Easton Local Board meeting
7.2.17
Beaufort Street, Easton, Bristol BS5 0SQ
Tel. 0117 3773070
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Easton Local Board meeting
7.2.17
Headteacher: Mr. Peter Overton
‘Raise Your Flag’
Excellence with Equity - Endeavour with Enjoyment
Minutes of the Local Board Meeting held on
Tuesday 7 February 2017 at 19:00
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Easton Local Board meeting
7.2.17
Present:
Andrew Hogg (Chair)
Jill Yeomans
Marie Bailey
Peter Overton
Toria Moore
In attendance:
John Calvert (DHT)
Jeremy Piper (DBAT SI officer)
Clare Maybury (clerk)
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Easton Local Board meeting
7.2.17
118Apologies
Apologies were received from Celia Morgan Lucy Ducker, Ahmed Sharif,Carole Johnson and Richard Evans. The apologies were condoned.
119Declarations of interest
No interest was declared in any item on the agenda.
ACTION AS to complete pecuniary interest form and return to the clerk
120Minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2016
Corrections and matters arising:
- The date of the meeting should read 6 December 2016.
- Update on action –AH to invite the new SIPto the next LB meeting
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Easton Local Board meeting
7.2.17
Jez Piper was welcomed to the meeting and explained his role as Senior Education Leader for DBAT, responsible for school improvement across the Trust. He had made two visits and was keen to get to know the school well. Members introduced themselves.
Q DBAT is growing. Will there be further additions to the central team? What support will
we as governors receive from you?
Yes, a new SIO post is being re-advertised currently and the team will develop as DBAT
grows. Meantime, consultancy SI services are in place. He will attend as many LB
meetings as he can.
ACTION Clerk to ensure JP is invited to Standards committees
The minutes were agreed and signed by the Chair.
121Constitution
a)Election of a Parent member
There had been no nominations for a parent governor.
ACTIONLB members to promote the parent governor role viaparent reps, and raise the issue again at Parent Forum meetings, including support with form-filling.
b)Ex-Officio member appointment
DBAT had written to the church wardens to request the nomination of a substitute LB member, in the absence of a vicar. This would require anomination by the PCC and application as a Foundation Member, with approval by the Archdeacon, Christine Froude.
ACTION JPto follow up with DBAT the appointment of a substitute ex-officio LB member
122Governance
a)Link members
Members noted that Toria Moore had taken over the Safeguarding link role from RE, and that Children in Care would beincluded in the remit.
b)Local Board engagement with staff, parents, pupils
Update on ACTIONS:LB members to attend parents’ evenings
More and different members needed to attend. Parent reps had completed training, and
werevery engaged.
ACTION LB members to attendParent Forum meetings on the first Friday of each month
from 09:00 to 10:00
ACTION PO toemail a reminder and agenda to LB members before each Parent Forum
c)Training
CM had attended Introductory training for new governors. TM and LD would be attending training for new governors in March. TM would attendSafeguarding training on 13 March.
ACTION TM to contact RE and CM to arrange Prevent training
AH and JY had attended the Strategic Briefing, and members noted likelyfunding reductionsbased onthe new government funding formula. Deprivation would be taken into account, but Easton may be subject to a cutin funding increasing over two years to 2.8%.
The NUT had calculated a potential loss to the school by the end of 2018 of £285k. This did not include inflation or a background of no increases over the last 4 years. There could be a redistribution from urban to rural areas, although DBAT had noted some rural schools would also lose out, as well as from South to North.There were concerns the cuts could also be part of a drive toward Academisation.
ACTION AH to send a link to members to comment on the proposed budget cuts
Q What training can we expect from DBAT?
From 1 April 2017RAISE online will be replaced by a new system of data reporting, as yet unknown, and training will be required. This may be run jointly by DBAT with FFT, and will be open to all governors, but in particular Standards committee members.
123Reports of Committees
a)Standards Committee meeting of 26.1.16
Members noted the minutes, in particular the updated School Data Pack. This now
included assessments results from T2 compared with current and projected attainment. It
was clearthere were two underperforming groups – Pakistani students and girls in Maths.
QDoes this reflect patterns at other schools? Is there a correlation with attendance?How
urgent is this, and does it need to be tackled this year?
It does reflect what is seen at other schools. It is worth considering a possible link with
attendance (Pakistani students have levels 5% below others)and with levels of engagement. Currently numbers are small so this is not the major issue. Itshould, however, be monitored and is the focus of the next Learning Walk on 8 March.
Attainment levels were still low but progress was ‘satisfactory’to ‘good’ from Reception to the end of KS2. There was a high number of new arrivals, and data would need to separate these pupils out to show their impact on results. Targets were continually re-adjusted based on realistic expectations of the different cohorts.
Members agreed thatthe summary of findings in the report was helpful. Disadvantaged pupils could be seen to do very well compared with non-disadvantaged, which contrasted withother schools’ experience. Against the national trend, however, girls did less well than boys. It was noted that both staff and parents agreed that culture was a factor, with boys dominating the classroom. Teaching strategies were in place to redress the balance and ensure girls are given every chance to participate equally withboys.
Q What targeted interventions are in place for struggling pupils, especially in Maths?
There are a number, and we are currently testing extra school-based tutoring, with
parental contributions, for a group of Pakistani students. This will be topped up with
Pupil Premium funding if need be.
ACTIONLB members to consider the effectiveness of strategies to ensure girls’
participation at the next Learning Walk, as well investigating other underperforming groups
Q Is ‘disadvantaged’ the same as FSM?
Yes, this is the termnow used. All families at Easton are disadvantaged, but only some
are in the benefits system.
Q Although the number of students ‘deepening’ in all three areas across the school
appears to be very small, what is being done to enable them to be stretched?
The number is small compared to last year and to national figures. These are students who have been taken from low to high achieving, rather than staying high. Resources have been moved from higher Maths groups to a breakfast club targeting girls’ Maths in Y6. Although each child is important, the cohort is very small and other issues have taken prominence this year.
b)Resources Committee meeting of 18.1.17
Members noted the minutes, in particular:
- The plan for premises and capital works, currently prioritising fire regulations actions and the Y1 playground. Members noted that a bid to the lottery for £10k toward the playground works had been successful, and this was welcomed. There had been problems with the boiler, and £2k had been authorized for a new filtering system.
- A new School Business Manager, Florence Weston, had been appointed fromthe beginning of next term, with mentoring from HG, the temporary SBM. This was welcomed by members.
Q What are the details of the member of staff leaving before the end of the year?
This is a teacher going on maternity leave
- Pupil numbers
Q Is there anyevidence that the greater numberjoining us will impact our finances?
There will be an increase in funding but there will be delay of some months,followingthe January census. More are joining us each year, including from abroad.
Q Do we know yet about next year’s Reception applications? What is our capacity?
Application forms go to parents next month, and numbers are not known until June. Most of those currently in nursery are likely to apply for a place.There are 90 places available in Reception. The school’s capacity for next year is about 630, with 3 classes in Y4, Y5, Y6 and, hopefully, in Reception.
ACTION POto check how many indicative offers for places have been made to date
- The cleaning contract was not yet in place, but the Premises Manager was struggling to find agency staff,as authorised by committee. This would be a priority for the new SBM.
ACTION JPto look into the possibility of sharing a cleaning contract with other DBAT
Schools,to enable savings.
c)HT Performance Review
Members noted that the review had taken place on31 Jan. Performance objectives had been agreed, linked to the AIP. The review would be done by DBAT from next year.
124Headteacher’s report
Members noted the reportand asked a series of questions:
- Teaching and learning
Q Are interventions like the homework club set up for the whole year group, or per class?
They are for the year group, with differentiation within each class as needed
Q Does the ‘Brilliant Bristolians’ project include current people, and do you have contacts?
Local people will be involved,including pupils’ parents,and the mayor will be visiting concerning the nurture group and his interest in mental health issues.
- Behaviour and safety
Q Could the school council’speer behaviourinspections be used on transitions as well as
in the classroom? What plans are there for calming lunchtimes, including staff training?
Behaviour does improve when there is a child with a clipboard, but we would rather re-set expectations than use the inspections every day. Lunchtime staff have been re-organised and two new appointments made. Training is in place, although there are some language issues. This is an ongoing area of challenge but progress is being made, with improvements in working habits and practices.
- Staffing – a verbal update to the published record was given. A long-tem sickness absence would be resolved shortly.
- Premises
Q Should the Family Centre be involved in lockdown procedure practices?
This has been discussed with the SBM, and all telephones should now be included on the list
- Staff emotional wellbeing
PO had discussed this with DBAT and was working with the TUs to see what work had been done on the issue. There would be a re-focus in staff meetings on behaviour.
Q Is supervision taking place for struggling teachers? What is the potential impact on staff and pupils of not looking after staff well-being? What action was taken after a previous DBAT survey?
External supervision is available, butis crisis management, so earlier means of intervention are needed. A number of strategies are being developed, including rest periods and teachers able to finish work on a Friday with a proper rest at weekends. The previous survey was too early, prior to the settling of a committed staff team, and there was no follow-up. Having a staff wellbeing plan in place would also be an effective recruitment tool.
ACTION TM, LD, PO, JP to constitute a Staff Well-being working group. To meet early next term, agree terms of reference, identify any resources needed and report with a plan to the LB by T5
The HT was thanked for his report.
125Vision and Values
Q Noting the report received earlier in the year, can we show how vision and values are
demonstrated in particular activities?
They are revisited throughout the year and are reflected in the Behaviour policy. Children understand the “4 E’s” in the statement; certificates are presented for demonstrating them, and they are clear in the curriculum and implicit in all activities and teaching. Our key challenges are all built into those 4 words.A session on “flag-raising”, for example, brought up some interesting issues. LB members welcomed the permeation of the values into all areas of school life.
126Safeguarding
a)Arrangements for training
ACTION TMto contact and arrange Preventtraining for CM and RE
b)Auditsby the LA and DBATwere in hand, with progress reported to committee
Q Is the DBAT audit a repeat of the LA one?
The DBAT audit was required in order to trigger the QA visit. The LA visit informs the SEN action plan. Two audits will not be needed in future.
ACTION TM to attend the QA visit
c)Keeping Safe in Education
LB members signed to say they had read the DfE document, and raised a number of questions:
Q How, and how well, are peer on peer bullying and abuse monitored? is there awareness it
may take place in languages not understood by staff?
It is part of the Bullying policy, and staff are aware of the need to look further into incidents
Q How doessuch statutory guidance relate to the Academy framework? Is reporting still
done to the LA or to DBAT? Is the Code of Conduct DBAT’s or a local one?
DBAT’s reporting protocol was raised at the Heads’ meeting. It has now been adopted
and there is joint responsibility withthe LA,although there remains some duplication.
ACTION JPto ensure the school has a copy of the DBAT Safeguarding reporting protocols
ACTION PO to send a copy of the Staff Code of Conduct to TM, and to add it to the website
Q Noting thatpupils are not allowed hand held devices, does the same apply to staff?
There is a policy of no use of personal devices in class, although the Resources committee have approved mobiles for the SLT.
Members noted that the Safeguarding lead was technically PO, although one of 3 deputies was always on site.
127Policies
ACTION PO to circulate further updates made by DBAT to the Attendance policy.
ACTION PO to check online policy versions are up to date, and that those due for renewal
are being addressed. This includes the policy on British values.
128SIP visits
QCould governors attend the 3 core SIP visits as in maintained schools?
This is not in the current framework, and may be addressed by the Learning Walks.
ACTION JP to askabout the possibility of LB members attending part or all of the SIP visit.
129Meeting dates
Local Board meeting (T4):28 March2017 at 19:00
(Apologies received from AHand MB who both have other commitments)
Resources committee: 22 February at 13:15
Standards committee: 4 May 2017 at 09:30 (please note cancellation 17 March meeting) (ACTION AH to contact members to check suitability of date)
Learning Walks (Wednesdays 0830-11:00):
- 8 March: Attainment of underachieving groups
- 26 April: EAL Pupils (English as an Additional Language)
- 14 June: EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage)
The meeting closed at 21:00
Signed (Chair) ……………………………………….Date ………..
______
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Easton Local Board meeting
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Reports received in advance:
- HT report
- School Data report
- Keeping Children Safe in Education (DfE)
- Behaviour report 2017 01
Reports received at the meeting:
- Vision and Values
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Easton Local Board meeting
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Glossary
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AIP Academy Improvement Plan
DBATDiocese of Bristol Academies Trust
FSMfree school meals
HTHeadteacher
KS1Key Stage 1
LAlocal authority
LBLocal Board
PCCParochial Church Council
PPPupil Premium
QLB member’s question
QAquality assurance
SBMSchool Business Manager
SIOschool improvement officer
TUtrade union
T2term 2
Y2year 2
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