Long Sutton Community Primary SchoolFull Governors Committee Meeting

A meeting of the above committee was held in school on Wednesday 9th December 2015Persons present: Mr C Wesley Cog, Mr Bill Lord HT, Mrs S Hasnip, Miss A Bell, Mrs J King, Miss E Robinson, Mrs C Scott, Mr G Salter, Mr G Palmer and Mrs S Benfell Clerk.Also present were Mrs C Carr, Designated Teacher for Safeguarding and Looked After Children, and Miss K Law, Maths Leader.Apologies: Mrs L Kirkham and Mr M ChapmanAgenda Items Challenge ActionsDeclarations of Pecuniary Interest: Mrs Claire Scott as previously registered.Developments in Practice:Mathematics report from Miss Katie Law –Miss Law informed Governors of the current situation with regards to maths as per the SDP. Maths is ‘the’ subject for this year and our link Governors are Mrs L Kirkham and Mrs C Scott.

Pupil books look much better with neater presentation and clearer differentiation.

Scrutinies show the new calculation policy is now embedded across the school, as a result of numerous INSET days and staff meetings.

Staff are more confident in teaching these methods. Teachers are following the new curriculum which although has fewer

objectives to cover, it is expected that these will be covered in greater detail to enable children to master everything.

The 9 children from Years 3 and 4 children in the intervention group are making clear progress. Split into 2 further groups, they are working with TAs, away from the rest of the year groups.

The school has a new ‘Multiplication Champion’ display in the main hall. As a result of the competition that this has created, we are seeing some big improvements in children learning their times tables and raising the profile of maths across school. This in turn will have a huge impact higher up the school, allowing children to apply this knowledge to other areas of maths and potentially move more quickly through the curriculum.

GP asked who prepares the work they are set.SH asked who marks the completed work?CW asked who documents the evidence of this.

Miss Law does this herself.

Miss Law.

Miss Law.

There is now consistency across school with regards to methods taught and vocabulary used.

We are now part of the Maths Hub. Having attended a recent meeting Miss Law came back and relayed all info and resources she had learnt to the rest of the staff.

Governors were then given a demonstration of Numicon by Miss Law. She showed those present just how useful this tool can be in many areas of maths such as algebra, fractions, symmetry, number bonds, and multiplication as well as division.Numicon training has been provided to all Key Stage teams by Liz Gibbs. One of the leading trainers in the country, she has significantly widened staff understanding of how to use this resource.

On behalf of all Governors CW thanked Miss Law for her time. She then left the meeting.

Pastoral report from Mrs Claire Carr:A lot of funding is made available to enable all pupils to reach their potential. Jo Thompson and Danni Barton now make up the pastoral team together with Mrs Carr and between them they are working across the school to provide the necessary support for ‘looked after’ pupils, those with ‘special guardianship’ and/or ‘adopted’ pupils.

Since starting in September, Danni has spent blocks or 2 weeks in each academic year. Working with both TAs and pupils, she is learning what to expect in this role.

She is also working with a few core students from Yrs 5 & 6, taking time to simply talk to the children, listening to their concerns and so on.

She is present in the playground each day from 8.30, so that a familiar face is there for those children who require additional support, even

After trying Numicon for themselves, CW asked will there be some parental training given for this?

GP asked if staff are being asked to identify in their lesson planning just where they intend to use Numicon.

BL agreed that it would be useful, and at the Parent Open Morning (due to be held in the new year) there will be a demonstration.We also intend to upload to our website useful Numicon videos which parents will find helpful.This will also show parents how and where we are investing a lot of funding into the curriculum.Miss Law confirmed that staff were indeed being asked to do this.

before lessons start.

At present the pastoral team are working with 45 students across the school. Of these 49% are ‘pupil premium’ students.We have worked closely with Tim Ward our ‘Behaviour Management Consultant’ to develop a Behaviour Policy.

During PHSE children are learning to talk about their feelings, and each classroom has made its own ‘Feelings Tree’. Before lessons start children are encouraged to put a leaf onto the tree, each leaf has a word on it, which best describes how that child is feeling at the moment. Green leaves have positive words on them, whilst orange leaves indicate anxious feelings. Red leaves have negative words, and should a child put a red leaf on the tree then at some time during the day either the class teacher or a member of the pastoral team will take time to have a talk with that child.

Each classroom has its own ‘worry box’. A child can put his or her name into the box, and that way the teacher knows that they need to talk to the child concerned.

As we continue to admit children from other schools, we are finding that at times there are issues that these children bring with them. Policies, all designed to help these children, that we have in place are working and this is shown for example in the increase in attendance. Another example would be that disruption in lessons is reduced or stops completely.

SH asked if this was happening in all years across the school?

CW wanted to know what is the % increase upon Mrs Carr’s time for her pastoral work?

SH asked what hard evidence do

Mrs Carr confirmed that this was indeed the case.

Mrs Carr informed Governors that since the start of term she has only had 12 white cards in the box which is situated in the resource area of the library.For the same period last year, that figure was 25. A significant reduction.BL stated that the recent rise in the number of children subject to TAC and Child in Need has led to a significant rise in the demands on Mrs Carr’s time. She has had to book supply on three occasions to release her to ensure that all legally required paperwork is up to date.

we have to show that our pastoral team efforts are having the desired effect?

Safeguarding is becoming ever more prevalent in school. What provisions will we need to put in place to enable us as a school to keep on top of this?

CW asked if the school was making

Attendance rates have increased this academic year with the whole school rate now exceeding 96%There have been 50% less white card referrals for worries and behaviour referrals in all year groups.

BL believes that within 2 years it will no longer be possible for Mrs Carr to undertake teaching duties as well as her pastoral and safeguarding work.At the moment we are undertaking a Safeguarding Audit. We will audit Holbeach Primary Academy and their staff will audit us.The implication of this is that Governors need to be asking at every meeting are there any safeguarding issues that they need to be made aware of.We have in place ‘Circles of Knowledge’ which has changed the school approach to informing staff about safeguarding issues which ensures that anonymity and safeguarding protocols are maintained

On behalf of all Governors CW thanked Mrs Carr for her time. She then left the meeting.

provision for Mrs Carr’s pastoral role to become a full-time one?

CW said that with the increase in workload and the pressure that safeguarding brings, are we putting measures in place should teachers need counselling for example?

GP commented that help for staff members was all well and good, but what about help for BL and CC should that be required?

ER said that from a teacher’s perspective she knows that having a strong pastoral team in place within school has made a difference for all concerned. Staff know that help is available, and they only have to ask.BL assured Governors that should financial budgets allow it, then this would indeed be the case.

BL said that yes help was available should staff need it.

Both BL and CC agreed that they take a lot of support from each other with regards to this.

Minutes of the previous meeting were approved and signed by CoG, Mr C Wesley once both staff members had left and only governors remained.The meeting then continued.Matters Arising:

Our Behaviour Management Consultant, Mr Tim Ward is currently working with 9 families.

Agresso continues to cause problems. The SBM is very concerned as the annual report needs completing by the end of the year. It is hoped that there will be no issues such as an overspend, although BL assured

ER asked what is the worst that can happen with regards to this?

BL informed Governors that the worst case scenario would be an overspend of the school budget.

Governors that there is some contingency money should it be needed. He has also informed the SBM that he and the Finance Committee Chairman, GP, will take liability for any problems that the school encounters.

CW wanted to know how soon we can ‘opt out’ of using Agresso?

He asked Governors to back his decision with this problem, as GP pointed out the SBM has a backup account of the money being spent (i.e accounts produced without the aid of Agresso), but at present this does not tally with the figure Agresso is showing.BL stressed that this did not mean that the school was intending or planning to go into deficit budget but governors needed to know how badly the new system had served the school.

BL reported that he is to talk to the SBM at Cranwell Primary school. To ask his advice, but we cannot opt out until April 2016.As GP pointed out, if we leave Agresso in April, we may not even be in a position at that time to know exactly how much funding is left within our budgets.

One small problem that BL has is that he doesn’t want to lose either of the NQT’s and he is currently working on a plan that would enable the school to keep them on as members of staff.

New staff members are settling in. NQT’s have been signed off for their first term.

Feedback from a recent Peer Review Process, carried out with Tom Emery, Headteacher of William Stukeley Primary School shows that work in pupils’ books is generally tidy, uniform across the classes and marked. Some good ‘next steps’ marking was found with good child response. However teachers do need to follow the process to ensure children are responding correctly.

From an inspection point of view children need to know what they have to do to improve. We use the phrase ‘your next steps’ rather than ‘targets’ as we feel that children understand this rather better.

Poisonous plants – all have now been removed from the school grounds. SH informed those present that she had spoken to the surgery with regards to inhalers. Her visit promoted more questions than answers however we now know that inhalers do come with a ‘shelf life’ and their use will have to be included within the school Health and Safety Policy.

Headteacher’s Report – already distributed CW asked for the current attendance figure.

BL was unable to provide this at the meeting due to staff sickness and shortages at present. However he assured Governors that pupils are being monitored, and ‘first calls’ continue to be made. A letter has been sent home to parents re one student in

CW then asked about the ‘persistent’ late arrivals. Had there been any improvement with this?

GP asked for the abbreviation NTE to be clarified.

particular. He did point out that the figure had been 96.4% at the point that illness had hit the office team.

BL informed all present that the scheme now in place which required parents to physically bring their child into reception and sign in is having the desired effect. BL also takes this opportunity to speak to the parent(s) concerned.BL wished to point out that these intervention measures are only able to happen due to funding supported by the Governors.

This means ‘new to England’.

Feedback from the peer review and Hazel Wheatley (Education Advisor) has been received. At a learning walk around school with HW she pointed out that we do not have enough examples of joined up hand-writing on show. Staff are starting to address this. It was decided at the next meeting of Full Governors that some work books will be made available for inspection.Targets are now shown on mini

GP wanted to know why there are changes being made to Foundation Stage Baseline Assessments.

chalkboards for Yrs 5 & 6. We continue with targets on bookmarks for Yrs 3 and 4.

Government has introduced this for all children beginning their time in Reception Class. The aim is to provide the Dof E with a starting point to measure a child’s progress between starting school and their performance in tests in Year 6. This year’s baseline was a pilot and so next year the data will be used to measure the progress made by children leaving the school in 2023.Although we have a very wide range of pupils, we are going to start with assessment for progress & motivation which will take place in Reception in the months of March and July.In the baseline, 10% were scored ‘well below’ the overall band; 20% scored in the ‘below’ overall band; 49% were in the ‘typical’ band, whilst no pupils were scored ‘above’ typical.The data shows that 51% of our children enter ‘below’ typical with 48% operating at ‘nationally typical’ based on comparison with the Reception children in 12,000

AB asked what progress has been made in Reading and Writing.

other schools.The Pupil Premium pupils typically outperform non PP pupils. Class average is 25.1 points, PP pupils average 28.5 points and non PP pupils have an average score of 24.5. This is highly significant and something that Governors should be challenging the school over for the next 7 years.Pupil scores in motivation (concentration, persistence, sense of achievement) and engagement (curiosity, representing experiences and taking risks) are significantly higher than the national average whilst pupil scores for creativity and critical thinking, maths and literacy are significantly lower. This is something that indicates that we need to look very closely at the provision for the pupils. This will include developing wider opportunities for risk taking in play, giving the children nonlinear play (den building, building with blocks etc) and a real focus on basic skills.

Writing assessments are taken 3 to 4 weeks into term. Maths and reading have only just been

CW asked where we were with regards to the issues in Year 4.

What percentage of Year 4 pupils are ‘Pupil Premium’ students?

JK asked how many pupils had passed the 11+.

completed; hence we can’t show progress at the moment. The books show clear progress but data wise it is more difficult.BL also said that the school was in a difficult position as it had purchased ‘Target Tracker’ and within weeks of the start of the term the government had produced a report which gave the advice that it was no longer the best approach to use.

BL reported that at a staff meeting held on Monday 7th

December a provision map was produced outlining ‘who’ we need, and ‘when’ and ‘where’. Provision is now in place.

BL informed Governors that this is 32%.

Just 4 boys this time. BL said that the school normally sent through up to 30% of pupils to Grammar school but the new test has affected this. There has clearly been an impact on the success rates in all schools locally but in some cases this has caused higher

than average results. This current year was not as strong as previous years in 11+ tests although the improvement in quality of provision has meant that they performing well academically.

GP gave an oral report as Chairman of the Finance Committee. Staffing, an update on the kitchen build and of course Agresso were all discussed. Further information can be found under ‘Matters Arising’.

BL gave an oral report with regards to the Premises and H&S Committee. The new floor was laid last Friday in the kitchen area. One small problem which has come to light is with the smoke alarm system. The whole system has to be overhauled and this cannot take place until February half term, which means that the kitchen will not be able to carry out field trials until after half term. This does present a problem as ‘Willoughbys’ the current meals provider do not want to work in split weeks and want to stop provision at the end of a term. School is in negotiation with them.

CS asked how parents will order meals once the kitchen is up and running.

There will be an online ordering system; either ‘Parent Pay’ or ‘Wise Pay’. These are both used extensively in other Lincolnshire schools.

Headteacher’s Appraisal – Mr Lord was asked to leave the room at 8.10pm whilst CW and GP led discussions regarding the performance management of BL.Recommendations from the Headteacher’s Review Panel (consisting of Chris Wesley, Geoff Palmer and Hazel Wheatley) were accepted and approved by all in attendance.Policies – there are many new polices within school, all have been implemented after being identified as being required after the Safeguarding Audit.

Attendance Policy – Read and agreed, signed by CofG. Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy – Read and agreed, signed by

CofG. Code of Conduct – Read and agreed, signed by CofG. Drugs & Substance Misuse Policy – Read and agreed, signed by CofG.

Governors Salbutamol request form – Read and agreed, signed by CofG. Intimate Care Policy – Read and agreed, signed by CofG. NQT Induction Policy – Read and agreed, signed by CofG. Pastoral Care Policy – Read and agreed, signed by CofG. Safeguarding Policy – Read and agreed, signed by CofG. Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions Policy – Read and agreed,

signed by CofG. Staff Pay Policy - Read and agreed, signed by CofG.

Co-opted GovernorsThere have previously been 2 co-opted Governors, namely Mr Peter Manley who advised on financial matters and Mrs Joy Stopher who advised on curriculum, performance data, school evaluation and planning.Mr Manley has not been in the best of health lately so we shall not be asking him to continue in his role, however the Chairman feels that we would do well to prolong with Mrs Stopher’s skills.

It was proposed by Chris Wesley and seconded by Geoff Palmer that we ask Mrs Stopher to remain as a co-opted governor.

Clerk to forward the necessary paperwork via e-mail to the Chairman for forwarding onto Mrs Stopher.Clerk will also inform the SBM once she has received the completed paperwork in order for the necessary SCR checks to be put into action.

Governor Visits – this item has appeared on tonight’s agenda in response to a conversation at Curriculum & Standards sub-committee meeting.

It is felt that governors do not plan these visits strategically enough. For those who are ‘link governors’, we ask that if they have a spare 10 or

20 minutes then please simply ‘drop into’ school. For longer periods of time that governors can spare, we can arrange for

more in-depth meetings. On August 19th 2015 the list of training dates was forwarded to all

governors. This will be resent by the Clerk, to allow governors to find dates/times that are best suited to them for the training courses.

It is important that Governors know what to look for when they come into school, and indeed what questions they need to be asking of staff.They also need to know what feedback is expected from them after such visits.Would all Governors please e-mail BL with dates/times of

availability. Thank you.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9pm.Dates of next meetings:

Wednesday 13th January – Resources CommitteesPremises and H&S 5-6pmCurriculum 6-7.30pmStaffing and Finance 7.30-9pm

Wednesday 24th February – Full Governors

BL informed Governors that all minutes are being written in such a way that they can be uploaded to the school’s website.In due course there will also be a full list of Governor’s names and responsibilities. We also hope to include photos to enable parents to easily identify members of the Governing Body, should they need to do so.