Warblington School – Staffing and Professional Development Committee - Minutes of meeting on 13 June 2016

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE STAFFING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE HELD ON MONDAY, 13 JUNE 2016

AT 5.15PM AT WARBLINGTON SCHOOL

Present:Campbell McMurray Community Governor and Chair

Ian CrabtreeCommunity Governor and Vice-Chair

Julia Vincent Headteacher

Cara ChambersStaff Governor

Robert Page Community Governor

Nick BennettCo-opted Governor

Kathy GunnCommunity Governor

In attendance:Jackie Lowe Assistant Headteacher

Jane Wood Assistant Headteacher

Neil SherringtonLocal Authority Clerk

1.Welcome and apologies

Campbell welcomed everyone to the meeting which was quorate. Apologies for absence were received and accepted from, Andy Palmer, Parent Governor.

2.Declaration of Pecuniary Interests

The governors were reminded to declare any pecuniary or other interests and none were declared.

3.Matters of urgent business

There were no matters of urgent business.

4.Minutes of previous meetings

The governors agreed that the minutes of the meeting on 9 February 2016 were a true and accurate record. The minutes were signed by Campbell.

5.Governors’ self reflection and coaching

See action update under 9. below.

6.Action report

In addition to the comments recorded in the action report:

Item 7- 9 Feb Julia advised that following the recent Supreme Court ruling on the use of fixed penalty notices issued to parents for an unauthorised absence, Hampshire have said to suspend the use of such notices pending the result of an appeal. Therefore GDC meetings have been suspended.

Item 9 - 9 Feb Campbell advised that he had not had the opportunity to progress this action. Julia asked if the governors wished to be involved with attending the feedback sessions at the end of a departmental review. Julia explained the process and advised that reviews are concentrated in the first two terms of the academic year. The benefit for governors is that they will find out more about the school. In principle the governors agreed to become involved, and will take the proposal forward to the next FGB to start a programme in the new academic year.

See action report

7.Leadership reports

(i) Headteacher’s report. Julia referred to her report and the associated paperwork as previously circulated.

Staffing: An update to the report was that the TA’s have been appointed, 3 people in total divided between two posts.

In regard to the development of the standards of teaching at the school, the number of areas for concern are narrowing. The priorities for improvement next year will be Geography, PE and Science. All the departmental reviews are now complete, with the findings to be presented next week. There were no surprises this year. Julia then referred to the Subject Reviews document. Whilst MFL sees strong teaching practise the hoped for improvement in outcomes has not occurred. Richard Aplin, a science advisor, has visited the school and agrees that there is good practise. An improvement is sought with Science. Learning Support is seen as strong. Creative Arts needs more work. Humanities are strong with a shift in focus to Geography, as well as History. Technology has no head of department and only a small number of good staff, but improvement is expected. In summary, Julia stated that this is a candid picture of the school where a robust approach to seeking improvement over the past 4 years is now paying dividends.

Question: Have all the reviews gone well?

Answer: The priorities have changed according to the need for improvement.

Question: Have the heads of department received their reviews well?

Answer: Yes, overall they have received them well. They are working hard. It is an incremental process.

Question: What issues have been raised, if any?

Answer: Every part of the review process is done in conjunction with the head of department, so at the conclusion they will already be aware of any issues. No formal observations are conducted. The head of department undertakes the review themselves. SMART targets are set accompanied with coaching to support the achievement of the milestones. The whole process is regarded as supportive, overcoming the initial concern that it was to be like an Ofsted inspection.

Performance management is ongoing. Further information on CPD is discussed later in the meeting.

SCITT: This will start in late August. Future teachers will receive more training in the school.

Question: What is needed to increase the capacity from 15 to 20, what are the steps to be taken?

Answer: The first thing is to review what is already in place. What is the impact of the actions already underway; small improvements in several areas will have a cumulative effect. SCITT’s operate on a 3 year cycle, where the school is taking over responsibility a cautious approach is being adopted. Also who is the target audience?

Question: Are there areas known for good practise that you can learn from?

Answer: There are plans to visit Medway and Bromley, but further preparation will be undertaken before doing so.

Question: Have you considered targeting armed service personnel re-settlement courses?

Answer: There is a need to sell the benefits and opportunities that the programme offers.

The SLT then went onto describe the variety of training that the programme provides and agreed that one of the avenues to explore to recruit suitable people to SCITT would be armed service personnel considering re-settlement.

Question: What marketing can be undertaken?

Answer: A member of staff who has experience in this field will be approached.

(ii) Dashboard. Julia presented the dashboard which had been circulated earlier and invited questions.

Question: In regard to the inclusion/seclusion/exclusion table what does the table reflect?

Answer: This will be clarified with the person who produced the table. It is believed the exclusions from Woodlands school are included. An update will be provided.

Question: Attendance is just below achieving the national target?

Answer: The school is very close to achieving the target.

The governors acknowledged the difficulties that exist in getting some of the older children to attend school and were pleased with what had been achieved. The school has robust systems in place to encourage attendance, including home visits, collecting children from home, many messages passed on about attendance, and a dedicated staff.

Question: Are the predicted results still the same?

Answer: Exams are just finishing and there is a positive feeling about the school. It was pleasing to observe a calm atmosphere around the exams. The children felt well prepared. There had been many supportive actions in place by staff for students for revision and preparation. This year has set some good precedents for pupils who will be taking their exams next year.

The governors passed on to the SLT the positive feedback they had received from pupils who had sat their exams this year.

(iii) Staffing. Julia presented the staffing structure document that had been circulated. The document remains dynamic and further amendments will be made.

Question: Are the heads of English and Mathematics linked to the SLT from September?

Answer: Yes they are.

Question: Are the assistant heads happy with their departments and roles?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Where does SCITT sit within the structure?

Answer: SCITT is not shown because it is not part of the school structure, although two members of staff are seconded part time to support it.

Jane presented the TLA statistics report which had been circulated earlier. The school is pleased that 86% of the teaching observed was assessed as good or outstanding. Where inadequate teaching is found, coaching and support is provided (the concerns and actions are detailed in the report). All the SLT are involved in the unannounced observations. The results for each subject were reported as detailed in the report. Jane offered the comment that overall the teaching at the school is good. The governors were pleased to note the positive trend.

Jane further observed that the NQT’s were progressing well, although one is moving on. An action plan is in place to improve Geography. The management support for Science is now complete. The Teaching and Learning team are delivering CPD, which is being received well by the staff. CPD will be developed next year.

Jane has completed an analysis of the observation forms to identify any emerging common themes, which in turn has informed the areas for CPD.

Question: How sustainable is this system?

Answer: It is not too onerous, all the SLT are involved and there is administrative support for the analysis.

Question: How have staff responded?

Answer: There was only one unexpected finding which was that low level learning behaviour featured more often that was thought to be the case.

The governors thanked Jane for her work.

(iv) Coaching and mentoring was covered by the previous item.

(v) Continuing Professional Development. Jackie circulated an initial draft of the CPD proposed for the next academic year, incorporated into a calendar with other key events. Workshops will be held every half-term. There are also 4 twilight sessions scheduled. Staff enjoy the opportunity to take part in a practical workshop, and then put into practice the learning received. Over the course of a year staff can attend 6 workshops, a passbook will be maintained, and performance management will be linked to CPD.

The governors were impressed with the forward planning that the CPD programme demonstrated. They also observed that they too need to schedule an away day for themselves in January 2017. This date will be proposed in September.

See action report

Support staff training will be incorporated in to the calendar. A booklet of the training available has already been produced following a needs analysis. The booklet also features a literacy focus schedule.

(vi)Performance management. The staff absence report was noted.

Question: What is the current school position in regard to long term absence?

Answer: There is only one member of staff who was long term absent, but they are now on maternity leave. All the others have returned following recovery from surgery.

Question: How does the current absence level compare to previous years?

Answer: The current level of 10% is stable and considered the norm.

8.School Improvement Plan

Julia invited questions and advised that the SIP will be updated in the near future. It was pleasing to note that the majority of improvements and actions are green.

Question: Is the Solace system still being used.

Answer: Yes, with some changes planned for next year.

Julia advised that the school is interested in pursuing student mentoring with older people who have life experience in the relevant areas. This is something that could take the form of a community project involving community groups.

9.Policies/documents

(i) Equality Objectives. The annual review of the objectives had been previously circulated. The objectives will be updated in September. The local demographics are reflected in the diversity within the school.

(ii) Recruitment. The guidance on safer recruitment is incorporated into the policy and school practise, allowing for a more robust and objective procedure.

Question: Who checks the identity of persons employed by the school?

Answer: Administration check the identity document (passport or photographic driving licence), education certificates are presented and evidence of an address taken. Whilst there are some potential loopholes in the system, i.e. barred teachers applying for a non-teaching role, as more information is recorded on national databases enhanced DBS checks should highlight such issues.

The paper on Keeping Children Safe in Education is recommended reading for governors. Nick has access to advice notes which he can circulate.

See action report

Ian proposed the policy be approved, Kathy seconded the motion. The governors approved the policy.

10.Items for next agenda

•Induction of new staff;

•Teaching and Learning team development;

•SCITT development.

11.Date of next meeting

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 8 November 2016 at 5.15pm and be held at Warblington School.

Campbell thanked everyone for attending, the meeting closed at 7.00pm.

ACTION REPORT

Staffing and Professional Development Committee
Outstanding actions from meeting on 9 February 2016
Item / Action / Responsible / Due date / Date actioned
or closed
5 / Action report
Campbell to invite Mike Cheshire to meet with Julia and Ian to write to Alan Mak, MP, to express concern that schools were not consulted about ICT being removed as a GCSE and to invite him to visit the school in the summer term. 13.06 update - Pending response. / IC / 13.06.16 / 13.06.16
7 / Inclusion/Seclusion/Exclusion
Julia to ask Vanessa and inclusion team to suggest which students should be invited to a GDC meeting. 13.06 update - suspended. / JV / 13.06.16 / 13.06.16
9 / Governors’ self-reflection and coaching
Coaching to be first item on the agenda and question to be displayed on the screen. 13.06 Campbell yet to progress. / HCM/JV / 13.06.16
Staffing and Professional Development Committee
Outstanding actions from meeting on 13 June 2016
Item / Action / Responsible / Due date / Date actioned
or closed
6 / Action Report
Take forward a proposal to next FGB of governor involvement in departmental review meetings with headteacher. / HCM / 08.11.16
7 (v) / Leadership reports
Arrange a governors away day for January 2017. / HCM / 08.11.16
9 (ii) / Policies/documents
The paper on Keeping Children Safe in Education is recommended reading for governors. Advice notes to be circulated. / NB / 8.11.16

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Signed ………………………………………………………………..Date …………………………………….

Chair of Staffing and Professional Development Committee