Governors' Annual Report to Parents 2019
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Governors’ Annual Report to Parents 2018/19 Adroddiad Blynyddol Llywodraethwyr i rieni 2018/19 Governors’ Annual Report to Parents 2018/19 – Full FOREWORD FROM THE CHAIR OF THE GOVERNING BODY Dear parent The Governing Body has much pleasure in presenting this report to parents, which looks back at the 2018/2019 school year and forward to this academic year. It includes a record of some key achievements for Monmouth Comprehensive School in the academic, sporting and cultural arenas. The report also outlines our priorities for the School going forward, ensuring that we will continue to build a truly outstanding school. Last year, the Governing Body’s focus was on managing the School’s budget deficit whilst continuing its efforts in raising standards. By negotiating a deficit recovery programme with Monmouthshire Local Educational Authority, we successfully protected staffing levels. This year our focus is upon finding a worthy replacement for our much valued Headteacher, Mr Davies, who tendered his resignation at the beginning of this Spring term. The wheels are now well in motion to recruit a new Headteacher and we will be keeping you up-to-date as the process continues. We are firmly committed to finding the best person for the job and will be working hard to ensure we get the calibre of person that our school deserves. Bringing together staff, parents and students to improve student outcomes is another core focus for us this year. Last summer we had very good outcomes for all students following vocational, GCSE, and A Level courses, with A Level results being the best ever achieved by learners at the School. The overwhelming majority of students secured their future pathway and are now well on their way to leading their lives. This has all been achieved at a time of severely restricted resources, so a particular thanks to Mr Davies, the Senior Leadership Team and the teaching and support staff for all their hard work. We would also like to thank you, as parents, the voluntary groups, former students and community groups who have supported the School and its activities throughout the year. This includes our own Friends of MCS Association who continue to raise a significant amount of funding for the School. Vicky Smith Chair of the Governing Body Page 2 of 48 Governors’ Annual Report to Parents 2018/19 – Full Page 3 of 48 Governors’ Annual Report to Parents 2018/19 – Full Table of contents 1 INTRODUCTION 6 2 GOVERNING BODY 7 2.1 What does a Governing Body do? 7 2.2 Who are the Governing Body 7 2.3 Strategic aims for MCS 9 2.4 Information for parents 10 3 ACADEMIC YEAR 2018/19 11 3.1 New building 11 3.2 School performance 12 3.2.1 Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) Outcomes (2018/19) 12 3.2.2 Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11) Outcomes (2018/19) 12 3.2.3 Key Stage 5 (Year 12-13) Outcomes (2018/19) 13 3.2.4 Wellbeing and attendance 14 3.2.5 School Inspection status 16 3.3 School leavers 16 3.4 Student achievements & extra-curricular activities 16 3.4.1 Sports review 16 3.4.2 Music Review 17 3.5 Policy changes 17 3.6 Community news 17 4 ESSENTIAL SCHOOL INFORMATION 19 4.1 Our school Ethos 19 4.2 Teaching at MCS 19 4.3 Learning Support 19 4.4 More Able & Talented 20 4.5 Curriculum at MCS 20 Page 4 of 48 Governors’ Annual Report to Parents 2018/19 – Full 4.6 School language 20 4.7 School facilities 21 4.8 Healthy eating at MCS 21 4.9 School uniform 21 5 ACADEMIC YEAR 2019/20 22 5.1 Term Dates + session times 22 5.2 Events to watch out for in 2019/20 23 5.3 Performance focus 24 5.4 Wellbeing 24 5.5 Enhance teacher learning 25 5.6 The New Curriculum for Wales 25 5.7 Extra-curricular activities 25 6 SCHOOL FINANCES 26 7 APPENDIX A - GLOSSARY OF TERMS 28 8 APPENDIX B STRATEGIC AIMS FOR MCS 30 9 APPENDIX C SUMMARY OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE 2018/19 31 10 APPENDIX D EXTERNAL EXAMINATION RESULTS 2018/19 35 11 APPENDIX E SCHOOL LEAVERS 2018/19 41 12 APPENDIX F EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES – AUTUMN 2019 43 13 APPENDIX G SPORTING ACHIEVEMENT BY MCS STUDENTS 2018/19 44 14 APPENDIX H MUSIC ACHIEVEMENTS BY MCS STUDENTS IN 2018/19 47 Page 5 of 48 Governors’ Annual Report to Parents 2018/19 – Full 1 Introduction Welcome to the Governing Body’s Annual Report to Parents. This report aims to demonstrate the Governors’ effectiveness over the last school year in improving educational outcomes for the children. The main contents of this report are prescribed by the Welsh Assembly Government and are designed to help parents understand their school. The particular form of this report is specific to Monmouth Comprehensive School (MCS) and the governors have endeavoured to make the contents as informative and accessible as possible. In some instances the statutory requirements mean detailed data are to be published and where this is the case we have tried to provide helpful guidance. The report starts with a brief description of the governing body’s function, make up, and strategic aims for the School. The next section provides an overview of last year’s (2018/19) highlights including a summary of school performance. Section 4 provides some essential/statutory school information (such as school facilities and uniform) and Section 5 provides an overview of our plans for this year. How the School managed its 2018/19 budget and the budget for this academic year are presented in Section 6. The foreword of this report, along with a link to the report which can be found on the School’s website, has been distributed to all parents via email. Historically we have offered Annual General Meetings as the main way to communicate with parents. However, we have found that an open door policy is more popular and allows for a more responsive interaction. Hence if you have any queries, what so ever, then please do contact a member of the Governing Body. Please see Section 5.2 for a list of school events where one or more of the Governing Body is likely to be present. To find out more general information about the School please visit the School website, specifically the School prospectus and school general information booklets, find via the links below: http://monmouthcomprehensive.org.uk/flipbook3/mobile/index.html http://monmouthcomprehensive.org.uk/general/mobile/index.html A Glossary of terms is attached in Appendix A of this report. Page 6 of 48 Governors’ Annual Report to Parents 2018/19 – Full 2 Governing Body 2.1 What does a Governing Body do? The Governing Body is legally responsible for all major decisions about the School and its future, as compared to the Headteacher who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the School. Governors have a duty to promote high standards of educational achievement throughout the School and we do this principally through three statutory principles, namely:- Ensuring the School has a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction Holding the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team to account for the educational performance of the School and its pupils and for the performance management of staff Overseeing the financial performance of the School and making sure MCS’s budget is well spent. The governors carry out their strategic role by deciding on what they want the School to achieve and providing a strategic framework to get there. This involves: (i) setting the aims and objectives for the School; (ii) agreeing policies, targets and priorities for achieving these objectives; (iii) monitoring and evaluating to see whether (i) and (ii) are being achieved. On a practical level this means attending regular meetings, working on strategic and policy documentation and providing support whilst holding the senior management team to account. We also ensure staff development is delivered and that any grievances or complaints are handled appropriately. We oversee the appointment of senior roles and ensure suitable succession plans are in place. This year we will be recruiting a new headteacher to be in place for the next academic year. There are established procedures in place for this activity along with significant professional support from the Local Education Authority. Nevertheless, this is a huge responsibility that we carry. We have set out a communication plan to keep staff, students and parents informed during this period of change. 2.2 Who are the Governing Body The Governing Body is composed of Parent, Community, Staff and Local Authority appointed governor members. We are not delegates though, so do not actually represent those groups but contribute as individuals, all working together for the benefit of the School. We come from a wide range of backgrounds and bring our different skills and our enthusiasm to the governing body. The contact details for the keys points of contact are provided below along with a subsequent table listing out the terms of office for the current members. Page 7 of 48 Governors’ Annual Report to Parents 2018/19 – Full Chair: Mrs V Smith Address: Monmouth Comprehensive School Telephone: 01600 775177 Vice Chair: Mrs S Hay Address: Monmouth Comprehensive School Telephone: 01600 775177 Clerk to the Governors: Mrs E Lawrence Address: Education Achievement Service Telephone: 01443 863221 Email: [email protected] Headteacher: Mr R Vaughan Davies Address: Monmouth Comprehensive School Telephone: 01600 775177 Email: [email protected] Representative Name Elected Appointed by Term of Office Parents Mr Jamie Powell Parents 30.04.22 Mrs Paula Doody 20.10.23 Mr Daniel Wilde 20.10.23 Ms Catherine Fookes 02.05.23 Mr Matthew Thomson 20.12.22 Mr James Wright 20.10.23 Teachers Mr John Le Boeuf Teaching Staff 25.06.21 Mr Alun Curnow 18.07.22 Support Mrs Sarah Bradley Support Staff 23.09.23 Appointed Mrs Georgina Waterstone Local Authority 07.04.22 Mr Guy Lacey 08.01.23 Mr Ashley Thomas 01.02.20 Ms Hannah Woodhouse 05.09.22 Mr Roger Hoggins 28.11.22 Community Mrs Shonagh Hay Governing 08.11.20 Mr Antony Smith Body 10.12.21 Mrs Victoria Smith 06.07.22 Mr Stuart McLester 12.05.23 VACANCY* Headteacher Mr Vaughan Davies 31.08.20 Associate Blake Stephens School Council 22.10.20 Student Millie Lane *The Governing Body is currently in search of a new community governor since the resignation of David Scouller.