Autumn Term FGB Agenda

BEATRIX POTTER PRIMARY SCHOOL

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE FULL GOVERNING BODY OF BEATRIX POTTER PRIMARY SCHOOL ON MONDAY 30 TH SEPTEMBE R 2013

Governors Present Mr Andi Britt, Ms Karen Clay, Mrs Costanza de Toma (Chair), Mrs Jill Gisby, Ms Denise Lawrence, Mrs Alison Longworth, Mr Steph Neale (Headteacher), Ms Sally Palmer, Mr Nigel Powlson , Ms Sue Pearce, and Ms Carina Svensson-Whalley.

In attendance: Ms Catherine McCann (Clerk)

AGENDA PART 1

1. Apologies for Absence Governors received and accepted apologies from Tim Mann and Helen Strathearn.

2. Governing body membership There are vacancies for two Parent Governors, one Local Authority (LA) Governor, one Community Governor and one Staff Governor. Sue Pearce who attended the meeting was elected to the Staff Governor post, Carina Svensson also attending was appointed to the Community Governor post. Heather Moody had indicated she would like to stand again for one of the parent vacancies. A skills audit of the governing body was being undertaken prior to recruiting for the remaining posts. Costanza De Toma would circulate this and where skills sets were lacking the governors would like to encourage people with those skills to apply. Areas thought to be needed were non staff governors with an education background conversant with educational data to provide another viewpoint and to help to fully understand Standard Assessment Tests (SATS), people with experience in the areas of Finance, HR and Teaching Curriculum. The report would be circulated by the end of the week so that the Head could prepare a brief for the Parent Vacancies and the Clerk could advise the LA skills required in their nominees.

ACTION: Costanza/Head/Clerk.

3. Election of Chair and Vice Chair Timothy Mann is stepping down as Chair, but remaining on the Governing Body. The Governors wished to minute their vote of thanks to Tim for his work as Chair. Liz Banner has stepped down from the Governing Body and the Governors wished to record their vote of thanks for her work as Vice Chair and her long service as a governor.

Costanza De Toma was unanimously elected as Chair and Nigel Powlson was unanimously elected as Vice Chair both for a period of one year.

4. Declaration of Interests and Register of Business Interests

Beatrix Potter – Minutes Autumn Term 2013 Governors were asked to declare any business or pecuniary interests relating to any item of the agenda. None were declared. Register of business/pecuniary interest forms were distributed to the membership and signed. Those governors who were unable to attend will need to complete forms as soon as possible. ACTION: Timothy Mann/Helen Strathearn/New governors when elected.

5. Minutes of the Last Full Governing Body Meeting 10 th June 2013 and matters arising The minutes of the full Governing Body meeting of 10th June 2013 were agreed as a true and accurate record of the meeting with the amendment of “Battersea Park School” to “Beatrix Potter School” in Item 7. A copy of the minutes was signed by the Chair.

In future the governing body would like to receive the minutes early – and as there are action points which don’t get actioned would like a separate Actions sheet. The Chair proposed setting up a Google Drive to enable the governors to share information efficiently. The Head believed that London Grid for Learning (lgfl) may have its own cloud version usable if all governors were set up on lgfl email. He would investigate this. Clerk to check with LA what is and is not permitted. ACTION: Chair/Head/Clerk. Two governors require Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. This is in progress and checks will be conducted for the new governors.

6 Governing Body Annual Work Plan (Academic year 2013/2014) The topic of a work plan had been discussed at the “Achieving Outstanding Governance” training. The Chair had been provided with a model policy by Wandsworth’s Governor Services, Clerk to circulate this to all other members. It was agreed to work with the template to focus on priority areas. This to be drilled down into at the training on Saturday, and linked to the priorities in the School Development Plan (SDP). ACTION: All Governors/Clerk.

7. Committee Membership and Terms of Reference The Terms and Policies for each committee had been previously circulated. The School Governance Document is good and precise and covers everything required by the Department for Education (DFE). These policies were accepted by the Governing Body. Some committees do not have a full complement of members and some have none at all. It was agreed that existing members stay where they are, and new governors will be added to committees where required. Chair to circulate the governors list that has the terms of committees on it.

In answer to a question from a governor it was stated that any governor can attend any committee and external participants could be co – opted if required.

It was agreed that all governors need to know when all committee meetings are. A meeting list to be drawn up. Committee meetings to be minuted and minutes to be circulated to all governors prior to the Full Governing Body (FGB). Documents to be classified as requiring

Beatrix Potter – Minutes Autumn Term 2013 action or for information. Essential documents to be sent out a week prior to the meeting. It was not possible to set meeting dates as the Chairs of Committees were not present. Previously Heather Moody had chaired Curriculum and Liz Banner Safeguarding.

The option of remote participation in meetings was discussed and it was decided that this was not practically possible at present.

8. Review KS Tests/Internal examination and assessment of results A report detailing the percentage of pupils reaching level 4 or above had been circulated. These results were based on last year’s tests. In the first section Beatrix Potter’s results in Reading, writing and maths are shown in the end column against the National Average – which they have exceeded by three percentage points or more.

A table detailed the breakdown of achievement of the 4 Pupil premium students in the class. 3 achieved 4c and above in reading. In writing – which is Teacher assessed, 2 got 3, and 2 got 4. Under the new maths test only 2 out of the 4 achieved a 4 in maths. The progress of the Pupil Premium children is tracked separately as required by Ofsted.

A table showed the attainment of the 5 Special Educational Needs (SEN) pupils, plus 1 statemented pupil. The range of SEN requirements includes autism and hearing impairment. 4 pupils did not attain level 4 in Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS). A governor asked if it counts if the children do not reach the target in one subject, and it was explained that it counts as a failure if they don’t achieve in one of the subjects.

These pupils contribute to the total ratings achieved.

The Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) data was detailed as the Head explained that one thing not possible to see from the pupil premium results alone were the significant number of pupils who are in the next band and just miss being helped. The figure of “poor” children is 41%. The head feels that as well as looking at the achievement of the pupil premium children consideration should be given to children in the other bands.

The Cohort table showed 18 pupils in the medium prior attainment band, 6 in the higher band and 4 with English as an additional language.

The tables over the page detail the attainments in both percentages and numbers. No one was absent. Test results in reading and grammar, punctuation and spelling were well above average. This year’s maths results were not as good as last year’s.

Progress Measures – Children must make 2 levels of progress between Key Stage (KS) 1 and KS2, 5 children did not do so in maths, 4 in reading and 1 in writing. The floor figure is 60%, the school exceeded this at 79%.

It was explained that there was difficulty in assessing whether 2 levels of progress had been achieved for 2 pupils as the school did not have KS1 data for them. This made a significant difference to the data. A governor questioned how Ofsted could make a judgement on this.

Beatrix Potter – Minutes Autumn Term 2013 The governors were concerned this would be an ongoing problem. Last year 2 pupils had come from abroad and there were a further 2 who according to the data had not sat KS1 – though they must in fact have. The governors questioned whether they could request this information to assist the school – and it was agreed this would be helpful.

Previously pupils’ progress from KS1 to KS2 had been tracked at the end of the year – this was now done termly. A governor asked how it was tracked termly to see that it was progressing in the right direction. It was explained that a report has been developed with the help of the School Improvement Plan (SIP) with targets and traffic lights showing whether they are being achieved.

There is an issue with children join the school in years 4 and 5, as the teachers don’t have the time to make a significant difference for them. Governors asked if it was likely that as schools expand children move more. This is not believed to be the case.

The figures on the Data Dashboard are for 2012 and the figures look good. However Reporting and Analysis for Improvement through school Self – Evaluation (RAISE) Online which will come out in October is much more informative and Nick Fleischer the School’s Link Inspector will come to the Curriculum Committee meeting to take them through it.

9. Self-Evaluation Summary (SES) and updated SDP The current SES (formally the Self Evaluation Form) was written when the school had its last Ofsted Inspection in 2011. Although the old SEF is no longer a mandatory document it is a helpful summary, for both governors and Ofsted inspectors, of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. There are new Ofsted guidelines for the preparation of an SES, and the school’s needs to be revised. The Head will work on the new SES and the governors will contribute to it following their Outstanding Governance training on Saturday. The SDP is up to date. A governor advised that it was important all governors are familiar with the last Ofsted report. Governors must be clear on what evidence there is for the school’s effectiveness, not just to know the impact made –but how it can be proved. ACTION : Head/ All governors

10. School Link Inspector’s Note of Visit Head to circulate to governors. ACTION: Head

11. Headteacher’s Termly Report to Governors The Head had circulated the updated Governance Document and Code of Conduct which fit the latest criteria. Also circulated was the current structure of the board. The Information pack for new governors was now in folders in the Head’s Office. He had also prepared the Policy Review Schedule for 2013 – 2016 showing which policies were to be reviewed by which committees and when. A governor pointed out that some policies such as the anti-bullying policy could only be developed by staff, parents and pupils rather than governors. The Chair requested that Acronyms be spelt out particularly for the benefit of new governors.

Beatrix Potter – Minutes Autumn Term 2013 The Head reported that they were experiencing fewer problems with the building. The hot water was not working, there was a leak upstairs and a problem with the boiler.

The artificial grass and bandstand that had been installed were a real asset to the school.

There are now two Reception classes and expanding to two forms has widened the ethnic and class makeup of the school. There are advantages to having two form entry, SEN needs can be evened out across the classes, and children can mix more. A governor asked if one teacher can teach the same lesson to both classes, and it was explained that this did not happen as each teacher was responsible for their class and teaching them the whole curriculum – but the teachers plan their lessons together. The school has benefited financially from expanding. There is a new international link with six countries – Poland, Greece, Austria, Turkey, the Czech Republic and the UK. Seven staff are going on a visit to Poland.

Two new members of staff have joined the school. A Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) and a graduate from Kingston University who did her practice here.

A governor asked for a list of teachers and their classes. ACTION: Head.

12. Governor Visits No Governor visits had taken place since the last meeting. It was felt that this area needed to be focussed on and formalised. Guidance and a template for recording visits would be helpful. Clerk to request from Governor Support Services. Visits are an important source of evidence for how the school is progressing – and can highlight both positive and negative issues. A governor pointed out that there is very useful information on this in the Code of Conduct. One governor had attended governor training on SEN visits. ACTION: Clerk

13. Performance Management The Head Teachers (HT’s) Performance Management Review needs to be reported back to the Personnel Committee. A governor asked the question in what way was the Head’s remuneration linked to progress. Governors had set the Staff targets. The governors were concerned that the new pay Policy meant that Performance management has more of an impact on people starting their career. It was felt the Governing Body needed consultation and professional advice in this area. Ofsted will look at the Performance management and how that links to pay structure in terms of reward and targets. The governors need to understand clearly what they can and cannot change – and need to go through with the Personnel Committee and the Chair and Vice Chair. It was agreed to get advice on how to proceed at the Outstanding Governance training session on Saturday which may lead to buying in some additional expertise. ACTION: All Governors

Beatrix Potter – Minutes Autumn Term 2013 14. Chairs Report To be presented at the next meeting.

15. Directors Report Crucial points highlighted:

New DFE Governors Handbook.

Governors Newsletter.

Amendments to School attendance Regulations. The Head will write to parents detailing the new rules. A governor asked the question if we monitor the attendance statistics. It was confirmed this is done, that the school attendance is up to 96+% which is above average. Lateness and Attendance to be standard Agenda Items.

ACTION: Clerk

16. Safeguarding Audit This will be delegated to the Safeguarding Committee in future– but as this has no members at the moment, will be delegated to the Head to undertake. ACTION Head.

17. Financial Management The Finance Committee needs to meet to review the budget. Currently there are no changes to the budget. The school should receive additional Pupil Premium funding as the original figure of 26 pupils has increased to 41 pupils under the new arrangements. ACTION: Finance Committee.

18. School Policies Covered in Items 7 and 11.

19. Governor Induction/Governor Training The Governors have undertaken the first session of the “Outstanding Governance” training. This was a two hour diagnostic session to assess where the Governing Body is and what it can achieve. Two initial areas to look at are a skills audit of the GB and the idea to look at the Induction Pack and Training for new governors. A full day’s training session takes place on Saturday 5th October 2013. This will leave the governors with a clearer idea of where they want to be as a governing body and what they excel in. The Governing Body Work plan will be developed out of it. Following on from the skills audit it will be possible to allocate areas of specific responsibility to governors. It will be possible to see what additional development needs there are and undertake appropriate training.

20. Any Other Business None.

21. Date and Time of Next Meeting

Beatrix Potter – Minutes Autumn Term 2013 The next FGB will be on 3rd February 2014 at 7pm.

The Summer Term FGB meeting will be 2nd June 2014 at 7pm.

The Curriculum Committee dates will be set after half term – to meet mid to late November.

Finance Committee meeting to be wc 14th October – 16th or 17th.

AGENDA- PART 2 – CONFIDENTIAL

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Beatrix Potter – Minutes Autumn Term 2013