Oasis Academy Bank Leaze Academy Council Meeting
MINUTES
th
Monday 25 February 2013 at 4pm
Oasis Academy Bank Leaze, Corbet Close, Lawrence Weston, Bristol, BS11 0SN.
Tel: 01275 894 580
PART A – Non-Confidential
Academy Council Members:
Name
Category
Peter Knight (PK)
Principal
David Berry (DB)
Chair, OCL Primary
Advisor
Ben Silvey (BS)
Sponsor Rep, Vice-Chair
Matt Butler (MB)
Sponsor Rep, Principal
OA Brightstowe
Brian Bush (BB)
Community Rep
Nicola Haynes (NH)
Community Rep
Sharon Hallett (SH)
Parent Representative
Clare Fairholm (CF)
Parent Representative
Sophie Lennox (SL)
Support Staff Rep
Liz Owen (LO)
Teaching Staff Rep
David Wayland (DW)
Vice Principal
Jodie Howells (JH)
Finance & Business
Manager
Sarah North (SN)
Clerk
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
Attended/Signed/Apologies
Attended & signed
Attended & signed
Apologies sent
Attended & signed
Attended & signed
Attended & signed
Attended & signed
Attended & signed
Apologies sent
Attended & signed
Attended & signed
Attended & signed
Attended & signed
Welcome and apologies
Review Academy Council Membership
DB opened meeting at 4.02pm and thanked PK & SN for sending out all the
information for this meeting. PK informed the AC that Kirsty Burns has taken up
a Teaching Assistant post at Ashley Down Primary School (closer to home)
and so is no longer part of OABL AC. Sophie Lennox has been elected as her
replacement as the Support Staff Representative on the AC. Unfortunately
Sophie is off sick today.
Apologies
Apologies have been received from Ben Silvey due to being unable to find
cover at work and Sophie Lenox due to illness.
Resignations & Disqualifications due to non-attendance
See 1.1 re: Kirsty Burns.
Sign attendance register & note any business interests
The attendance register was signed by all AC members in attendance. There
were no business interests.
Any other Business
There was no other business.
1
OABL AC Minutes 25/2/13
2
2.1
2.2
3
3.1
Review of Minutes Shadow AC Meeting on 5/11/12
Review Minutes
The AC reviewed the minutes from 5/11/12:
1.3. Pen portraits for website - PK would like all AC members to write a pen
portrait (30 words) which can go alongside their photo on the website.
Action: PK/SN to send out an email to AC asking for pen portraits. PK/JH
to sort out photos of AC members.
2.1. AC members involvement in OABL – will be discussed in Action Point 5 of
today’s agenda
3.1. Reading Recovery - PK & MB spoke about this and would like to do the
training but it’s a question of funding. Reading recovery focuses on Yrs1&2 but
it involves Point 6 of a member of staff, i.e. 60% timetable and takes a year to
complete the training. Whether OABL takes on Reading Recovery depends on
funding and staff allocation.
4.1 BB asked JH if there has been any increase in the support for the FOOABL
(Friends of Oasis Academy Bank Leaze) which there hasn’t been as yet.
DB asked PK if there had been any come back re: the Academy’s policy on
Attendance. PK informed the AC that 2 parental letters had been received
requesting time off for holidays & PK declined both in verbal &written form. In
one of the cases there is a parent with a terminal illness and therefore PK has
granted leave on compassionate grounds. In this particular case one of the
children has 100% attendance and the other 95.5%. As a general rule OABL’s
stance on time off for holidays is NO, except in extenuating circumstances in
which the family need to provide evidence.
6.1 Newsletters are now emailed to AC members.
Action: JH to ask Deirdre to send a paper copy of newsletter to NH.
6.1 There is an on-going issue with parents parking on double yellow lines. PK
is in touch with Police. JH & PK have put in a bid for £350K to OCL to relocate
the entrance to the Academy. The entrance will be accessed via the field & will
require a road and a parental car park being built. The current access entrance
will then just be for staff and deliveries.
Actions Arising
There were no actions arising.
Principal’s Report to AC – Achievement of Pupils
Achievement & Enjoyment of Pupils
BB questioned the wording of ‘Enjoyment of pupils’ & how enjoyment is
measured. MB/DB confirmed that Ofsted have dropped ‘enjoyment’ from their
criteria. It is just ‘Achievement of Pupils’.
Action: PK/SN to modify title to just ‘Achievement of Pupils’ in next
report.
Action: In order to focus on impact PK will rationalise the actions
reported to the AC.
PK informed the AC that OABL assess pupils on entry at Reception and
therefore the progress can be seen from Reception to Yr2.
MB asked PK – How does Ofsted know that you haven’t downgraded everyone
on entry so that they make the 2 levels of progress between Yr2 and Yr6?
PK/DB replied that the assessment of the standard of Teaching & Learning at
the Academy and of books mean that standards in Yr2 can’t be ‘fudged’.
Ofsted will look at achievement on entry and will look at the progress made, not
just attainment levels. Ofsted will spend a lot more time in the classroom during
2
OABL AC Minutes 25/2/13
Inspections.
MB questioned is it progress or attainment that is more important to Ofsted?
DB replied that under the new Ofsted Inspection framework, inspectors should
look at progress. They should judge a School as they find it and be able to tie
up between what they see in the classroom and the data.
DW explained to the AC that the government has floor targets for attainment
and progress which are 60% in Reading, Writing & Maths. Students now have
to achieve 4c+ in all 3 areas. There is no longer a category called English. It is
reading & writing. The median amount of progress of 2 levels is now 90%
nationally. This means that 90% of students have to achieve the floor target of
2 levels progress in Reading, Writing and Maths from KS1 to KS2.
Currently OABL is on track for achieving these floor targets with:
76% Reading
83% Writing
76% Maths
73% Combined
MB questioned what happens to the percentage if OABL focus on a 4b rather
than a 4c? PK said that he didn’t know off hand. MB explained that these floor
targets at the end of KS2 can give an indicator of what a student will achieve at
GCSE i.e. a 4b at KS2 increases the likelihood of gaining 5 GCSEs at A*- C
(including Maths & English).
Yrs 3&4 and Yrs 5&6 – Maths Banded Teaching
The challenge at OABL is for the students to make the necessary progress in
Maths and so children are now taught in ability group, not year group. A
meeting was held for parents about this change and only 2 parents attended,
both of which actually work at the Academy. OABL is running this Maths
Banded Teaching this year to see if it has any impact on the progress.
MB questioned how it is possible to include Yr6 in this Maths banded teaching
when Yr6 need to focus on SATs. PK explained that these groups are fluid.
Once pupils have reached the required standard of that group, they can move
up to the next group. The vision is that all students are making progress all of
the time. Interventions occur in the afternoons in addition to the banded
teaching in the mornings. By banding Maths teaching you don’t have 2
classrooms teaching the same Maths and duplicating the same work.
DB pointed out that PK keeps things fluid & is constantly evaluating & changing
children’s groups.
3.2
Quality of Teaching
PK informed the AC that before half term a Learning Review took place lead by
DB with Rebecca Clark (Regional Academies Director South West & Executive
Principal of OA John Williams) & Inge Fey (Head Teacher of Elmlea Infants
School). In this review 75% of the quality of Teaching was judged as good or
outstanding and teachers have already shown that they have moved forward.
The quality of marking and the feedback to pupils clearly showed the student’s
progress.
The feedback from the Review team was that the quality of teaching is moving
towards the target. PK informed the AC that they have received excellent
support from Jessie Kaur (Deputy Principal at OA Brightstowe). Staff have also
been going to do some lesson observations at Elmlea and DW (Yr6)/LO (Yr4)
and Katy McGill (Yr5) have been observing each other.
3
OABL AC Minutes 25/2/13
BB commented that although there is a list of actions on PK’s report, would it
be possible for PK to highlight a few of the actions and tell the AC the effect
that these actions have had? PK said the actions listed where the ones from
the raising achievement plan but he said he would be able to report back on
some of the impact.
Action: PK to include evidence of the impact of some of the Actions in
next Principal’s report for 8/4/13
3.3
Behaviour & Safety of pupils
PK informed the AC that Attendance has dropped off to 94.9% due to
increased illness before Christmas and there is the on-going issue of condoned
absence from parents. NH asked what if parents still take children out of
school. PK explained the 4 stage process and the involvement of SOL and the
EWO (Education Welfare Officer). Classes for concern are: Yr.4 94.8%, Yr. 3
94.4%, Yr. 2 92.6% & Reception 89.9%.
Behaviour incidents have inappropriate racial comments rather than violence.
In this particular incident, the child’s parents have been informed. SARI is
going to work with that child and also run an assembly. There have been 2
racial incidents, both of which have been dealt with. LO explained that staff
employ the Behavioural policy which is the same for the whole school but the
sanction is age appropriate.
BB commented that 5 learning days lost seems to be a lot. PK explained that
this is 10 half days of internal exclusion. The child is excluded from the
classroom and has to go to PK and do work in his office. Of the 3 internal
exclusions, in one case it led to a fixed term exclusion and the child was not
allowed to attend the Academy on the last day of term 3.
PK informed the AC that some work has been done on bullying and although
parents may have said their child is being bullied it turns out that it was an
incident of conflict rather than bullying (which goes on over a period of time.)
3.4
Leadership & Management
PK informed the AC that a sustainable model of empowered leadership is in
place and commented that LO (Yr4), Gemma Burke (Yr1) & Anne Mortimer
(EYFS Lead) have stepped up to the mark & have felt empowered in the
process. The Wednesday evening staff meetings have changed to be a
professional development meeting.
Action: PK to circulate copy of Learning Review to AC.
Finance report by JH
The Bristol CC closing accounts were £81k of which professional fees were
incurred during the conversion to an Academy and £50k was spent on ICT
upgrade. OABL is currently projecting a £20k in year carry forward and so has
approx. £30k to allocate.
Headlines include:
 SENCO funding lost for 2 children £10k approx.
 Additional spend on new laptop for teachers (not planned)
 FBM saving with JH’s secondment to OA Connaught
 Yr3 teacher – some money saved as less experienced teacher
 LGPS pension rates for the school calculated at lower value saving £20k
for the year
4
OABL AC Minutes 25/2/13
 Trips – overspent by double
Although there have been some overspends, the budget is ok. There is a
possible extra £100k increase due to PP based on 20 more students than last
year.
3.5
4
4.1
5
5.1
SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social & Cultural strand)
PK informed the AC that a lot of money has been invested this year in
extending & developing the curriculum with lots of trips. It was felt that the
Academy couldn’t ask parents to pay for trips and so OABL has paid hence the
trip budget has tripled. Students have been to OA Brightstowe on several
occasions and Yrs 5&6 are going to Parliament and be shown round by
Charlotte Leslie. BB asked if there is a feedback session after these trips and
LO explained that the trips feed directly back into the learning in the classroom.
E.g. Yr. 4 went to the museum to see Fossils as they were learning about
Fossils at school.
It was commented that the children from OABL behave excellently on school
trips.
North Bristol Hub - update
The North Bristol Hub is under development and is chaired by MB. It gives
OABL the opportunity of being part of something bigger. Hub events that have
already taken place include:
 Carol concert at St Peter’s Church involving OAB & OABL
 Christmas fete at OABL with participation from Nikky Mungeam (Hub
Chaplain) & the Chaplaincy team
Other planned events include:
 Joint summer fete at OABL with an Art Exhibition – (N.B there is a
meeting at 2pm on Tue 5th March for anyone interested in shaping this
event.)
 Participation in ‘The Noise’ on Sat 5th May – hoping for 100 volunteers
from OAB & OABL (www.northbristolnoise.org.uk)
 Coffee mornings with Nikky & the hub team
 Jenny Lowe’s WOW on Wednesday – an after school club once a month
 Sports day is going to be held at OAB
 Community litter pick – going out in the OAB minibus and litter picking in
places requested by the community
 Forest school at Riding for the disabled who are looking to raise their
profile after recently buying the land not just leasing it.
NH asked if events were open to all of the community and PK explained that
events were focused on our Hub and the community we serve via the Hub (i.e.
families attached to OABL & OAB). BB asked how people can be informed
about such events. – The Academy website, newsletter or Twitter. The AC
discussed the website and the challenge of keeping it up to date.
Development Ideas
How to best use Academy Library?
In order that the AC feel as though they have an active role in the development
of the Academy PK is thinking of posing a development question:
OABL has a library but it is underused, how should we best use it and move it
forward? (N.B.OABL has just purchased a new system to computerise the
library.)
5
OABL AC Minutes 25/2/13
6
6.1
6.2
7
7.1
Ideas:
 Story mornings & toddler groups
 AC members to volunteer
 People to come in to OABL and read on World Book Day
 Buddy Reading
 Employ a librarian as a person who owns that space is important – a
volunteer role or part of a paid role
 Open it up to the Community
The AC discussed the fact that the community library in Lawrence Weston is
one small room in a council owned building.
PK said that they are thinking of relocating the library and making it into a
learning resource centre and JH is waiting for quotes for doing this. MB
commented that at OAB he wants to change his LRC back into a library. He
commented that once computers are there, you lose the love of books. AC
discussed using ipads and Kindles to encourage reading.
PK said they are thinking of relocating the library to the staff room as this
corridor isn’t owned and if the library is moved to the current staff room it is
central to both KS1&2 areas. Another thought is to move the library into the Yr6
classroom which has amazing views and Yr6 could have their classroom in the
current library.
Action: PK & JH to update AC at next meeting on 8/4/13
Chair & Clerk’s business
Chair’s Update
There has been no correspondence or executive actions to report.
Clerk’s update
Dates for the remaining AC meetings for 2012/13 were agreed and confirmed:
Monday 8th April at 4pm
Monday 3rd June at 4pm
Any Other Business/Future Agenda Items
There were no items raised at 1.5.
DB requested consideration of Councillors involvement in the AC (see 2.1 of
AC minutes 5/11/12). PK explained that potentially the AC increases the
capacity of OABL and asked what skill sets are Councillors bringing to the
table?
 CF would like to be involved with the issue of bullying using her training
as a volunteer as a Samaritan. DB encouraged her to think strategically
and focus on ‘Behaviour & Safety’ as a whole. CF would like to work
with some children or a child who’s having issues as an adult buddy.
 BB would like to be involved with something to do with Reading through
IT or Reading/Writing via scientific experiments.
 NH – Would like to help with Reading.
Action: LO to liaise with NH about helping with Reading
 SH would like to be involved in bridging the gap between the Academy
and parents and explained that parents feel scared or intimidated and
would like to be able to explain things to parents.
 PK highlighted the need for the VLE to be developed.
6
OABL AC Minutes 25/2/13
8
8.1
Confidential Matters
Please see Part B – Confidential of the Minutes
Date of next meeting: Monday 8th April at 4pm
Minutes signed by Chair: …………………………………………………….
Date: ……………………………………………………………………………
7
OABL AC Minutes 25/2/13