Whitby Community College Governing Body
Minutes of the Governors' Development Committee
Date:
1 October 2013
Present:
Elaine Spilman, Richard Simpson, Keith Prytherch, Hazel Kirk (for SEN/G&T item), Alison
Dimbleby (for Post-16 items), Gary Matthews, Sam Jones, Ian Donald, Clare Churley, Jackie
Hunter (Clerk). Three Student Leaders attended with Vicki Rahn for the SLT item.
Apologies and
consent:
Heather Francis Crane - Governors consented to this absence based on the reason given.
Agenda item

Items discussed/action

Person(s)
for action
Completed/
Required
by
Election of
Chair:
Elaine Spilman was elected as Chair for the academic year.
All
01.10.13
Reminder of
confidentiality:
All present were reminded of the need for confidentiality of
matters discussed and the need to flag up confidential items
during the meeting.
All
Ongoing
Committee
Remit:
Committee members agreed that the remit was appropriate
and no changes were necessary.
All
01.10.13
Minutes of last
meeting:
The minutes of 15 May 2013 were agreed as a correct record
and signed by the Chair.
Chair
01.10.13
Matters
arising:
CCTV – this was now operational under the agreed policy.
Student
Leadership
Team:
The Student Leaders, Danielle, Andrew and Emily were
welcomed to the meeting. Emily reported on various
collaborative projects involving students and the staff and
residents from Peregrine House, an old people’s care home in
Whitby. The Chair was pleased to hear about the digital links
students were hoping to form with residents and also various
Music projects. One student would be co-ordinating a Shoe
Box charity appeal across the Houses. Students would also be
involved in Sports Relief in March and helping the local
community through the Food Bank. One Governor asked how
links had been made with Peregrine House - it had followed a
College student’s work placement there. Work experience
opportunities at Peregrine House were being developed for
Foundation Learners. The Committee Chair commented on
the extra non-curricular time involved for the students
involved in these projects. A Parent Governor asked the
Student Leaders about the national and international aspects
of their fundraising. Andrew commented on the
improvements being made on the organisation and structure
of the Student Leadership Team, which was based on lessons
learned from the previous year. Increased methods of
communication were being developed. A Parent Governor
asked about the House meetings; the students described the
House assembly system. Governors clarified various antibullying initiatives taking place in the College. A drop-in
system would be put in place for trained students to listen to
other students’ problems. Internet safety sessions, including
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP)
training were being provided for students to raise awareness
of online risks. New technologies would be integrated into
lessons with the help of the Digital Leaders. Governors asked
about the Growth Mindset concepts being promoted by the
Video re
Growth
Mindset to
be emailed
to
Governors;
Governors to
send any
comments to
SLT; Clerk to
put Review
of SLT
progress on
Summer
Term agenda
Oct 2013
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Venue:
Conference Room
Time of
meeting:
KP to ask
VER for
retrospective
review of
progress of
last year’s
SLT work
6.00 pm
Autumn
Term 2013
Summer
Term 2014
Oct 2013
Whitby Community College Governing Body
Student Leadership Team (SLT). It was agreed that the
Committee Chair/Link Governor would join the students at
their meetings and the SLT would present a report to each
Development Committee meeting. Governors asked that a
review of the SLTs’ achievements and progress towards their
goals be provided for Governors at the end of the year.
Special
Educational
Needs and
Gifted &
Talented/High
Aspirations
Update:
Student
Attainment:
The Assistant Headteacher, responsible for Inclusion and
Special Educational Needs, was present to answer Governors’
questions and provide clarification. The Committee Chair
asked how the AHT responsible was effectively managing the
wide range of special education needs in the current cohort of
students. A network of external professionals was available to
assist and advise as required. Governors understood that the
funding system was changing from 2014 and parents would
have a say in how money was spent on their child. The Chair
queried the reasons behind the vast increase in students with
special needs at the College. Post-16 students with SEN were
enrolling on Sixth Form courses in increasing numbers, largely
due to them being able to access more suitable and tailored
courses. A successful summer school had been held for some
year 9 students going into Year 10; lunch time clubs were
continuing this work using a computer-based learning
programme. The Committee Chair queried how a student
would feel if they were taken off the programme mid-term
due to insufficient progress on the course. HJK explained that
such students would be moved to a more suitable
programme. A Parent Governor asked how students were
identified as being at School Action/SA+; this followed
meetings with parents and the students. The Committee Chair
asked how Governors would know whether new ICT
equipment being purchased for the students was good value
for money in terms of improving learning and student
achievement. HJK explained that netbooks could be more
effective that employing scribes for students. Governors
queried the achievement levels of HA students and whether
the HA Tutor Group had not worked well in the previous year;
the system had been ended but mentoring support was still
provided by the G&T Co-ordinator. A Staff Governor
commented that this enabled individual students and staff to
take more responsibility for their personal and professional
development and linked in to the Growth Mindset concept. A
Parent Governor clarified the process for students undertaking
extended projects. Governors congratulated HJK on achieving
the Inclusion Quality Mark for the College and the work
behind this process.
Ofsted update – Governors considered the 20 self-evaluation
questions from the All Party Parliamentary Group on
Education Governance and Leadership.
Exam Data – the Headteacher provided training for Governors
on the use of the evidence form (EF), In-RAISE and ALIS.
ALIS data was presented as this had been requested by a
Parent Governor at the Full Governors’ meeting. Governors
clarified various aspects of the data including challenging
questions about the success of individual Science A-level
courses and about Film Studies, which was no longer running.
The Chair queried the grading system used in the ALIS data
and the prior attainment levels used to determine whether a
student was underperforming at Key Stage 4. Governors
reviewed
student
achievement
under
the
English
Baccalaureate measurement and levels of progress achieved
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Ongoing
2013 - 14
SEN Link
Governor to
visit re Lexia
learning
programme
and similar
programmes
and report
back to
Governors;
other
Governors
welcome to
visit by
contacting
HJK
Autumn
Term
Whitby Community College Governing Body
against expected levels of progress for different groups of
students, comparing progress with the national average.
Governors also looked at student progress for those qualifying
for the Pupil Premium funding and Service Children,
recognising some gaps in achieved and expected results that
would be addressed through the College Development Plan
(DP). Governors agreed on various aspects of teaching and
learning that needed to be improved to ensure that, overall, it
was at least good, as defined by Ofsted. Governors agreed
that the EF and DP would assist Governors in their link visits.
In-RAISE data was reviewed; a Parent Governor had
requested additional data in this respect at the Full Governors’
meeting. Governors reviewed the attainment summary for
individual subjects. A Parent Governor asked about the
targets grades and some of the lower pass rates were
debated. The Chair asked about the content of the Religious
Education syllabus and Governors considered some of the
issues preventing higher attainment in this subject.
Post-16 standards – AMD explained that, based on prior
attainment data, WCC Sixth Form students, on entry, were
below the national average collectively but LAT and PANDA
analyses showed that students achieved above the national
average at the end of their time at the College. AMD was
working with her Link Governor with the aim of achieving
outstanding progress for Sixth Form students overall. Specific
factors would be focused on to achieve this, including
effective Careers Education Information, Advice and Guidance
(CEIAG), Raising the Participation Age (RPA), providing an
appropriate curriculum/differentiation to suit individual
student needs and the concept of ‘Growth Mindset’. A Parent
Governor asked whether more alternative courses could be
offered to students; Governors debated the costs and benefits
of this. Governors discussed the entry criteria for students
progressing on to Post-16 courses; they agreed they wished
to retain a comprehensive system and did not wish to exclude
students who did not gain A/B grades from A-level courses.
Student Destinations – A Parent Governor had requested a
detailed analysis of this information at the Full Governors’
meeting. Governors sought clarification on the process for
advice and guidance to students. Recruitment and retention
was a priority that Governors wished to keep under review. A
Parent Governor queried who was responsible for advising
students about further education; this was the Progression
Co-ordinator who was undertaking additional, external
training related to this.
WCC Strategic
Learning Plan:
2013 – 15 Learning Plan Evaluation – Governors reviewed the
objectives achieved against the 2013 Action Plan. Where
targets had not been achieved, it was agreed that these
would be transferred to the new College Action Plan and
additional strategies would be employed to address the issues
arising. Governors considered their objectives for 2014
including Pupil Premium targets; these would be confirmed at
the Full Governors’ meeting.
Subject improvement work – Governors received impact
reports from the Science, Maths, English and Humanities’
Reviews. It was agreed that the outstanding, unmet targets
would be moved onto the current year’s subject action plans.
2013 – 14 Strategic Development Plan – a final version had
been agreed by staff and Governors setting out whole-College
targets for the year. The new plan comprised questions to
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Clerk to send
letter of
thanks to
Progression
Co-ordinator
on behalf of
Governors to
recognise her
additional
training in
the evenings
to be able to
advise
students
appropriately
Governors to
advise the
Clerk if they
wish to
access
further
attainment
data.
Oct 2013
Whitby Community College Governing Body
help staff to improve both their own learning and that of
students. It was agreed that Link Governors would use the
questions in the plan in order to support and challenge
College leaders during their visits and meetings. A Parent
Governor queried how the questions had been developed and
how widely the plan had been consulted upon. All staff had
been involved. Governors agreed whole College targets,
which aimed to align College students against national
standards. The Chair clarified that highly aspirational Fischer
Family Trust and ALIS (plus one) targets were still being set
for individual students and departments but no longer as
whole College targets, with the aim of ensuring that wholeCollege targets were realistic and achievable. A Parent
Governor challenged whether all staff understood the targetsetting methodology. The ‘cloud’ system which would allow
Governors to access data at any time was discussed.
Local Authority
Reports of
Visits:
An LA report on whole-College progress and one on the
College’s Music provision were received by Governors.
Governors acknowledged the action points from these. The LA
were to thank College staff for supporting Filey School and
WCC was to work with the Local Authority to develop a more
sustainable approach to working with Caedmon and Eskdale
Schools. The Music Adviser had agreed three actions with the
Head of Music which had been transferred to the Music
Department’s Action Plan.
Parent’s
Forum:
There had been a recent meeting and a Curry and Revision
evening had been planned for 10 October. The remit of the
group would be reviewed by the Link Governor. The Link
Governor asked whether the Headteacher wanted particular
items to be on the group’s agenda. Clare was thanked for her
work; parents appeared to be appreciating the opportunity to
talk about a range of issues.
School Sports
Co-ordinator
Report:
The SSCO report was received.
All
01.10.13
Items for
approval by
Governors:
The following policies had been reviewed and were approved
by the committee:
All
01.10.13
Any other
urgent
business:
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
Educational Visits Policy (non-statutory; highly
recommended) - minor changes as had been tracked
within the document

Key Stage 5 Retention Policy (new policy to maximise
student completion of courses)

Controlled Assessment Policy (non-statutory; highly
recommended) – updated to reflect current Exam
Board Procedures

Food/Healthy Eating Policy (non-statutory; highly
recommended) – changes had been tracked within
document

Accepting students onto Post-16 courses (statutory as
part of admissions code) - no changes required

Sixth Form Attendance Policy (non-statutory, but
attendance must be monitored and reported to the LA)
– minor changes to reflect new staffing arrangements.
The Headteacher regretted the fact that College had needed
to be closed to many students that day due to the NUS and
NAS/UWT Trade Unions’ strike action. Despite the reduced
staffing, some Key Stage 4 students had been invited in for
Whitby Community College Governing Body
catch-up sessions and all Sixth Form students were able to
attend for independent-study.
Governors were reminded of the leadership training sessions
being run at the College to which all Governors were welcome
to join. The first one would be on Thursday at 3.30pm.
3.10.13
All
All
28.01.14
The Committee Chair reminded everyone of the need for
confidentiality; it was agreed that no minutes needed to be
recorded separately as confidential minutes.
Next meeting:
To be held on Tuesday 28 January 2014 at 6pm.
Signed as a correct record (Chair of Committee): ______________________ Date: _________
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