St Benedict’s C of E VA Junior School, Glastonbury Minutes of the Full Governing Board Meeting Held on Thursday 24th January 2019 in Leopard classroom Present: Jo Boughen-Hunt (Vice Chair- VC), Mike Derbidge (Foundation Governor), Gemma Hazlehurst (Elected Parent- EP Governor), Piers Ranger (Headteacher- HT), Rachel Rood (Elected Teacher- ET Governor, Helen Roper (Chair), Natasha Wardle (Foundation Governor) [left at 6:50 pm], Paul Winter (Foundation Governor), Sue Wootton (Foundation Governor) Also present: Bill Burrow (prospective Foundation Governor) and Sarah Hamlet (Clerk). The meeting started at 5:34 pm. Agenda Item Welcome and Opening Prayer
Action
2.
Apologies for absence
3.
Agreed by governors and signed by Chair.
5.
Declaration of Interest in any agenda item Agree and sign amended minutes of Full Governing Board Voting meeting of 15th November 2018. Action Points & Matters Arising
Chair read a prayer for Governors’ meetings. Governors welcomed Bill Burrow; introductions were exchanged. Absence- David MacGeoch, Kayleigh, Louise Fairbrother, Ann & Roger Parsons. Early Departure-Natasha Wardle. All apologies accepted. None.
6.
School Development Plan (SDP)
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Academisation PowerPoint Natalie Paull (Diocese) has emailed this to Chair, who has circulated it to all governors. Midsomer Norton MAT meeting Information re: meeting on 28th January has been emailed to governors. Primary Phase Admissions Sheet Clerk has emailed this document to County. Admissions 20/21 Consultation The Consultation closes on 31st January; no comments received as yet. A Full Governors meeting will be held to determine the Admissions Arrangements before 28th February. KCSiE update Key changes have been emailed to governors. Personal Development, Behaviour & Welfare Attendance- Early generation of PFSA letter home if a pupil’s attendance drops dramatically. This is improving attendance, though some situations still to address. School minibus collects regular non/late attendees from home. Some parents are unhappy with this system. Attendance is around 95% (just below National Average). Some pupils have reduced timetables, which affects attendance figures. Pastoral Team meetings- a system to meet with teachers on a regular basis is
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being developed. Currently looking at Milestone 1, use of CPOMs by teachers and TAs (the latter to receive training as needed). CPOMs- records can go with pupils when they go to another school. Parents not able to access these, but can request information. Other pupils’ names can be blanked out in reports. Lunchtime Physical Activities are held to improve well being and target behaviour incidents. Fewer issues spilling into afternoon lessons and fewer pupils going to the Bee Hive. TA apprentices are involved in these activities. Behaviour Log in Bee Hive records reasons for attendance. Now used for nurture issues, whilst behaviour is dealt with on playground. Governors were invited to view the Log. Sports Leaders- some work still to be done (more regularity needed). Scrap Store resources used for craft activities. Wellbeing- a tool is being established (Edu Kit) to identify pupils’ wellbeing and issues. Year 6 involvement at present; will spread to other classes. Some technical problems experienced; there are other packages which could be explored. The system can signpost support for wellbeing issues. Staff PE skills- a REAL PE INSET was held with St John’s focussing on improving core skills that can be used in different PE activities. Forest School- now involving all children; later will focus on pupils with needs. Staff INSETs planned for April and September. Governors discussed possibilities of involving parents with relevant experience. Silver Birch trees and hedging are arriving in March. A World Garden is planned for the lower end of the playing field. Digital Skipping Ropes- HT clarified; these are connected to a music system and count skips/ give instructions. A Skipping Workshop is coming soon. Effectiveness of Leadership & Management Maths SLT Observations- visit by SEP was very positive. She remarked on the excellent work with pupils (of which 24% have SEND and 37% are Pupil Premium). Chair highlighted that the SEP Report provides external verification, which would prove useful during an Ofsted visit if validation was required re: data progress. Peer Monitoring- ongoing monitoring by teachers of others’ various lessons e.g. Science and Art, was useful for staff CPD. Ongoing Approach to Monitoring- e.g. Pupil Progress Meetings (PPMs) have provided a useful platform for discussing strategies etc., and maintain a regular
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focus on vulnerable pupils. Governors were invited to visit Wider Curriculum- As part of a Trees Project, visits to Chalice Well and the Abbey are planned. An INSET took place last September. Performance Management Targetsteachers are developing own targets. Meetings with St Dunstan’s have taken place; also, there is a possibility of liaison with Millfield. SEND Audit- now completed. Thanks were extended to the SENDCo for all her hard work. She is currently applying for Educational Health Care Plans (EHCs) for 6 pupils (National Average is approx. 2.9). Governors were reminded that regular focus and ownership of the SDP underpins everything the school does. Governors’ Effective Monitoring- visit by Keith Howard (St Dunstan’s) and Alun Williams (Midsomer Norton MAT) on 28th January would be a good opportunity to generate questions. HT urged governors to challenge re: Scheme of Delegation and ‘Top Slice’. He added that St Dunstan’s had made pleasing progress in recent years. Governor Monitoring Schedule- Governors agreed to Chair’s proposal for adapting this system to allow governors to ‘get to grips’ with whole SDP, rather than individual areas. Governors should feel empowered to ask their own questions. They were encouraged to write up all visits to schools as monitoring reports. Chair will highlight potential monitoring activities. Chair and HT to create new monitoring report format. Quality of Teaching, Learning & Assessment Training- Staff have attended 2 twilight Bar Modelling sessions with other CLP schools, facilitated by Jo Cronin at Crispin School. A governor praised staff for persevering with this useful tool for solving maths problems. Maths Inspire Workshop- Good parental attendance and an excellent opportunity to offer strategies and advice. Quality 1st Maths Teaching- all teachers committed to this. No Maths Club being held at the moment. Governors were invited to be involved with this- and other clubs. A governor informed re: Tom Bree, a geometrics expert- who is keen to be involved with St Ben’s. Maths Lead Maternity Cover- Jane Brown will cover for the period. Class Maths Vocab Lists- has proved a bigger job than anticipated, but will be ready by end of January. Spider Maths (Basic Skills)- fluency and number skills work consolidating on last
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7.
Natasha Wardle left at 6:50 pm. Assistant Learning Mentor Post
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year’s achievements. Mental Maths Olympics- more basic skills reinforcement. Year 4 Mental Maths will be compulsory next year. TT Rockstars is competitive and very popular with pupils. Maths Reasoning Focus- particularly important as Maths SATs become more challenging. Issues of reading comprehension and explaining answers. There has been some pupil improvement. Pupil Progress Meetings (PPMs)identifying ranges of interventions to use. Pupil SATs Disapplication- fairly rare at St Ben’s, though extra time may be applied for. Governors were invited to be involved with the SATs on13th, 15th and 16th May 2019. Focus Groups-setting these for particular pupils has not been such an issue this year. More Able Pupils- St Ben’s is liaising with St Dunstan’s, re: extra opportunities for pupils. Learning Concerns System- this is in place for pupils causing concern; usually verbal. More formal recording required. TA Deployment- Some inconsistency to be addressed. Engaging reluctant readers- class versus class competitions in each year group. There are 7 volunteer readers who visit; one more needed. Governors were invited to be involved. Reading in the Community- pupils have visited Chalice Well, Abbey and the Library. Still awaiting visit by a Reading Dog. Reading Book Comprehension Sheet- HT is creating a form to support parents with book comprehension questions. Governors agreed this would be most useful. Visits- Two authors have visited St Ben’s and there have been 2 whole school theatre visits (Awful Auntie- WestonSuper-Mare and Jungle Book- Strode). A Poetry Week is planned this term. Governors agreed that this presentation had helped them to understand the SDP more clearly. They approved Chair’s proposal that future meetings be focussed on particular SDP areas.
Chair & HT to create new Monitoring Report format.
Chair referred to previous discussions re: possibility of re-instating an Assistant
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8.
PE & Sport Premium Review
9.
Policies
Admissions Arrangements 2020/21 Consultation Clerk informed re: progress and need to set a date for an FGB meeting to determine these once consultation is over. Governors agreed to meet on Friday 15th February at 3:30 pm to formally determine the Admissions Arrangements. Charging, Remissions & Lettings Due to her workload, the School Business Manager (SBM) has been unable to complete costings for this policy. Governors agreed to defer this to the next Sub Comms meeting. HT informed governors that the SBM had been working on the Health & Safety Audit, which received 100% rating. Governors thanked the SBM for all her hard work. Complaints Procedure Approved by governors and signed by Chair. She reminded those present that it was imperative the procedure was followed closely. Whistle-blowing Approved by governors and signed by Chair. Food Safety Governors approved the adoption of this County model. HT to update the document. Governors agreed to defer this item to the next Sub Comms meeting.
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Spiritual, Moral & Social Development Audit
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Governors’ Safeguarding Team
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Learning Mentor. HT informed re: timetable of 3 afternoons/week in Nurture Group and remaining time in Year 3, as of next week. A governor challenged re: budget implications; HT will check. 2 TAs are to be trained in ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Adviser)- 1 for Lower School, 1 for Upper School. Training will be for 5 days over 2 months. They will run pupil support sessions. A governor remarked on the benefits of this programme. The Learning Mentor will undergo THRIVE training- a nationally recognised assessment tool for social and emotional needs. It can be a stepping stone to an EHC Plan. HT will look into cheaper options and possibility of SENDCo receiving training too. He stressed the importance of investing in and supporting the Learning Mentor. 1st Draft is complete. Clerk to defer item to next Sub Committees meeting. A governor informed how her school spent their Pupil Premium funds.
HT to check budget re: Assist. LM
Clerk to add Sports & PP Review to next Sub Comms.
Clerk to add Ch, R & L Policy to next Sb Comms.
HT to update doc. Clerk to add to next Sub Comms.
HT spoke re: Safeguarding Audit, which currently stands at 93% compliance, and
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12.
13.
Any other urgent business
has a deadline of 30th January. He outlined the governance areas to work on, and encouraged all governors to ensure they had completed online Prevent training before the deadline. HT will arrange for governors to receive the Home Office Prevent link. A Safeguarding Governor is a statutory requirement, to oversee policies and procedures. 2 governors or a small team could fulfil this role. A governor is undertaking her first training session on 28th January. She invited other governors to work with her in this role. Year 6 Maternity Cover Interviews took place on 22nd January. Erica Neal was appointed. As she is an NQT, it was decided to place her in a Year 4 class, and for the Year 4 teacher to cover the Year 6 class. The Administrative Officer has requested a reduction of her hours to 2½ / 3 days per week. Possibilities will be investigated, including job share. Governors agreed to defer this item to the next Sub Comms (Finance) meeting.
Meeting Review
14.
Date and time of next meetings:
HT was asked to reflect on this first meeting as the Headteacher. Governors officially welcomed him and expressed their great pleasure at his appointment. Chair thanked the prospective governor for attending. He expressed his willingness to learn more about governance. Clerk to arrange Induction Training.
HT to email Prevent training link to govs.
Clerk to add Admin Officer hours to next Sub Comms.
Clerk to arrange Induction training.
FGB- FRIDAY 15TH FEBRUARY 2019 AT 3:30 PM- TO DETERMINE ADMISSIONS ARRANGEMENTS 20/19. Sub Committees- Tuesday 26th March 2019 at 5:30pm FGB- Thursday 2nd May 2019 at 5:30pm
The meeting closed at 7:34 pm.
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