MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE GOVERNING BODY HELD ON
26th November 2015
Present:Mrs S Cameron, Miss K Gilzene, Mr J Moss, Mrs A Hicks, Mr C Pitcairn Hill, Miss R Tantrum and Mr M Whiting
In attendance:Mrs H Arnold – Associate Member
Mrs C Barker – Clerk
15/70Apologies for absence: Apologies had been received from Mrs O’Hara and Mr Stanley which were accepted by the governing body.
15/71Declarations of Interest: Mr Moss and Mr Whiting declared an interest in Agenda item 10.
15/72Membership:
It was reported that Mr Stanley had offered his resignation with the intention to apply to become an associate member of the Resources Committee. The governing body understood the additional pressures on Mr Stanley following his election as a borough councillor and thanked Mr Stanley for his contribution to the governing body. They were pleased that he wished to continue as an associate member and unanimously agreed to his appointment.
The above resignation created a vacancy for a co-opted governor which Miss Tantrum proposed was filled by Mrs Arnold. The governing body discussed this proposal and unanimously approved her appointment.
The governors also noted that Mrs Cameron would be moving from the area in the near future and would, therefore, be resigning as a co-opted governor. A possible candidate to fill this vacancy was put forward.
15/73Election of Vice-Chair
The clerk had sought advice following the election of Mrs Arnold at the FGB meeting on 18th October 2015. As an associate member Mrs Arnold was not eligible to fill this post.
However, as Mrs Arnold had now been appointed as a co-opted governor Miss Tantrum nominated her for the position of Vice-Chair. The governors unanimously agreed to her appointment.
The governors noted that Mr Whiting had been elected as staff governor on 9th November 2015.
15/74Approval of the minutes of meeting held on 10thOctober 2015
The minutes were approved as a correct record of the meeting and signed by the Chair.
15/75Matters arising:
- Safeguarding
Governors confirmed that they had all read the first ten pages of Keeping Children Safe in Education
- National Leader of Governance
Mrs Arnold informed governors that it was felt there was a conflict of interest with the person proposed to support the school. An alternative candidate would be sought.
- Completion of a visit report in respect of safeguarding
Visit report still outstanding
- Receipt of newsletters
Governors confirmed that newsletters had been received.
- Website re-launch
Positive comments were made about the new website and how easy it was to navigate the site. It was agreed that a question about its usefulness to parents would be included in the next parents’ questionnaire. It was suggested that questionnaires could be distributed to parents at parent consultation evenings. Governors acknowledged that they would need to attend in order to distribute and collect the questionnaires.
- New format for action plan
A new format had been designed following training by Terry Rowland. The SDP would be used as the basis for the new format. Governors commented that they now felt that the school and the governors had ownership of the plan in its new focused format.
- Vision Day
The Head reported that many community leaders would be attending the Vision Day and thanked Mr Stanley and Mrs Cameron for contacting local leaders.
15/76Report from Headteacher
Theformat of thereport had beendiscussed by the SLT and co-ordinators for Maths and Literacy. The format had been taken from the subject analysis form, the Ofsted overview and would also record progress made.
The Head confirmed that the first page of the report related to attendance and that no data was contained in the Education Context section. Part 3 recorded the key priorities from the SDP and progress. Part 4 related to governors’ involvement and governors were requested to ring to arrange visits. Governors were invited to attend the Christmas events included in the document.
It was requested that future reports were circulated in advance of the meeting so that governors could study the report prior to the meeting.
Miss Gilzene was thanked for her report.
15/77Report from Leadership and Management Committee
The Chair of the committee reported that:
- The panel to carry out the Headteacher’s performance management had been agreed and a date set for the final review. In future termly monitoring visits will be arranged.
- Mrs Cameron had met with the Assistant Head to discuss data. The governors also commented that the recent training on data had been very useful.
- The draft Governors’ Action Plan had been circulated but no comments had been received to date. Governors were asked to email to confirm they had read it and to suggest any changes.
- The terms of reference had been discussed and were recommended for approval by the governing body.
It was noted that the next meeting with the School Improvement Adviser (SIA) would take place on 13th January 2016.
All governors were invited to the meeting to consider the school’s policies which would be held on 14th January 2016. The clerk was requested to circulate the current review schedule for policies prior to the meeting.
15/78Report from Resources Committee
The Chair of the committee reported that:
- the committee recommended that a delegated funding level for premises be set at £500. This was agreed.
- the claim form by which governors could claim expenses was to be prepared by the bursar. It was agreed that this form would be put on the governors’ page on the website.
- the terms of reference were discussed, amended and recommended for approval by the FGB.
In answer to a question the Head confirmed that sports funding will be discontinued.Governors suggested that parents be approached to see if they knew of any companies which would be willing to donate monies so that sporting activities could continue to be funded. A letter would be prepared which could be sent out to companies. It was also suggested that a survey could be carried out with parents of pupils who attended the sporting activity clubs.
The Head reported that the next audit of the school fund account is not due until July 2016. An auditor will be appointed at a future meeting.
Miss Gilzene, Mr Moss and Mr Whiting withdrew from the meeting
15/79Report from the Pay Committee
The Chair reported the following:
- The terms of reference had been discussed, amended and were recommended for approval by the FGB.
- The committee recommended a change in the ISR in respect of the Assistant Head to from L2-L6 to L3-L7. This change complies with the regulations as set out in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document 2015.
- The committee recommended increases in pay on the grounds of retention as set out in the confidential minute of the Pay Committee meeting of 16th November 2015.
The governing body considered bullet points 2 and 3 and approved the change to the ISR and the pay increments.
Miss Gilzene, Mr Moss and Mr Whiting returned to the meeting
15/80Terms of Reference
The governing body approved the terms of reference for the Leadership and Management Committee. the Resources Committee and the Pay Committee.
15/81Governors’ Action Plan
See 15/77
15/82Vision Day
The Head confirmed that the Vision Day is being planned by Mark Wilson but that Mrs Cameron and she would meet to discuss the agenda. The number of persons attending needs to be confirmed so that catering arrangements can be made.
15/83To receive reports on Governor Visits
Mrs Cameron to submit reports on her two visits to school. Mr Stanley had visited to carry out a health and safety review with Mr Whiting. Mr Whiting confirmed that he would write a report for the next Resources Committee meeting.
15/84Policies for review
Miss Tantrum agreed to write a statement on the procedures for dealing with allegations of abuse against staff.
15/85What decisions has the governing body made which will make an impact on the children
- Seeking alternative sources of income to replace Sports funding;
- Safeguarding;
- A happy and engaged staff;
- Strengthening the governing body through changes in the membership (appointment of co-opted governor and associate member).
15/86Dates of next meetings:
Policy Review: 14th January 2016 at
Full Governing Body
Spring term 2016
Thursday, 28thJanuary 2016 at 6.30pm
Thursday, 10th March 2016 at 6.30pm
Summer term 2016
Thursday, 19th May 2016 at 6.30pm
Thursday, 14th July 2016 at 2.15pm
Changes to the start times of meetings in bold
Leadership and Management Committee
Wednesday, 13th January 2016 at 9.00am
Resources Committee
Monday, 7th March 2016 at 6.15pm
Pay Committee
Tuesday, 15th November 2016 at 6.00pm
ACTIONPOINT / DETAILS OF ACTION / WHO / DUE DATE
15/76 / Governors to ring to arrange visits to the school / All governors / By 28.1.16.
HT’s report to be circulated prior to future FGB meetings / Clerk / At least 7 days prior to FGB meetings
15/78 / Governors’ claim form to be put on website / School office / asap
Agenda item - Appointment of auditor for school fund account / Clerk / 1st meeting of Summer term
15/75 & 15/83 / Visit reports to be submitted / Mrs O’Hara
Mrs Cameron / asap
15/84 / Statement on allegations of abuse against staff / Miss Tantrum / By 28.1.16.
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