Governor Report for Website
HEART OF THE FOREST COMMUNITY SPECIAL SCHOOL
Governors’ report 2014/15
In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing bodies, the 3 core strategic functions of the Heart of the Forest Community Special School are:
1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
2. Holding the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school
and pupils;
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure it’s money is well spent
Governance Arrangements
The Governing Body of the Heart of the Forest Community Special School was re-constituted in September 2013 and now consists of:
· The Head Teacher
· 1 elected Teacher Governor
· 2 elected Parent Governors
· 1 Local Authority Governor
· 7 Co-opted Governors, who have been appointed because, in the opinion of the Governing Body they have the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school: our Governing Body took the decision to appoint as co-opted Governors one elected non teaching staff member and one retired member of staff. The remaining Co-opted governors are members of the local community, including the manager of a voluntary support body for children with disabilities which has close connections with the school, a parish councillor, and two business people, one of whom has financial expertise. All members of the Governing Body are relatives of children or people with disabilities, or have worked with them.
Full Governor meetings are held once every three months, and four committees consider different aspects of the school in detail. They meet twice a year, and are:
· Learning and Teaching
· Personnel and Community
· Premises and Health and Safety
· Finance
We also have committees which deal with staff matters as required.
Governors have good attendance at meetings and we have never cancelled a meeting because it was not “quorate” (the number of governors needed to ensure that legal decisions can be made).
There is good collaboration with the other Special Schools in Gloucestershire. Governor links and examples of good practice are facilitated through a meeting which is held 3 times a year with Head Teachers and Governors of special schools.
Achievements
Governors are very pleased to report good pupil progress this year, throughout the school. The School Improvement Plan is being written with the new OFSTED headings in mind, and we continue to target our work towards an Outstanding OFSTED assessment. Co-operation and visits with other schools, both Special and Mainstream continue with good effect. Of particular note is the Challenge and Support Group where the school co-operates at all levels with other Special Schools in the county.
Visits undertaken by the FE department were targeted to the themes being studied by them, and include visits to a mosque and a synagogue.
The Governors are very pleased to report that a Family Liaison Officer has been appointed with a view to assisting families of our students and taking some of the burden from the teaching staff, enabling them to concentrate on teaching and learning.
We continue to build on projects started last year:-
· Two governors have been appointed to audit the school website, and continue to perform this duty.
· The plans for the inclusive sports facility have been submitted for Planning approval, after a lot of hard work securing grants.
· The cycle track has been used extensively and proved a valuable tool in furthering the experiences of our students.
· The External Moderator visited and gave us a very useful report. We hope to hold a further session with her in future.
· It has just been agreed that a dedicated school nurse can be employed by the school.
· Governors continue to visit the school to hear students read, take part in maths lessons, watch and help at sports matches, and help organise and attend shows, concerts, parties and fetes.
Future Plans
After a lot of changes over the last two or three years the Governors need to allow time for the new regimes to bed down. The Business Manager has integrated well into the school, and other employees at school are learning how to use her to the best advantage of the school.
The Department Heads are growing into their roles and gaining experience in new tasks.
The Family Liaison Officer needs time to develop her new role.
Technology has proved very useful for learning in this school, and we plan to embed it further in the teaching at the school.
The school is working on increasing opportunities for Work Experience for our FE students. We will build on our community contacts to help improve their opportunities.
We look forward to appointing our first dedicated school nurse. This will allow our staff to concentrate on their core task of teaching.
We also look forward to building our inclusive sports facility. We hope to use this to enrich our connections with the local community as well as with other organisations for people with disabilities.
The Governors will embed self evaluation into their role at the school.
Governors always welcome suggestions, ideas and feedback from parents and carers. Please contact the Chair of Governors, Sue Henchley through the front office. More about the Governors including a full list can be found on the school website.