Full Governing Body – 20th February 2017
Charlton Kings Junior SchoolFull Governing BodyMeeting Minutes
Monday 20th February 2017 at 6.40pm /
Present / Also present
Caroline Parker (chair) / CP / Kate Shepherd (Clerk) / KS
Lee Pajak / LP
Ruth Partridge / RP / Absent
Peter Williams / PW / Russell Grimshaw / RG
Sue Selwood / SS
Rachel Capuccini / RC
Corry Ravenscroft / CR
Ian Davidson / ID
Tracy Smyth / TS
Sheena Habben / SH
Alasdair Mundy / AM
Lisa Plumpton / LPl
Lesley Crompton / LC
1 / Apologies and welcome / Action
There were no apologies received for this meeting.
Governors noted that apologies had not been received from RG – noted as absent from the meeting.
Promoting Outstanding Governance
2 / Election of Vice Chair / Action
PW indicated that he would be happy to consider the role of Vice Chair. There were no other nominations for the role and PW was duly elected as Vice Chair of the governing body.
3 / Appointment of new governors / Action
New governor appointments had been made at the previous AGM meeting.
4 / Register of pecuniary interests / conflict of interests / Action
Staff governors noted an interest in agenda item 9.
5 / Minutes of the previous meeting to be approved – 13th December 2016 / Action
The minutes were agreed by all governors present as a true and accurate representation of the meeting.
CP signed a copy of the minutes for the file.
6 / Matters carried forward which are not covered elsewhere / Action
Governor training to be discussed at 1:1 sessions – CP indicated that there were some 1:1 sessions still to be arranged. All governors still to have a session with CP were encouraged to send her their availability. CP indicated that Governor Engagement Forms would be discussed with the new governors at their 1:1 sessions.
Report back on Glynrosa Road – RG was not present at the meeting so this item was deferred.
Engagement forms for last year – CP indicated that these would be sent out to governors for completion.
Appeals Process – ID indicated that this had been discussed at length during the last Operations committee meeting and was in relation to an appeals panel allowing an appeal to be accepted just a few weeks after a rejection purely because the two panel meetings had been in different academic years. ID explained that there seems to be some discontinuity and he would be expressing concerns about this and suggesting that an appeal cannot be re-submitted within a calendar year timescale. Governors noted that there are a large number of appeals for the school and thanked ID for his time in managing this.
Risk Register - PW indicated that the Risk Register is finalised and believes that the school are currently in a good place with regards managing risks. PW suggested that the register continue to be reviewed in committee meetings.
Cyber Threats – CR indicated that she had done some further investigation into this and had been advised that the school appear to be doing well in this area. It had been suggested that a robust Disaster Recovery Plan be in place along with some more regular back-ups. CR indicated that schools are quite low threat targets and if it is going to happen, then there is nothing to stop it. PW indicated that Sue Jackson seems to be on top of security issues – there are additional layers of security on the new school server and measures are in place to minimise the risk. / All / CP
All / CP
7 / Matters Arising / Action
Governors noted that there were no matters arising from the minutes.
8 / Chair’s Business / Action
Governance Handbook
CP suggested that the handbook be divided up between governors giving them the responsibility to review sections of this and feed back their findings. CP indicated that all governors would be required to read the following sections –
- 1 – Effective Governance
- 2 – Strategic Leadership
- 7 – Evaluation
Competency Framework
CP stated that the new Competency Framework indicates skills/knowledge which all governors need and also some specific to the chair. CP indicated that all governors should read and familiarise themselves with this document.
Strong Governance – a Practical Guide
CP indicated that there were some important parts of a governor’s role included in this document. All governors were encouraged to look through this document – if governors have a responsibility for areas included in the document then they should ensure that these areas are being covered adequately by the governing body.
National Funding Formula
Some documents had been circulated prior to the meeting indicating how the proposed NFF would affect the school. Governors noted that the school would be one of the hardest hit in the area if the formula was introduced.
GQ – are there particular things in the formula which mean we are hit hard?
LP indicated that, although the school would benefit from a larger lump sum, there appears to be more funding allocated to deprivation, EAL (English as an Additional Language) and high mobility – the school does not have large numbers of children falling into these categories.
Governors noted that, although the current financial situation for the school was positive, the school would need to be mindful of the potential issues the new NFF may cause. SS indicated that schools and governors were being encouraged to write to MP’s expressing their concerns on this. LP indicated that he has drafted a letter which could be sent from the governing body. There were some concerns raised over the school making a public issue of the NFF with the amount of funding which the school currently has in reserve – governors noted that the reserve funds were to be allocated to a new build and that this was important for the school to develop. However, if all the reserve funding was allocated to the new build then the school would be without any contingency to fall back on should finances become tighter.
GQ – can any of our reserves be clawed back?
LP/SS stated that this has not been the case in the past.
Governors were informed that the school budget could be reduced by 1.5% over the next couple of years with the NFF – this would be capped at 3%. LP indicated that some schools in other parts of the country are receiving £6k per pupil and we are receiving less than £3k per pupil. The school could be set to lose £50k from their budget.
It was suggested that the school could write to the parents outlining the issues which the school face and suggesting that they write to MP’s to raise these concerns. Governors noted that the parents may start to see some changes in staffing at the school as a result of financial pressures.
GQ – does the infant school have the same issue? Could we work out a co-ordinated approach to the parents and community with them and Balcarras?
LP indicated that the Infant school are likely to lose 0.3% of their budget – there would not be the same concerns for them. Balcarras would be in a similar situation as the junior school with a substantial loss in funding.
It was agreed that LP share the letter with the governing body and then this could be sent to the parents with the suggestion that they write to MP’s. It was suggested that if the school were to give the parents something specific to do (eg: sign a petition) then there may be more response. It was also suggested whether something could be done at a parents evening to make them more aware of the issues. / All
CP
CP
All
LP
9 / Committee meetings – comments / questions from the minutes / Action
Curriculum & Learning committee – 10th October 2016
CP informed governors that Jamie Pembroke had provided a session for the committee on the Inspection Dashboard. CP indicated that the dashboard gives a clear indication of the strengths and areas for development for the school. CP stated that the circles on the various charts ideally should be above the average line – where they are not above the line then these should be focus areas for the school and the SDP and Governance should be focused on improvements in these areas.
CP stated that RAISEonline will be replaced next year. It was suggested that any future data training should be carried out as a whole governing body as this is vital information for all to be aware of.
CP indicated that the key issues from the dashboard were progress data and disadvantaged children. LP indicated that evidencing progress can be hard given the high attainment records which are inherited from the infant school. LP indicated that some issues with writing have already been addressed in the school. LP also indicated that there were some issues with disadvantaged children working at greater depth where they had previously gained level 3 at Key Stage 1.
Operations committee – 13th October 2016
RP was asked to leave the meeting.
See confidential minutes.
RP re-joined the meeting.
Promoting Outstanding Teaching and Learning
10 / Head teacher report / Action
The Head teacher report and updated SDP document had been circulated to all governors prior to the meeting and copies of these documents are stored with the minutes for information. Governors were invited to ask questions on the content of the documents.
GQ – with regards priority 3 – what does “over time” mean?
LP/SS indicated that this is a phrase commonly used by Ofsted. Teaching over time implies that the judgement is not purely based on one observation. SS suggested that the quality of teaching is based on a triangulation of a number of things – observations, planning, book looks etc.
GQ – did you introduce anything new for Year 6 children following the visit to Field Court Junior school?
LP indicated that the children had written a short thriller story in response to the visit. The piece of writing had been carried out in the dark with sound effects to make a more exciting environment for the children. LP indicated that there had previously been more of a focus on the genre than was required by the new curriculum. This initiative had seen more excitement and engagement from the children with improved results. LP indicated that staff are currently reviewing planning to encourage engaging experiences for the children to enhance their writing.
Governors agreed that it would be useful to carry out a literacy learning walk to see these new initiatives.
GQ – why is it difficult to evidence the learning?
LP/SS informed governors that, previously, evidence was a “best-fit” with the learning objectives. In order for children to achieve ARE (Age Related Expectations) now they need to meet all objectives. Therefore, a child who misses one aspect of the Interim Assessment Framework, such as spelling for example, could remain at a lower than expected level despite significant improvements in other areas of their writing. LP explained how the school had developed a system of monitoring against the IAF to provide evidence of progress in such a circumstance and how this can be presented alongside books for external moderation purposes. LP also explained he is part of the LA moderation team again in the coming year.
LP informed governors that SS had achieved 25 years service at the school – governors congratulated her on this achievement.
CP suggested that it would be useful to have reference to governors in the SDP document. It was suggested that governors should have oversight of priorities 2 and 6. LP suggested that he include a separate governance priority in the SDP – this would focus on the Governance Handbook, Competency Framework and individual governor engagement forms. / LW to be arranged
LP
11 / School Development Plan – update / Action
This had been covered under agenda item 10.
12 / Multi-Academy Trust discussions / Action
LP informed governors that Rebecca Clarke (Regional Schools Commissioner) had attended the recent Shaping the Future conference.
LP indicated that the formation of MAT’s appeared to be still on the education agenda but it was not clear what this system would look like. LP indicated that a CEO of the MAT would need to be identified but there would be issues around who would be willing and able to do this if a group of local schools came together to form a MAT.
LP stated that the suggested size for a MAT currently was a minimum of 1200 pupils. LP stated that the timescales for conversion seem to have been removed. LP indicated that he cannot currently see the benefits of forming/joining a MAT for the school or for the children. LP suggested that there doesn’t appear to be any contingency if a MAT fails.
GQ – will there be a push for MAT’s to help failing schools?
LP indicated that working to help other schools is already a responsibility of academies.
Compliance
13 / Health and Safety / Action
PW informed governors that an external Health & Safety audit had been carried out by GCC – he indicated that the report from this audit was positive and he gave thanks to Sue Jackson and Steve Lyford for their input during the audit.
PW indicated that the Health & Safety policy had been reviewed and concluded that this was fit for purpose.
PW indicated that some further developments were required with regards to the school’s Emergency Response Plan. Whilst not the responsibility of the school beyond the school gates, there was also some recommended developments with regards Road Safety.
PW stated that the audit report and his governor report from this visit would be circulated to all governors in due course.
Governors thanked PW and all involved with the audit. / PW
14 / Risk Register / Action
Governors noted that this had previously been covered under agenda item 6.
15 / Child Protection / Safeguarding / Action
A safeguarding report from CP had been circulated prior to the meeting and a copy of this is stored with the minutes for information.
CP indicated that some of the actions detailed in the report had been carried out. CP stated that the SCR (Single Central Record) should be checked by the Safeguarding governor at least 3 times per year.
CP explained that this was a useful report to do – much of the content related to the day to day safeguarding processes.
It was suggested that parents could be asked how safe they feel the school is when the parental survey is next circulated.
16 / Complaints / Action
There were no complaints to note.
17 / Policy Review / Action
There were no policies to review at this time.
18 / AOB / Action
RP left the meeting.
See confidential minutes.
The date of the next FGB meeting is Tuesday 6th June 2017 at 6.30pm.
The meeting closed at 8.20pm.
Relevant papers attached:
- NFF documents
- Head teacher report
- SDP update document
- Child Protection report
Date:
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