GOVERNORS ANNUAL STATEMENT OF IMPACT 2016/2017
The three main functions of Governors are:
• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff.
• Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent.
The Governors at Mount Tamar strive to give pupils the means to succeed and do their best. We are committed to the school ethos of “Aspire, Adventure, Achieve” and inspiring our young people to become successful, adaptable, and passionate learners with high, achievable expectations for their futures. We are unpaid volunteers who have come together to make a difference for the young people at Mount Tamar. Our Board of Governors have a wide range of skills, experience and knowledge which enable us to take a strategic role in holding the schools’ senior management to account for the delivery of education, the results achieved and its financial management.
The Governing Body meets six times per year, and Governors visit the school regularly to support the school in its drive for continuous improvement and to monitor progress of the School Development Plan.
The school was inspected by Ofsted in July 2017.
Ofsted said
“Governors provide very strong support and challenge to leaders. Governors are strongly committed and determined to provide the very best education for the pupils of Mount Tamar. Their outstanding governance has been key to improving the school. They work closely with the Headteacher and leaders to drive improvement.”… “Leaders and governors ensure that disadvantaged pupils and those who are looked after achieve in line with their peers and, on occasion, outperform other pupils. They focus relentlessly on improving the quality of teaching and learning for each pupil.” ...“Leaders and governors ensure that disadvantaged pupils and those who are looked after achieve in line with their peers and, on occasion, outperform other pupils. They focus relentlessly on improving the quality of teaching and learning for each pupil.”…Governors ask pertinent and challenging questions to check for themselves that the school’s actions are making a difference to pupils’ learning and outcomes. They know where teaching is strong and where further development is required. They check robustly that pay awards are merited and oversee the management of teachers’ performance. They ask insightful questions to satisfy themselves that teachers receive the support they need to continue to improve.
Governors supported the school through a restructure of its senior leaders, which Ofsted say are “a strong staff team who have instilled a culture in which pupils are expected to achieve.”
Besides Governors meeting regularly with subject specialists, senior staff report regularly to the Full Governing Body on progress in core subjects. Governors regularly monitor the analysis of our vulnerable groups of pupils to ensure they are not disadvantaged. From this analysis we know that our Looked After Children (LAC), our Free School Meals (FSM) pupils, our ASC pupils and our SEMH pupils all make progress in line with or better than other pupils in all core areas. Governors receive regular feedback on the expenditure of Pupil Premium and P.E. and Sports Premiums.
A small group of Governors are responsible for dealing with staff remuneration and performance issues and for the Headteacher’s performance management. A robust performance management process is cascaded down to all staff, with regular monitoring, observation and training. This process has led to substantial progress over the year.Staff attend hub meetings to ensure they are up to date with current research and practice and to network with teachers in other local schools. Governors are assigned individual areas of responsibility, e.g. Mathematics, English, Safeguarding and meet regularly with the appropriate senior managers to ensure progress is maintained, measured against realistic targets.
Impact
• Improved behaviour has led to a marked reduction in restraints and exclusions.
• Increase in percentage of pupils achieving their end of year targets and wider range of accreditation.
• The Risk and Resilience Matrix was ratified by Governors. This has been instrumental in providing data to ensure realistic targets are set for pupils, to identify barriers to learning and to intervene appropriately to ensure each pupil reaches their potential.
• Significant increase in the number of accreditations gained by our Year 11 pupils
•There has been a substantial increase in achievement in core subjects, includingmaking good or better progressin Maths and English.
•Overall, across the school, more pupils are working at Age Related Expectations than last year, with some pupils working beyond ARE. • Interventions such as Read Write Inc continue to prove effective in Primary with all pupils closing the gap to ARE across the year in reading and spelling.
• Pupils are more involved in regular discussions about their progress, and areas of strength and areas for development through the use of Pupil Progress Review meetings.
• Pupils know their targets and how they are progressing towards them through graphs in the front of their books.
• Pupils understand more clearly how their books are marked and have clear guidance in their books.
• Classroom displays celebrate positive learning experiences and allow pupils to see at a glance how they have improved.
Ofsted said
Governors check on the impact of additional funding. They have supported leaders’ work to set up the ‘Aspire’ centres to ensure that pupils with the most complex needs remain in education.
•The Hostel has been extensively refurbished and reopened as Drakes View Residential. This building also houses the new Drake’s Coffee Shop and conference room completed at Easter 2017 as part of our vision to improve the experience for parents/carers and visitors to the school.
Governors have been instrumental in securing additional funding from donations and supported successful Lottery bids which have provided much appreciated equipment, including
• Substantial improvement to the Car Park, making it safer for all users and more efficient.
• £60,000 for playground climbing equipment and outdoor forest classroom.
• £10,000 for the holiday club “independent skills development” programme.
• £19,000 from the North Yard Trust for new technology in the classroom.
• £3,000 funded through the local Member of Parliament for Residentials.
• £1,000 funded through Local Councillors for outdoor seating and calming area.
• £750,000 from Plymouth City Council to fund Residential facilities.
• £500,000 to develop KS4 Vocational Learning Transition Centre.
• £5,000 from the Lady Taverners for a trampoline.
Ofsted said
“The work of the governing body has contributed strongly to the school’s improvement. The capacity for ongoing improvement is strong.”
Governors contribute to the School Development Plan, and the Headteacher reports regularly to the Governing Body on its progress. It is a dynamic document, and Governors contribute to its revision. The full development plan is used by all staff to ensure the school moves forward towards outstanding. Governors are involved in the recruitment and selection process to ensure the appointment of high quality staff who share the aims and ethos of the school. The governor with responsibility for safeguarding, checks that the school’s systems are being implemented effectively. This includes checking the accuracy of information recorded on the school’s single central record. Governors appreciate that parents and carers need to be satisfied about the overall leadership and management of the school, and how it affects safety, learning and enjoyment of the children. Governors review all relevant polices on a programmed basisto ensure to ensure that all guidance is current and up to date. The school complies with the Department of Education mandatory policy list andthe Local Authority recommended list.
Partnership working:
• ‘Plymouth Contractors’ Training Group have now officially adopted the schooland this will mean that many local companies will be supporting us by providing work experience, careers talks and educational site visits for all our pupils.
• The school is working in cooperation with four other similar Plymouth schools to form the Quay Partnership which will provide challenge and sharing of best practice, as well as offering SEND support to Plymouth mainstream schools, and an opportunity for joint training of Governors.
• We have opened a new Aspire Centre at Beacon Park in cooperation with Marine Academy Plymouth, with whom we share the site.
• We work with Blue Screen to create the blue print for work-related learning in Plymouth.
• We have developed increased links with City College and other post 16 providers to support transitions.
Key priorities
•To achieve an Outstanding Ofsted rating.
• To develop further our Key Stage 4 offer.
•To rationalise our “Aspire” sites and secure suitable off- site premises for those students who do not cope well with the larger school environment.
•To workin partnership withother schools and organizations to provide the best possible education for our young people.
The Governors at Mount Tamar are very proud of the achievements of the school and are focussedon continuing to work with senior leaders and staff to make the school outstanding.