governance-bulletin-april-2019 by Edgar Danmer

Governance Bulletin – Summer Term April 2019 The ½ termly bulletin for clerks and governance boards in North Somerset and Somerset.

Summer Term 2019 - Agenda Items for Board Meetings 



Finance – o Maintained Schools – Approve budget and submit to the local authority by 31st May o Academies – Ensure that the budget forecast return for 2018 to 2019 is submitted to the ESFA by 27 July and that the budget projections are submitted to the ESFA by 31st July. o Maintained schools – review and approve finance policy provided by the local authority as part of the financial management scheme. o Academies – 2019 academies financial handbook will be published in June Review – o Policies as per cycle to include annual report on SEN for publication if not already updated o Progress with the school/academy development plan o Attendance of staff and pupils o Staffing structure o Exclusions for the year Monitor and Evaluate – o Pupil progress o Quality of teaching and learning Governance – o Agree meeting schedule for coming year o Review effectiveness and structure o Undertake stakeholder surveys i.e. staff, pupils or parents as per cycle of surveys 1

Summer Term 2019 Training Programme Induction Sessions Induction – Maintained Schools Saturday 27th April Fiveways School, Yeovil Saturday 27th April Banwell Primary, North Somerset Saturday 11th May Willowdown Academy, Bridgwater th Saturday 8 June SCIL, Taunton th Saturday 15 June St Paul’s Junior School, Shepton Mallet Induction - Academies Saturday 18th May SCIL, Taunton th Saturday 8 June Fiveways School, Yeovil nd Saturday 22 June The Priory Academy, Weston-Super-Mare Chairs Induction – Leading the Team Tuesday 2nd July Whitstone Academy, Shepton Mallet rd Wednesday 3 July The Priory Academy, Weston-Super-Mare Thursday 4th July SCIL, Taunton Clerks Induction Monday 3rd June The Priory Academy, Weston-Super-Mare th Monday 24 June SCIL, Taunton

9.15am to 1pm 9.15am to 1pm 9.15am to 1pm 9.15am to 1pm 9.15am to 1pm 9.15am to 1pm 9.15am to 1pm 9.15am to 1pm 5.30 to 8.30pm 5.30 to 8.30pm 5.30 to 8.30pm 9.15am to 3.30pm 9.15am to 3.30pm

Effective Governance Clerks’ Briefings Friday 26th April Victoria Park Community Centre, Bridgwater 9.30am to 12pm th Monday 29 April Long Sutton Golf Club 9.30am to 12pm Tuesday 30h April NS – The Priory Academy, W-S-M 9.30am to 12pm Tuesday 30h April NS – Nailsea School 9.30am to 12pm st Wednesday 1 May West Somerset – Danesfield Middle 9.30am to 12pm nd Thursday 2 May Cheddon Fitzpaine Memorial Hall, Taunton 9.30am to 12pm Friday 3rd May Wells Football Club 9.30am to 12pm Area Meetings – Chairs, Vice-chairs or other governance board representative Monday 10th June Willowdown Academy, Bridgwater 7 to 9pm Tuesday 11th June Milford Junior School, Yeovil 7 to 9pm th Wednesday 12 June Minehead Middle 7 to 9pm th Thursday 13 June Whitstone Academy, Shepton Mallet 7 to 9pm th Monday 17 June St George’s Catholic School, Taunton 7 to 9pm Tuesday 18th June Room G.08 Castlewood, Clevedon 7 to 9pm Monitoring the S/ADP (School/Academy Development Plan) Thursday 9th May St Paul’s Junior School, Shepton Mallet 5.30 to 8.30pm th Wednesday 15 May Room G.08 Castlewood, Clevedon 5.30 to 8.30pm Tuesday 4th June Willowdown Academy, Bridgwater 5.30 to 8.30pm Headteacher/Principal Performance Management Tuesday 21st May Willowdown Academy, Bridgwater 7 to 9pm Thursday 23rd May Banwell Primary, North Somerset 7 to 9pm th Wednesday 5 June Milford Junior School, Yeovil 7 to 9pm

Overview Sessions HR – Introduction to HR Matters Tuesday 14th May Northgate Primary School, Bridgwater Preparing for Ofsted Thursday 23rd May Avalon School, Street th Wednesday 5 June NS - Nailsea school Safeguarding Monday 13th May Whitstone Academy, Shepton Mallet th Thursday 6 June Banwell Primary, North Somerset SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities) Monday 3rd June Whitstone Academy, Shepton Mallet Exclusions Wednesday 3rd June Holyrood Academy, Chard th Wednesday 19 June Northgate Primary, Bridgwater Complaints – Maintained School Tuesday 9th July Walton Primary School, near Street Complaints - Academies Wednesday 22nd May St Paul’s Junior School, Shepton Mallet Monday 1st July Taunton Area – venue to be confirmed Health and Safety for Governance Boards Monday 8th July St Paul’s Junior School, Shepton Mallet

7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm 7pm to 9pm

Key Responsibilities Role of the Governance Safeguarding Lead Wednesday 24th April St Paul’s Junior School, Shepton Mallet

7pm to 9pm

Booking onto a Training Session All governors, trustees, members and clerks can access our training regardless of whether they purchase our advice and support package. Please see below for the links for you to book onto our sessions. Please book all training through www.supportservicesforeducation.co.uk . A useful guide on how to book is available at www.supportservicesforeducation.co.uk/Page/1348 . Cancellation If you are unable to attend a session, please contact colleagues via telephone on 01823 355757 or email sgs@somerset.gov.uk A cancellation charge of 50% of the course fee will apply if notice of cancellation is not received more than 5 working days before the session date. A 100% charge of the course fee will apply for non-attendance and cancellation 48 hours before the session. The service reserves the right to cancel or re-arrange training sessions subject to insufficient delegate numbers booked on the session or unforeseen circumstances.

A Word from Governance Services As we move into the final term of the year and I sat down to write this I was reminded by a colleague of an article a couple of years ago in the Guardian about the “7 ways governors can get to know their school”. The article tried to address those concerns raised by those in governance about how they feel removed from classroom life and how the school operates. They suggested 7 tips for getting to know a school and I thought I would share these with you and my thoughts on what these 7 tips mean and how they can support you: 1. Do your homework – this is about reading – there will be a lot of information about your setting and to support you in your role as governors or directors. Make sure that any information you are provided with that you do read it, to not do so will leave you unprepared for discussions in board meetings but more importantly in the dark about what is happening in your setting. In addition to school/academy based information you can also look at information provided by Ofsted (Your last report), the DfE (Get Information About Schools (GIAS)) and to support you in your role and your understanding of what you need to do the latest Governance Handbook (more about the updates within the latest edition is given later on in this bulletin). 2. Get a mentor – for those new to the role best practice shows that to be paired up with a governor or director/trustee will help you to understand context of your setting and why things are done or happen in a particular way. 3. See the school/academy in action – for those serving on a stand-alone governance board the best way to get to know your setting is to visit it. This might not be practical for those governing on a multi-academy trust board especially if the setting is not geographically close, expectation is that those serving in local governance boards would visit the setting. If you are to govern a school effectively then you need to go on learning walks and see how the school is operating and how this sits with the vision and strategic plan set by the governance board for the setting. 4. Look beyond senior staff – do not just rely on information provided by senior staff as to do so will mean you are only seeing issues from their perspective, you need to have a wider more balanced view. Talk to others within the school/academy (staff and pupils) when you visit or ask those members of staff who lead on an area, topic or initiative to present to the board. 5. Meet experts and colleagues – there is nothing more powerful than sharing your experiences with colleagues from other governance boards. Our termly clerks and chairs meetings are a good opportunity, those who have attended confirm the value in being able to speak to colleagues about national and local initiatives and issues. Anyone is welcome to attend the chairs meetings (and the clerks’ briefings although they are very much centred around the clerk’s role as professional advisor to the board), details of this term’s meetings are given in the following pages. Other organisations such as NGA (National Governors Association) and CST (Confederation of School Trusts) run conferences and workshops giving you opportunities to talk to others from a much wider area and network.

6. Social Media – this is a booming area and one that more and more of us are using, like point 5 above this is another solution for seeking support from those experienced in governance. Many experts are now using Twitter, Snap-chat, Blogs etc. etc. and by tapping into these resources you are given access to governance support nationally. 7. Social Events – school or academy visits aren’t just about monitoring, attending a settings social event is a good way to get to know the school or academy in a different way, to raise the profile of the school/academy’s governance and for the wider community to get to know the governance board. Hopefully these tips will help you in the coming term and to quote a colleague, Laura McInerney “The average person who takes on a school governor role is really being thrown into a massive deep dark cave and asked to map its insides using nothing but a lighter”, In this terms bulletin we have articles about the changes to the Governance handbook, details of the upcoming training this term (including the chairs meeting dates), along with national updates, best practice guidance and an article specifically about ‘Strategic Direction’ that will all support you and provide you with enough light to ‘map the insides’ of the ‘deep cark cave’ !

I again look forward to meeting many of you throughout the term. Best wishes

Ann Ann Adams Service Manager aadams@somerset.gov.uk Articles in this edition – Item 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

page 6 7 8 - 10 11 12 13 14 15

The Key for School Governors National Updates Themed Audit outcomes Schools financial standard 2019 to 2020 Resources for Learning (RfL) Premises and compliance School food standards The Schools’ Buying Hub South West

The Key and Support Services for Education are delighted to announce a new partnership agreement, which will help support governors in the region. The Key for School Governors will now be included within SSE’s Gold and Gold plus governor services package.

What is The Key for School Governors? Actionable knowledge for school governors who are making a difference. Anytime, anywhere. We help you to make a difference in your school with our clear, comprehensive governance resources which can be quickly put to use. The Key provides practical support with critical tasks, such as;  Prepare for a meeting  Recruit a new governor  Audit board effectiveness  Review a school policy  DBS support Over 30,000 school governors use The Key to;  Save time  Increase capacity  Save costs  Be Ofsted-ready  Stay informed and compliant  Improve pupil outcomes Can I sample some of The Key’s articles? Absolutely. We offer a number of articles for free, so you can see what The Key has to offer and understand how it can benefit your school. Please click here for more information. If you have any questions related to The Key, please call our member support team on 0800 061 4500 or contact is via LiveChat.

Governance Handbook

Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel (OEAP)

Related Party Transactions

National Updates The DfE Governance Handbook has been updated in March 2019. The handbook is published for maintained schools and academy trust and whilst it doesn’t apply to Pupil Referral Units they would find the principles within the handbook useful. Pages 6 – 8 confirm the updates within this edition which replaces the edition published in January 2017. The main changes are:  Safeguarding – o Importance of DSLs (designated safeguarding leads) having a job description; o That governors should understand peer-on-peer abuse and ensure that relevant policies are implemented; o A link to advice for school leaders on setting up or improving counselling services and primary and secondary schools and explanation of how counselling fits into a whole school approach on mental health and wellbeing.  Parents – updated emphasis on parental engagement with expectation that boards should be able to evidence the views of parents, and the community, have been taken into consideration in their strategic decision making.  Workload – there is now a new subsection on “workload considerations” referring to recent DfE documents especially the workload reduction toolkit.  Behaviour – clarification that maintained schools must also make and review a written statement of principles to help the executive leader determine the measures within the school behaviour policy.  Career Guidance – updated to reflect the introduction of the statutory Careers guidance that came into force in 2018.  Complaints – clarification on dealing with complaints. This is a forum for sharing and developing good practice regarding outdoor learning. Advice on the OEAP website is set out by topic and role including governors. Within the governors page is a checklist to help understand the questions that we as governance boards should ask, Governance Checklist. Reminder for Academy Trusts that as from 1 April 2019 there are changes to requirements for Academies entering into agreements and declaring related party transactions and seeking approval. Declare or seek approval for related party transactions: summary guidance

Outcomes of South West Audit Partnership Themed Audits Whilst the outcomes of these audits might not necessarily apply to all settings, they are of use to all in that they help identify best practice regardless of the setting you govern in. Recent reports published, these are available in the SWAP file within the service website resources page, are the SFVS (Schools Financial Value Standard) themed audit 2018/19 and Safe Recruitment in Schools themed audit 2018/19. Below is a summary of the findings and recommendations. SFVS Audit – there are 16 findings identified by this audit that apply to maintained schools but can be used by other settings as examples of best practice in their own financial accountability – 1.

Finding Limited evidence of governor involvement in the completion of the SFVS and minutes do not evidence discussion or approval of the SFVS No evidence of the financial skills amongst the members of the governance board and more specifically the members of the finance committee. Terms of reference for the Finance Committee are not clear on the delegated responsibilities.

The most up to date version of the model finance policy wasn’t adopted by the board.

Boards are not receiving clear and concise monitoring reports of their school’s budget position at least 3 times a year.

Declaration of interest forms are not completed or incomplete and have not included declaration of business interests in relation to close family members.

Recommendation That governance boards should ensure that they work through the SFVS it is after all a statutory return of the governance board not the school. It needs to be formally approved by the full board prior to submission by the end of March each year. No evidence of the financial skills amongst the members of the governance board and more specifically the members of the finance committee.

The terms of reference must be reviewed on an annual basis and should reflect the latest model finance policy from the LA to make sure that all responsibilities are included and that there is clarity in the delegated responsibilities of the committee. Boards need to ensure that they review and approve the latest version. (A new version will have been uploaded to the county website [iPost] at the start of the financial year, this is the version schools should adopt). The school should make sure that boards receive detailed budget monitoring reports and the board should ask for them if they aren’t. Signed copies of the budget should be filed with the minutes of the meeting they were discussed. Governance boards and schools should make sure that all business interest forms are completed by governors and staff with financial responsibilities and these will be held in school.

10.

Finding Pay policy not approved by the governance board

There is not always a clear link between costs within the School Development Plan (SDP) and the budget. Schools haven’t completed a benchmarking exercise or haven’t discussed the results at a board meeting Schools aren’t using Purchase Orders (POs)

11.

Governor approval of the Consistent Financial Report (CFR) has not been recorded

12.

Asset registers not in place or there is no evidence of an annual review. Governors are not presented with the summary report of common findings for themed audits.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Results of schools internal control self-evaluation tool are not being presented or monitored by governors. Schools are not using an up to date version of the Whistleblowing policy and no evidence of its approval by governors Governors are not monitoring actions from previous SFVS returns

Recommendation This is a statutory policy of the governance board and they should make sure that they are reviewing and approving it annually in line with the latest version provided by SSE-HR. If approval has been delegated to a committee this must be clearly set out in the terms of reference for that committee. The SDP should be clearly linked to the budget to make sure that necessary funds are allocated and available. Boards need to approve the plan annually and so if costs aren’t recorded should be asking the question. Benchmarking needs to be completed against statistical neighbours using the DfE benchmarking website and governors should be monitoring significant variances against comparators following up on any action plan agreed. Whilst this is an operational issue governance boards should be monitoring to ensure that due process is followed to make sure that expenditure is authorised in line with the delegations set out in the finance policy. It is important that all decisions made by the governance board or the finance committee are accurately reported within the minutes of the meeting where the decisions or approval have been made. Without being fully informed via the CFR and recording accordingly it would be difficult to evidence that the board are discharging their duties relating to financial management. Governance boards have responsibility to review premises and other assets so should be monitoring and regularly reviewing. All themed audits directly related to governance are published on the service website, on iPost and confirmation of the publication communicated at the termly clerks’ briefings and chairs meetings to be shared with governance boards. Therefore, to state they are not made aware, would suggest that boards are not listening and adhering to the advice provided by their professional advisor (the clerk), their chairs of governors, or that either the clerk or chair isn’t sharing this information. Where improvements in internal controls have been identified governors should be receiving a report and monitoring progress towards the implementation of needed controls. Governance boards should ensure that a current up to date policy is available and approved by them. This must be recorded accordingly in governance minutes.

Governors must monitor the progress of actions in line with timescales. SFVS should be a standing item at relevant board meetings.

Safe-recruitment Audit – whilst there were only 3 findings from this audit it is important the governance boards are assured that all appropriate checks have been undertaken prior to an employee starting work in a school –

Finding Additional checks on a new employee who had been living outside of the United Kingdom had not been completed. Schools were unaware of the Safe Recruitment Toolkit published on iPost.

Inconsistent use of the New Starter Checklist

Other suggestions from findings

Recommendation It is important that these checks are undertaken to provided assurances that no undesirable behaviour occurred whilst living/working aboard occurred, thereby ensuring the safeguarding of pupils within the setting. Governance boards should make sure that staff are aware of all guidance available to them. This will give the board the assurances that correct procedures for safe recruitment within their setting will be followed. This is the checklist used for new employees to confirm that all require pre-employment checklist have been carried out and are satisfactory. Governance boards should be making sure that they are used to be reassured that no checks are missed. Recommendation would be that governors might wish to do spot checks to ensure its completion on the appointment of a new employee.  Suggestion that records of each interview process should be improved to ensure that they list the staff and/or governors on the panel to enable evidence that for each interview a panel member is trained in safe recruitment.  Compliance with the Data Protection Act – some schools retained copies of a new employees Disclosure and Barring Certificate for longer than the 6-month time-scale permitted. It was recommended that systems were implemented to set a date by which they should be destroyed. As the data controllers for the school, governance boards should receive assurances that this is happening.

The following article is information from colleagues in the Schools Funding and Accounting Team about the new SFVS for 2019 to 2020.

New Schools financial standard 2019 to 2020 For the 2019/2020 financial year the return has been revised by the DfE and the new format should be used by schools throughout the year with final outcomes submitted to the Local Authority by 31st March 2020. The return is now in electronic format (MS Excel Spreadsheet) which is to be used as a tool by Governors/staff to identify which areas may require their attention. It is recommended that Governors, Head Teachers and Finance Staff make themselves aware of the requirements for completion of this return. The standard for 2019 to 2020 consists of a checklist and a dashboard.  The checklist asks questions of governing bodies in 6 areas of resource management. It now consists of 29 items which need to be answered “Yes/No/In Part” with detailed evidence recorded for each.  The dashboard shows how a school’s data compares to thresholds on a range of statistics identified by the Department for Education (DfE) as indicators of good resource management and outcomes. Guidance in using this electronic tool and answering these questions can be found on Gov.uk where the DfE provide the return together with Checklist Guidance and Dashboard Guidance.  The checklist guidance provides clarification for each question, examples of good practice, and details further support available to assist schools in addressing specific issues.  The dashboard guidance provides explanations of each of the indicators and helps schools in filling in their data and understanding the results. Schools should also refer to Themed Audit summaries which are published on iPost from time to time to identify where their own processes may require improvement.

The SFVS should be a standing agenda item at Governor Meetings and the outcomes of the SFVS should be discussed and action plans implemented where needed. Education Financial Services (EFS) are available to assist schools with an ‘SFVS Overview’. A Senior Finance Officer (SFO) can visit with schools to discuss the essential requirements for completing the self-assessment. Enquiries regarding costs and bookings should be addressed to Jane Hooper (jchooper@somerset.gov.uk) at EFS. Schools Funding and Accounting Team

‘Books crowbar the world open for you’ says children’s author Katherine Rundell. Make

books the heart of learning in your school by using our cost-effective services. Did you know that Somerset offers schools (in Somerset and North Somerset) their very own library service? Resources for Learning (RfL) has been providing a wide range of quality resources, enriching the curriculum and developing library spaces in schools since 1948. We all know that reading is the foundation of learning. At RfL we believe that effective school library provision supports children in becoming successful learners, responsible citizens and confident individuals. Research presents overwhelming evidence that literacy has a significant relationship with a person’s happiness, well-being and success and there is a myriad of evidence to demonstrate the impact of library provision on children.1 Great resources at a fraction of the cost Schools can save time and money by taking advantage of the range of stock held at RfL and can borrow resources at the fraction of the cost of buying them. Use our resources and when you have finished with them, return them and then borrow some more! We purchase, process and hand-select resources ready for use in schools; no more worries concerning tatty, out-of-date books or difficulties in responding to different needs. Everything is delivered and collected but school staff are very welcome at our centre in Bridgwater to make their own choice. RfL also offers access to an online library of information books for the entire school including hundreds of interactive books, pictures, teacher's notes, lesson plans and worksheets. These are reliable and authoritative information books with fully integrated multimedia for use in the classroom and at home. Professional expertise at your fingertips The best library spaces don’t have to look like those in the glossy brochures. RfL can provide inspiration and information on cost-effective flexible, innovative and exciting library spaces and the management of the resources held within them. We offer a complete package from library design through to advice on the purchase of library furniture, overhauling book stock, reclassification, processing and library management system support. You can have a professional librarian working in your school! Our trained team includes teachers and librarians. There is also a range of support, information and guidance for literacy that will assist with literacy planning and delivery, the provision of resources and access to training and workshops provided by Somerset Literacy Network. As part of SSE we are a not-for-profit service and have cost-effective packages to suit all types of school and size of purse. This year prices start from just £823. If you want to know more contact Karen Horsfield on 01278 421015 email: KAHorsfield@somerset.gov.uk or see the RfL website .

Compliance in Schools Whether you are a maintained, VA, free or academy school there are certain responsibilities in respect of premises and compliance. SCC use RAMIS to help you monitor this and there are 8 annual returns required on the system which are – Annual Declaration – Fire Risk Assessments – Safety Glazing – Asbestos Management – Review of H&S Self Audit – Legionella Risk Assessment – Premises Manager Trained – Catering Self Audit These all follow a similar format with a question set designed to help manage the risks at your school and identify areas needing attention. Unfortunately, some schools see this as a chore and not as the assistance they were designed for. If schools complete these returns honestly, they will see areas where improvements, processes or actions are required, and they can address these and ensure they can not only demonstrate compliance but are prepared for either the regular H&S or SWAP audits. Figures show at the end of February 2019 that only 24 out of 169 maintained/VA schools had completed all 8 returns and 18 had not completed any. The overall return rate was just only 52%. This poor response rate is cause for concern as it will be difficult for schools to demonstrate compliance or even an awareness of any issues should an incident occur at their school. Governors have a responsibility to ensure Health & Safety and Compliance within their school therefore a regular agenda item would be advisable to check that the necessary returns have been made and the content is accurate.

Helen Acreman Service Manager – Property & Grounds Team Support Services for Education Email hjacreman@somerset.gov.uk

School Food Standards With the increased public awareness and greater demands as well as the ever-changing legislation to the food safety regulation, particularly allergen controls, schools are coming under more and more pressure to ensure that they have undertaken appropriate due diligence in relation to their food standards and catering arrangements. These processes will involve making sure the legal paperwork is up to date, that hygiene rules are always being adhered to and monitoring and review systems are adequate.

As with most legal requirements in a school, the overall responsibility to ensure these arrangements are adequate and children are protected rests with governors. If there is a failing in a school the caterer will be investigated and, where appropriate, prosecuted, however the school will also be required to demonstrate they adequately ensured safety measures were in place. The catering advisory team within SSE advise and support schools in meeting their legal duties, highlighting the most current legal stance and enabling them to adopt a ‘best practice’ approach to their food provision. Through highly qualified team members, using the most up to date equipment, schools can lessen the risks that an issue occurs, and help to mitigate the governor’s position by having not only an annual audit but a full year’s advice and information to support improvement in catering services at the school and minimise the risks to children’s safety. For more information on the support available contact Brendan O’Connell on 07818 5234954 or e-mail boconnell@somerset.gov.uk

Editor note – The School Food in England – advice for governing bodies produced by the DfE was updated in March 2019 and included a link to healthy eating resources for schools.

PROFESSIONAL ADVICE AND GUIDANCE – HELPING SAVE TIME AND MONEY

The Schools' Buying Hub South West is a new pilot service which is funded by the Department for Education. It provides free procurement advice and guidance across non-staff categories of spend – and helps schools and trusts save valuable time and money when buying goods and services. The Hub works with school business professionals across Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Wiltshire. To date we have met 1100 of them face-to-face at events across the region. The Hub has a whole team of experts ready to support you. Many members have found a QuickStart telephone consultation a great way to get started, and open cases across the full spectrum of their buying needs. Recent savings include 10-20% savings on water because of a Crown Commercial Service (CCS) water e-auction in which 68 schools and trusts participated. Your business colleagues want to talk about high spend categories including catering, cleaning and larger ICT purchases. The Hub also helps with smaller scale purchasing as this school in Bath noted, “I just wanted to drop you a note to thank you both very much for your support over the last couple

of weeks in the negotiation of the renewal of our Microsoft Licences. Your involvement has enabled the School to save £843.02 which is very welcome.” In summary the Hub offers:  Unlimited advice and guidance regarding simple and complex procurements - ask as many questions as you want. The team is available 08.00-17.00 Monday to Friday by phone, email and webchat.  An Initial QuickStart Consultation call with a procurement expert.  A free financial Health Check benchmarking your expenditure against similar schools.  Help developing a bespoke Savings Plan.  Expert insight into the latest deals available to your school, academy or MAT.  Invitations to conferences, presentations and Hub roadshow events.  A visit to your School Business Professional Network, MAT or School Cluster to discuss your specific requirements.

If you have not already registered please do so that we may work with your business colleagues to start your school, academy or trust on your savings journey. Here are our contact details and we look forward to hearing from you. Register today or contact the Hub more information. Phone: 0117 344 5261 Email: contact@schoolsbuyinghubsouthwest.com Website: www.schoolsbuyingclub.com/schoolsbuyinghubsouthwest

Schools’ Buying Hub South West Regus Offices, 1 Friary, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6EA

SSE Governance Services Contact details Address – County Hall, Taunton, TA1 4DY Telephone – 01823 355757 Email – sgs@somerset.gov.uk Website – www.supportservicesforeducation.co.uk/governance Ann Adams – Service Manager Email – aadams@somerset.gov.uk Telephone – 07977 410239

Marianne Sealey – Senior Administrator, Governance Services Email – msealey@somerset.gov.uk Telephone – 01823 357012 Hannah Smith – Administrator Governance Services Email – HXsmith@somerset.gov.uk Telephone – 01823 357705

General Contact Details Bath and Wells Diocese – Email – education@bathwells.anglican.org Telephone – 01749 670777 Address – The Diocese of Bath and Wells, The Old Deanery, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2UE DfE (Department for Education) – Email – contact via the form at www.education.gov.uk in the contact section. Telephone – 0370 000 2288 Address - Department for Education, Castle View House, East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2GJ Clifton Diocese – Email - schoolsandcolleges@cliftondiocese.com Telephone – 0117 902 5593 Address – Clifton Catholic Diocese, Schools and Colleges, Alexander House, 160 Pennywell Road, Bristol, BS5 0TX Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) – Email – enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk Telephone – 0300 123 1231 Address – Ofsted, Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester, M1 2WD