Sd Local Governing Body (Lgb) Meeting

BRIGHTER FUTURES ACADEMY TRUST

SD – LOCAL GOVERNING BODY (LGB) MEETING

Date: Wednesday 12th February 2014

Time: 5.30pm

Attendees: S Sykes (Parent Trustee/Chair of LGB), P Burton (Academy Trustee), C Harper (Staff Governor), A Pendlebury (Staff Governor/HoS), M Martin (Family Governor,) M Brown (Family Governor), R Gurteen (Community Trustee), H Thickett (EYFS Leader), C Roberts (Clerk)

ITEM / MINUTE / ACTION /
1. si / Apologies and consent for absence & Welcome to new members
·  Apology accepted from LJ (EHT) – attending training.
·  Chair introduced/welcomed R Gurteen to the Local Governing Body.
2. si / Minutes of last meeting
·  Amendment to item 7. Yr 5/6 pupils receive separate Sex and Relationship talks not Y4/5. Clerk to amend. / Clerk
3. si / Matters arising
·  Permanent memorial for Marie Fox. Charitable donation has been secured from Tesco’s which will be used to buy a multi-functional summer house/gazebo for the EYFS playground to be used jointly by school and the Children’s Centre.
4.si / Declaration of interest
·  R Gurteen
5. / Item declared confidential
None
6. / EYFS – intro/developments – EYFS Leader (H Thickett)
EYFS Leader (HT) provided an overview of EYFS provision, with the following points noted:
·  SDP (School Development Plan) autumn term focus was to develop the physical environment within EYFS.
·  To fully appreciate the hard work carried out by the staff HT gave a short tour of the classrooms to showcase the WOW factor.
·  HT advised that staff are now fully confident carrying out children observations/assessments ensuring judgements are secure.
·  Moderation is also carried out within the ECLC (East Calderdale Learning Cluster) providing further evidence that the judgments being given are accurate.
·  All planning in the classrooms is reflected in the environments and changes as the development/progress/focus of the children moves forward.
·  Spring term focus – Staff have identified 2 areas they want to focus on:
o  progress the use of language
o  importance of talk. This will be done by staff up levelling vocabulary through staff modelling.
·  Outdoor Environment – main focus. Working with the Children’s Centre a continuous provision plan has been devised. To support the plan HBOS has agreed for 10 volunteers to help under their ‘Day to make a difference’ scheme on the 13th March to help with the build. Children have devised a plan, suggested equipment of what they would like and have written to DIY suppliers asking for donation of materials. EYFS staff have also been given items from the list to source.
·  The Halifax Courier will be invited to the grand opening.
·  All members agreed the classrooms looked fabulous – especially the ‘Fairy Door’ and asked that congratulations are passed on to the whole EYFS team. / HoS/HT
7. si / Head of School (HoS) – Spring term 2014 report
HoS advised the report should give an overview of what is going on in school, the following points were noted:
·  Q: Chair asked if the following acronyms could be explained:
o  PIR – 1:1 reading with a teacher;
o  Power of 2 or plus 1 - 1:1 5 minute maths recovery programme done daily. Booklet of questions, children need to answer 4 correct questions 4 times before moving onto the next booklet;
o  Pre teacher spelling – teachers go over the words in class to ensure children are familiar with them before being given as spelling homework;
o  Fresh start – Y5/6 catch up programme for children that have not been able to stay with class;
o  Maths extension – for children achieving L4 plus. Receive 2 sessions a week as part of SEND (special educational needs) to address more able children needs to continue to challenge.
o  Behaviour – providing 1:1 support by Learning Mentor/Michelle Gurteen (MG) on a weekly basis to review/set new targets. HoS advised over the years’ number has reduced from the peak of 15 to 3.
·  HoS reported a pupil questionnaire was carried out with a group of boys to find out their opinions on writing. This provided ideas on how best to engage boys in writing as well using information shared on the writing training day. Have also experimented writing on different materials. Full details in report.
·  All children are writing a story as part of the Radio 2 ‘5oo words’ competition.
·  Educational visit – Due to the huge success from last year’s trip to Robinwood additional places have been reserved. The cost of the trip will be £130.00 plus transport which the school is subsidising. P Burton advised funding may be available from the Children Welfare League – for up to half the cost per child. HoS to follow-up.
·  Y5 Debating competition – 6 children made up the team, worked in pairs. Children enjoyed taking part but were upset by the strategic voting of some of the other schools.
·  Christmas performances – HoS received brilliant feedback from the performances and from having both an upper/lowerKS2 performances. Children were very confident.
·  New addition to the now fortnightly newsletter - Chair of School Council report, and news from the Editorial Team.
·  Parent meeting involvement – HoS advised still trying to encourage more parents and is looking at using social networking sites.
·  SPAF – Siddal Parents and Friends – working well and through different events have raised funds which will support future activities. Suggestion made to help recruit more parent/carers - work of the group could be shared at the Nursery open evening to try engage parent/carers joining the group in the hope they will continue to be involved throughout their child’s time at the school.
·  School meals – increase in uptake of children taking school dinners. However, sometimes the choice is limited so children don’t always get their first choice even though there should be 4 choices available for each class. HoS advised she was aware of this and had received one parent complaint and so is looking into ordering more of the popular choices but has already increased the number of popular choice of jacket potatoes. The situation will continue to be monitored. Mothers Day lunch being planned date tbc.
·  Behaviour policy.
Q: Have staff had training on it?
A: HoS advised staff are reminded constantly reinforcing what they should be doing and modelling the conversation that need to be done and it is a standard agenda item on termly teachers/TAs meetings.
·  Policy accepted. / HoS
8. / New Policies
·  HoS circulated Blogging/Twitter polices see reports 8a/b attached. Discussion followed with the following points being noted:
o  Blogging policy – HoS gave a brief overview of what blogging is and the benefits of it use. Giving the opportunity to post children’s work – to share with a wider audience/and receive feedback in a safe way. More organisational information would continue to be shared via the school website. Phase 1 of the introduction of blogging would be for teachers only to ensure they fully understand and are confident in its use. MMcH would be the lead and would carry out the training initially for teachers then for children.
o  Phase 2 – children given rights/permission to blog.
o  Following the discussion amendments identified as needed to the policy were:
§  Add phased introduction;
§  ‘Don’ts’ - add ‘your address’ as an example under personal information
o  Twitter – members agreed possibly need more caution in the use of twitter than blogging and training would be needed for staff.
o  DG – running a basic IT course for parents/carers where blogging and twitter could be explained.
o  HoS to add/amend policies and re-circulate and bring back to the next meeting and feedback on how it is progressing. Policies agreed with the restrictions discussed but agreed that an initial 6 months review period should be set. / HoS
9. / SDP progress update see pages 26-29 of HoS Autumn 2014 report
·  Discussion followed with the following points being noted:
o  HoS advised PDMs (professional development meetings) have been devoted to improve T & L (teaching & learning) different teaching tools have been introduced to engage pupils by developing higher ordering questioning to encourage children to give more complex answers and to create more independent learners, as quite a lot of children are uncomfortable when they make mistakes, but they need to be reassured that it is acceptable to make mistakes in the process of achieving the right answers.
o  SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) – HoS advised that as part of the grammar/handwriting tests. Capital letters must now reach the height of the ascending letter otherwise it will be marked down.
o  Reading Cafes – have made the reading experience more enjoyable for children.
o  Struggling to recruit parent/carer reading volunteers. Suggestion made that it maybe more convenient/easier for volunteers to come into school in the afternoons rather than mornings. HoS agreed to look into whether afternoons would be possible.
o  IPC – (international primary curriculum) – HoS advised trying to use a fascinator to WOW the children at the start of the lesson. Children are given an object/item and asked what kind of character would use/wear/say use it to stimulate immediate interest for the children.
o  Introduction of the ‘House system’ working well particularly with the younger children who are enjoying working with older children.
o  Q: Do we know when the next OfSTED inspection is due?
o  A: HoS advised the school is supposed to be inspected 2 years after becoming an academy. / HoS
10. / Governor visits & future involvement
·  PB – attending 4th March PDM on Dyslexia
·  SS – LPPA (Leading Parent Partnership Award) meetings.
·  HoS invited members to become a link governor at LGB level for a particular key stage they were interested in to meet with the relevant leader/teacher responsible on a termly basis to gain a regular overview of how things are progressing. The following links were agreed:
o  EYFS/ HT - Governor- MM
o  KS1/LB – Governor SS
o  LKS2/CW – Governor MB
o  UKS2/CHo – Governor RG
11. / LPPA (Leading Parent Partnership Award)
·  Chair gave a brief overview of LPPA with the following points being noted:
o  The award is for schools and settings committed to investing in parents/carers for the achievement of pupils and students.
o  M Gurteen is the lead in school for the award. Gathering all the evidence/documentation to support our application. DHoS (CHo) has offered her support to chase up outstanding documentation. Once gathered we should be on track to submit our application.
o  DG & CH have also provided essential supporting information for MG.
o  As part of the award the school needs to hold a ‘Cultural’ themed event still to be finalised. Suggested ideas have included a ‘Tour de France’ or Easter themed event.
o  Still need to develop better relationship with parent/carers to encourage more participation. Suggestion made that LGB members could wear badges when attending events to identify them as governors offering an opportunity for other parent/carers to bring any issues to a member of the LGB directly and more informally.
o  Request from members that calendar of events is shared with LGB on a regular basis. HoS to follow up. / HoS
12.si / AOB
·  PB shared she is now a National Leader in Governance, 2nd awarded in Calderdale. The accreditation will allow her to support other governing bodies (GB) which as well as helping others, will provide an opportunity to a make a comparison of the how effective we are.
·  Members passed on their congratulations to PB.
·  Q: Will the school be closed in March due to possible strike action by teachers?
A: HoS advised notification will be published if staff elect to strike.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 7.20pm

Signed: ______Date: ______

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