LONDON BOROUGH OF NEWHAM
MINUTES OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF
SHAFTESBURY PRIMARY SCHOOL
Meeting Held on Thursday 22nd January 2015 (from 6:30pm)
Present:
Mrs S Alexander
Mr G Hadlow
Mrs P Kaur Chadha
Mr D Pasola
Mr A Latif
Mrs H Shahzad
Mr M Mamun
In Attendance:
Ms Leontia Brewer
(Head Teacher)
(Clerk)
The Meeting was preceded by an SMSC workshop, which commenced at 6:00pm.
806.
Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from S Sarfaraz (Chair), A Rafiq and A
Wormington, which were condoned and from Cllr R Rahman, which was not
condoned for reasons discussed.
Governors were informed of the resignation of Anwar Begum from the GB. It
was suggested that when a person was nominated for the role of governor
they should be apprised of the requirements of the role before an appointment
was made.
807.
Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
808.
Constitution
a. Reconstitution
This item was deferred to the next GB meeting due to the number of
governor absences. It was felt that greater attendance was needed for
such an important discussion.
Action: The clerk would clarify how many Authority Governors could be
appointed to the reconstituted GB and whether there would still be a
category called “Community Governors”.
b. Minutes of the Meeting Held on 20th November 2014
The minutes had been circulated prior to the meeting and read by
governors. Amendments were made to the minutes and they were
agreed.
Action: The Clerk would make the amendments to the minutes and
forward them to the HT for signing by the Vice Chair.
Decision: Governors agreed that these minutes were an accurate
record of the meeting subject to the amendments agreed.
809.
Governors’ Committees
a. Reports of Committees
There were no Committee reports.
810.
Report of the Head Teacher
This would be considered at the next GB meeting.
811.
School Budget Monitoring 2014-15
The Ht presented the Budget report. He informed governors that the
reserve/contingency was £69,474 and that the school was in a good position.
He also asked that governors agree the following virements
Virements
AHT Left
Remove £20,000 out of 001 (SLT)
Additional
overtime
for
Site Put £10,000 into S/S overtime 024
Supervisor, due to letting and building from reserves
works
Borough mistake, paid for SEN twice
Remove £16,025 out of 997 (SEN)
Additional DFEE grant
PE grant £6,189 into 914 (Grants)
FSM income £47,904
Additional FSM payment
£47, 904 into 361 catering (offset by
above grant)
LBN electrical works after inspection
£1,000 into 121 (electrical)
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Mezzanine floors in HT room £60,000 into
maintenance)
and theatre
Carpets in new build
Refurbish old stock room into a
teaching area
Extend nursery playground
Re-lay running track due to
misuse by lettings
100
(building
and
Decision: Governors (i) noted the budget report;
(ii) agreed the virements listed in the table above
812. School Self-Evaluation Update
The School Self-Evaluation report had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Staffing
The HT reported that with regard to staffing, an interim staffing structure had
been produced for use until the end of the academic year. As part of that
structure an activity co-ordinator had been appointed for SMSC and a child
protection lead had also been appointed. The DHT post would be advertised
in the first half of the summer term and an AHT would be appointed in the last
half term of this year. The staffing structure would be reviewed before the next
academic.
Pupil Progress and Achievement
The following points were made with regard to pupil progress and
achievement:
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Pupil progress at the school is outstanding in comparison to national
norms (in top 9% of schools nationally), particularly with regard to
Reading, Writing and Maths;
Attainment is however a challenge, particularly with regard to level 3
attainment for Key Stage 1 and level 5 attainment for Key Stage 2;
The school was looking for a good to outstanding outcome for the next
Ofsted inspection, which is anticipated for the end of the academic
year;
The Board Assurance Framework
The following points were made with regard to the BAMF:
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Regarding quality of teaching at the school, this was within
expectations;
Under leadership and management, it was agreed that governance
was not such a great concern anymore and therefore it would be
reduced to an orange risk;
Also under Leadership and Management, the decline of quality of
teaching in year 5 due to make up of staff was a challenge and the year
5 boys were being monitored to make sure they reached their learning
targets, particularly as the staff was inexperienced;
With regard to Attainment of SEN pupils, a new SENCO had been
appointed and was working hard with them, She was very committed to
the job;
Also regarding attainment, teacher assessments for last term looked
promising and a close eye was being kept on writing;
In comparison year on year the school was slightly ahead than before
with regard to the APS scores for reading.
Questions from Governors
Would pupils at the top end of levels 3 and 5 be classed as gifted and
talented?
They would be classed as higher attaining (it was explained that a few year 5
pupils have been lost to other schools due to the secondary school
preferences of the pupils)
Decision: Governors (i) agreed the interim staffing structure;
(ii) approved the BAMF
The meeting was adjourned for refreshments at 7:25pm and was resumed at
7:35pm.
813.
Documents for Consideration
The following policies had been circulated before the meeting and governors
were asked to agree them:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
School Safeguarding Report;
Mathematics Policy
Computing Policy
Geography Policy
PE Policy
Child Protection Policy
Modern Foreign languages Policy
Decision: Governors agreed to ratify the policies and documents listed
above.
814. Governor Education and Training
In-house training about SMSC was provided by Matthew Portal prior to the
meeting and governors were happy with what they had learned.
Governors were asked to note the list of training opportunities provided and to
consider attending some of this training.
815. Dates of Meetings in 2014/15
It was proposed that the date of the next GB meeting be changed from 26th
February 2015 to 19th March 2015. The Link Governor for training would try to
re-arrange the E-Safety training for the new date but if not possible another
appropriate training session would be organised.
Governors noted the other meeting dates for the Academic year 2014/15 as
follows:
Summer Term
Thursday 21st May 2015
Thursday 2nd July 2015
(All meetings to commence at 6pm)
Decision: Governors agreed that the date of the next meeting would be
changed to Thursday 19th March 2015.
816. Any Other Business
Lettings
The HT reported concerns about the damage the school was sustaining from
evening lettings, the damage being mainly to the new build, bathrooms,
carpets, nursery, playground astro-turfing and running track. He proposed that
letting be limited to the theatre only, which had the necessary facilities. In
addition when the mezzanine floor was added to the theatre it would have
more space.
Questions From Governors
Will the school lose money if this proposal was implemented?
The school does not make money from lettings. Not enough revenue is made
to meet the costs.
What if the Lets are not happy with being confined to the theatre?
Only one let is of concern and they chose to use the theatre.
How can the playground be monitored so it is not abused?
This is not an issue on weekends. The lettings during the week are the issue.
Car access and movement needs to be restricted.
The HT stressed that while the school did not make money from lettings they
wanted to remain available to the community. However, the school had a
responsibility of safety to the pupils and to ensure that their needs are met.
Decision: Governors agreed to limit lettings to the theatre and
immediate facilities and the tarmac area of the playground. They would
continue to have awareness of the cost implications of lettings.
Governor Visits
M Mamun visited the school in early December and met with the SENCO.
They had a good discussion and he felt that the school was on the right track
with regard to SEN and inclusion.
A Rafiq met with the E –Safety lead.
P Chadha met with the previous Inclusion and Child Protection Manager on
28th November 2014 and with the new SENCO on 12th December 2014. She
felt that the new SENCO was passionate about the role and was building on
the work of the previous SENCO. She was very approachable and willing to
meet with governors.
H Shahzad did a follow-up safeguarding visit on 20th January 2015. She met
the new Child Protection lead who was following the processes set up by the
previous Child Protection Lead as they were effective. The two concerns she
had were with regard to the effect (if any) of lettings and agency staff. The HT
explained that all staff on the premises were appropriately checked and
evidence of these background checks was kept.
H Shahzad also met with the E-Safety co-ordinator. Two E-Safety workshops
were held for parents last year and two were being planned for this year. She
also did a follow-up visit for English. She was pleased that the school was
doing well in reading, better than in writing. She observed two intervention
groups and was impressed with their conduct. She was impressed with how
well paperwork was maintained.
Questions from Governors
Is there a need for more one to one staff as there is a higher level of SEN
pupils in the school now?
More TAs have been employed some of them being able to take one to one
intervention sessions.
How do they justify to the Local Authority that more TAs are needed?
The justification is made to governors and a request put to the local authority
for additional funding per child. A panel considers the request based on the
child’s entitlement.
Decision: Governor Visits would be places as a separate standard item
on the GB agenda.
817. Agenda items for the Next Meeting
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Reconstitution;
Governor Visits
Head Teachers Report
The meeting ended at 8:00pm