Minutes of the Full Governors Meeting held on

Thursday 16th March 2017 at 4.30pm

Present: Mr C Webb (Chair), Mrs D Bryant, Mr B Drew, Mr D Reynolds, Mr C Leathley, Canon D Miller, Mr D McDonald, Mr G Vallender, Mr A Horne, Mr P Foster,Mr W Jenkins
Not Present: Mr M Higgs
In Attendance: Mrs S Bayes(Clerk to Governors), Mr D Lewis
1. Apologies submitted and accepted: Apologies were received and accepted from Mr M Higgs.
2.
2.1 / Declaration of Business, Pecuniary or Other Interests
New forms were distributed for completion and collected back in. / Action
3
3.1 / Minutes of the Full Governors Meeting of 24th November 2016 (Appendix A)
The minutes were accepted as a true and accurate record.
4.
4.1 / Matters arising from the Minutes of 24thNovember 2016
There were no matters arising.
5.
5.1 / Minutes of the Learning and Teaching Committee meeting of 27th February 2017 (Appendix B)
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The minutes were accepted as a true and accurate record.
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6.1 / Matters Arising from the Minutes of 27th February 2017
There were no matters arising.
7.
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
7.8
7.9
7.10
7.11
7.12
7.13
7.14 / Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team’s Report (Appendix F)
Including Pupil Premium and Safeguarding
The chair congratulated the SLT team on their comprehensive report.Do you think the focus is in the right place at the moment? SLT understand that staff are under pressure and whilst the focus is on Teaching and Learning , the team are also focused on staff well being. The Head of College’s concerns are on data, as it is currently difficult to analyse because of changing qualifications and grading boundaries which could potentially deflate the Progress 8 score. Ofsted and Ofqal have said it is impossible to predict what grade boundaries will be. It is therefore difficult to know where to put intervention. Staff have been asked to be cautious and not over-predict. Do Ofsted understand that this is happening and will latitude be given because of lack of clarity? Hopefully – the college has had 2 solid years of sig+ Progress 8 so the college has confidence in its strategies and overall approach.
DMc joined the meeting.
%4+ or %5+ - which would Ofsted focus on? This is not known at the moment. There is a concern nationally that if the benchmark is set at 5+ this would be too high. 4 is notionally the bottom end of a C.
The number of Year 7s starting in September is very positive. Mullion is full so more students are coming here. However, there are fewer children in theMullion catchment in the coming years so numbers may drop again. The College new build may help with attracting numbers.
There have been a number of fixed term exclusions, but as this is a core group of ‘repeat offenders’ is it therefore something we do not particularly need to be concerned about? It is a small group of students and we are working with them and their families. However, even with much support students do not always respond so exclusions have to be considered. If a student is withdrawn and home educated are their results still included? For Year 11, this is the case.
Are we aware of reasons staff are leaving and are we keeping track of that to check there is no underlying issue? Yes. The teaching staff have varied and valid reasons for leaving such as relocation and retirement. There is no underlying cause for concern.
In the section for more able students, is STEM an acronym? Science Technology Engineering and Maths. It was agreed that reports would be proofread to check for acronyms.
Is the number of people accessing the college email accounts a concern? No, we want them to use that facility. How many people make use of the ‘bring your own device’? Mostly P16. Chrome books can be used in KS3 and 4. A very successful workshop for parents had just been held with a focus on using technology at home,particularly to support dyslexic students.
GVa reported that the transition sessions had been very popular. Visits to schools would start soon. The Chair thanked GVa for his hard work in this area.
The head of a local non-feeder primary had asked DBr for brochures etc for Yr 5/6 parents. However, it is CASH protocol that schools do not ‘poach’ students. She would raise it at CASH as other schools were giving non-feeder primaries their prospectuses. Once we were in the MAT would it be possible? No because they still would be a feeder for another school.
The local Rotary have donated another £250 to the Duke of Edinburgh fund making a donation total of £500.
What agreements had Outlook SW put in place? This has now been cancelled. PLa had negotiated for them to be on site for one day a week to provide help for needy students. However, we now have support on similar lines, part of the Young Minds programme. This is a series of one to one and small group sessions, which came from a coincidental meeting. As more funding is stripped from LA, HCC can access ‘pots’ from other agencies, who would be awarded yearly contracts. What about Kooth? Funding has been cut but there is still an on-line service. We can occasionally get funding for CLEAR, but it is too expensive to use without funding.
MAT update – Pensions Committee met today and signed off new methodology so everything is in place now for the MAT to start on 1st June.
New build – there willbe 2 more client engagement meetings and then the plans will be submitted to the EFA and bid team. There will be two designs but the panel will decide just after Easter which will be used, and will go to consultation late April/early May. The Chair had been invited to meet with the town council, some county councillors and the local MP to explain the current situation. DBr will attend too. Is Section 106 money being looked at? DBr will bring this up at the council meeting. The Head of PE is putting together a bid for an all-weather pitch, flood-lighting etc and will approach the FA.
Apprenticeships scheme - as we are a Foundation school Cornwall Council wants to remove HCC from their books to make us responsible for our own apprenticeship levy from April until the MAT starts,. From June, the MAT will be responsible. DBr is currently looking at providers. Existing employees can become apprentices and hopefully more programmes will be set up for existing staff. We are the only school in the trust which triggers the levyin the April – June period. The implication here is that P45s will be received by all staff. Could affect potentially negatively staff who also have other jobs.
There will be a staff meeting to ensure that staff are aware of the potential implications for them. From June the 0.5% levy will be payable bythe Trust but until then the other schools are separate employers and are exempt as they are below the £3m threshold. / SBy
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8.1 / SFVS and Financial Regulations
Governors agreed that the SFVS and Financial Regulations could be signed by the Chair.
9
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7 / Safeguarding Policy (DBr)
This needed to be Ofsted and MAT ready, so the format used was the same as most trust primaries.
Key changes - regular safeguarding training strengthened and staff will receive updates on line and through staff meetings. Is School Messenger used? Not all staff have access to this this. The weekly staff bulletin is used. When safeguarding training is carried out staff sign an attendance sheet. Whistleblowing has been added.
The designated safeguarding lead now has to be member of SLT but can have other deputies.
From September PEPs will be electronic documents. There will be a bidding process for monies for PEPs which could work to our advantage.
DLe went through the minor changes.
TheChair drew governors’ attention to 2 things; the areas where they can access further information, and pp32/33 which specifically delineate governors’ responsibilities.
What mechanisms are there for governors to have Prevent training? DLe could run training for governors if required. There is also on-line training. DLE would give Clerk link to pass on to governors. Clerk would keep register of when Governors had undertaken the training.
Governors approved the policy.
DRe left the meeting. / DLe/SBy
10.
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5
10.6
10.7
10.8 / Chair’s Report - LGB
Two governors were needed as HCC representatives on the Hub. It was agreed that CWe and DRe wouldfulfil that role.
Governors were asked to look at the draft terms of reference.
LGB business will primarily be Learning &Teaching. LGB governors will start a new 3 year term of office from 1st June. DBr suggested that WJe should be the staff ‘Head Teacher’member.
Governors responsible for different aspects, eg faculty link governors, will be expected to report back to meetings. As there will be fewer formal meetings, governors could spend more time in faculties.
The Chair thanked AHo and CLe for all the work they had done over so many years, and the enormous contribution they had made to the College.
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Will there be a H&S governor? No, the Trust estates manager will be responsible for H&S.
An EGM to approve the budget would be held in the first week of May.
Governors agreed that there should be a parent governor election.
DMi thanked CWe for his work as chair.

There being no further business the meeting was closed at 6.45pm

Chair’s signature………………………………………….. Date…………………......