St John's and St Clement's Primary School
St John's and St Clement's Primary School
The meeting began at 7pm.
At the Chair's invitation, Ms Gatliffe led the meeting in an opening prayer.
1.1 Apologies for absence
There were no apologies received.
1.2 Declarations of interests
No declarations of interest were made.
1.3 Approval of minutes of the meeting held on 24 Sept 2007
The Minutes of the above meeting were received as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
1.4 Matters arising, not covered elsewhere on the agenda
No matters were arising
2.1 Attendance, membership and vacancies
The Clerk advised that Mrs Vanessa Bowles had resigned as a foundation governor for St Clements and had been replaced by Mr Joe Booth. Mr Troy Tranah was welcomed to his first meeting as a parent governor. There were no current attendance issues to draw to Governors' attention.
2.2 Governor Reports (including Link Governor & Responsible Person Reports)
A Governor Visit report form was submitted on the introduction of French in the school in preparation of the requirement to have all of KS2 learning a foreign language by 2010. It was reported that good progress was being made, although concern was expressed over the need to keep focus in this area when the responsible teacher goes on maternity leave.
Harriet Bertram had recently done a report on Numeracy and other governors were in the process of undertaking visits and writing reports. Governors RESOLVED that all reports would be available for the next full Governing Body meeting.
2.3 Reports of exercise of delegated authority, eg Chairs Urgent Action
No delegated authority has been exercised since the last meeting.
2.4 Governors Training and Development
The Chair stressed the need for governors to play an active role in their training. Each governor was advised to attend at least one training session during an academic year on issues geared towards their duties on the governing body. Governors reflected on a recent course and reported that it had not quite met their expectations and that there had been some confusion over content, particularly in relation to the role of governors. After some discussion, Governors RESOLVED to source appropriate training on the following areas:
Governors further requested that courses be advertised earlier in the term and that sessions on succession planning be held during the evening instead of daytime, as this would enable working governors to attend. The Clerk agreed to convey these suggestions to the Governor Training Co-ordinator.
2.5 Scheduled reviews/ policy adoption
The Headteacher is currently looking at the policy review schedule. Governors RESOLVED that the Headteacher should provide a log of current policies and when they need to be updated by.
3.1 Headteacher's written report
The Headteacher's report having been distributed in advance, Mrs Gatliffe drew Governors' attention to key points, providing additional information as appropriate.
Work has already started on the SEF and next year's SIP. All Key Issues are moving forward. Standards Committee monitor progress each term. There has been a particular focus on Maths. There has been a positive assessment of our progress by the SEAL advisor as well as key progress made in creating supportive environments for vulnerable children.
There is a need to be creative about our approach to issues arising out of a number of maternity leaves occurring in the near future.
All building improvements planned for the summer term were completed before September. The top floor building works were started in November and we hope that the new music and art rooms will be in use by the February half term.
Performance management interviews have been completed.
Our school was selected as the only school from many applicants to take part in a project based on the ballet, The Snow Queen. Pupils in Year 6 worked with professional dancers and musicians from English National Ballet during the term and all Year 6 pupils attended a matinee performance at The Coliseum in December.
Recent parent events have been very well received.
The school is continuing to work towards Silver Accreditation as an Eco School. Governors RESOLVED to adopt an Eco Code which had been designed by a pupil as part of the school's promotional material.
Governors RESOLVED to agree the school dates for 2007/08 as circulated.
3.2 SATs performance and progress
The Standards Committee is continuing its review of the SATS results and very good progress has been made by the school on the Maths Action Plan. A detailed analysis of pupil progress is being examined by the SMT and work is being undertaken to target pupils on the special needs register, as well as those pupils who are not making the expected level of progress. The school is addressing these concerns through a range of breakfast clubs, booster lessons, contact with parents and the extension of mathematics teaching. In addition, some analysis is being undertaken of performance of younger cohorts to establish individual and class trends, although progress is more difficult to judge due to changes in the pupil cohort during their time in the school.
3.3 Ofsted Self Evaluation form (SEF)
The School Development Team is working on the SEF and will report to the Standards Committee in February for adoption.
3.4 Extract from RAISEonline
RAISEonline provides interactive analysis of school and pupil performance data. It replaces the Ofsted Performance and Assessment (PANDA) reports and DCSF's Pupil Achievement Tracker (PAT). Nikki McKnight agreed to access the data and circulate a report at the next full governing body.
3.5 DCSF School Profile 2006/7
The school profile was completed last term and needs to be attached to the school website.
The Chair of the Finance Committee reported that work on the budget is in progress and that the Committee had reviewed the Scheme of Financial Delegation and the Head's authorisation and virement limits and made some minor changes. Governors RESOLVED to delegate adoption of the budget to the Finance Committee.
The Communications Committee was charged with updating the School prospectus/brochure.
Following the recent resignation of the PHSE Link Governor, Governors RESOLVED that Troy Tranah take over this responsibility.
Governors discussed a range of issues arising from the late production of committee minutes and RESOLVED that:
5.1 Review progress towards becoming an Extended School to meet the government's target of 2010.
On the basis that evidence shows that extended schools can have a positive impact on pupil attainment, attendance and behaviour, as well as getting parents more engaged with their children's education and improving community cohesion, the school is required to work with outside partners and other schools to offer a minimum "core" of services by 2010. These will consist of:
Whilst there is not an intention to become a fully extended school in its own right, the school is working closely with other service providers in the area and already has a breakfast club in operation.
5.2 Community Cohesion Plan
As part of its work, the school is expected to promote community cohesion. A cohesive community is one where:
Ofsted is to use a school's contribution to community cohesion as a criteria for school inspection, Governors discussed the impact of this requirement on the school and RESOLVED that:
The Clerk reported the following:
(Chair to be informed of any items at least 24 hours in advance.)
The Headteacher reported that the Deputy Headteacher had met with Charlene Fuller (Sexual Health Outreach Worker) and other key teachers regarding the teaching of Sex and Relationship Education. The school had found difficulties in finding appropriate materials and is seeking to develop a tailored approach, Governors expressed the view that they were happy with the current discussions on this issue and the approach being taken and RESOLVED that final approval of the programme would be delegated to the Communications Committee at its next meeting.
Communications
13th February 2008, 4pm
Finance and Resources
17th March 2008, 12th May 2008, 5.45pm
Standards
4th February 2008, 6.30pm
Governing Body
12th May 2008, 7pm
15 Any Confidential items
There were no confidential items.
There being no further matters for consideration, the Chair closed the meeting at 8:45pm
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