Minutes of Georgeham Church of England Primary School Full Governing Body Blue Sky Meeting held on Monday, 13 July 2015 at 6pm.

Chaired by: Ali Smith Clerked by: Sue Squire

Present: Agenda: - Prayer Neill Hakin NH Apologies David Humphries DH Declarations of Interest David Morton DM Blue Sky Discussion Ali Smith AS Chairman’s Business Julian Swanne JS Date of next Meeting Julian Thomas (Head Teacher) JT Jane Young JY

Action: 1. Prayer. David Morton opened the Meeting with prayer.

2. Apologies. Mike Newbon (PCC Meeting), Judith Larrington, Lucy Rinvolucri.

3. Declarations of Interest. None.

4. Blue Sky Discussion:

Governors were circulated with paperwork to support discussion in the meeting: 1. Analysis of School Status in Devon – source: School Census Data 2014/15 Primary Schools Only. 2. Which schools are available in Devon – source Babcock LDP. 3. Self-Evaluation of Georgeham Primary School based upon the format used in an OFDTED inspection summary (template from a recently inspected ‘good’ school). Prepared by Julian Thomas, Alison Smith – July 2015. 4. Summary of results 2014/15 – provided by JT

AS opened the meeting with a summary of the purpose of the Blue Sky: an opportunity for governors to meet, review progress of the school and consider plans for the future mindful of two key questions:

1. Where do we see our school today and in 3 – 5 years time?

2. What do we need to focus on to deliver the best outcomes for the children within it today and in the future?

4.1 Status of the School – what could / should it look like in 3 – 5 years time. The group discussed various options for the school in the future – remaining as is, federation, working cooperatively (formally or informally) with other schools of a similar size and academisation. JT briefed the governing body on his work to set up an informal working group ‘The Small Schools Group’. The group consists of 9 schools within North Devon: Georgeham, Shirwell, the West Berry Federation (West Down and Berrynarbour), the West Exmoor Federation (Kentisbury, Lynton and Parracombe), Marwood and Kingsacre. All schools except Kingsacre are defined as small and feel they would benefit from cross support – the group have pledged to meet and share ideas, knowledge and support between teaching staff, there is an intention for chairs of governors to meet in a similar fashion. Within the group there are both stand alone and federated schools.

The Governing Body agreed to include in the SIP a commitment to looking at how the small schools group is working; arranging Governor to Governor meetings across the small school group; keeping an eye open to Federation and watching the landscape regarding academisation. All of this should be done actively with the aim of ensuring we maximize the opportunities available to us as a small school and minimize the risks associated with lack of size and resources.

4.2 Size of the School – a discussion around the size of the roll, admissions and the pending DCC catchment review. The Governors reviewed the recent admissions discussions following an oversubscription of places for September 2015, the current size of the roll, the requirements if we wish to increase the roll and the current DCC catchment review.

The group concluded that we believe the school is outstanding, has a community ethos and therefore we should be committed strategically in the SIP to growing the school to meet the demand of Georgeham Parish (including Croyde). The Resources Committee should be tasked in 2015/16 with looking actively at ways of developing the school building or adding to it to increase our roll as needed. The Catchment Working Group will report back in good time before a consultation by DCC in December 2015 regarding re-drawing of catchment boundaries.

4.2a How should our school be configured? Classes. Buildings & facilities. Following earlier discussions in the year about school size and resources the group discussed the need to continue to review the facilities for the current pupils and how we may increase the size of the school to facilitate a larger roll size. Work has already been undertaken to Class 4 to enlarge it slightly by taking over the HT office in order to accommodate the 2015/16 class of 34 pupils. The Governors agreed to approach local builders to understand more about how the building could be developed further and the potential cost of this. The SIP should include a commitment to review facilities and spaces in the school to facilitate better learning environments for pupils.

4.3 How are we doing now? Where do we want to be in 3 – 5 years time in terms of outcomes for pupils and how do we get there. The discussion focused on two key areas: School Performance and Governance. School Performance: DH and JT gave a summary of the recent EYFS, KS1, Yr. Phonics and KS2 results (see Summary of Results 2014/15 and the Self Evaluation). Results in EYFS show a gender bias with girls outperforming boys, Yr1 phonics were disappointing and work is being undertaken to analyse if there are reasons behind this anomaly. KS2 showed a dip in mathematics and in higher performance in reading, writing and SPAG. The governors agreed that the SIP needs to focus on improving performance in these areas in 2015/16 with greater governor focus on KS1 and EYFS as well as looking at progression through the school. The governors requested that the school look at dedicated focus on Pupil Premium spending and outcomes. JT confirmed Subject Leaders will now provide ‘through school’ oversight in maths and literacy. The group also discussed means to free up HT time to focus on observations, support and strategic oversight. The SIP will focus on all of these areas.

Governance: the group reviewed governorship throughout the year. All agreed 2014/15 has been a year of chance and all were committed to a review of governor best practice early in the Autumn term. AS proposed we commission an external governance review from Babcock LDP. All agreed. At the next FGB we will look at Lead Governor roles & reporting, review the Skills Matrix that governors are currently updating and schedule governor visits more effectively.

Follow up points from previous Meetings:

To agree a programme of Governor visits (following on from the Committee Meetings on 02/06/15). This is to be carried over to the Committees in the Autumn Term and September FGB.

Lead Governors Role and preparation of Lead Governor Reports for Committees (following on from the T&L Committee Meeting on 02/06/15). This is to be carried over to the FGB in September.

5. Chairman's Business. AS was keen to progress a Governance Healthcheck to be carried out early in the 2015/16 academic year. Governors supported this initiative and the relevant arrangements will be made.

6. Date of next Meeting: Monday, 28 September 2014 at 6pm. This will be the first Meeting of the 2015/16 Academic Year and the Annual General Meeting. The Meeting ended at 8.15pm.

Summary of Decisions:  To book a Governance health check with Babcock LDP  To finalise the SEF and create a draft SIP from it (next FGB)  To carry over Lead Governor roles & reporting for a full discussion at the next FGB

These Minutes are agreed by those present as being a true record.

Signed: Date: Chair of Georgeham Church of England Primary School Full Governing Body: