<p> MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF BICKERTON HOLY TRINITY CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL HELD AT THE SCHOOL ON 29TH FEBRUARY 2016</p><p>Governors Present: Claire Carman (CC) Chair Nigel Briers (NB) Vice Chair Paul Sweetnam (PS) Headteacher Craig Hughes (CH) Sarah Barlow (SB) Tom Wright (TW) Suzanne Smith (SS) Stella Tudor (ST) Canon Ian Davenport (ID) from Agenda Item 3.2</p><p>Also in attendance: Lisa Hendry Clerk to the Governors</p><p>PART ONE – NON-CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS</p><p>SECTION 1 CONDUCT OF FGB MEETING</p><p>The Chair explained the format of the meeting: </p><p>Section 1- General housekeeping. Section 2 – Formalities such as passing previous minutes and addressing the action points from previous meetings. Section 3 – Includes the Headteacher’s Report, Chair’s Report and the Director’s Report. Section 4 – Areas of special responsibility Section 5 - Any other business to discuss</p><p>The Chair highlighted that following the change of constitution the Governing Body is now working more effectively and efficiently. Governors were thanked for their continued contribution.</p><p>1. APOLOGIES & ADDITIONAL AOB ITEMS 1 The Governing Body received an apology from Canon Ian Davenport, who had advised that he would arrive late to the meeting. </p><p>1. CONFLICT OF INTEREST 2 Governors were asked to declare any potential pecuniary interest or conflict of interests with the business to be discussed during the meeting.</p><p>The following declarations were made:  Paul Sweetnam is a Governor at Bishop Heber School  Sarah Barlow is a Governor at Finchwood Academy</p><p>1. MEMBERSHIP 3 The following changes to membership were noted: Suzanne Smith and Tom Wright were appointed as Parent Governors with effect from 27th November 2015. </p><p>Governors received an update regarding the Governors Charter, and a copy of the new Instrument of Government was received by all. </p><p>Q. On section 4D of the Instrument of Government who is the Ex-officio Governor, is it Canon Ian Davenport? A. Yes</p><p>The governing body currently has no vacancies, and there are no terms of office due to expire before the next meeting.</p><p>SECTION 2 2. PART ONE MINUTES AND MATTERS ARISING 1 The part one minutes of the meeting held on 9th November required some amendments; the Clerk amended the original minutes which were signed by the Chair. </p><p>The following matters from the minutes were discussed: </p><p>Parent Questionnaires:</p><p>A questionnaire has been created which will be available at parents evening (16th and 23rd March). The questionnaire has been specifically designed to ensure that it is not anonymous; by keeping the questionnaire like this, it will enable governors to make contact with parents to discuss the results further. Governors will be present at parents evening to meet with parents.</p><p>Q. What will Governors have to do at parents evening? A. The purpose is to listen to their comments; if they are unhappy about something and wish to pursue their concerns to a complaint, then the governor will signpost them to the complaints policy. </p><p>Q. How many governors should attend? A. The meeting will be from 3.45pm until 7 pm, split into two sessions (4pm- 5.30pm and 5.30pm-7pm). Two governors will attend each session.</p><p>It was agreed that the following Governors would attend the following dates and times:</p><p>4pm-5.30pm CH & SB 16th March 5.30pm-7pm SB & TW</p><p>TW explained that he may be unable to attend on the 23rd March but would provisionally agree and confirm at a later date.</p><p>Governors discussed the requirement to have a formal Code of Conduct; it was agreed that the Clerk would send a copy of the NGA Code of Conduct to all governors who will sign a copy and return to school for parents evening. The Clerk will ensure that the Code of Conduct is an agenda item at the next Full Governing Body (FGB) meeting. </p><p>Governors were advised that there is a Governor section on the website, but not a governance statement as of yet.</p><p>Q. Is the statement going to be displayed at the bottom of the page? A. No, it should be in a prominent position, in a bold font and a change of colour. </p><p>Q. Is there a full list of governors displayed? A. Yes.</p><p>Q. Would it be appropriate to have the Safeguarding Governors Report on the website too? A. Yes once it has been ratified. </p><p>Q. Should the website also display the dates for Governing Body meetings? A. It can, if that is what governors would like, however, the Headteacher advised that in a previous school there was an issue with attendance from parents at meetings.</p><p>Q. Should there be a statement regarding Governors attending parents evenings? A. Yes </p><p>TW explained that there are tools available to allow schools to measure the traffic on the website. Governors agreed that this would be useful and requested that TW looks into the possibility of obtaining a tool. </p><p>Actions: </p><p>1. To send a copy of the minutes of the last meeting to the Chair and Headteacher once amended </p><p>2. Tom to advise which date he is available for parents evening</p><p>3. To send a copy of the NGA Code of Conduct to all governors 4. To sign a copy of the Code of Conduct and return to school </p><p>5. To ensure the Code of Conduct is an agenda item at the next FGB</p><p>6. To obtain a tool for monitoring website traffic. </p><p>SECTION 3 3. HEADTEACHER’S REPORT 1 Part one of the Headteacher’s report contained the following matters:</p><p> School Statistics  Current Staff  Events since the last Headteacher’s Report  Events, Achievements and Next Steps  School Development Plan  Safeguarding Children  Governance  Curriculum  Teaching  Subject Leadership </p><p>The Headteacher highlighted the following areas: Pupil Numbers The indicative number for Reception admissions show there are 16 applicants for September 2016. The forecast for the purpose of budget setting was set at 18; the current suggested numbers will reduce the predicted budget. The Headteacher assured governors that he would discuss this with the Chair when the final details are received from Cheshire East Council’s Finance Management Support Officer (FMSO). Governors were advised that there may be a reduction of £2000 due to changes in the Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG). Visits to school The school has received a visit from Fiona Burke-Jackson (FBJ); Fiona was attending in her capacity as an advisor for the Local Authority. She will schedule a further visit to the school where she will work with English and Maths Subject Leads – date to be confirmed. The Wingate Centre Class 3 pupils have begun their visits to The Wingate Centre. Parents are pleased that these visits have been reinstated. School Talent Show The recent talent show held at school was successful; pupils were enthused, and staff would like to hold further performances in the future. Governors thanked staff involved in the talent show for their hard work. Music Alison Holmes has been appointed to teach music to all year groups. Pupils are enjoying their lessons, and the standard of music has improved. Q. Do we employ Alison through Love Music Trust? A. No, she is bought in independently.</p><p>Safeguarding The Headteacher advised that lots of events have taken place in school about safeguarding since the last FGB meeting. The Safeguarding Folder has proved to be very useful, and governors were invited to view the anonymised data contained within the folder at this meeting. Creative Curriculum Governors were advised that during her visit FBJ expressed concerns that displays around the school are too heavily art orientated. She advised that she would prefer to see Maths and English Working Walls. The Headteacher advised that he agreed with her comments in part, however, ‘Art is a celebration of the pupils work, and there is no better motivation for pupils than having their work displayed.' Q. The recommendation was that there would be Literacy and Numeracy Working Walls; will this be balanced with the Science? A. There aren’t currently enough Science displays. As a school, we have worked extremely hard to enhance the science curriculum we offer. It is proposed that there will be a Subject Leader Review which will be presented at the next FGB. </p><p>Action: 7. Headteacher to create a Science Leader Review to be presented to Governors at the next FGB. The Headteacher advised that the new assessment database will be discussed at the next Performance Committee. </p><p>3. CHAIR OF GOVERNORS REPORT 2 The Chair of Governors reported that she meets with the Headteacher weekly, and the following action had been taken on behalf of the governing body since the last FGB meeting:</p><p> Approval to purchase iPads</p><p>In addition to this, the Chair confirmed that she has been working with the Headteacher on the development of admissions packs for parents of pupils starting school in September 2016. Governors discussed the contents of the packs and agreed that the following should be included:</p><p> Absence procedures  Request for holidays in term time  School term dates  Uniform Policy  Details regarding parking  Daily routine  Contact with school  Website details  School dinner menus  Free School Meals information</p><p>Canon Ian Davenport arrived for the meeting at 19:02 pm </p><p>3. DIRECTOR’S REPORT 3 The Director’s Report for the Spring Term 2016 contained the following matters:</p><p> Governance and Liaison update  Annual HMI Report; Implications for Cheshire East  Education Welfare Service and Academy charges  Newly Qualified Teachers  Cheshire East Information, Support and Advice Service (CEIAS)  Student Safeguarding Groups  Hate Crime  Domestic Abuse Developments  School Trips in Light of Paris Terror Attacks  Fair Access Protocol  Pupil Premium for Children Adopted From Care  Model Education HR policies for Schools and Academies</p><p>The clerk highlighted to governors some issues, and governors noted the report. </p><p>SECTION 4 4. PART ONE REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES 1 The following committee minutes were received:</p><p>Performance Committee held on 14th December 2015.</p><p>The Headteacher advised that the following minutes have also been included but have not yet been agreed for accuracy by committees. </p><p>Estates and General Purpose Committee held on 25th January 2016,</p><p>Performance Committee held on 8th February 2016 4. SCHOOL POLICIES 2 The Headteacher advised that all policies are agreed at a Policies Committee. The committee will meet twice a year (Autumn and Summer) and only policies that are required to be sent to the FGB for approval will be discussed at future FGB meetings. </p><p>Q. Are all statutory policies in place? A. Yes and also displayed on the website – There are no policies to agree at the moment. </p><p>4. TERMS OF REFERENCE 3 It was confirmed that Terms of Reference for the following committees were approved: a. Performance Committee b. Estates & General Purposes c. Finance Committee</p><p>4. Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) 4 Governors were advised that feedback on SFVS has been received, and audit judged the matrix as ‘satisfactory.'</p><p>Q. What prevented us from getting ‘good’? A. This was fed back to the Finance Committee. We have an example of what a ‘good’ return looks like so will be using that to assist us in completing the form next year. </p><p>4. REPORTS FROM GOVERNORS WITH RESPONSIBILITY 5 The following reports from Governors with special responsibilities were received:-</p><p>Safeguarding – Sarah Barlow, Safeguarding Governor, advised that following her attendance at the Designated Safeguarding Training the following suggestions have been made by the Safeguarding Children in Education Settings (SCIES) Team: </p><p> Keeping Children Safe in Education (2015) should be signed by all governors,  A Whistleblowing Poster should be displayed on the back of toilet doors with contact details and photograph of the Chair of Governors,  The Single Central Record (SCR) should be observed by both the Chair and Safeguarding Governor before each meeting. This would be confirmed and minuted at each FGB meeting.</p><p>Q. Has Prohibition of Offenders been completed? A. Yes</p><p>Q. Why do we need a poster? Why can’t we send a simple letter at the beginning of each year about Whistleblowing or include it in the staff handbook? A. The recommendation came from SCIES. The reason for this is that staff will feel more comfortable to write a number down in the toilet rather than risk being seen by another member of staff in a public area. In addition to this, we could put the details in the Staff Handbooks but this document can be easily misplaced. </p><p>NB wished for it to be noted that while he supports the recommendations from SCIES about creating a Whistleblowing Poster he does not agree with the suggested placement of it. </p><p>Governors agreed by a majority that the Whistleblowing Poster will be created and displayed on Toilet Doors.</p><p>Q. Has the school got a Gender Reassignment Policy? A. No, however, the school does address discrimination as a whole, and this can be seen in the Equality Policy. If a Gender Reassignment Policy were required, then we would adopt the Cheshire East model at that time of need. The ethos of the school reflects equality and diversity.</p><p>Q. Surely this would not be applicable for pupils in Primary School? A. We must acknowledge and accept that this could be a case with any school no matter what age range; there is already evidence of this in Cheshire East. </p><p>Comment: How do we know that it is pupils questioning their gender or just general playing? For example we have for many years found that in Reception boys may like to dress as fairies or girls as firemen, we surely need to expect that this may just be a case of children playing?</p><p>Comment: We have in the past had pupils laughing at boys when they have come to school dressed as a female for World Book Day. Staff dealt with this and stressed that these pupils may feel comfortable dressed like this. The school ethos embeds that we accept all people on all levels. </p><p>Special Educational Needs and Inclusion</p><p>A meeting has been booked with the Link Governor and SENCO for 18th March. Details will be fed back at the next FGB. </p><p>Training</p><p>The training governor advised that there would be further Safer Recruitment training available to any governor wishing to attend. Governors were reminded to complete The Channel Prevent General Awareness. A request was also made for governors to complete their skills audit and return to CH once completed. </p><p>Actions: </p><p>8. Send a copy of Keeping Children Safe in Education to all SB governors for signing</p><p>9. Whistleblowing Poster to be created and displayed, SB to SB/ST send a copy of what is required to ST who will action.</p><p>10. Inspection of the Single Central Record. SB/CC</p><p>11. Send Skills Matrix to all governors CH</p><p>4. PLANNING DOCUMENTS 6 Governors received and agreed the draft budget for 2016/17 financial year. The budget was agreed in principal by the finance committee, but governors were informed that the Source of Funds has not been received. Governors agreed to delegate the approval of the budget to the Finance Committee once the Source of Funds has been received.</p><p>4. PLANNED RESIDENTIAL VISITS 7 The governing body was informed about a proposed residential visit for Year 3 pupils to Delamere Forest on 14th – 16th September 2016. </p><p>Governors will review the details at the next FGB meeting. </p><p>4. RECEIVE A COPY OF THE UNOFFICIAL SCHOOL FUNDS AUDIT 8 CERTIFICATE </p><p>Governors received and agreed a copy of the School Funds Audit Certificate </p><p>SECTION 5 5. ANY OTHER BUSINESS 1 There were no items of Any Other Business to discuss. </p><p>5. WHAT HAS THIS MEETING ACHIEVED FOR THE CHILDREN? 2  Enriched Science  Inclusion and acceptance  Governors challenged safeguarding and tailored it around their school.  Reaffirming the ethos of the school</p><p>WHAT HAS THIS MEETING ACHIEVED FOR THE PARENTS?</p><p> Arrangements for a Governor attendance at Parents Evening  Questionnaires for Parents  Observation of the website </p><p>5. MEETINGS 3 It was confirmed that the next FGB meeting would be held at the School on 20th June 2016 6 pm</p><p>The meeting moved to Part 2</p><p>...... Claire Carman...... Chair</p><p>...... 20/6/16...... Date</p>