Stifford Clays Primary School Local Governing Body Meeting Date: 16/05/16 6.00Pm Venue: SCPS

Stifford Clays Primary School Local Governing Body Meeting Date: 16/05/16 6.00pm Venue: SCPS

Names: Roles: Status: Mrs Jaynne Crawford Parent - Chair Voting

Mr Paul Drake Parent Voting

Mrs Joanne Fisher Staff Voting

Mr Anthony Peltier Headteacher Voting

Mr Ian Broyd Staff Voting

Mr Duncan Gotobed Co-opted – Vice Chair Voting

Mr Adrian Pritchard Co-opted Voting

Mr Andy Titterton Co-opted Voting

Mrs Tracy Rowe Co-opted Voting

Mrs Nicola Roche Co-opted Voting

Mrs Katy French Co-opted Voting

Mrs Frances Sladden Associate Non-Voting

Agenda:

NOTE: Please bring to the meeting all those documents already circulated and referred to in the separate agenda items.

Quorum for meeting: Half of voting members

Reference Agenda Item Action

17/16 WELCOME & APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Francis Sladden and Tracy Rowe and accepted by Governors.

Stifford Clays Primary School is operated by the South West Essex Community Education Trust Limited which is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with company number 07693309. The Registered Office is at William Edwards School, Stifford Clays Road, Grays, Essex, RM16 3NJ. Page 1

Andy Titterton phoned Chair of Governors that day to advise that he was resigning from the Governing Body due to work commitments. Membership details to be updated. Clerk

Members were requested to complete details for Edubase and these will be uploaded by the school.

Mr Steve Munday attend to explain the proposed Governance model.

18/16 DECLARATION OF INTEREST a) There were no conflict of interest arising from the agenda for the meeting. b) There were no new business interest to be updated in the annual register. c) There have been no gifts or hospitalities received

19/16 BUSINESS OF THE MEETING There were no changes to be made to the order of the meeting nor were there any urgent business matters to be discussed.

Clarification is sought following the recent court case regarding term time holiday. Stifford Clays is collating data and issuing letters to Parents regarding absence however not forwarding details to the Local Authority.

SM confirmed that the Trust is looking at a consistent approach across all schools in the Trust and looking utilise the centralised service through William Edwards.

Chair advised that she had sent an email to all staff thanking them for the support they gave the Year 6 pupils during the SATS testing period.

20/16 MEMBERSHIP The CEO reported that the Trust has been in place for a year on 1st April 2016 and that the perceived potential of growth and direction of travel is clear. The Trust now has capacity to work with and support other schools. Members were advised that Chadwell St Mary and a senior school in Havering have approached the Trust and conversations have taken place regarding them joining the Trust. The DfE have also approached the Trust regarding taking on additional schools.

Members were advised that the Trust may submit an application to open a Free School. The CEO advised that over the next five years, Thurrock will have a shortage of secondary school places and, current indications are that by 2020, there will be at least 2,000 places short. There is the likely hood that Thurrock will require an additional 3-5 Secondary school to accommodate the growing number of pupils. It was noted that William Edwards is currently oversubscribed and is working at capacity. Appropriate partners will challenge and move the

Trust forward for the benefit of all. There are currently many types of Governance models and the Trust is keen to get a model which will enable growth and the definition of the roles is important and the most appropriate personnel sitting at each level of the Governance structure.

The Trust is keen to continue to delegate appropriate powers of responsibility to Local committees to maintain and scrutinise educational standards in the schools.

Schools being invited to join the Trust will have a similar ethos to the founding schools.

Discussion took place amongst Governors and Governors asked the following questions

When the MAT was formed, it was advantageous that the schools were feeders to William Edwards, how will this continue if schools outside the area join? The fundamental principles of the Trust remain the same and there will be no change in Feeder school or process.

Little Thurrock school is closer, why are they not being encouraged to join? Proximity is not a factor and there will be no change to the admissions criteria as that would not be fair.

How would the scheme of Delegation changed? The document would evolve and whilst some Governor have reviewed the document many have not been required to do so and it requires updating.

How will the Head Teacher appointment be effected? Head Teacher is the most important part of driving school improvement, the Trust has not a direct decision in the process although they are the ones that are accountable. The Local Governing board would still be involved but the Board would also be more involved as they are accountable.

What powers will the Local standards committee have? Very similar to present and they will hold the Head Teacher and school to account for standards of education. The makeup of the Local Board may change.

The focus is to remove onerous responsibility from the Local governing body to enable them to concentrate on the educational standards within the individual schools. Stifford Clays Primary School is operated by the South West Essex Community Education Trust Limited which is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with company number 07693309. The Registered Office is at William Edwards School, Stifford Clays Road, Grays, Essex, RM16 3NJ. Page 3

There will be a reconstitution of the committees and Trustee board once the structure is agreed. Members requested that a copy of the structure be sent to them in order that they can review.

The scheme of delegation needs to be reviewed and updated to reflect the rapidly changing world of education. It was originally established at the start of the MAT.

Members felt there needs to be more communication between the local body and the Trust and the communication strategy is an area which needs to be reviewed. This is to be discussed at the next Trust meeting.

The new Governance structure proposes that members of the SLT are not staff Governors in order that the model can fit all schools, however members felt that for larger schools there should be a caveat that they are involved and this is to be clarified. Currently SLT do not feel that they have enough involvement with the Trust and it is solely the Head who deals with the Trust.

A suggestion was made that the standards committee could invite members of the SLT to present when required.

There is to be a greater triangulation of information and the model needs to work at all of the schools within the MAT. Governor visits at Stifford tend to involve staff other than the Head Teacher.

Governors asked How does the information flow work? Reports should be shared with all parties in a timely manner

Decisions at Trust level have an impact on the school, how does the Local Governing body influence the Board? Communication between the local Chair and the Trust Board is crucial. The Head Teacher sets the direction of the school and leads the organisation. It is vital that members of the local Governing body have the correct skill sets to effectively challenge the head teacher and school. Appointment of Governors is the best way to ensure this occurs and that Governors have the best interest of the school.

Governors commented that there are number of them that fall in to different categories and clarification is sought as to the exact criteria. In some schools Governor recruitment can be difficult however this may Stifford Clays Primary School is operated by the South West Essex Community Education Trust Limited which is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with company number 07693309. The Registered Office is at William Edwards School, Stifford Clays Road, Grays, Essex, RM16 3NJ. Page 4

be due to the approach of appointing Governors. In the proposed structure there is not an automatic appointment of the Head teacher at Trust level? This is due to growth of the Trust at present there are only three schools and the structure works, however as more schools join this may not work. A suggestion was made that there be representation of each type of school at Trust level.

HT stated that the original trust was established by the three Head Teachers and he feels that they should sit on the Board as Founding Heads, a discussion took place as to the process if one of them left and was replaced by another head with different skill sets.

Stifford Clays as a school is keen to be represented on the board. With the trust growing there may be a situation where a chair or vice chair of one of the schools does not sit on the board, and a discussion took place as to whether they should be part of the leadership group as a link between the Local body and the Trust. Communication between all parties is key and going forward this needs to be clearly defined. There is influence via the leadership group but members did not feel this was reflected in the proposed model shared. Consultation with the local Governing body is key to get the correct model in place to suit all schools within the Trust.

The local standards committee have no legal powers however Governors do, how does this work? The Trust Board does not wish to change this but the local standards committee will focus on educational standards with the correct people sitting on the local board.

The two primaries that are currently in the trust have raised standards for the best outcomes and it is the head Teachers that have influenced this. The Head Teacher is enthusiastic about the development of the Trust however there may be future issues if there is a change at CEIO level. The CEO is responsible for building the Trust for the future top support other schools. The DfE have approached the Trust to take on other schools however it is only keen to take on schools with the same ethos. Local schools have also approached the Trust to become part of the MAT.

The leadership group needs to be able to influence the CEO and the Head Teachers need to be confident in being able to challenge, school is not a business and the children and their education is the most important thing.

The structure needs to be future proof and all schools within the Trust need to have a voice and communication is the key. The process for appointment of Local Standards committee members will be shared and this will enable the correct people to be able to challenge school. Governors asked Will there be alignment of policies and diversity especially as different education authorities may be involved? This is planned and where possible joined up policies to be used. There will be lots of alignment amongst the local standards committee.

Would any change in the Ofsted rating of the sponsor school have an effect on the Trust? William Edwards which is an outstanding school has not been inspected since 2011 and is exempt from inspection under current guidelines. The school is not concerned and it is a good strong school. The Governors have faith in the school which received the highest number of applicants this year.

Members were requested to review the structure when received and feedback comments and questions to the CEO. 7.15 SM left the meeting HT returned to the meeting and the discussion continued regarding the proposed Governance structure. The Head Teacher stated that the local standards committee is key to the challenge for school and explained that he is keen to sit on the Board to ensure that the Primary schools are fairly represented and that the Trust understands the needs of the schools. There are currently two primary heads and one needs to sit at Trust level to ensure Primary expertise is shared.

21/16 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes of the meeting held on 8 February 2016 were reviewed, agreed and signed by the Chair as a true record of the meeting.

[Minutes already circulated/attached]

ACTION ACTION DETAIL ACTION ACTION REFERENCE OWNER STATUS AP1 Business interest declarations for Governors not present Chair o/s AP2 Skills matrix to be updated (attached) Chair o/s AP3 PP monitoring visit report – Apr was thanked for his APr complete comprehensive report and a discussion took place regarding the funding AP4 Safeguarding Training – scheduled for this term JF to advise All o/s Governors. In light of the proposed changes this item is to be deferred. AP5 School development plan- awaiting budget finalization from NR/HT Complete

MAT in order to utilize Dashboard. Access to portal be given to Governors for dashboard progress and School effective plus (Budget not yet finalized) SE+ Logins have been setup. Governors were urged to log in to view details. During the recent OFSTED inspection the inspectors were impressed by the engagement of stakeholders. It is one of the few schools where OFSTED has shifted emphasis from parent view. AP6 There are a few in-house policies to be reviewed. MAT Chair/KF/TR Ongoing based HR policies have been sent to staff for consultation. Chair thanked SLT for their assistance. AP7 Staff survey action Plan. Further survey will take place for Chair/APr Complete all stakeholders. Previous surveys cannot be used as they do not totally align. Some of the outcomes will drive the school improvement plan. Feedback in respect of previous survey to be given to encourage future participation and retain credibility. HT to complete high level report and share at next FGB. Ofsted looked at SE+ and prised it accuracy regarding all stakeholder comments. Communication strategy launched and already beginning to address one of the major concerns in both staff surveys. AP8 A new SEN Governor is required following Andy Tittertons Chair O/s resignation. SEN Governor Required

AP9 New Co-opted Governor from Community (not needed in Chair Complete light of the proposed changes)

AP10 Term time holiday – policy not formally adopted however Chair Complete indicators are that all three schools will send results to Thurrock who will issue fines (new policy agreed).

AP11 Supportive evidence report regarding fixed term exclusions, JF complete reasoning and background information will be included AP12 HT to speak to CEO of MAT regarding Targets HT Complete AP13 Progress chart re financial reporting to be circulated and HT o/s uploaded to team site AP14 Risk Register to be shared once completed and uploaded to DG Complete Team Site. This has been completed and the school has reviewed all areas. There are no red risks. Most were staffing and the school is in a better position following recruitment. Summary to be provided for next meeting July 2016.

AP15 School Website review (Praised by Ofsted other school Chair Complete within the MAT to adopt our site setup). AP16 Monitoring visit reports- to be uploaded to Team site NR/Chair Complete AP17 Code of Conduct to be signed by Governors not present Chair Complete AP18 SCR review (praised by Ofsted) Chair Complete AP19 Review School Effectiveness plus (Governors to do in their All Complete own time and pose questions for HT response)

22/16 MATTERS ARISING There were no matters arising from the previous meeting not covered

elsewhere in the agenda.

23/16 REPORTS FROM BOARD To receive the minutes and papers of the following meetings: a) MAT Board meeting 24/3/2016 Members of the local Governing board were disappointed that as per previous meeting they had not received minutes of the Board meeting held 24th March 2016.

24/16 HEADTEACHER’S REPORT The report was shared with Governors prior to the meeting.

A Governor asked for clarification regarding an exclusion that took place in May and an explanation was given to the day’s calculation and sessions. Exclusions were praised by OFSTED during the inspection as they are less than national averaged

Attendance is looking good, those with less than 90% is approx. 61 to 88 pupils. Governors asked what can be done to reduce and can learn from others schools? Reception children have impacted on figures and parent’s engagement is taking place. Ian Broyd has meet with Lee Webb regularly to discuss strategies. HT stated that the data is representative and gives a true picture of the school. Reception and Year 1 have had a lot of illness which as impacted on the figures

HT would like to get 96.7% and is worried about the recent term time holiday decision involving the Isle of Wight case, and does not want the figure to drop below 96%.

What are the priority subjects to get quality of teaching to the same standard as maths and English The school priority of attaining Government t standards for maths and English has been to the detriment of other subjects.

The school needs to invest in leaders and plans are in place to remove members of the Senior leadership Team from Classrooms. Recruitment to support them being out of classrooms and the cost implications is being reviewed. A new focus will be to raise the profile and monitoring role for each subject leader.

Are there particular subjects?

Yes Geography, Art and History certain year groups are better than others. DT is better in some year groups dependant on the member of staff and their skills

All subjects to be assessed on target tracker from next academic year

the relevant staff will be in place with support.

What is the staffing strategy from September? Targeting children that have had gaps with the best teachers, not all pupil premium children have gaps teachers. Various strategies will be used and SLT will be used to get maximum impact.

Three teachers where being used for pupil premium how is this going to be balance when we are now using SLT? The school will offer direct targeted support following in-depth data analysis. It is a better offer for pupils as outstanding teachers will be delivering the support. CPD is being reviewed for SLT

Is there a transition process to advise the school how stifford pupils are achieving once they have left the school? Not currently, A governor commented that this could be a link between the schools in the Trust, further discussion to take place with SM

Governors thanked the Head Teacher for his report

25/16 SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLAN/SEF To discuss progress on implementing the School Development Plan and consider the School’s Self Evaluation Form/Summary.

26/16 OFSTED Governance was praised in the OFSTED report

26/16 SAFEGUARDING/CHILD PROTECTION No issues were raised. Chair has completed audit.

27/16 CHAIR’S ACTION There has been no action taken by the Chair under the relevant authority.

28/16 POLICY REVIEW To report any policies reviewed/approved by committees/the Trust Board and to review and agree the following policies: None to be circulated at present – still an ongoing process.

29/16 PUPIL AND SPORTS PREMIUM GRANT Pupil premium provision in the school is really good and was praised by OFSTED each year group has different challenges.

Year two there are no gaps between Pupil Premium and non pupil

premium Governors congratulated staff on this achievement.

Judgements are teacher assessed and gaps have to be treated with caution Target Tracker changes age related expectations as the year progresses and an assumptive check needs to be carried.

Tests are being carried out for all year groups, comparison and analysis needs to be carried out. There are children with complex needs and the school needs to look at the offer. This will be discussed at the data meeting in July.

OFSTED praised the school for its honesty in results.

Sports premium (£10K) was used to fund a consultant to offer extra- curricular clubs and SEN support is provided.

Paralympic event will take place in Thurrock involving 9 schools it is an initiative started by Stifford Clays and OFSTED praised the school for starting this event.

Parents are complimentary about sports offered Kerry Grit was praised for the high quality of sports opportunities delivered.

The Local Authority have sent data to the school regarding obesity levels in the areas and this will be reviewed by the school.

30/16 GOVERNOR MONITORING, DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING Monitoring reports are to be uploaded to Team site.

Governor training Governors disputed that the Trust stated training was well attended as there experience shows that this is not the case and training days are not flexible.

31/16 NON –PUPIL DAYS The Autumn break will be 2 weeks following the consultation.

All schools within the Trust will finish on 16 December 2016 and there will be 2 training days 19 and 20 December.

2 more days are to be agreed

32/16 DATES AND TIMES OF FUTURE MEETINGS Monday 18 July 2016 6.00pm

33/16 ANY OTHER URGENT BUSINESS The Headteacher advised there has been two staff disciplinary issues.

One was resolved and the other required investigation which led to staff suspension, however the person has now been reinstated.

One was a breach of social media policy parents view was sought during the investigation. A formal final written warning has been issued however the staff member was suspended on advice of HR whilst the investigation took place

The other issue involved two staff member saying profanities in front of children. One member admitted that the incident had taken place and apologised. An investigation took place regarding the other member of staff and due process followed, a written warning has been placed on the staff file.

No integrity of the school was compromised and outcomes have been reported.

Meeting closed at 8.25

Clerk’s Details: Debbie Galton, 07940592906 [email protected]

Circulation List: All governors. Also copied to the Clerk to the Directors, Company Secretary and Chief Executive Officer.

Note to clerks:

 Circulate as a PDF file so not to lose format  Save as: Agenda School Name DRAFT or APPROVED by Chair or APPROVED by GB DDMMYYYY