Agenda Handbook

Autumn 2017

For Action
Code of Conduct
For Information
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools (August 2017)
Overview of School Performance Data for Gateshead
Termly School Forum Report

GOVERNOR SUPPORT SERVICE TEAM

HOW TO CONTACT US

Office / Email
Joanne Nicholson / Governor Support Officer / 433 8617 /
Leone Buchanan / Governor Support Officer / 433 8534 /
Debbie Todd / Governor Support Officer / 433 8627 /
Joanna McCoy / Governor Support Clerk / 433 8629 /
Sharon Potts / Governor Support Clerk / 433 8624 /
Carole Todhunter / Governor Support Clerk / 433 8625 /
Stacey Unsworth / Administrative Apprentice / 433 8628 /
Code of Conduct 2017/18
For Action
Maintained Schools and Academies / Autumn 2017

RELEVANT TO – All governing boards.

CONTEXT – To provide governors with an updated model Code of Conduct to be considered and approved by the Governing Board.

The National Governance Association has for a number of years recommended that governing boards adopta code of conduct which sets out the purpose of the governing body and describes the appropriate relationship between individual governors/trustees/academy committee members, the whole governing board and the executive leaders. We recommend that the code should be thoroughly discussed so that the whole governing board has ownership of it, and, once it has been adopted, the governors/trustees/academy committee members should be asked to review and agree it, on an annual basis ideally at the first meeting in the autumn term.

The NGA model has been updated for the 2017/18 academic year and governing boards should remember to tailor it to reflect your specific governing board and school structure. Unlike previous versions the NGA have not produced separate codes for academies and maintained schools, but instead focused on one code that can be used and easily tailored in any school governance setting to be adopted by all. The NGA model code of conduct is anchored in the Seven Nolan Principles of Public Life.

WHAT DOES THE GOVERNING BODY HAVE TO DO?

●Governors should discuss and review the model code of conduct and tailor this to the needs of the school.

●The Code of Conduct should be reviewed annually and provided to governors in advance of applying.

For further information please contact your Governor Support Clerk
The Governance Constitution Regulations - August 2017 Update
For Information
Maintained Schools Only / Autumn 2017

RELEVANT TO – All governing bodies.

CONTEXT – To provide governors with information regarding the disqualification and removal of elected Parent and Staff governors and further governor information to be provided on Edubase.

In March 2017, regulations were put in place to enable maintained school governing bodies to remove elected parent and staff governors from 1 September 2017. The power will operate in the same way as the removal of Co-opted governors, by way of a majority decision of the governing body.

Any person removed as an elected governor from the governing body during their term of office will be disqualified from serving or continuing to serve as a school governor for five years from the date of their removal – not just at the school they have been removed from, but any school. This doesn’t apply to other categories of governors who have been removed, so it is not clear to NGA why it will apply to parent and staff governors.

It is vital that schools have a fair and clear process for any removals. This is to ensure that at least some safeguards exist to protect against governing bodies simply trying to remove the awkward squad – governors who may in fact be providing the most effective challenge.

That process needs to include the opportunity for the governor in question to hear the complaint against them at the earliest opportunity, as well as the option of appeal, which should “build on the school’s complaints procedure”, allowing the governor in question to request an independent panel to hear their case.

It must be stressed that governing bodies will only be expected to exercise this power in “exceptional circumstances … not be used simply to remove dissenting voices”. Any issues with a governor’s suitability for office should be dealt with through the recruitment process, which in NGA’s view should include both application and interview (see NGA’s guidance The Right People Around the Table). Very clear disqualification rules are already in place for governing boards; this is not an opportunity to remove people who are offering appropriate but 'difficult to hear' challenge - there is a risk that this change could allow cliques to develop, with people removed for the wrong reason.

Your code of conduct will play an important role in ensuring that individuals are aware of expectations from the outset. It should set out the grounds for basing decisions to remove individuals who fall seriously short of expectations, regardless of whether they have been elected or appointed. It becomes even more imperative for governing bodies to adopt a code that sets out clear expectations for behaviour and conduct in and out of meetings, detailing circumstances in which the governing body may suspend or remove a governor.

The chair should be managing and talking to governors, as well as reviewing their contributions, including the conduct of individual board members. A regular governor contribution review, or annual appraisal, with either the chair or vice chair, should help avoid such situations. Where an individual does not behave in a collegiate fashion, the governing body may have to consider more formal action. This is why it is important to have a clear framework and process in place. Training for chairs and clerks is pivotal.

The main points of the August 2017 updated Constitution Regulations Statutory Guidance:

●Governing bodies should be no bigger than necessary to secure the range of skills they need. Smaller governing bodies are likely to be more cohesive and dynamic.

●A key consideration in the appointment and election of all new governors should be the skills and experience the governing body needs to be effective. The skills they need are a matter for governing bodies to decide having regard to the Department’s Competency Framework for Governance.

●Governing bodies should use a skills audit to identify any specific gaps that need to be filled in the skills, knowledge and experience of existing governors.

●Before being nominated for election or appointment, governing bodies should help all prospective governors to understand the role of a governor and the governing bodies’ code of conduct.

●Regulations specify that anyone appointing governors to the governing body must only appoint someone they believe has the skills to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school. Their decisions should be informed by interviews and references and made in light of the skills that governing bodies identify that they need.

●So as to ensure that governors continue to have the necessary skills to contribute to the effective governance and success of the schools, governing bodies should enable their governors to receive any appropriate training and development needed to address any skills gaps; and where appropriate liaise with local authorities in doing so.

● Governing bodies and local authorities should take steps to inform governor elections so that the electorate understands the extent to which nominated candidates possess the skills the governing body ideally requires.

●Foundation governors have a particular purpose to safeguard the character of the school and ensure it is conducted in accordance with any founding documents, but otherwise the governing body must operate, collectively, in the best interest of pupils, not as a collection of individuals lobbying for the interests of the constituency from which they were elected or appointed.

●Meaningful and effective engagement with parents, staff and the wider community is vital. It is not the role of governing bodies to provide this through their membership. They need to assure themselves that specific arrangements are in place to understand their views and listen to their feedback.

●Governing bodies should review their effectiveness regularly, including the extent to which their size and structure is fit for purpose and their members have the necessary skills.

●Governing bodies that govern more than one school through a federation can have a more strategic perspective and create more robust accountability through the ability to compare and contrast across schools.

●Governing bodies should publish on their websites information about their governors, including relevant business and pecuniary interests.

●Further to section 538 of the Education Act 1996, governing bodies must provide certain information it holds to the Secretary of State for Education about their governors and governance arrangements through EduBase.

WHAT DOES THE GOVERNING BODY HAVE TO DO?

●Ensure the Governing Body have an effective recruitment process which clearly defines the expectations associated with the governor role.

●Ensure that all governors have reviewed and approved the Code of Conduct annually or when they join the governing body and have discussed the expectation prior to appointment.

●Ensure the school have provided the required information to the Secretary of State regarding governors.

For further information please contact your Governor Support Clerk
Overview Of School Performance Data for Gateshead
(Please note: 2017 results are provisional)
For Information / Autumn 2017

Early Years Foundation Stage

Key Stage 1 Trends

Levels no longer exist for either KS1 or KS2. Instead, the percentage of children reaching ‘the expected standard’ or working ‘at greater depth within the standard’ is reported. 2016 and 2017 figures are comparable with each other but not with those of previous years.

Key Stage 2 Trends

As with KS1, 2016 and 2017 data are comparable with each other but not with previous years’. In 2016 Gateshead ranked 14th out of 152 LAs in the percentage of children who attained the Expected Standard or above in the combined Reading Writing and Maths measure. In 2017 this outcome is provisionally ranked 15th.

Key Stage 4 Trends

Please note that performance measures changed in 2016 and that 5A* to C including English and maths is no longer a key performance indicator. Instead, ‘Attainment 8’, ‘Progress 8’, ‘Percentage achieving the English Baccalaureate’ and ‘Percentage attaining a C or above in English and maths’ will be reported. The percentage attaining 5A* to C including English and maths is used here for purposes of comparison with previous years. 2017 results are provisional and are as reported by schools. At the time of writing, progress scores are not yet available for 2017.

For further information please contact Data Manager – Jon Ward on 0191 433 8607 or email

Termly Schools’ Forum Report
For Information / Autumn 2017

RELEVANT TO – All governing boards.

CONTEXT – To provide governors with an update on the work of the Schools’ Forum in Gateshead.

The role of the schools’ forum

To have a Schools’ Forum is a statutory requirement for all Local Education Authorities, and there are specific regulations that govern the form and function of Schools’ Forum.

Representatives from maintained schools, academies trade union and diocese make up the schools’ forum. There is also some representation from non-school organisations, such as nursery and 16-19 education providers.

The forum acts as a consultative body on some issues and a decision making body on others.

The forum acts in a consultative role for:

•changes to the local funding formula (the local authority makes the final decision)

•proposed changes to the operation of the minimum funding guarantee

•arrangements for pupils with special educational needs, in pupil referral units and in early years provision

The forum decides:

•how much funding may be retained by the local authority within the dedicated schools grant (e.g. for providing an admissions service or providing additional funding for growing schools)

•any proposed carry forward of deficits on central spend from one year to the next

•proposals to de-delegate funding from maintained primary and secondary schools (e.g. for staff supply cover, insurance, behaviour support)

•changes to the Scheme for Financing Schools.

In Gateshead we also consult with and provide information to Schools’ Forum on a range of other areas that have a direct impact on schools.

In order to ensure that all schools are aware of the work that Schools’ Forum undertakes on behalf of all schools, a termly report will be provided to all schools and settings on the work Schools’ Forum has undertaken the previous term.

Not all areas will be of interest to all schools and settings and a copy of all papers and minutes are available on the Council’s website.

Summer Term 2017

There was only one Schools’ Forum meeting in the Summer Term on the 6th July with quite a full agenda due to the June Schools’ Forum being cancelled.

July 2017

  • A report on the introduction of Universal Credit and the possible impacts on free school meal eligibility (FSM). Universal credit will be rolled out in Gateshead for new claimants from October 2017. It is not known how many families with children this will affect, but there is a possibility that more children will be eligible for a FSM. One other issue with the role out of Universal Credit is that claimants will have to wait an estimated 6 to 8 weeks before they receive any benefit payments. This could impact on parent’s ability to pay for a school meal until the children’s FSM eligibility status has been confirmed.
  • The value and movement of all school balances was provided to Schools’ Forum to note. Overall balances have reduced by £1.5 million as the pressure on school funding continues.
  • Reports on the review, change and new applications for schools surplus balances were taken to Schools’ Forum to note. Again the number and value of surplus balances has significantly reduced since the introduction of the procedure in 2008, from approximately £2 million to £129K.
  • Schools Forum received a report to note the contingency application by Bede Primary School. The school was awarded £36,530.
  • A report was taken to Schools Forum to note that there is a strategic review of the High Needs Block of the DSG. There will be a consultation with all interested parties on any recommendations the review puts forward.
  • DSG revenue outturn position for 2016/17 was taken to School Forum to note.
  • Ravensworth Terrace School applied for and was granted growth funding of £35K.
  • The Chair of Schools’ Forum was contacted to ascertain if Gateshead Schools’ Forum would be interested in joining a “Schools’ Forum Association”. A response was sent to the request, but no further information had been received.
  • A funding update was provided to Schools’ Forum on what was known.
  • Following the general election, the Queen’s Speech confirmed that the Government intends to go ahead with the National Funding Formula (NFF), but with a change to the original proposals to ensure “no school loses out”. There was no detail provided on any funding changes or proposals and no timescales provided for the implementation of any changes.
  • The move to a “hard” NFF where the Department for Education (DfE) funds all mainstream schools directly will not be implemented in 2019/20 as proposed in the stage 2 consultation, as this would need primary legislation and no such Bill has been proposed for the 2 year period covered by the Queen’s Speech.
  • There are also several areas that are difficult to allocate funding on a national level; Private Finance Initiative (PFI), rates, split sites, growth, and exceptional circumstances. It was proposed in the stage 2 consultation that these factors would be funded at historic levels.
  • There is the possibility of a “soft” NFF with allocations of the Schools Block of the DSG being funded to local authorities (LAs) using a NFF, and LAs continuing to calculate individual mainstream school budgets. The allocation could be a net figure after applying national protections and capping at a school level. This could make it more difficult to balance the formula at a local level, and meet any cost pressures due to changes in rates and the indexation of PFI costs.
  • The Government could use the Schools and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations (which are usually updated annually) and Operation Guidance to impose additional restrictions on the use of DSG and the range of factors and their values.
  • Until the DfE starts publishing information including their response to the stage 2 consultations and their school funding proposals the uncertainty around school funding will continue.

Other School News

  • In August the DfE issued Schools Revenue Funding – Operational Guidance for 2018 – 19. The following can be gleaned from the guidance pending the outcome of the stage 2 consultation which is expected in October.
  • From April 2018 there will be 4 blocks of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG).These will be:-
  • Schools Block (SB)
  • Central Schools Services Block (CSSB)
  • High Needs Block (HNB)
  • Early Years Block (EYB)
  • From April 2018 the SB, HNB will be funded using a new national funding formula (NFF). The EYB NFF was introduced April 2017, and the CSSB has will be funded on base line information provided from local authorities (LAs) spring 2017and is to fund LA statutory duties to all schools including academies and free schools.
  • The new NFF for SB and HNB are expected to be announced in October 2017 along with further operational guidance for the HNB and an updated Authority Proforma Tool (APT) to enable the development of a new mainstream schools funding formula for Gateshead ready for implementation from April 2018.
  • The government have confirmed each school will receive at least a 0.5% increase in per pupil funding for 2018/19.
  • However the gains will be calculated on the aggregated notional school allocations, this could mean that the overall LA allocation will increase by 0.5% under the NFF, and due to factor changes and values some schools could still see a reduction in funding, hence the minimum funding guarantee (MFG the amount a schools funding can drop by on a per pupil basis) has been set at minus 1.5%, but LA’s can choose an MFG value of between minus1.5% and 0%.