofsted if an inspection took place now and no decision about the future had been agreed upon.
4.10 / Governors held a vote on moving forward to appoint the Executive Head teacher on an ISR of 27-32 points.
Resolved: that governors voted in favour of the above proposal. It was noted that this was not a unanimous decision and concerns had been raised.
4.11 / The Chair clarified that the Executive Head would not be paid at the top of the salary range and reminded governors that the decision to form the federation was not necessarily a permanent one.
5.00 / COMMITTEE REPORTS
5.01 / Governors were informed that the data dashboard distributed at the last meeting had been updated by Ofsted; governors were reminded to review the dashboard.
5.02 / Pupil Support Committee
5.02.1 / It was noted that this committee had met twice since the last full governing body meeting. M Bartholomew gave a verbal report on the first meeting. The following points were highlighted in particular: -
5.02.2 / The Safeguarding Audit had been completed and any issues addressed.
5.02.3 / Staff had undertaken E Safety training.
5.02.4 / Child Protection training had also been done by staff members and more training was planned.
5.02.5 / Governors were pleased to hear that the school had the greatest rate of improvement on attendance in the cluster. School was now ninth in the cluster and was closer to meeting the national average but the school had the sixth highest number of persistent offenders. Governors were assured that work was continuing to address the problem. E Hallas and J Jewkes informed governors that they had attended a recent assembly in school and had been impressed by the focus on attendance.
D Picken left the meeting at this point
5.02.6 / Resolved: that governors approved the proposed Attendance Policy, Complaints Policy and SEN policy.
5.02.7 / The data dashboard had been discussed.
5.02.8 / The structure of the Jess Cluster had also been discussed.
5.02.9 / Governors had reviewed provision for SEN pupils, including Place 2 Be, as well as discussing provision for Looked After Children.
5.03 / Pupil Support meeting two.
5.03.1 / A McCoy gave a verbal report on the meeting held on 19 March 2013. The following points were highlighted in particular:
5.03.2 / Governors had discussed E Safety; the committee thanked Laura for her fantastic work.
5.03.3 / The School Council had attended the meeting to give feedback to governors and proposed some ideas that governors might like to help fund. The committee had agreed to look into purchasing more outdoor equipment for the school.
5.03.4 / The committee had discussed attendance and had reviewed the behaviour policy, the care and control policy and the anti bullying policy.
Resolved:
- that governors approved and adopted, subject to amendments, the Behaviour Policy and the Care and Control Policy.
- that the Anti Bullying policy would be updated and brought back to the next meeting for ratification.
5.03.5 / The School Development Plan had been discussed and governors wanted to look further in to the quality of school lunches. It was proposed that governors should stay for lunch when they visit their allocated classed so that experience could be gained before any matters could be addressed. Governors were requested to let the office know before 9am if they were intending on having lunch at school.
5.04 / Resources Committee
5.04.1 / M Bartholomew gave a verbal report on the meeting held on 12 March highlighting the following points that had been discussed.
5.04.2 / Staff changes had been looked at and the implications to the budget were considered.
5.04.3 / The Budget had been reviewed and assumptions discussed. The Head informed governors that the school was looking at having a £74,000 in year surplus due to staffing this year. The estimated in year surplus for 2013/14, including the new staffing arrangements, was £11,000 - it was explained that £62,000 had been built into the budget for next year to address the ICT infrastructures and some building works. The estimated in year surplus for 2014/15 was £42,000 and for 2016/17 was £46,000. The Head stressed that these were estimated figures but included the new staffing structure with staff being pain on higher levels than had subsequently been agreed.
5.04.4 / Governors were informed that a building contractor had attended school to look at the drainage situation but school was awaiting feedback on this meeting.
5.04.5 / The school had been informed that Estate Management had put a bid in to get money to replace some of the school’s windows and doors; the school should know the outcome of this bid by the end of April. The Head explained that the LA had put the bid in as a result of the conditions survey, the money would not cover replacing the cladding but the Head suggested that the school should look at funding this work at the same time as the windows and doors in order to save money in the long run.
5.04.6 / It was noted that there were still issues surrounding snagging in the new build but Estate Management were aware of this and would be addressing the problem.
5.04.7 / Checks on the Superintendents house had been undertaken and E Hallas gave a verbal report on this matter as well as giving a report on the cleaning audit that had also been done. A list of problems and issues arising from the cleaning audit was given to M Bartholomew.
5.04.8 / It was noted that the Health and Safety Audit needed to be carried out by the Resources Committee as a matter of priority.
5.05 / Teaching and Learning Committee
5.05.1 / N Maxfield gave a verbal report on the most recent meeting highlighting the following points for governors attention:
5.05.2 / Governors were reminded that the School Development Plan had been e mailed to all governors.
5.05.3 / A presentation by the Year Six teacher who was also Numeracy Subject leader had been given to the committee. This had focussed on Assessment methods, the Calculations Policy, what the school was doing to involve parents and what was needed to move the school on further in this area.
5.05.4 / Copies of the school’s Self Evaluation Form had been e mailed to all governors prior to the meeting. The committee had reviewed this form and governors were reminded that Ofsted would want to see this form.
5.05.5. / The monitoring calendar had been reviewed and explained.
5.05.6 / The report from the School Improvement Advisor had been shared with the committee; copies for other governors were available from the chair. Governors congratulated the school on the SIA’s judgement that teaching within the school was good. The Head informed governors that the SIA had agreed with all judgements made by the Headteachers. The SIA had stated that inclusion within school was so good it was difficult to pick out SEN children; the SIA had advised the school to show differentiation clearly during an Ofsted inspection so that the school did not underplay its strengths.
5.05.7 / Attainment and Progress across the whole school had been reviewed. It was noted that progress towards floor targets for pupils in Year Six had been reviewed in particular and governors were pleased to hear that progress was good and it looked likely that the school would make 60% this year.
5.05.8 / The committee had suggested that governors be assigned to a class and follow that year group as they move up the school so that progress could be seen clearer.
6.00 / INFORMAL TRAINING
Governors were put into groups for informal training. Cards were circulated with statements on them and governors had to decide whether the statements were strategic roles or operational roles. Answers were given and governors discussed situations where there may be a blurring of boundaries.
7.00 / HEADTEACHER’S REPORT
7.01 / J Norton presented the Headteacher’s report, copies of which had been circulated to all governors prior to the meeting. Questions were invited and the following points were highlighted for further discussion.
7.02 / Standards, Achievement and Progress
It was noted that data collection showed that in year progress was good with almost all pupils making two points progress at the half way point of the year. The Head highlighted inconsistencies for one cohort and assured governors that this matter had been investigated in the pupil progress meeting; governors were informed that it had been felt that the teacher had been over cautious in levelling these children and governors were assured that the Head teachers were happy with the cohorts progress and that they were actually making expected progress.
7.03 / Pupil Numbers
Five more pupils had entered school since the last report. Figures currently stood at 315 on the roll. It was noted that Nursery would be full after Easter. The school would find out numbers for Reception intake for 2013 after Easter.
7.04 / Attendance
It was noted that a full analysis of attendance had been e mailed with the report which identified all groups and explained all absences. Governors were pleased to hear that figures for this time of year had risen from 89.6% last year to 93.2% this year. The Head informed governors that the school had seen a slight drop since Christmas but it was not unusual for this time of year. Governors were pleased to hear about incentive schemes that were working and that the range of incentives was being extended further.
7.05 / Racial Equality
There were no reported racial incidents this term.
7.06 / Continued Professional Development
7.06.1 / Governors were pleased to hear about the range of training that had been given to the Newly Qualified Teachers. The Head reported that reviews had taken place and all the NQT’s were doing well. It was noted that the NQT’s had now been put on permanent contracts.
7.06.2 / Governors joined the Head in congratulating the PE subject leader in gaining his PE certificate.
7.06.3 / It was noted that SENCO was continuing to do well with training.
7.06.4 / Governors also noted that the Reception teachers had attended an Early Years Foundation Stage network session and that teachers had also attended training on moderating SAT writing papers.
7.07 / School Development Plan
The plan had been e mailed to all governors prior to the meeting. The Head reminded governors that the three year plan had started last year and looked at securing the future for the school. The action plan priorities were discussed; these were Raising Standards, Raising the Quality of Teaching, Pupil Support and Leadership. N Maxfield reported back to governors on his visit to lessons in years three and four as a parent as part of the school’s initiative to get parents involved in learning. Questions were invited on the SDP and governors were requested to e mail any comments or questions to the Head so that the plan could be looked at in more detail by the Teaching and Learning Committee.
8.00 / HEADTEACHER’S REPORT ON PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
8.01 / L Simpson tabled the report on performance management. It was explained that all teachers had two whole school targets and one personal target set each year. Examples of targets were discussed and governors were reminded that individual targets were confidential. Governors were pleased to hear that a rigorous performance management review had been held and all targets for last year had been met. Governors were reminded that from next year teacher’s movement up the payscale would be linked to their performance management. It was reported that L Simpson’s performance management review had been successfully completed towards the end of the Autumn term. Governors were informed that all staff in school were performance managed and were reminded that Ofsted would want to know about support staff’s performance management relating to interventions that were funded through pupil premium money.
8.02 / L Simpson explained the performance management process and who carried out performance management reviews across school. It was noted that interim reviews took place in order to identify any further training that might be needed. In response to a governor’s question the process that would be put in place if it was felt that a teacher was not making progress towards meeting a target was explained.
8.03 / Governors were reminded that NQT’s were not part of the performance management process as they had their own induction process that needed to be completed.
9.00 / ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Governors discussed concerns that had been raised last year regarding the consultation process that had led governors to vote against agreeing for the school to expand at the time. A governor asked if the school wanted to pursue the matter further as it not been discussed since. Governors felt that the matter had not been followed up at the right time but it was suggested that the school could informally notify the council that they would consider expanding in the future if it was needed. It was reported that pupil numbers had not appeared at the anticipated rate but evidence suggested that numbers would increase in the future. The Chair agreed to contact the LA to register an interest in being considered for expansion in the future.
10.00 / GOVERNOR TRAINING UPDATE
10.01 / A McCoy reported that she had attended a three day Child Protection training course.
10.02 / N Maxfield, M Bartholomew and J Rush would be attending RAISE online training provided through Leeds Metropolitan University.
11.00 / CHAIR’S BUSINESS
11.01 / Governors were reminded to complete the Governor Skills Audit and return completed forms. Governors were reminded to consider skills from outside of school and to think laterally about all transferable skills.
11.02 / The Chair informed governors that a New Governor Handbook was being collated; governors were asked to write a short section about themselves.
11.03 / In order to increase governor presence in school governors were assigned a class to link with as follows: -
Nursery 1 – J Jewkes
Nursery 2 – D Picken
Reception – A McCoy
Year 1 – E Hallas
Year 2 – M Voller
Year 3 – L Spirret
Year 4 – J Rush
Year 5 – N Maxfield
Year 6 – M Bartholomew
Governors were reminded to visit their class and to stay for lunch in order to experience school meals first hand.
11.04 / The list of governors with specific responsibilities was reviewed. It was decided to remove the Extended School’s role. J Rush would take over responsibility for Child Protection and M Bartholomew, D Picken and E Hallas would form the Pay Committee.
11.05 / Agenda planners for committees were circulated.
12.00 / DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Wednesday 15 May at 4pm.
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