Wavertree Church of England School

WAVERTREE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOL

MINUTES OF THE GOVERNING BODY MEETING

HELD ON THE 17th MAY 2012

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PRESENT:

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Mr. Stephen Derringer

Mrs. Frances Hodson

Rev. John Phillips

Mrs. Daphne Thompson

Mrs. Sally Sharp

Mr. Roy Pybus

Mr. Andrew Brownrigg

Mr. Andrew Williams

Mrs. Barbara Ford

Mrs. Joanne Kavanagh

Mrs. Anna Brooksbank

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Minute
Ref.No. /

Action

1 / WELCOME & OPENING PRAYER
The meeting opened with a prayer.
The meeting was Chaired by Mr. Stephen Derringer in the absence of Rev. Canon Eastwood.
2 / SCHOOL COUNCIL
Some of the children from School council talked to the Governors about the following:

Sponsorship of Pedro, a boy in Peru, through an organisation called compassion.
Fundraising for Children in Need and Pedro.
Evaluation of collective Acts of Worship.
Fruit to Suit business.
Hygiene in the toilets presentations.
Christian Values photograph and caption book

Governors were impressed by the confidence of the girls and the governors thanked them for a comprehensive report.
3 / APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from Rev. Canon Eastwood, Mrs. McDermott, Ms. Kirby, Ms. Ekwempu & Mrs. Wilson.
4 / CHANGES IN GOVERNORS DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
There are no changes to Governor’s Interests.
5 / MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS ON: - 9th February 2012.
These were agreed as being a true record, and signed by Mr. Derringer.
6 / MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising.
7 / 2012/13 BUDGET APPROVAL
Rev. Philips took governors through last year’s outturn on the school budget. There was a surplus which exceeded expectations. School has done well in protecting the income.
Mrs. Brooksbank explained that pupil numbers had a significant effect on funding from the Local Authority. There has been a significant reduction in this year’s budget. The surplus from last year has become this year’s rescue package. There is some money coming in from Pupil Premium.
The budget proved impossible to balance over the next 3 years and there is a necessity to make savings.
The chequebook expenditure has been reduced as much as possible. Agency Supply has had to be increased due to a maternity leave.
Indirect Employee expenses includes the loan payoff and restructuring of the pay scales for non teaching staff.
As a result the school will not be able to renew the temporary contracts of Scott Holland and Anne Bass. This has brought the school into credit in Year 1. The school will still go into deficit in Years 2 & 3. The Local Authority have agreed to approve the Year 1 budget. The school needs to bring in more pupils to redress the balance. The school is incredibly grateful to the volunteers who offer the school so much support.
The budget was proposed by Mrs. Hodson and seconded by Mr. Brownrigg. The vote was unanimous to approve the budget.
Mr. Derringer thanked Rev. Phillips for his input in preparing the budget.
8 / SEF SUMMARY
Mrs. Brooksbank explained that the SEF is a very detailed 25 page document evidencing what the school does. The governors are welcome to read the whole document if they wish.
There were 3 issues to address from Ofsted. The governors need to have knowledge of the Areas for Development. Mrs. Sharp suggested that SMSC (Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural) could be raised to 1. Mr Pybus questioned ‘development of cultural awareness’. Mrs. Brooksbank explained that the school is still creating opportunities to do this.
9 / LA REVIEW
Mrs. Brooksbank presented a report on the Local Authority Review which took place on 14th/15th March 2012. They scrutinised everything and were very thorough. The Governors are welcome to read the whole report.
The main findings were:

Good progress in raising attainment in English and maths
Satisfactory progress in enabling pupils to know how to improve their work
Outstanding progress in improving provision in Early Years (Mrs. Smith has been asked to deliver workshops at the Early Years conference.

The evaluation was:
The school has a robust SEF following the new Ofsted framework. The school is slightly aspirational in its judgement of teaching but will soon be in a position to support its ‘good’ judgement.
Teaching:
The majority was judged ‘good’, one was ‘outstanding’. Where lessons were judged satisfactory, there were lots of god elements.
Attendance & Punctuality:
This has improved significantly and the behaviour was exemplary.
Points for improvement:

Clearly focused marking
Setting targets for children
Involve staff in monitoring teaching and learning

Strengths:

Behaviour and safety
Early Years
SEN

10 / HEADTEACHER’S REPORT
This was distributed to all governors present. Mrs. Brooksbank explained some of the points in more detail.
There are 197 children on roll. The figures for attendance are 94.6%. the nursery figures are lowering the overall average. Punctuality is down to 2.9%. Mrs. Brooksbank is tirelessly encouraging the children to improve their punctuality.
4 children now have statements and one is pending. There are 63 children currently on Free School Meals.
Mrs. Russell is being greatly missed due to here recent absence. Mrs. Ford is doing additional hours to help.
Christian Ethos leaning walk is to be arranged for this academic year.
The Friends of Wavertree need to be supported and encouraged.
The Emergency Lighting is planned to be done during the Summer Holidays.
There are currently 4 children on a Child Protection Plan.
11 / PREMISES REPORT
Mr. Derringer reiterated the praise of good work of Mr. Bewley. He spoke of the possibility of moving the ICT suite and current Year 1 classroom round, the cost of this will come from Capital expenditure. The reason for this to ensure that there is effective transition from EYFS to Year 1.
The kitchen floor needs replacing, there is a need to look at the possibility of upgrading the kitchen during the summer holidays and this too will be paid from Capital expenditure.
12 / PERSONNEL REPORT
Two temporary contracts will not be renewed. The school will need to find additional cover for PPA and at the moment the school is looking to appoint a HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) for September.
Mr. Derringer thanked Mrs. Bass and Mr. Holland for their contribution to the school over the past 2 years. Both members of staff have been informed. Mrs. Bass has offered to do her job as a volunteer. Mr. Derringer stated that if the budget became more fluid, then it might be possible to reinstate the contract. The Governors would like to thank her formally for such commitment.
13 / CURRICULUM REPORT
Mrs. Kirby is unwell and so is not able to deliver a report.
The new Early Years curriculum will begin in September, the practise will be very similar but the assessment is changing. Staffa re working to dissect this at the moment.
14 / HEALTH, SAFETY & SAFEGUARDING
There are quotes being sought for Emergency Lighting.
There is a Health and Safety Audit on 19th June.
Tesco are to renew the pavements, but will need to have a plan to ensure safety of the pupils.
15 / DATES FOR NEXT MEETING
Provisional date of the next meeting is 20th September 2012.
16 / ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Retrospective permission was sought for the residential visit which took place in March for the Key Stage 2 visit to Kingswood Colomendy. Rev. Canon Eastwood has approved the visit.
Governors also approved the Y1,2 and 3 visit to Barnstondale in July. Mrs. Hodson pointed out that the Friends of Wavertree paid for the buses for these residential visits in order to keep costs down for the parents.
Mr. Derringer thanked everyone for their attendance at the meeting for what had been a very full agenda.
17 / CLOSING PRAYER
Closing prayer.
The meeting closed at 5.40pm

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