LONDON BOROUGH OF RICHMOND UPON THAMES
Minutes of the meeting of the Governing Body of Windham Nursery School held at
the school on Monday 24 June 2013 at 6.30 p.m.
Present:
Katherine Theobald (Chair)
Jo Berry
Juliet Cassidy
Dan Evans
Anne Fouché
Mark Given
Sylvia Hayes
Alex Hardy
Maggie Stovold (Headteacher)
Henry Willmington
Also attended:
Beryl Hawkins (Clerk to the Governors)
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1. APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Cherry Baker and Steve Tedbury.
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest.
3. VETTING AND BARRING CHECKS ON SCHOOL GOVERNORS The
governing body noted that:
The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding
Authority (ISA) merged to become the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
from September 2012.
Under the new vetting and barring scheme, as the role of governor did not
count as Regulated Activity governors were not entitled to automatic checking
against the barred lists and Governor Support were therefore unable to carry
out the checks. Schools could however carry out their own checks – an
administration fee would be payable by the school.
Governor Support continued to recommend that all governors coming into
school were covered by a current CRB/DBS check and listed on the single
central record in school.
The DBS advice was that it governors only needed to be checked if their role
involved going into classrooms or having contact with children.
Governor Support would still ask governors to complete the declaration form
stating that they were not disqualified from being a governor.
Whether or not checks were carried out, the school should be conducting risk
assessments for volunteers and governors who visit the school.
In response to a question from a governor, Sylvia Hayes confirmed that risk
assessments were always carried out on parent volunteers.
The governing body agreed that, in line with their decision of 3 February 2011,
governors did not need to undergo a DBS check but that any governor who had
a CRB/DBS certificate should supply the date and issue number to Sylvia Hayes.
4. MINUTES The minutes of the meeting of the governing body held on 12 March
2013 were confirmed and signed. Governors checked progress against agreed
action.
5. REPORT OF THE HEADTEACHER The reports of the headteacher dated May
and June 2013 were received (copies in the minute book), including:
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a report from Maggie Stovold on a Learning Walk carried out on 16 April 2013
to monitor the development of independence skills in the Jigsaw provision
an evaluative report from Sara Bromfield on the ‘mud kitchen’ – a Forest
School activity.
Arising from the report:
5.1 School Development Planning Day The governing body noted that the
SDP day took place on 3 June 2013 and that evaluation and input from the
day was being used to draw up a new SDP (see also Minute 10).
5.2 Quindrat Training The governing body noted that 16 delegates attended
the ICAN training hosted by Windham as a result of the school’s successful
bid to Education Richmond.
5.3 Exit Questionnaires It was noted that Exit questionnaires would be sent
to parents in early July. The governing body agreed that it would useful to
publicise the Parent View website so that the views of current or recent
parents of children at the school were reflected in the data.
5.4 School Travel Plan The governing body noted that the school once again
had a fully accredited school travel plan.
5.5 Jigsaw Jo Berry updated governors on the progress of Jigsaw children. It
was noted that:
All children had made progress; the least able had made good progress.
Progress gradings were decided by Sara Bromfield. Pupils graded as
Outstanding would have made about 24 progress points.
The tracking system was easy to use and helpful.
5.6 Richmond in Bloom Governors were impressed with the prize winning
entry by a Windham pupil in the Richmond in Bloom painting competition.
5.7 Curriculum Butterflies had emerged from the caterpillars delivered to
school earlier in the month and were on display in the meeting room. A
slide show on the forest school was running throughout the meeting.
5.8 Mainstream Transition The governing body noted that:
The Windham welcome booklet would be given out at the open day and
parents who did not attend would receive a copy at the home visit; a
similar booklet was produced for Jigsaw children.
The school was full for September 2013 and was expecting one fulltimer, two-looked after children and one child with a statement.
Jigsaw was also full for September.
The school had been strict in applying the criteria for full-time places.
All reports were ready for transition and staff would hold transition
meetings with staff from mainstream primary schools on the evening of
25 June 2013.
Two pupils attending the unit had started aged three and would
therefore be staying on for a second year.
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In answer to a question from a governor Maggie stated that the looked after
children would place an additional workload on the school, but that she did
not anticipate any issues with regard to their education while at Windham.
The governing body was concerned to note the difficulty experienced by
parents of pupils from Jigsaw in obtaining a school place after leaving
Windham, with specialist in-borough providers refusing to offer places.
5.9 Exclusions, Bullying and Racist Incidents It was noted that there had
been no exclusions or bullying or racist incidents since the last meeting.
5.10 Incident involving a Child attending Crofters The governing body noted
details of an incident involving a Crofters child and a child attending the
nursery and their younger sibling. The governing body noted that action
taken by the school, the positive outcomes from the incident and the gift of
£100 from the parent of the Windham child, which would be donated to
Sparkle Time for resources.
5.11 Positive Handling Policy The governing body approved the school’s
policy on Positive Handling (previously circulated).
5.12 Long Service Award The governing body congratulated Sylvia Hayes on
completing 25 years’ service at the school.
5.13 Children’s Centre Ofsted Inspection The governing body noted that an
Ofsted inspection for children’s centres within the Quindrat would take
place on 26 and 27 June 2013 and that Maggie would be required to meet
the inspector.
5.14 Destinations of Leavers The governing body noted which schools pupils
would transfer to in the autumn term:
Marshgate
Darell
The Queen’s
Holy Trininy
Kew Riverside
16
12 or 13
12
7
3
Sheen Mount
Thompson House
Broomfield House
Waiting list
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1
1
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5.15 Open House It was noted that a member of staff from Crofters had
entered the premises in the Open House scheme and that Windham staff
would be in school on Saturday 21 September 2013 to welcome visitors.
5.16 Play and Observe Sessions In answer to questions from governors
Maggie stated that:
The Play and Observe sessions had been running for six years.
The percentage of parents attending in 2013 (82%) was low compared
to previous years; in some years attendance had been 100%.
5.17 Home–School Agreement The governing body noted that the school
would be reviewing its home–school agreement with a view to better
management of two-way expectations, with particular reference to the
regular attendance of pupils.
The governing body suggested that it might be helpful to review use of the
term ‘nursery’ when referring to the nursery school as parents could be
given the impression that the school was a day nursery.
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6. LINK INSPECTOR’S VISIT The governing body noted that: Elaine England, the
school’s Link Inspector, was currently interim headteacher at Nelson Primary
School; Keith Tysoe was the named inspector for Windham for the summer term;
the inspector visit for the summer term had been cancelled; there were no issues
arising from the changes; and Elaine England was expected to return as the
school’s link inspector in the autumn term 2013.
7. CURRICULUM AND STANDARDS GROUP
7.1 The governing body received (copies in the minute book):
discussion points from the Curriculum and Standards Group meeting
held on 22 March 2013
Documents that formed the basis of discussion at the meeting:
o A report from Sara Bromfield
o Appendix 1 to Sara’s report – programme for extended group 2013
o Sara’s role at Windham 2013.
7.2 The governing body noted that the Group had arranged a meeting for 2 July
2013 and that Jess Craig and Fiona Dodd had joined the Group.
8. FINANCE, PREMISES AND PAY COMMITTEE The minutes of the meetings of
the Committee held on 22 March and 14 May 2013 were received (copies in the
minute book). Juliet Cassidy reported on the meeting held on 17 June 2013.
9. FINAL BUDGET PLAN 2013/14 The governing body received the final draft
budget plan and a sheet comparing the final plan and the approved draft. It was
noted that:
Setting the final budget plan had been difficult due to the late notification by
the local authority of final balances for the previous year.
The final carryover of £145,989 was average for the school.
The final budget plan for included funding for the ‘lead teacher’ role to
continue for one day a week after Sara Bromfield’s retirement.
The increase in rates would be reimbursed by the local authority.
Juliet and Maggie answered governors’ questions. It was noted that:
No response had been received from the Department for Education relating to
the school’s carryover and research by Dan Evans had established that it was
similar to that of other stand-alone nursery schools.
Capital income of £4,466 for 2013/14 had been unexpected.
The capital reserve from previous years was needed for essential works such
as roof repairs.
Estimated income from the Rocking Horse Club (included at I07) assumed
take up of 28 places.
Signature of the final budget plan was required by the end of June.
On a borough-wide level schools that had bought into a new maintenance
contract, including Windham, were experiencing unexpected charges for
works orders: an additional allocation had been included in the plan to cover
the possibility of these costs having to be met by the school.
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Costs relating to the shared site were about £14,000 over estimate in
2012/13; Sylvia Hayes and Steve Llewellyn were continuing to monitor costs
and Rob Henderson from the local authority had agreed to underwrite any
overspending on the premises as a result of children’s centre activities.
The governing body approved the final budget plan.
10. REPORTS FROM GOVERNORS’ VISITS The governing body received a
comprehensive report from Cherry Baker on her attendance at the INSET (inservice training) day on 3 June 2013; the day included a practical session on
Jabadao techniques for movement and a school development session involving
staff in planning for the next SDP.
11. GOVERNORS’ ANNUAL REPORT TO PARENTS The governing body received
and approved the 2013 governors’ annual report to parents, subject to the
inclusion of pictures, to be added by Sylvia Hayes, updating of governors’ profiles
and any minor amendments emailed to Sylvia by 5 July 2013. It was noted that
the report took into account the statutory requirements relating to content.
12. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, CHILDREN’S AND
CULTURAL SERVICES The report of the Director of Education, Children’s and
Cultural Services was received. Arising from the report:
12.1 Equalities Maggie agreed to review the statement on the school website to
ensure that it continued to meet statutory requirement.
MS
12.2 Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) Sylvia Hayes confirmed that the
school had submitted the CFR return to the local authority by the due date
of 31 March 2013.
13. GOVERNING BODY SELF-EVALUSTION The governing body considered a
self-evaluation proforma (previously circulated) produced by North Yorkshire
County Council. It was agreed that the document provided a useful description of
the role of governors and good examples of evidence. It was agreed that the
governing body was generally effective. The governing body discussed areas
where governors felt that improvements or further evidence might be needed:
Strategic role – involvement in establishing a 3-5 year strategic plan and
shaping the direction of the school In response to a governors’ suggestion
Maggie stated that as each cohort was different it would be difficult to create a
three-year curriculum plan. The governing body agreed that its involvement in
strategic planning was evident in reshaping the 15-hour provision and in the
implementation of the Early Years Single Funding Formula.
Strategic role – meetings focus on strategic, not operational, issues It
was noted that links to the school development plan provided evidence of
governors’ focusing on strategic rather than operational issues.
Critical Friend role – Knowledge of the quality of teaching and quality of
monitoring systems in place It was noted that information about internal
staff development was included in the headteacher’s report.
Governors were asked to say if they felt that they did not receive enough
information in the headteacher’s report or if they did not know enough about each
of the areas in the document to be able to answer to Ofsted.
All governors
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A governor asked where he could find information about the complaints
procedure. It was noted that the procedure was available on the school website,
Katherine Theobald was the named governor, and that any complaints were
usually resolved by Maggie.
14. TRAINING No governors reported on training attended.
15. FORWARD PLANNING The governing body reviewed progress against the
work calendar. Arising from the review:
Maggie agreed to forward to Dan Evans and Alex Hardy an email to Keith
Tysoe and Simon James, Educational Psychologist, who were responsible for
making decisions about special educational provision.
MS
Information about the Rocking Horse Club had been given to parents in the
welcome packs; requests for places were arriving and the school was asking
for deposits; parents were beginning to expect a charge for the provision.
Governors were invited to the PSFA end-of-term barbecue on 19 July 2013
from 7 to 10 p.m.
16. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Katherine Theobald reported that she had
met with Maggie Stovold for her mid-year performance management review.
Maggie reported that mid-year reviews had been carried out for all staff as
needed and that annual appraisals would take place in October.
17. FUTURE MEETINGS The governing body confirmed future meeting dates:
Agenda Despatch
Thursday 10 October 2013
26/9/13
Tuesday 19 November 2013
5/11/13
Wednesday 29 January 2014
15/1/14
Thursday 27 March 2014
13/3/14
Tuesday 20 May 2014
29/4/14
Monday 23 June 2014
9/6/14
________________________
Reports to Clerk
25/9/13
4/11/13
14/1/14
12/1/14
28/4/14
6/6/14
The meeting ended at 7.55 p.m.
Windham Nursery School Governing Body Minutes Action Sheet
Minute reference
Action required
By whom and when
12.1 Equalities
Review equality statement on
school website
13 Governing
Body Selfevaluation
Request information from school All governors
as necessary
Immediate
15 Forward
Planning
Forward email sent to Keith
Tysoe and Simon James to Dan
Evans and Alex Hardy
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Immediate
MS
Immediate
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