Governing Board of Temple Learning Academy

5 December 2016

GOVERNING BOARD OF TEMPLE LEARNING ACADEMY

Minutes of proceedings at the meeting of the above Governing Board held at the Temple Learning Academy on Monday, 5 December 2016 at 6.00 pm.

PRESENT

Tim Kitching (Chair), Matthew Browne, Martin Cosgrove, James Firth-Gieben, Nneka Ikeogu,Olwyn Moss, Drew Rowlands, Andrea Smith and Nigel Wood.

IN ATTENDANCE

Andrea Mannion (TNLP Trust Governors’ and Schools’ Support):

Dave Noble (Business Director and Company Secretary).

Jonathan Davis (Partner, Saffrey Champness) External Auditor.

1. WELCOME BY THE CHAIR

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced Jonathan Davis (Partner, Saffrey Champness) External Auditor, who was attending the meeting to present the 2015/2016 accounts. The Board agreed that this agenda item be considered first.

PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF 2015/2016 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT REPORT - JONATHAN DAVIES

Mr Davies reported that he had completed a thorough audit and had prepared the 2015/2016 accounts. He said that it had been another successful year in how the Academy finances had been run and how the accounts had been prepared, he also believed that his report complimented the EFAs 2 day audit. He confirmed that the day to day management was very good and tight systems were in place. Members noted that the accounts reflected the capital spend and staffing costs and that a surplus was being built. He talked through his report which had been sent out in advance of the meeting and said that factors which should be taken into consideration included:

• Current financial performance and position of the TLA.
• Financial forecasts and expected cash position going forward.
• Reserves levels planned in the forecast period (restricted v unrestricted).
• Growth of the Academy.

Mr Davies said that the planned budgets appeared sensible and pupil numbers looked achievable, based on the current shortfall of primary and secondary school places in the area. Mr Davies also reported on:

• Areas of audit risk and focus.
• Regularity matters.
• Misstatements.
• Accounting and internal control systems.
• FRS 102 transition.
• Mandatory audit communications to the board of trustees.
• Technical and compliance update.

Q: Why does the surplus figure change from £76k in the 2016/2017 budget to £14k in the 2017/2018 budget model?

A: This is due to changes in the staff profile as the Academy grows.

Q: Is there an expectation for the “Reserves” to be spent?

A: Sometimes reserves need to be built up for large projects and also to protect salaries. Reserves should not be used to plug any deficits.

Q: The information on pensions is very confusing can you give some clarity?

A: Mr Davies gave a brief explanation and members were referred to page 24 of his report for a more in-depth description.

Resolved 15

That Governors receive and approve the 2015/2016 Financial Accounts and Audit Report; and

That Matthew Browne and Tim Kitching sign the relevant documentation that has to be sent to the DfE before the end of December 2017.

The Chair thanked Mr Davies for attending the meeting and Saffrey Champness for working so well with the Academy. He also thanked Dave Noble and Tiana Walker for all of their effort and hard work in putting the required information together.

2. APOLOGIES

There were no apologies for absence.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest. The Chair explained that four Directors were required to sign a new Declarations of Interest Form.

4. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 3 OCTOBER 2016

The Chair reminded members that the minutes of the last meeting had been uploaded onto the Academy website for a number of weeks now and that everyone had had the opportunity to consider them prior to the meeting.

Resolved 16

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2016 be agreed as a correct record; and that, having had the reason for absence explained,members consent to Nigel Wood’s absence from that meeting.

5. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

6. CONSTITUTION

Resignation of Helen Stout – Trustee

The Chair reported that due to Helen Stout’s new TNLP Trust School Improvement Role, she had reluctantly felt it necessary to resign from her position as Trustee.

Two Trustee Vacancies

The Chair reported that Amanda Lightfoot, Headteacher of Austhorpe Primary School had agreed to replace Helen Stout.

Resolved 17

That Amanda Lightfoot, Headteacher of Austhorpe Primary School be appointed as Trustee for a four year term of office ending on 5 December 2020; and

That the Chair and Co-Principal make enquiries with “Inspiring Governance” to appoint to the remaining vacancy.

The Chair reported that due to unforeseen circumstances Lauren Schofield had needed to resign from her position as Parent Governor. Matthew Browne said that he had sent her a letter of thanks to Lauren and he agreed to arrange a Parent Governor election in the New Year.

7. ATTENDANCE AT GOVERNOR TRAINING & 2016-2017 TNLP TRUST GOVERNOR TRAINING

The Chair asked members if they could report on any Governor Training that they had attended. They reported as follows:

Course / Name / Date
Governor Induction/Refresher (Part 2) / Martin Cosgrove / 5 October 2016
Governor Induction/Refresher (Part 2) / Nneka Ikeogu / 5 October 2016
Governor Induction/Refresher (Part 2) / Andrea Smith / 5 October 2016
Child Sexual Exploitation / Helen Stout / 20 October 2016
Child Sexual Exploitation / Matthew Browne / 20 October 2016
Financial Efficiency (NCTL) / Martin Cosgrove / 1 November 2016
Financial Efficiency (NCTL) / Helen Stout / 1 November 2016
Disciplinary and Grievance / James Firth-Gieben / 6 December 2016

Forthcoming Training

Matthew Browne reported that he had booked onto the Forming and Joining a MAT Training on 19 January 2017.

Core Strategic Function:

Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction

8. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF ACADEMY DEVELOPMENT PLAN (ADP)

Members were informed that the Academy Development Plan was a live document and was continually being updated. Following baseline assessments an Annexe had been appended which included the data and an action plan. The Chair had recently undertaken a monitoring visit and had chosen 2 areas from the ADP to focus on which had been really valuable.

Q: The Pupil Premium data looks concerning, what is the background to this?

A: Matthew Browne said that it takes a while to get to know parents and to determine whether or not they are eligible to claim for Pupil Premium. There is also the added difficulty of having to complete the 32 page application form. Members noted that Pupil Premium increased over the term and that the data was not entirely reliable but the numbers were very high at the Academy.

Drew Rowlands asked if Pupil Premium could be included on the Standards Committee agenda for their meeting the following week.

9. GOVERNOR LINKS

Taking into account the recommendation made by the DfE’s Education Adviser at his visit on 15 November 2017 “Continue to extend governor challenge and support by implementing and evaluating the programme of planned focused visits”the Chair and Co-

Principal had met and drafted a document to support named Governors visits to school to

aid them develop a more detailed understanding of the academy’s work and its effectiveness for all groups of children. This included guidance on:

• What is the role of the Named Governor?
• Named Governor Areas at Temple Learning Academy.
• What are named Governors expected to do?
• What should Named Governors discuss with staff?
• Questions for Named Governors to ask themselves when visiting lessons.
• Confidentiality.
• What are Named Governors expected to do?

The allocation of Governors to the Named Governor roles suggested were:

Safeguarding – Tim Kitching

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – Nigel Wood

Outcomes – Amanda Lightfoot (to be confirmed)

Teaching and Learning – Drew Rowlands

Personal Development, Behaviour and Welfare – Martin Cosgrove and Nneja Ikeogu

Leadership and Management – James Firth-Gieben

Resolved 18

That the proposals put forward in the paper be agreed.

10. PROTOCOL/PLAN FOR GOVERNOR VISITS TO THE ACADEMY

The Chair talked through the proposedPolicy on Governors’ Visits to the Academy and highlighted the 2016/2017 programme of core visits. He asked Governors to ensure that sufficient visits were undertaken to fulfil the Boards collective responsibilities effectively, but also that the number of visits did not impact negatively on the capacity of the leadership team or disrupt school activity. Governors noted that visits should be arranged relative to areas in the Development Plan.

Q: What should we do if we see something that we don’t like when we visit?

A: You should speak with the Co-Principal but you should always remember that these are strategic monitoring visits and Governors should not get involved in the operational day to day running of the Academy.

Resolved 19

That the Board agrees to adopt the “Protocol/Plan for Governor Visits” to the Academy.

11. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

The Chair talked through the Stakeholder Engagement Strategy and highlighted that as the Temple Learning Academy was at a relatively early stage in its development the strategy proposed in the report was a basic one. As the Academy developed the strategy would need to re-visited, developed and refined taking into account opportunities to consult with stakeholders over proposed developments. This would help us to continue to reflect the needs and aspirations of the community.

Resolved 20

That the Board agrees to adopt the “Stakeholder Engagement Strategy”.

12. APPROVAL OF POLICIES

Resolved 21

That the Board approves the “Managing Absence Policy and Procedure” and the “Leave of Absence and Annual Leave Policy and Procedure 2016/2017”.

Governors also confirmed, and signed, that they had read the Keeping Children Safe in Education Guidance.

13. MULTI ACADEMY TRUST PROGRESS UPDATE – DAVE NOBLE

Dave Noble referred to the Governors’ Conference held on 23 June 2016 and the Governors meetings following the Conference where all schools in the TNLP Trust had agreed for TNLP to investigate a MAT conversion and register an interest with the DfE. He said that since then the political climate had changed and the Government had backtracked on their white paper for the compulsory academisation of all schools by 2020, although there was a very strong message for DfE to ‘encourage’ schools to voluntarily convert and the MAT led system being the preferred model. Vicky Beer, Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) had given a presentation on a MAT led system school improvement model, where outstanding MATs would lead the way and drive improvement across schools. RSCs each had ‘achieving excellence areas’ in their regions, ensuring inadequate and ‘coasting’ schools were converted to academies. Since Matt West had taken on the role of Principal of TMHS it had allowed him to engage and have informal discussions with the RSCs office in Manchester. From these discussions it was clear that schools wishing to convert needed to have a strong track record of outstanding performance and actually would TNLP meet this criteria? After recent TNLP Headteacher meetings it was clear that this definitely put a question mark over TNLP being able to put in a strong enough application. Matt West had already been approached by four MATs asking if TMHS and TNLP Primary Schools, if they wished, join them. The question was whether they have School Improvement credibility and the same values? Another development to share was that Temple Moor had joined the Red Kite Alliance which was an informal partnership that schools could join for school improvement services. There was also a Red Kite Learning Trust which was a MAT and currently comprised of Harrogate Grammar School and 3 primary schools. The RKLT had recently offered schools in the Alliance to be part of their MAT, this offer had also been extended to all schools within the TNLP. As we may not have the capacity that the DfE were looking for, there was the option to join Red Kite as a cluster and maintain TNLP’s unity. Richard Sheriff (former Principal at Temple Moor), Principal, Harrogate Grammar School, is meeting with TNLP Headteachers on Friday, 11 November 2016 to discuss how this model could work. However, this did not preclude TNLP still looking to form its own MAT.

Matt West informed Governors that Temple Moor’s preference was for all the TNLP Schools to go together but that they needed an outstanding partner, also Temple Moor was in a vulnerable position because they did not have a Secondary Partner and had been working with other schools to strengthen its school improvement.

Doing nothing had been explored and whilst an option for individual schools, such a strategy would leave schools vulnerable.

Governors noted that support from the Local Authority was declining at a fast rate and only being able to offer limited support; and the large super MATs were continuing to take over poor performing schools.

Next Steps

• Convene a meeting with the RSC to establish whether TNLP are strong enough to form their own MAT, some TNLP Primary schools were already in the process of joining the Red Kite Alliance for support.
• Arrange a Governors’ conference to present options – Thursday, 12 January 2017 at 6.00 pm at Temple Moor High School
• Governing Board meetings to agree their preferred option.

Core Strategic Function:

Holding the Principal (Senior Leadership Team) to account

14. PRIMARY PRINCIPALS UPDATE

Matthew Browne talked through his Principal’s Report which had been sent out in advance of the meeting and included information on the following items:

Achievements during the term to date. Issues Governors need to be aware of, Headline Data, Attendance, Pupil Management, Curriculum, Pupil Attainment and Progress, Closing the Gap, including Pupil Premium, Budget and Finance Update, Staffing Update and Wider Community.

Governors noted that the Read, Write Inc Development Day had gone really well and in the New Year 14 after school clubs were being offered to the children.Governors said that this was fantastic and could only happen because of the commitment of the staff. They asked that their thanks and appreciation to the staff be placed on record.

Questions Arising from the Principals Report

Q: How many families have been issued with letters regarding poor attendance?

A: 12.

Q: What steps are taken to improve attendance?

A: We conduct home visits to families that we do not hear from in the mornings; and figures are constantly being monitored and any attendance issues will be formally addressed towards the end of term.

Q: In your report it mentions that staff have settled well and remain mostly positive. Who did the mostly positive comment refer to and why?

A: Matthew Browne said that this referred to a couple of midday supervisory assistants and gave an explanation. Members noted that one of these has handed in her notice and would be leaving at the end of term. The role advertised will be that of a Midday Supervisor who will provide much needed line management for this small team.

15.DfE VISIT REPORT

The Chair reported that the DfE’s Education Advisers report had been very positive and that the whole staff should be congratulated on their continued hard work and continued commitment to the Academy.

16. SELF-EVALUATION FORM (SEF)

Governors noted that the SEF had not been changed since the last meeting and that Matthew Browne would be looking at this in great detail with Richard Hadfield in the New Year which would help to give Richard a good overview of the school.

1. ADMISSIONS UPDATE

Admission numbers had been included in the Principals Report and a further update would be given after 20 March 2017.

18.RECEIVE REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

Resources and Risk Committee

The Board received the minutes of the Resources Committee meeting held on 14 November 2016. Items discussed had included: Review of Pupil Numbers and Impact on Budget, Review of Structure and Staff Succession Planning, Cost of External CCTV, Pay

Policy Review, Policy Review Schedule and Review of Income and Expenditure.

Q: Will there be sufficient time to recruit staff to commence in September 2017 if final pupil numbers are not confirmed until March 2017

A: Yes there would be.

Standards Committee

Members noted that the Standards Committee was due to meet the following week.

Performance Management/Appraisal Committee

Drew Rowlands reported that this committee had met and gave a brief overview of what had been discussed/agreed.