Easton Local Board meeting
28.3.17
Minutes of the Local Board Meeting held on
Tuesday 28 March 2017 at 19:05
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Easton Local Board meeting
28.3.17
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Easton Local Board meeting
28.3.17
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Easton Local Board meeting
28.3.17
Present:
Ahmed Sharif
Celia Morgan [from item 132]
Jill Yeomans (Chaired meeting)
Lucy Ducker
Marie Bailey
Peter Overton
Toria Moore
In attendance:
John Calvert (DHT)
Jeremy Piper (DBAT SIO)
Clare Maybury (clerk)
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Easton Local Board meeting
28.3.17
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Easton Local Board meeting
28.3.17
130 Apologies
Apologies were received from Andrew Hogg, Richard Evans and Marie Bailey. The apologies were accepted.
131 Declarations of interest
No interest was declared in any item on the agenda.
132 Minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2017
The minutes were agreed and signed by the Chair. Matters arising were discussed under agenda headings.
133 Constitution
a) Election of a Parent member
The Parent Forum had included information, discussions and an opportunity for parents to submit nominations for the role of Parent Local Board Member. One such was received, and Mustafa ------was duly elected to the role.
ACTION PO to write and welcome the new parent governor to the Local Board
ACTION Clerk to send new parent governor all induction information and invite him to be a member of the Resources committee.
.
b) Ex-Officio member appointment
JP had discussed the issue with DBAT. No decision had been made by the Archdeacon, who has the ability to appoint but had not yet identified anyone.
ACTION JP with Clare Stansfield to continue to pursue the appointment of an ex-officio LB
member with DBAT
134 Governance
a) Link members
There were no reports from link LB members.
ACTION clerk to contact link members and re-iterate their role and who to be in touch with
b) Local Board engagement with staff, parents, pupils
Members noted the importance of attending Parent Forum meetings, and recognised that AS and JY attended regularly. Meetings were going well, with PO meeting the two Chairs, one male and one female, in advance to agree the agenda. Attendance was good, at about 20, and attitudes toward the school were now far more open and friendly. Parents who wanted to fundraise in response to the East African famine had done so, raising £1000.
ACTION LB members to attend Parent Forum meetings. These take place on the first Friday of
each month from 09:00-10:00
ACTION JP to attend Parent Forum and talk about his role and preparing for Ofsted
c) Training
TM, CM and LD had attended new governors’ training. TM had also attended Prevent and Safeguarding training. The clerk had attended clerks’ induction training, and reported learning points, including LB self-evaluation by means of a governors’ audit; the need to ensure all policies are in order, and a potential DBAT clerks’ support network led by Anna Sfakianakis from DBAT.
d) Reports of visits and learning walks
SIP visits
In response to a request at the last meeting, JP reported that members may attend SIP visits, including core visits, by prior arrangement. The next would be on 24 March from 09:00 -12:00.
ACTION PO to publicise SIP visits to LB members
ACTION JP to feed back on the 24 March SIP visit at the next LB meeting
8 March Maths learning walk
The walk had focused on vulnerable groups, including Pakistani students and girls. LD, AH and TM had attended. The walk considered the different ways in which girls are targeted to enable them to speak up and participate. Classroom tactics like the use of lolly sticks, post-lesson catch-up sessions and tutoring (using PP funding) are changing the proportion of girls participating. They are now keen, wanting to talk and learn. Governors reported that the problem was being embraced and tackled by the school.
Q When are the interventions being reviewed?
So far they have shown an improving rate of catch-up, and there is positive feedback from the pupils and staff involved. Y6 maths groups 3 mornings a week are going well, with good improvement and growing confidence. Progress will be measured and data now being collected will enable a clearer picture. The interventions may be put in place more widely following a learning walk for the wider leadership team.
Q Are the difficulties to do with language? If so, is it individual attention that makes the difference?
No, the boys tend to be more confident. Smaller groups, working one to one or one to two are, however, much more effective. Keep-up sessions have to have 60% girls attending.
e) DBAT Governance updates
Members noted changes to the DBAT Scheme of Delegation and Reporting Protocols, now on Governor Hub in the Governance folder. In particular, sections 4,5 and 6 and appendix 1 concerning the functioning of the Local Board.
135 Reports of Committees
a) Resources Committee meeting of 22.2.17
Members noted the minutes, in particular:
· Cleaning options – a third quote was still being sought for the long-term contract, with staff TUPE’d across. The Resources committee would receive further updates.
Q If the contracts are all-year round, what cleaning is there in the summer?
The holiday period enables some deep cleaning as well as cleaning up after contractors
· Y1 playground works – part 1 of the works would take place at Easter, the rest in the summer.
· Catering update – HG had attended the briefing about provision from October 2018. Governors noted that fresh halal food would be able to be prepared on site, but that the school had decided it did not have the capacity to manage catering in-house.
· Two fire risk audits had taken place, by the Fire Brigade and DBAT, with an action plan developed. One of these, replacement of the fire doors, was in hand with quotes being sought for summer replacement.
· The budget had not yet been set but was expected to be £85k lower than last year’s, including a loss of £150k from the BSLC. A capped 1.8% reduction in funding was expected, but this should be partially mitigated by an increase in pupil numbers. The school was likely to be in a better position than many others, although some staffing reductions may occur.
b) Staff Well-being working group report
LD reported on the meeting with JP and PO the previous week. They had considered what
affects staff wellbeing, and proposed in action plan. This had now been produced (members received the report) and updated. There had already been an impact from this, with staff having an extra hour’s PPA on Friday afternoons, while the children have an additional assembly and run-around.
ACTION Staff well-being group to meet 17 May to further progress the action plan.
ACTION TM and LD to attend an SLT meeting next term to share progress and outcomes from
the staff well-being action plan.
136 Headteacher’s report
Members noted the report, in particular:
a. Self-evaluation - there was an increasing body of evidence to suggest the rate of progress might be ‘good’ in all areas.
b. EYFS assessments were currently taking place
c. Joint observations by year group leaders together with SLT members were taking place, as well as Guided reading observations and book scrutiny. This was enabling support and staff development
d. A survey of parents’ views of homework would be undertaken to gauge the possibility of introducing online learning platforms. The difficulty of meaningful homework-setting in the local context was clear, and other schools’ experience had been sought and noted.
ACTION SLT to investigate possible funding sources to support IT resources and enable the
development of online learning platforms
e. The introduction of ‘oracy’ was being considered following a visit to an outstanding free school in Newham, who are keen to work with Easton because of its context of challenge and high numbers of EAL students.
Q Is speech and language one of our biggest challenges?
It is, and the oracy approach would help develop more structured conversation, debate, complex ideas, philosophy and deep thinking.
f. St Mary Redcliffe primary school would be joining DBAT, enabling the development of a Bristol Hub, together with Fishponds and Easton. The Hub could consider performance, behaviour and impending Ofsted visits. A joint behaviour learning walk had already taken place.
g. Behaviour
Members received the report, presented by JC, and noted:
· An increase in incidents this term, largely due to the continuing problem of not accepting the consequences of behaviours. A plan was in place to address this.
· Data showing a marked improvement in behaviour in one particular class, due to intensive support to the teacher over two terms. This involved the teacher putting systems in place, being consistent and having a ‘smile’ in his voice.
· Three fixed term exclusions, including a boy for whom this was the fourth exclusion this year.
Q At what point would this move onto the next exclusion stage?
Discussions are taking place and there is the potential for a move to alternative provision
Behaviour had been worse this term and the SLT had identified a number of reasons, including staff wellbeing issues; inconsistencies in good behaviour development, use of rewards and clear consequences; and lack of progress of children on PSPs. Actions include spot-checks, benchmarking and sharing of other schools’ good practice.
Q How many children are on PSPs and in which year groups?
There are nine spread throughout the school, with two or three in two particular classes.
· An increase in playground and lunchtime incidents, with improved provision now being considered
· Consideration of the behaviour policy planned for the start of T5
Q Is it true that good behaviour during the learning walk did not give an accurate picture?
It is, although it does show the children can behave when they need to. Behaviour is also good during School Council inspections. For staff well-being, behaviour needs to be good all the time, and changes to the Behaviour Policy will address this.
Q There may be an issue of lack of support for the policy from home. How can parents be encouraged to support the school’s efforts?
This is addressed at Parent Forum. IRIS recordings may be used to show parents what is happening in the classroom. These are safe and confidential. The policy could also refer to the involvement of parents in training about behaviour.
The HT was thanked for his report.
137 Safeguarding
a) Arrangements for safeguarding audit
The DBAT audit had been done and was helpful. The CPOMS system was in place and working well. There were currently no Children in Care at the school. School practice was good but was not reflected well on the website. The BCC audit had also taken place, with as yet no feedback.
Q What is the response to issues submitted through CPOMS?
The response can be poor as the threshold is often high, and Early Help is decreasing and moving to Children’s Centres. These are in turn losing funding and being closed, and this situation will get worse.
Q When will governors receive the audit reports?
Results will be reported to the Standards committee
ACTION PO to update the website with the latest Safeguarding information
b) Keeping Safe in Education
LB members signed to say they had read the DfE safeguarding document.
138 Policies
a. The Unpaid Leave policy was received by members and arrangements were discussed
ACTION PO to consult w Liz Gibbons at DBAT, as other schools are also considering
arrangements for unpaid leave
ACTION Resources committee to consider Unpaid Leave policy and bring back to LB for
approval
b. DBAT policy updates:
Members noted the DBAT policy updates that had been added to Governor Hub in the POLICIES folder.
ACTION Resources committee to consider DBAT policy updates
c. Easton policy updates:
Members noted that all policies were being updated with a clear review date and would be brought to meetings for review, approval and signing.
ACTION Clerk to ensure hard copies of policies are available to members not accessing GH
139 Governor Forum rep.
Members noted the request for an Academy Governor representative for the Governors’ Forum, but agreed that there is not currently sufficient capacity to take on the role. There is DBAT representation on the Forum.
140 School website
Members noted that the new sample website was largely completed. This would not go live until after the Ofsted inspection. The website would include password-protected areas, which are also encrypted. Passwords and access would be set up at training sessions for parents. In addition, each class would have its own attached website, accessed by user name and password. The new site would be high-tech and secure, and was being re-designed so that existing content looks better. AS would be showing the new website to the SLT and LB, and would train the person responsible for running it.
ACTION Resources committee to discuss the website development in detail
141 Meeting dates
Local Board meeting (T5): 23 May 2017 at 19:00
Resources committee: 3 May 2017 at 13:15
Standards committee: 4 May 2017 at 09:30 (confirmed)
Learning Walks (Wednesdays 0830-11:00):
· POSTPONED pending date change (from 26 April):
EAL Pupils (English as an Additional Language)
New date to be confirmed by school
· 14 June: EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage)
Members also noted:
· SATS week begins 8 May
· Parents’ Forum Fr1 7 April 09:00-10:00
ACTION JC to contact MB, as link member, concerning the school Health and Safety walk-round
(date tbc)
The meeting closed at 20:40
Signed (Chair) ………………………………………. Date ………..
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Easton Local Board meeting
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Reports received in advance:
· LB and committee minutes
· HT report
· Schools Forum request
Reports received at the meeting:
· Staff Well-Being action plan
· Behaviour report
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Glossary
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