KINGEDWARDVIISCHOOL

MINUTES OF FULL GOVERNORS MEETING

Tuesday 16 March 2010, 7.00pm

UpperSchool

PRESENT:

Carolyn Leary, Chair of GovernorsBarbara Walsh

Hilary MesherRobert Whittingham

Beverley JacksonKarl Gehring

Will DaveyAsma Khurshid

John CornwellNajma Khurshid

Mark Lallemand (part)

IN ATTENDANCE: J Jackson, Clerk to the Governors

No. / ITEM / ACTION / BY
DATE
1. / Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from:
Ghasem Norouzi, Matt Naylor, Rachel Cornish, Stuart Carvell,
Clare Allison
2. / Declaration of any Pecuniary Interests
None to declare
3. / Confirmation of minutes from previous meeting(s) and report on matters arising
Matters Arising
CL referred to item 4 of the agenda – IAG Presentation by Tracy Tunbridge, Assistant Head, and said this would not go ahead as Tracy was ill. In place of this, BJ would give an update on BSF Designs in her office, for those who had not already seen this at the recent Finance & Premises Committee Meeting on 3 March 2010.
CL said she had received a resignation from Nick Gray as Teacher Governor. A Staff Governor replacement is required. There is also a Parent Governor vacancy which has not been filled. BJ clarified that the lack of interest was apparent also in other schools. CL intends to contact the Chair of Westways School to ask if she would be interested in becoming a Governor at KES. CL said that Najma and Asma Khurshid have a friend who may be interested in becoming a Governor. Also John Cornwell has an Old Edwardian colleague who may be interested in joining as a Local Authority Governor.
Previous Minutes
An amendment to the spelling of the Post 16 students who attended the January Full Governors meeting was noted, correct spelling should be Calum Mackenzie and Kayleigh Renberg-Fawcett.
Abbeydale – BJ gave an update, she had now received names of the students that KES has agreed to take and has the agreement by email relating to how much funding KES will receive for this (the formal letter is expected some time this week).
RJW said he will be discussing with the Local Authority the location of mobile classrooms that will be placed at the LowerSchool site.
CRB checks
KG clarified that it is not a formal requirement for Governors to have an enhanced CRB disclosure clearance. DI to give an update of CRB forms that are still outstanding from Governors who have not yet completed and returned the form to school.
CL said it would be reassuring to her to know that all Governors have received enhanced clearance.
Reports from Committees and reports from Governors with Curriculum Links - It was noted that the previous minutes stated that Rachel Cornish volunteered to take on the role of Health & Safety Governor, an amendment is required to state that it was Hilary Mesher who volunteered to do this. DI to follow this up.
Training School Status - BJ said information is available online, monies will be reduced but it is not known by what amount. Michael Williams and Sally Davies were meeting to discuss how to ensure redesigntaion. CL clarified that the monies from the national budget were having to be spread thinner. BJ said the re-designation for the LanguageCollege was coming up and the SIP would decide if the school meets with the standards. BJ said the form was not live yet, herself and Eva Lamb have completed it with the SIP saying it was the best application he has seen. CL said well done to Eva Lamb for getting the form to that standard. BJ said Eva has since said she could improve it further.
CL said that if all were in agreement, the minutes will be signed off as a true record with the amendments made as noted above. / CL
DI
DI
BJ
4. / IAG Presentation (T Tunbridge)
Did not take place due to TT’s illness. BSF Presentation in BJ’s office in place of this item, to be held after the Governors meeting.
5. / Travel Plan (M Lallemand)
CL introduced ML to the meeting and ML thanked the Governors for asking him to attend.
ML explained that the Travel Plan proposal would need to be signed off by the Chair of Governors in order that it can be submitted it to the Local Authority. ML explained that the purpose of the Travel Plan is to look at how people get to and from schools, from a safety, health and sustainability point of view. The Local Authority is working with schools on this. ML clarified the four key people working on the project are himself, Sarah Asquith, Linda Gooden and Laura Drabble. The Plan should not just relate to students getting to and from school, but should refer to all users of the site. South Yorkshire Transport Executive and the Police are also involved, along with various other groups that ML is linked with. Linda Gooden and Sarah Asquith have conducted questionnaires with LS students as to how they get to and from school. ML has attended a school council meeting at US, including sixth form, and received a good level of engagement. A survey has been conducted with 40 Y7 parents, and Joy Price (CYPD Community Police Officer) has been consulted with regard to road safety issues. ML said he is working with Laura Drabble currently on some bus issues. ML said that a draft copy of the Travel Plan has been sent to the architects who are dealing with BSF.
In the Travel Plan there is a map detailing where every student on both school sites travels from, as KES has no catchment area as such, this covers a wide area. ML said some of the comments from staff were interesting, a lot of staff have said they would prefer to walk but currently use their cars. ML said the Y7 parents said they would allow children to cycle to school if they received proper cycle training - ML explained the current bikeability procedure which gives training in how to use cycles safely on the road and has levels 1 to 3, which replaces the old cycling proficiency test. The Y7 parents also expressed concerns about road crossing safety, ie distractions using mobile phones etc. It was reported that these issues are mentioned in assembly at LS but perhaps should be reiterated more often. ML said he has received only one car share response from staff.
CL agreed with ML’s comment that the Plans should change the ethos and life skills of people, and not just be a document produced in school. CL said there may be problems with cycles being stolen from site. BJ suggested that a target group be formed to push the project forward, and CL suggested introducing incentives to students. BJ suggested a treasure hunt/trail on the route to school. Najma Khurshid said she felt it would be easier for students attending US to travel to school using cycles, than those at LS. ML said there were problems with the No 51 bus as it is always too full for students to use, as it covers the hospital route. If students live outside of the catchment area then there is currently no specific bus for them to catch. The school would like to see the re-location of the current bus stop on town side for LS as it is dangerously near to the road. ML said that part of the Travel Plan is to incorporate five car share parking bays and it was agreed these should be self-monitored. BJ said that car parking at US would be a problem under the BSF programme, some parking bays will be available, and more disabled bays would be available than there currently are in order to comply with regulations. BJ said there have been discussions of bays being provided for staff who travel between sites, but she has concerns of the policing of these. BJ said she was worried about the operating barriers and foresees cars backing up out onto the road caused by vehicles being delayed in trying to get through the barriers. BJ reported that the non-authorised parking had been improved since the temporary barriers had been in use. CL proposed that the school does not want to use part of the £20,000 allocated for the Travel Plan, on the proposed operating barriers. This was agreed.
CL told Mark she was grateful for the time he has put in the plan and said that it was something that the school had needed for quite some time.
CL asked everyone to think about the positive incentives of cycling to school. ML suggested a cycle fleet being purchased by the school as the Local Authority had recently done for their staff to use. CL summed up that everyone was happy to support the Travel Plan with the amendment rejecting the proposal for barriers.
6. / Chairperson’s Correspondence & Reports on urgent decisions taken
No urgent decisions were taken.
7. / Reports from Committees
Finance & Premises (3 March 2010) – BJ said some pots of money were not guaranteed, the Training School being one of them. BJ said DI was doing a sterling job in looking at how savings can be made. BJ said the school would not be taking out Teacher’s Insurance Premium this year, and this was a slight gamble.
Personnel (11 March 2010) –BJ said she had updated those present at this meeting on staff issues and had asked for permission for a change to a TLR for a KS3 position. There are currently copies on noticeboards at both sites.
Curriculum & Performance – This meeting is scheduled for 24 March 2010, there will be discussions about Governor’s involvement in lesson observations. CL confirmed that the meeting would take place at 5pm on Wednesday 24 March and invited Asma and Najma Khurshid to attend, CL advised that there is an allowance available to Governors for childcare costs when attending meetings.
8. / Any Other Business
CL apologised for changing the date of the Governors Do and confirmed that she was looking at either Friday 23 April or Saturday 24 April. WD mentioned that Friday 23 April was the Y11 Leaver’s Ball. CL said in view of that, the date for the Do would definitely go ahead on Saturday 24 April, starting at 7.30pm. CL asked for Governors to email her with offers of food. CL will confirm details by email.
JC asked when the Ex Y13 Presentation would take place which had been cancelled earlier in the year due to snow. This date to be confirmed. / JJ
9. / Date of Next Meeting
Tuesday 11 May 2010, 7pm
BW gave advance apologies for not attending this meeting as she would be on holiday.

Signed ……………………… Carolyn Leary, Chair of Governors

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