LITTLE DUNHAM ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

Minutes of the Annual Parish meeting held at 7.00pm on Thursday 27th May 2021 in the Village Hut. The Chairman of the Parish Council was present together with County & District Cllr Kiddle-Morris and seven members of the public, which included six parish councillors.

1. Chairman’s Welcome.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and took the opportunity to thank all the unsung heroes in the village who had stepped up and ensured that anyone in the village who had required help during the Covid pandemic had received it and thanked the village in its entirety for helping each other during this period.

From the Parish Council point of view it had been a quiet year, meetings had continued via zoom and the Council continued to monitor the situation at the Black Swan, with a decision awaited on the change of use appeal.

2. To accept the minutes of the previous Annual Parish Meeting held on 16th May 2019.

The minutes of the meeting held in 2019 were accepted; no meeting had been held in 2020 due to the pandemic.

3. To receive a report from the Police Liaison Officer.

Regrettably, PC Gilluley was unable to attend and had sent a report which is attached.

4. To receive a report from the County Councillor.

The report from the County Councillor is attached.

5. To receive a report from the District Councillor.

The report from the District Councillor is attached.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Kiddle-Morris for his hard work, particularly in relation to the village.

6. To receive a report from Primary School.

The report from Great Dunham Primary School is attached.

7. To receive a report from the Charity.

A representative from the Charity gave a brief background to the charity which received its income from rent for a piece of land owned by the Charity, together with some wayleaves payments. The funds are invested and produce a reasonable income. Grants can be given for ‘relief in need’ which cannot be obtained from other sources and fuel grants amounting to over £2,000 had been made this year.

There are five trustees, with one current vacancy. The Chairman proposed that Mr Walker be re- elected as one of the two parish council representatives, this was seconded by Cllr Harding and agreed by the other members in attendance.

The Chairman thanked the Trust for their work in supporting the community.

8. To receive a report from Cllr Stebbings – Community Speedwatch.

The report from Cllr Stebbings is attached. The Chairman thanked Cllr Stebbings and his team for their hard work.

It was noted that the speed signs coming into the village required attention and they will be reported to Highways.

9. To receive a Parish Council financial report for the year end 31st March 2021.

The financial report is attached. Cllr Stebbings had made a check and everything was in order. It was noted that the precept will likely have to increase to keep up with ever-increasing costs.

10. Open Forum – an opportunity for residents to express their views on matters of interest or concern relating to the village and to suggest ideas for the future.

No matters were raised.

11. To note the date for the next Annual Parish Meeting – Thursday 5th May 2022.

The date of the next meeting was noted and the meeting closed at 7.20pm.

Signed: Date:

Report from the Police Liaison Officer.

Norfolk Constabulary Little Dunham Parish Council Watton Police Station, 59 High Street, Watton, IP25 6EJ

Tel: 101 Mobile: 07766990802 27th May 2021 Email: [email protected]

www.norfolk.police.uk Non-Emergency Tel: 101

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your invitation for me to join you at the Little Dunham Annual Parish Meeting on 27th May. I had planned to attend in person, but unfortunately, operational requirements have meant that I am now unable to but I would like to offer the below annual report from Police.

It has been a very difficult year for individuals, businesses and community groups alike and the effect of the pandemic and the associated restrictions have impacted on how we have policed our towns and villages.

Throughout 2020 your local Safer Neighbourhood Team Beat Managers have continued to respond to priority calls as well as conducting reassurance patrols, utilising the “4Es” approach to policing; seeking to engage, explain, educate and only as a very last resort enforce the restrictions in place at the time.

Despite not being able to conduct traditional, face to face meetings, your Beat Managers have continued to work in partnership with Town Council and Council amongst other partner agencies. We have been conducting our Safer Neighbourhood Action Panel (SNAP) priority setting meetings online via Teams and our next SNAP meeting will be held on Wednesday 4th August at 7pm. We hope that this meeting will be a hybrid of face-to-face and online. For the link to join the meeting and more information please email the Beat Managers at [email protected]. We really hope you can join us!

Your local Beat Managers have always enjoyed a very close working relationship with the community and we are very aware that the restrictions have meant that we have been unable to conduct face to face engagement. With the publication of the Government’s “road map out of lockdown” and an easing of the restrictions, as long as the situation continues to improve, we look forward to resuming face to face meetings if we can but only if it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Little Dunham Parish Council, Community Speedwatch Team, local community and businesses for their understanding and support during what has been undoubtably a very difficult year.

Very kind regards

Paula Gilluley, Breckland Community Engagement Officer

We will answer letters within 10 working days, where information is available.

County Councillor for & Launditch Annual Report 2020/21

The whole year has been dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the introduction of measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Virtual meetings have been the norm using either MS Teams or Zoom. In the whole year from April ’20 to April ’21 I have attended only 4 parish council meetings in person which were conducted with strict social distancing measures in place. No committee meetings of the County Council have been held other than by MS Teams during the year. The majority of NCC staff (around 98%) and all members have been working from home for the entire year. All members of staff were allowed £250 to set up a home office and the laptops provided allowed phone calls to be made via the internet. Staff whose service were necessarily shot down such as libraries, catering, museums etc were redeployed to help with the delivery of the Covid response. Members were allocated a support role to vulnerable residents who were contacted by telephone. In October 2019, the Council carried out an exercise to test the resilience of the Council to a major incident, all staff were told to work from home for the day to test the IT system and its ability to support remote working. This was mainly to try out the new IT software and hardware but proved to be fortuitous as by the time of the first lockdown any lessons from the exercise had been learned and the transition to working from home in March 2020 was seamless. Governance: In May 2019, the Council moved from a committee system to an executive form of governance. The Cabinet (Executive) is responsible for the day-to-day decisions in the Council and is made up of the Leader of the Council and 9 other elected members. The Cabinet is held to account by a Scrutiny Committee, which can review decisions that member wish to debate or question by “calling in” a Cabinet decision that has not yet been implemented. There are 3 Select Committees which were originally formed to recommend policy to Cabinet but recently have had their remit expanded to include a wider scrutiny role. The 3 Select Committees are the Corporate Select Committee, the People and Communities Select Committee and the Infrastructure and Development Select Committee. All committees are politically balanced (in proportion to the number of seats held by each party) with the Scrutiny Committee chaired by a member of the main opposition group. The following is a brief overview of the work of the Committees.

Scrutiny Committee: the events of the Covid 19 pandemic have brought into focus the important role that the Committee could have in supporting emergency and recovery planning in the Council, feeding into current and future planning regarding lessons learnt. In May 2020, the Committee considered a revised work programme identifying several areas of priority and focus within the Council relating to the pandemic. Children’s Services – return to school; the response from Children’s Services has been far reaching and scrutiny has been focussed on the key challenges facing the service. • Support for education settings • Children’s social care • Children with special educational needs and disabilities • School attendance and vulnerable children

Support for shielded and vulnerable people; this has been a key area of scrutiny for the Committee considering a wide range of areas such as: • Social care • Safeguarding • Delivering essential support and supplies to those to those in need • Hospital discharges • Residential care Norfolk Economy and support for businesses; the economy of Norfolk, as with the rest of the country, has been severely affected by the pandemic. The Committee focused on the immediate impact of the support offered by the Council and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (NALEP) put in place to support the economy and local employment. Councils’ internal processes: The Committee considered the Councils own internal support processes particularly around IT support for staff working remotely and ensuring the Council maintained open and transparent decision making in virtual committee meetings. Wider Scrutiny Activities: Strategic and Financial Planning; the Committee has an important role in holding the executive to account especially in financial and strategic planning. The Committee has had regular updates throughout the year recognising that financial scrutiny needs to be ongoing rather than happening late in the budget setting process. Early Childhood and Family Service (ECFS): in January 2019, the County Council decided to transform Norfolk’s’ offer for families with children aged 0-5 with as significant amount of work undertaken to secure the new ECFS. The ECFS was launched in October 2019 and the Committee have monitored the impact of the new service and will continue to do so through its Children’s Services Scrutiny Sub Committee. Response to the December 2020 Flooding Event; in 2020 Norfolk was hit by a major flooding event in December. The Committee were keen to ensure that those residents who had suffered hardship were made aware of sources of support and information that was available to them. Investigation of the December flooding is still ongoing. A previous event in August was investigated and report issued. As a result of the 2 events causing widespread damage the Council have formed Norfolk Flood Alliance to coordinate the response of stakeholders to flooding events and to formulate measures to prevent further major occurrences.

Corporate Select Committee: The Committee usually meets 6 times a year but the meeting for May 2020 was missed due to pandemic restrictions. Strategies and Policies; the Committee has the key role of developing and reviewing the Councils strategies and policies. The following major policies and strategies were shaped by the Committee during the year. • Norfolk Digital Strategy: The strategy roadmap explains how the Council will continue to build on past and current successes to improve connectivity in Norfolk. The Council were awarded Connected Britain digital council of the Year 2020.

• NCC Customer Experience Strategy 2021-26: The Committee supported and shaped the strategy and on 15th March 2021 recommended the Strategy and a Customer Charter to Cabinet • NCC Performance Management Framework: The Committee shaped the new framework which aligns Cabinet outcomes and departmental objectives with the corporate plan “Together, for Norfolk”. • NCC Recruitment: The Committee has agreed the key priorities for recruitment to Council posts including a targeted approach with campaigns, reaching out to underrepresented groups, reducing the time to hire and improving the internal recruitment process. • Review of the Councils Constitution: The Committee has been overseeing a fundamental review of the Councils constitution including the Members Code of Conduct. The revised constitution was presented to Council in April ’21. • The business and Smarter Working: this programme was established to drive forward a range of plans and activities to modernise the Council, drive efficiencies and implement new ways of working making the best use of technology. Covid accelerated some of these changes with the roll-out of remote working to over 6000 staff by March 2020.

Infrastructure and Development Committee: the Select Committee contributed to the development of the following new and existing policies and strategies. • Enforcement Policy: the enforcement policy has been developed into a framework for a number of services to ensure that when undertaking regulatory activities and law enforcement the work is carried out in an equitable and consistent manner across all departments. • Environmental Policy: This policy set out sets out the areas that the Council sees as key to protecting and maintaining the health of Norfolk’s distinctive environment and its occupants. One year after it was approved by Council the Committee reviewed the progress to date in delivering the objectives of the policy. • Local Flood Risk Strategy: since this strategy was first written 5 years ago Norfolk has experienced some extreme weather events, there has been significant growth and development and the legislative landscape has changed. A review of the policy was carried out to ensure it remained consistent and relevant. Additionally, the Committee a number of discussion and update papers were brought to the Committee including: - • The Norfolk Economy • Performance of key highway contracts • Performance of the highway network • Waste disposal • Library and Information Service • Rights of Way Improvement • Budget planning • Policy and Strategy Framework annual review

People and Communities Committee: The Select Committee played a role in the development and shaping of the following new strategies and policies: - • Adult Social Services Winter Resilience Planning: The Committee supported the emerging winter planning by asking for focus on the wok of unpaid carers, ensuring mechanisms were in place to accept feedback from frontline staff about lessons learnt during the fist wave of the pandemic and raised concern around the testing of home carers. • SEND Educational Needs Improvement Planning: The Committee provided oversight to the development of specific action planning following the inspection of services for children with Special Educational Needs in early 2020. The Select Committee also reviewed the following existing strategy to ensure it remained fit for purpose: • Children’s Services Transformation Programme: The Committee commented on the specific new ways of working and changes of approach highlighted to help steer the direction of the work. This included particular focus on emerging proposals for support for children with disabilities. To support the Select Committee in carrying out its activities, and to support all Select Committee Members with a good background of the relevant services a number of discussion and update papers were also brought to Committee, including: - • Educational achievement of boys – Report • Children and young people’s mental health transformation • Special educational needs performance framework report • Quarterly children’s services report • Cares charter progress report • Post 16 education • Covid 19 experience in care homes

Your County Councillor: During the year I have continued to attend meetings of the 18 parish councils in my division of Necton and Launditch, although between March 2020 and this March I have only attended 4 in person parish council meetings the remainder being held virtually under the coronavirus regulations.

The absence of a highway engineer and other staff shortages in the local highways office over the winter severely hampered any but the most urgent highway defects being addressed. I am happy to say that the new engineer is doing a sterling job in reducing the backlog of work. There were 2 major flooding events in the division one in August and the other in Christmas Eve. At my request both have been investigated by the Local Lead Flood Authority. The County Council has set up a Norfolk Flood Alliance chaired by Lord Dannatt. The priority will be to set up a single point of contact for the reporting of serious flooding events. The forum will coordinate the responses of the 36 flood risk management authorities in Norfolk. Of the committees mentioned above I am member of the Infrastructure and Development Committee and have sat as a substitute on the Corporate Select Committee. I am chairman of the Council’s Standard Committee and have recently reviewed the members Code of Conduct and other parts of the Councils constitution relevant to members

conduct. This will implement the recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life and the new LGA model code of conduct. I have also been elected to chair the Norfolk Community Safety Scrutiny Sub Panel which was set up to be a critical friend on the progress of the Community Safety Partnership Plan. The sub-committee meets regularly and reports directly to the main Scrutiny Committee.

Mark Kiddle-Morris Member for Necton and Launditch Norfolk County Council. May 1st 2021

Breckland District Councillor for Launditch Annual Report 2020/21

As you will be aware, 2020/21 was a year which was dominated by the international pandemic. It had an impact on people’s lives around the world, including in Breckland.

Throughout the pandemic, Breckland Council’s top priorities have been to protect the lives and livelihoods of its residents.

I thought it might be useful to give you a rundown of the events of the past year month by month to highlight the hard work and the achievements whilst working under the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

April 2020

• Following the start of the pandemic, Breckland Council had already distributed just over £16m in grant funding to local businesses. The money, which was provided by central government, helped support local businesses which may be particularly affected by the current lack of trade. Breckland wrote to more than 3,000 local businesses eligible for grants worth between £10k and £25k.

• Planning permission for up to 4,000 new homes on the edge of was formally issued by Breckland Council after a £34m community investment agreement was reached with the developer. The money will fund the construction of new primary schools and invest in the existing Attleborough Academy. A new linear park, allotments, and open green spaces will be created, a community centre constructed, and contributions made to support indoor sport, libraries, and public transport provision in the town.

May 2020 • Breckland Council created an online roll of honour to thank local businesses, community groups and volunteers for the support they've shown in helping care for members of the district's communities.

• We announced a new grant award of £5000 for Norfolk Accident Rescue Service (NARS), which will help continue their vital work in supporting the emergency services and saving lives in the community.

• Norwich City and its football foundation boosted the local food supplies effort by donating 120 parcels to the council, containing essential non-perishable food items such as tinned goods and dried foods. The boxes also included hand sanitiser, toilet roll, sweet treats, a NCFC gift and a note from celebrity chef and Canaries shareholder Delia Smith.

June 2020 • The first 'virtual' committee meeting was held on Monday, June 1. The committee meeting was held via video-conference and streamed live to the council's YouTube page. The video feed enabled people to observe the meeting's debates and the decisions being made.

• In response to a rise in litter and fly tipping in the district, a number of case studies were shared via social media and local press. These included the “world’s most expensive coffee break”, where 3 staff littered coffee cups in the countryside resulting in a £240 fine. A fly tipping incident solved in just 3 hours resulted in a £300 fine, and £600 fine was issued to a

Thetford resident who dismantled a car in local woodland.

• As shops started to reopen after an initial lockdown period, Breckland launched the "Shop with Confidence" initiative, part of a much wider "Do Business with Confidence" campaign to support every business and every job possible during the Covid recovery phase.

• Breckland Council passed a significant milestone this month when it despatched its latest food parcels, which contained its 10,000th meal for vulnerable residents in the district.

• Two charities which offer support to people who have experienced domestic abuse in Breckland and Norfolk benefitted from a shared donation of over £3000. The Daisy Programme and Leeway Domestic Abuse Support Service received the funding after Breckland Council's Chairman selected them as her charity beneficiaries for 2019/20.

• Great news for birds and bees - In July we started to provide developers with planning advice and guidance which will help them create sustainable habitats for wildlife as part of its emerging approach to climate change and the environment. The advice will include the incorporation of bird boxes and bee or swift bricks into housing plans.

• Armed Forces Day - The council raised the flag at its offices to mark the occasion and called on residents in Breckland to take a selfie of them saluting and share it on social media using the hashtag #ArmedForcesDay2020 and #OurBreckland

July 2020

• Breckland Council and Solo Housing joined forces to deliver a joint new project to help rough sleepers across the district. The £40.5k 'Off the Street' project was funded by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government as part of the national Rough Sleeping Initiative. The project enabled Breckland Council and Solo Housing to provide temporary accommodation to people who were homeless or sleeping rough in Breckland, helping them into more settled accommodation.

• Environmental news - It was announced that the council will move away from its existing energy tariff and switch to a renewable energy tariff as part of its commitment to sustainability / tackling climate change.

• Also as part of our sustainability work, new steps were unveiled to create more bee-friendly habitats across the district. The council announced it would be leaving some verges and land to grow wild, or operate a 'cut less, cut later' approach, to help bees and other pollinators to thrive.

• Breckland Council's Silver Social Project announced a new series of arts events online, while physical venues were closed and social distancing guidance is in place. The new programme included acclaimed singing comedy sensations, the Opera Dudes, and creative writing and poetry sessions from Dan Simpson.

August 2020 • Breckland Council announced it would be providing new funding to enable the Daisy Programme to establish a community support team for residents vulnerable to domestic abuse. Consisting of an Early Help Community Lead and six or more volunteer Daisy Ambassadors, Breckland Domestic Abuse Community Support Team will help people affected by domestic abuse feel less vulnerable and help them rebuild their lives.

• A covid outbreak at Banham Poultry made local and national news. Breckland Council worked with Norfolk County Council and other partners to tackle the specific outbreak in the Breckland-based factory.

• A new housing policy enabled vulnerable and disabled people to access new funding and support to meet their bespoke housing needs. The revised Housing Assistance Policy saw funding ring-fenced to help disabled residents to live more independently in their own homes and improve housing conditions for vulnerable residents. The previous policy already offered grants of up to £30,000 per household to help pay for adaptations, but the newly revised policy will now include the option for owner-occupiers to take a loan of £10,000 if disabled adaptions cost more than the initial £30,000 grant.

• A new business grant in Breckland was launched to help businesses to continue safely trading despite Covid-19. The fund was available to local businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors and could see them receive up to £5,000 to help put in place safety measures and invest in ways to keep trading successfully over the winter months.

September 2020 • received 700k towards the protection and enhancement of it’s historic high street and surrounding areas, with £380,000 of this total from Historic funding. We’re working with partners to highlight and protect this historic high street.

• We worked with Dereham Town FC and the Daisy Programme to raise awareness of local support services and start conversations about domestic abuse. This forms part of the Inspiring Communities programme which focuses on the prevention of domestic abuse. The football club adopted the Daisy Programme as its shirt sponsor to help highlight this service.

October 2020 • Breckland Council picked up an RSPCA award for the fifth year in a row, this time scooping the Gold Award status in the Stray Dog category. This is part of the ongoing commitment to protecting animal welfare. We’ve since invested in a new animal welfare officer to carry out inspections and ensure local businesses meet animal welfare standards.

• Breckland Council’s Our Breckland Lottery hit a major milestone this month, with £100,000 for local good causes through online lottery ticket sales.

November 2020 • The Council rolled out the Local Restrictions Support Grant scheme and started to distribute further grants to Breckland businesses to help them through the pandemic.

• A new community shop, The Burrell Shop, launched in to ensure good quality, affordable food is available to people living close by. It was supported by Breckland Council and one of the ways we are helping our residents who are most in-need of support.

December 2020 • In the run up to Christmas – normally peak shopping time – we urged shoppers to spend money with local traders as part of our new ‘Enjoy. Discover. Explore’ campaign. This is one way we have protected livelihoods during the pandemic. We’ve since launched our Spring Back campaign to help businesses thrive following a difficult period during the height of the pandemic.

January 2021 • Urban regeneration expert, Hemingway Design, was appointed to help shape Thetford’s future. Public consultation followed which saw strong engagement with local people helping to shape the future of the town.

• Breckland Council agreed to sell the Green Britain Centre in Swaffham to an expanding international business. This will bring a new business and more jobs to the town. More information about this is expected to be released publicly soon.

• We helped Dereham’s Mid Norfolk Foodbank secure a new storage unit after releasing funding worth £2,500.

• The Digital Breckland programme launched to help businesses get set up online. The initiative provided training and advice to help businesses receive online orders, take digital payment, and get future-ready for an evolving high street.

February 2021 • Breckland Council launched ‘MyFuture: Social’ programme of events for young carers. Virtual events were organised to support carers in our area, offer them skills advice and employment opportunities, as well as a chance to socialise with peers and develop a support network.

• Breckland Council members voted to adopt a balanced budget for 21/22, which protects frontline services and invests in key areas – such as climate change, flytipping, and animal welfare.

• Breckland Bridge – the partnership between Breckland Council and developer The Land Group – completed a set of new homes Chantry Court in Attleborough. The scheme is helping to meet the rising demand for housing in the district.

March 2021 • Building work starts at Elm Road, in Thetford, to create a new unit for people in need of temporary accommodation. Work is expected to be completed on the scheme around the end of this year.

• Members voted to bring South Holland and Breckland’s partnership to end after more than a decade sharing a management team. The partnership was a big success, but a changing landscape, including local government reorganisation proposals, meant both councils opted to bring the partnership to a close and consider more local (within the same county) new partnerships.

• To help break the chains of transmission, an asymptomatic testing programme was rolled out in Breckland. This meant anybody without covid symptoms could access a free test to make sure they didn’t have coronavirus without knowing it and spreading it.

• A brand-new waste contract launched in Breckland, after the joined commissioning work in partnership with councils in west and . The move saved taxpayers money by cutting procurement costs while securing ‘best value’ service. Working together also brings benefits to service delivery, as cross-boundary working means vehicles, staff and other assets can be shared so the teams can work more effectively across multiple areas. During the first year of the contract, investment will also be made into shared IT systems, so real-

time service information is available to residents and it is made easier for people to book additional services online, such as garden waste collections. The contract has also seen a brand-new fleet of bin collection trucks and other vehicles rolled out, which will operate across all three council areas. These include reduced emissions and hybrid vehicles. We can also now offer a commercial waste service for the first time and this has got off to a great start. We’ve already issued around 200 quotes to prospective clients and have over 40 customers signed up to receive commercial bin collections from the council.

• ‘Spring Back’ grants and support to help Breckland businesses reopen their doors. The new scheme includes: o A Shop Front Improvement Scheme, which makes funding available to businesses wanting to make improvements and enhancements to their shop frontage - from a lick of paint through to a completely replaced front. o Covid Safe and Adaptions Grants worth up to £5k to help businesses invest in equipment which enables them to trade safety, from extra protective equipment and screens, to a marquee or outdoor seating to support social distancing. o Any Breckland-based business will be able to have an assessment of their digital offer, with money available to help them trade digitally. The Digital Breckland project will support new payment systems through to online advertising. o A streamlined pavement licence application process to help support businesses create outdoor seating areas, where appropriate, and encourage social distancing and covid-safe practices. This is in addition to online training and support being available from the council's Licensing and Public Protection teams. o For prospective businesses, Breckland Council is offering an Expanded enterprise and start-up scheme, providing funding and advice for people looking to launch their new business in the district. An earlier iteration of the scheme has already helped 10 innovative businesses get off the ground in the first few months of 2021 and the council hopes to help dozens more over the coming months.

• People living in Breckland can now contact the district council via video call, as the council expands its customer services offering. We launched the video call appointments system to make it as easy as possible for people to get in touch with the council, building on existing methods of contact including phone calls, email, web chat and online forms. It comes off the back of a rise in popularity in video calls during the pandemic and means residents will be able to speak virtually face to face with one of the council's Customer Services officers. Appointments will take place from the comfort of a resident's home via the video conferencing service, Microsoft Teams. Calls require access to a smartphone, laptop or a tablet and a stable internet connection.

I hope the above is of some interest, it does highlight the diverse nature of the work carried out by Breckland Council, and all for the lowest district council tax in England. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Mark Kiddle-Morris, Member for Launditch Ward. (, , Great Dunham, , , , , Rougham)

Report to Little Dunham Parish Council from the Governing Board of Great Dunham Primary School

May 2021 Inspired to learn, motivated to achieve Celebrating school successes Our focus, as always, remains firmly directed at improving outcomes for all children by delivering quality first teaching and maximising progress and attainment in a manner which is consistent with our school vision of ‘creating a school that unlocks the potential of every child’. Great Dunham is a special place – enjoyment and challenge are at the heart of all we do. We believe every child is unique and aim to nurture them in a happy, safe and secure environment; whilst inspiring them to learn with a stimulating, challenging and exciting curriculum that motivates them to achieve. The school continues to be popular and we had a cohort of 10 new starters joining us in September 2020, with 4 joining us throughout Key Stage 1 & 2; maintaining the number on roll of 65. Whilst Covid-19 has prevented many of the children being together in the classroom for the majority of this academic year, it has not dampened our sense of community or ability to create many memorable moments during 2020-2021: • We are a small school with a big heart; our children have raised funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, the Foodbank, the Royal British Legion (poppy day), Children in Need, Say No to Racism. • We are an inclusive school which actively promotes awareness and acceptance of religious and cultural differences; for example, we take part in Black History month, LGBTQ+ month. • The whole school have benefited from a range of educational visits and interaction within the local school network: Class Visit/Visitors Related Topic / Learning Rec/Y1/Y2 Night Before Christmas event British Values Y3/4 Swaffham Museum visit to school Ancient Egypt Virtual visit to Houses or UK Parliament week Parliament Cats Protection Virtual workshop Ancient Egypt / Life skills Y5/6 Chriss Lubbe workshop Black History Month Whole School NSPCC Workshops Life skills / Computing Introduction of Outdoor Learning which in the second lockdown developed into Feel Good Friday Anti-bullying week Road Safety week Virtual visits from parents to share their children’s learning Sadly Y3/4 residential to Kingswood September 2020 was cancelled together with Y5/6 London residential in May 2021.

Community Interaction Date In school and virtual VE Day Street Party/Sing a long June 2020 Virtual Meet the Teacher September 2020 Harvest Festival at St Andrews September 2020 Virtual Halloween Bingo October 2020 Remembrance Service at St Andrews led by Rev. Miriam November 2020 Christingle Service at St Andrews led by Rev. Miriam December 2020 Virtual Christingle with Ely Cathedral December 2020 Elf Day in support of Dementia UK December 2020 Virtual Christmas Quiz December 2020 Virtual Christmas Bingo December 2020 Christmas Dinner December 2020

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the school staff who work extremely hard to ensure that all our children receive the best experiences they can. As a result, standards are maintained and improved. Pupils are happy, safe and have a love of learning which is evident in their classrooms, their books and their attitudes to learning. May we also take this opportunity to thank our school parents for the continued and unstinting support of your children which enables them to maximise their potential.

Governance arrangements In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing boards, the 3 core strategic functions of Great Dunham Primary School Governing Board are: • Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction; • Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; • Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

In exercising their functions the governing body shall • Act with integrity, objectivity and honesty and in the best interests of the school; and • Be open about the decisions they make and the actions they take and in particular shall be prepared to explain their decisions and actions to interested parties.

Our governing body has a code of conduct which is reviewed and agreed annually. All governors are obliged to abide by this code.

The current Instrument of Governance (IoG) for the Governing Board of Great Dunham Primary School was signed in 2017. The membership is as follows:

Governor Type IoG Appointed

Parent 4 3 J. Lakey, A. Preston, W. Griffiths LA 1 1 B. Upton Staff 1 1 J. Whitty Co-opted 5 2 L. Elvin, K. Whitlock Headteacher 1 1 S. Nour

Total 12 8

Chair of Governors K. Whitlock Vice-Chair of Governors J. Lakey In order to discharge their duties effectively the Governing body has a range of skills. These include experience in financial management, teaching and learning, leadership, data and analysis, health and safety, safeguarding and performance management. We work hard to ensure we provide the right mix of support and challenge so that the school continues to develop and maintain a high quality educational experience for every child. Note that co-opted governors are appointed by the Governing Board and are people who, in the opinion of the governing board, not only have a strong commitment to the school but the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school; on our Governing Board 2 of the Co-opted governors are parents and the remaining is a member of the local community. In 2020, we sadly said goodbye to 1 parent governor. Mrs L Cooper was thanked for her significant and valuable contribution to the work of the governors. The time and effort required to carry out the role effectively should not be underestimated, and we are fortunate to have a group of talented and committed individuals, all giving freely of their time to work in the best interests of the school and its pupils. The Full Governing Board (FGB) meets once each half term. The governing body delegates some specific functions to some governors covering specific areas of school life. These governors are known as Link Governors. Our school has the following link governors:

Area of responsibility Named Governor Arts J. Lakey Computing W Griffiths EYFS L. Elvin Health and Safety A. Preston Humanities K. Whitlock Maths L. Elvin PE and Sports Premium W. Griffiths Pupil Premium J. Lakey Safeguarding B. Upton Special Educational Needs and K. Whitlock Disability (SEND)

Attendance record of governors Governors have excellent attendance at meetings and we have never cancelled a meeting because it was not “quorate” (the number of governors needed to ensure that legal decisions can be made). A record is kept by the clerk of the governing body, and can be viewed on our website.

The work done by our governing board

The Governing Board has had a particularly busy year focusing on school improvement, with support from an LA adviser, and looking forward to the future plans for the school. We are an outward looking team that regularly seek external collaboration and validation of our judgements, including quality of teaching and learning; we work closely with local schools within the Litcham Cluster, Cherry Tree Academy and Unity Education Trust, as well through the Viscount Nelson Education Trust to seek improved outcomes for our children. The full governing body discuss key data, giving the results of pupil achievement and progress, so that we can be sure that the school is on track to fulfil its aspirational targets for all pupils. We are also concerned about our “vulnerable groups” of children and focus on how the Pupil Premium and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Funding is being spent by the school and what impact this has on their outcomes. We welcomed Mr Justin Blocksidge as our SENDCo in January 2021, in a purchase agreement with Unity Education Trust.

We are ambitious for our children and want them to fulfil their potential and achieve the best results possible; it is equally important to governors to ensure that when they leave Great Dunham Primary they are confident, articulate, socially aware young people who are well prepared for the next stage of their life and education. We continue to maintain our approach of focussing on the 'whole child' to ensure that every child is given the support and encouragement to develop, socially, emotionally and academically.

The Governing Body looks at the maintenance and development of the school premises, and makes decisions about how the school should use the budget. We adhere to best value purchasing guidance, undertake annual financial benchmarking as well as completion of the annual statutory Schools Financial Value Standard. Our Health and Safety Governor carries out termly checks of the premises with the school’s site manager. Our RAG rating demonstrates that governors are also compliant with the annually required finance training.

Governors are also particularly concerned about safeguarding. The entire governing body undertakes annual safeguarding training and we have a nominated safeguarding governor who reports to every FGB meeting about any safeguarding matters. An external safeguarding audit is undertaken, as well a Single Central Record check bi- annually.

One of the roles for the governors is reviewing and agreeing school policies, we continually review our policies; to ensure that they are reflective of the school vision and ethos and in-line with the most recent legislation.

Minutes of Governing Board and Committee meetings are public documents – you can either find them on the Governors’ page of our website or you can ask at the school office if you would like a copy of any of the minutes of our meetings.

A key role of governors is securing the long-term future of Great Dunham Primary. Governors are aware that our school has become one of the few remaining small rural LA schools and have been actively looking for a multi-academy trust that would share our ethos and vision whilst allowing us to maintain our unique identity. We have worked increasingly with Unity Education Trust over the past academic year, and after due diligence have applied to join their established Trust. Headteacher Board Approval was granted on the 22nd April 2021. We look forward to beginning the next academic year as part of Unity Education Trust.

Future plans for the governors All plans are aimed at improving the learning experiences we offer all pupils and raising achievement levels. Key Priorities for 2021-2022: 1. Ensure improved attainment and progress in Maths and Writing across the whole school. 2. Increase challenge for all pupils to develop the number of children working at Greater Depth. 3. Ensure equal rates of progress for all pupil groups, such as boys, and disadvantaged. 4. Continue to develop parental and community engagement.

How you can contact the governing board We always welcome suggestions, feedback and ideas from parents – please contact the Chair of Governors, via the school office. You can see the full list of governors; their attendance at meetings; minutes of governing board meetings and more information about what we do, on the governors’ page of the school website.

Little Dunham Community Speedwatch Annual Report for the PC AGM 2021

Due to the Covid19 pandemic we have had long periods when we have been unable to conduct checks in the past year. From mid March to mid August and from the beginning of November 2020 to late March 2021 we have been inactive due to government restrictions. However, for the 2.5 months we were able to conduct checks in the late summer and autumn 2020 we caught 297 speeders who were duly reported to the Constabulary for action. Since resuming again on the 31 March to the beginning of May 2021, 92 speeders have been caught and reported.

Of considerable worry has been the higher percentage of speeders caught from the total number of vehicles checked since the various lockdowns started in March last year. We have also found that the speeds recorded by offenders have been higher. For instance since resumption in March this year we have had numerous speeds reported in the mid to high forties and have reported three in the fifties in just over a month.

It is apparent that during lockdown motorists have fallen into bad habits and the lack of our presence has been detrimental. By all reports we are far from alone in these findings. We are redoubling our efforts to reduce speeding through the village and hopefully Police support and enforcement will increase as speeding is one of the force priorities.

The SAM sign continues to assist our efforts in reminding motorists of the limit but some continue to ignore the warnings.

We continue to be one of the most active teams in the Breckland area and we are doing our best to make our village safer for all our residents and visitors. As ever would welcome any new volunteers to join our friendly team.

LITTLE DUNHAM PARISH COUNCIL ANNUAL MEETING 2021

PARISH COUNCIL FINANCIAL REPORT BANK RECONCILIATION Balance at 01/04/2020 11,265.33 Less Expenditure 9,906.37 Plus Receipts 5,658.81 7,017.77

Bank Balance at 31.3.21 Current Account 3,094.55 Savings Account 3,923.22 7,017.77 including: S106 - Play Area 895.85 W75 Commemoration 500.00 Village Hut Water Reserves 200.00 S106/Grant - Water Supply 2,360.57 General Reserve 3,061.35 BUDGET REPORT Budget Total % 20/21 Spend

PAYMENTS Admin 1,076 865.50 80% Salary 1,485 1,521.48 102% Village Hall 200 362.78 181% Playing Field 100 75.50 76% Open Spaces 250 66.60 27% Grass Cutting 1,260 1,090.54 87% Hedge Cutting 130 110.00 85% Donations 200 200.00 100% Defib 0 26.45 TOTAL 4,701 4,092.40 87% VAT 1,140.81 Play Area S106 5342.56 4,446.71 83%

RECEIPTS Received Precept 3,000 3,000.00 100% Interest 1.79 Elections 0.00 Recycling 150 207.55 138% Grants/Donations 0.00 HMRC VAT Refund 89 88.90 100% TOTAL 3,264 3,298.24 Village Hut Water 2,360.57

Surplus/Deficit -1,436.94 -794.16