THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF THE GOVERNING BODY.

ASHILL V.C.P.PRIMARY SCHOOL

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are members of a school's Governing Body. In state schools they have responsibility for raising school standards through their three core strategic functions[1] of:

a. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
b. Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
c. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

They are the largest volunteer force in the country.

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Governing Body of Ashill V.C.School and impact of work of committees.

The Full Governing Body. report year ending July 2017.

Chair – Mrs R Fulcher.

Members Mr S Creasey, Mr S Dack (Vice Chair) Mr D O Sullivan, Mrs S Robertson, Mrs A Phillips, Mrs B Russell, Mrs L Hinds, Mrs C Wilkinson, Mrs H Walker, Mrs H Beckett, Mrs J Rockett. Mr G Norman.

Meetings of the Full Governing Body have been held once every term plus one extra meeting in March to discuss and approve the Budget for the 2017/18 Financial Year and another meeting to complete a review of small schools.

Most governors have covered an area of special responsibility and have reported back to the FGB. This ensures that governors with the relevant skills are delegated to cover various aspects of the work of the governing body and has meant that the work load has been distributed effectively. We are all committed to working with the Head teacher and having an effective governing body.

Minutes of sub committees, having been circulated through Governor Hub, have been discussed at every meeting.

The Head Teacher reports, having been circulated to all governors prior to the meetings, have been discussed and questions raised.

Minutes of the FGB have been posted in the entrance hall to the school and Minutes of sub committees can be viewed on request.

Governor Training has been monitored and an audit of Governor skills has recently been carried out. The Audit showed that the Governors have a wide range of skills and experience. When new governors are elected they are chosen, where possible, to cover skills that will help, and be of benefit, to the Governing Body and to the school. This year we have had three new governors elected who have added to the skills needed by the Governing Body. In order to have an effective governing body we ensure that governors with relevant skills are elected to appropriate sub committees.

A Self Review of the work of the governing body is regularly carried out and a Governor Action Plan is formed to cover any areas that need more input.

We are proud that we are a Church of England school and the Christian ethos is very important to us. Governors meet and liaise with the Head teacher, children and staff and the clergy from St Nicholas and the Fountain of Life to ensure that the school upholds the Christian beliefs and values and that visitors are aware of the Christian ethos of the school. Our full Governor meetings always open with a prayer.

The Governors are involved in setting the school values and attend the school assembly on the last day of term to present an award to a pupil from each class who, it is felt by the staff, has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to working to the values during the school year.

Updates on S.E.F and S D P have been discussed and reviewed regularly and all governors have been encouraged to question and understand the relevance of the areas covered. Governors have suggested areas for improvement and have carefully monitored progress at every meeting. Governors are informed and updated on all school data and, in order that all governors fully understand, and can question data, a training session will be held in Autumn 2017 for all governors of the school.

Policies – There is a rolling programme of school policies which have been reviewed by governors and updated regularly during the year.

Governors have been involved in all staffing appointments and have been trained in Safer Recruitment.

Trained Governors have taken part in the process of the Head Teacher Performance Management.

Attendance figures are monitored carefully and a governor, with special responsibility for attendance, has been elected this year.

Options for the future status of the school and Pupil Admission Numbers have been monitored and discussed regularly.

Governors have liaised with all stakeholders of the school. Parental surveys are regularly carried out. Governors have attended social events at the school and have regularly visited the school during school hours. They have met with the staff and have constantly worked alongside the Head teacher, staff and children to continue to help to raise standards and to ensure that the staff and children recognise Governor involvement and commitment to the school. The Chair of Governors has met with the Head teacher fortnightly and is in constant touch with the school. Governors have met with the school council and the school council have attended governor meetings where discussions on various aspects of school life have taken place. The views of all stakeholders are very important to the governors.

The Governing Body has elected members to three main sub committees and the Chairs of the committees have each written an end of year statement showing the impact of their committees on the governance of the school.

Management, Finance and Staffing year end report Summer 2017

Members. Mr S Dack (Chair)

Mrs R Fulcher, Mr S Creasey, Mr D OSullivan. Mr G Norman, Mrs A Phillips, Mrs S Roberson.

The management and finance committee has a membership of 5 governors,the head teacher and a senior staff member. We meet each half term.

The aim of the finance committee is to ensure that the funds delegated by the local authority every year are effectively used for the pupils that are currently in school, ensuring best value is being obtained.

We do this by having a clear picture of the financial needs of the school in terms of staffing, resources and building maintenance while setting a 3year budget at the start of each financial year. We continue to monitor the schools income and outgoings making small virement’s during a budget review. Governors meet with the county finance officer for budget reviews.

The budget therefore remains with a small surplus to protect any unforeseen financial impact.

Areas of the SEF and SIDP are reviewed by the committee and budgets are set for required interventions.

This year each class has been allocated a detailed budget to enable accurate tracking.

The school is provided with a small capital budget each year which is used to fund individual projects. This money is being used to refresh IT or carried forward where possible for the schools building project.

Annually we monitor carefully that the funds allocated to Pupil Premium children are used to close the gap and are targeted specifically at those it’s provided for. The school website is updated with pupil premium spending.

Annually we complete the School Financial Value Standard and enter into the action plan any issues that may arise from it.

Annually we use Benchmark data from similar schools to ensure we have no significant spending differences.

County provide us with a regular financial RAG rating and the committee works to ensure most areas are given a green status.

In addition to the day to day running of the school we have spent significant funds on

·  Planning and preparing for improvements to the school hall

·  Pobble

·  Talk boost

·  IT refresh

·  Outdoor learning

·  Classroom enhancements

These areas and past investments are monitored by governors from the committee to ensure “it was money well spent”

Governors on the committee continually upskill by using online training courses as required by the LA

The committee is also responsible for overseeing management duties.

We review our statutory policies and update them to our school needs.

The head teacher and senior teacher report on teaching and support staff .

The well being of all staff is constantly reviewed.

Because of budget constraints we have sadly had to reduce the level of teaching staff and made minor adjustments to support staff.

There has been some additional staffing movement and those positions have been successfully filled.

The committee is mindful that the staff need professional development and where practical best value is achieved by group courses or individual staff members attending CPD events and then disseminating their knowledge during staff briefings.

Curriculum committee year end report Summer 2017

Committee members Mrs A Phillips (Chair)

Mr S Creasey, Mrs R Fulcher, Mrs S Robertson, Mrs B Russell, Mrs L Hinds. Mrs H Beckett.

The Curriculum committee has a membership of the headteacher, a senior teacher and five other governors. We meet every half term.

The major concern to the governors is ensuring that our pupils progress appropriately in their education and appreciate that for this to happen the pupils must be supported by a well led, enthusiastic, professionally competent and motivated staff all working together within a safe and supportive environment.

Governors appreciate too the requirements of our children’s parents and carers and their need to be satisfied about the overall leadership and management of the school and how it affects safety, learning and enjoyment of their children.

To achieve their objectives governors too must continually evaluate the role they have played within the life of the school, and publish relevant information to all interested parties.

The curriculum committee is responsible for reviewing the curriculum related policies of the school, and ensuring that the school’s Self Evaluation is conducted appropriately and development plans implemented.

This statement and report are part of that evaluation and publication process. They set out with clear aims, the key tasks which will be completed in order to achieve these aims and the success criteria in order to measure outcomes. The SDIP is monitored and reviewed termly, with an evaluation overview being completed and presented to governors by the Head Teacher. An evaluation overview is completed and presented to governors in preparation for the new priorities the following year.

The current targets for the school development plan 2016/17 are:

Maths: To raise the standard of attainment at the end of Key Stage 2; and to raise the standard of pupils attaining ‘Greater depth’ at Key Stage 1

English: To raise the profile of writing in and out of school; to improve the outcomes for pupils in upper Key Stage 2 with formative assessment to enable greater progress and ensure pupils know their next steps in writing; to continue to raise attainment in Grammar, and Punctuation and Spelling; and to promote greater opportunities for children to read.

Early Years Foundation Stage: To ensure children progress to age appropriate levels in Speaking and Language and Listening and Attention; Improve writing by developing children’s Physical development and to support children in Managing Feelings and Behaviour.

Priority 1: To develop a culture of Behaviours for Learning,

Priority 2: To develop a good understanding of the diversity of cultures that makes up modern Britain.

Priority 3: To improve staff understanding of the Computing curriculum

Priority 4: To develop practice in teaching from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’.

Governor visits:

The governors visited the school as part of their monitoring of the SDIP and of specific issues. These visits are considered a valuable opportunity for governors to be able to work closely with staff members across the school. Link governors for SEND, English and Mathematics followed a cycle which sets out the monitoring activities which they undertake, sometimes with the subject leader. Guidance in terms of the roles and responsibilities of governor during their visits are provided and regular training is available in order to up skill our team.

Examples of these visits include:

Monitoring the impact of Talk Boost, the outdoor play area, Collective Worship and E-safety.

Data analysis:

Data was made available to governors through twice termly meetings with verbal and written presentations followed by question and answer sessions with the Head teacher and senior teacher. By doing this the governors were able to benchmark their data against schools nationally to ensure the schools standards and expectations are high and are able to be closely scrutinised.

Particular scrutiny is placed on pupil progress across gender, all ability groups including vulnerable groups and on the effective use of the Pupil Premium.

Governors have ensured that Pupil Premium funding is deployed effectively, resulting in most disadvantaged children making progress.

Policies:

Governors review all relevant policies on a programmed basis to ensure that all guidance is current and up to date. Policies reviewed this year include: Single Equality Scheme, Marking, Collective Worship, Gifted and Talented, and Early Years Foundation Stage.

Discussion with pupils

Members of the curriculum committee have met with the School Council to ascertain their views on Equalities and the Christian Ethos of the school.. Their views are considered and future actions planned based on these discussions. One to one discussion between governors and pupils assists the monitoring of the marking and assessment policies. Their responses often impact on school policy.