Annual Governance Statement for the Governing Body of Barnham Broom C of E VA Primary School

September 2018

In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing bodies, the 3 core strategic functions of Barnham Broom C of E VA Primary School Governing Body are:

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

2. Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;

3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

Governance arrangements

The Governing Body of Barnham Broom C of E VA Primary School was re-constituted in February 2015 and is now made up of 2 staff governors (including the Headteacher), 2 elected Parent Governors, 1 Local Authority Governor and 7 Foundation governors. Foundation governors are appointed to ensure that the school’s character (including religious character) is preserved and developed. The Bishop of Norwich appoints one foundation governor. The Norwich Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) appoints three foundation governors and three foundation governors are appointed by the Parochial Parish Council (PCC) of Barnham Broom SS Peter and Paul with Bickerston St Andrew.  In Voluntary Aided (VA) schools, there will always be a majority of foundation governors.

The full Governing Body meets once each half term, and we also have a number of committees to consider different aspects of the school in detail. At Barnham Broom C of E VA Primary School we have a Resources Committee, which focuses on finance, premises and some personnel matters; a School Improvement & Development Committee, and a Pay and Policies Committee.

See school website for a full list of Governors and their roles and responsibilities.

Attendance record of governors

Governors have good attendance at meetings See school website for details of individual governors’ attendance at meetings.

The work that we have done on our committees and in the governing body

The Governing Body has had a particularly busy year, focusing on

• School improvement

• Recruitment of staff

• Ensuring value for money

• Strengthening links with teaching staff

• Refurbishment within school and building of a new disabled toilet

The School Improvement & Development Committee (SIDC) has spent time considering the impact of the School Improvement and Development Plan (SIDP), the more focused half term ‘Rapid Improvement Plans’ to evaluate the main priorities and progress made as well as the cost implications.  The committee discussed key data including the results of pupil achievement and progress across the school each term to monitor and evaluate progress. The committee was kept informed and up to date with key groups and the progress these were making.  Using both internal and externally provided data for the results from the end of Key Stage assessments, (EYFS, KS1 and KS2) the SIDC evaluated the outcomes for children and have ensured that the priorities have fed into the SIDP. This helps us ensure that the school is on track to fulfil its ambitious targets for all pupils. We also focus on our “vulnerable groups” of children in particular how the Pupil Premium Grant is being spent by the school and what impact this has on their outcomes.

The SIDC reviews policies pertaining to the curriculum,  safeguarding, SEN, pupil wellbeing, admissions, complaints, health and safety and equality

The Resources Committee looks at the maintenance and development of the school premises, and makes decisions about how the school should use the budget.  Towards the end of the Spring term, the Resources Committee approved the 2018/19 budget plan for the school and we can report that the school is in a tight but stable position financially despite all the recent government cuts and changes within school budget regarding pay, pensions and SEN.

The Resources Committee has reviewed the policies pertaining to Pay, HR, GDPR,

In total we have over 50 documents to analyse. Governors have an active interest in ensuring our pupils remain safe and, in light of all the recent legislation, have adopted a new school Safeguarding policy following the issue of the 2018 Keeping Children Safe in Education and other related safeguarding documents. Our Health and Safety Governor carries out an annual check and risk assessment of the premises with the school’s site manager.

Minutes of Governing Body and Committee meetings are public documents – you can ask at the school office if you would like to see any of the minutes of our meetings.

Future plans for the governors

The Governing Body, along with the staff team, will be focussing on the following over the next academic year -

• Improving English throughout the school

• Continuing the work to comply with legislation changes on Data Protection and preparing for the changes to Relationships & Sex Education

• Evaluating and improving pupil progress.

• SIAMs

How you can contact the governing body

We always welcome suggestions, feedback and ideas from parents – please contact the Chair of Governors, via the school office. You can see the full list of governors; their attendance at meetings; minutes of governing body meetings and more information about what we do, on the Governor’s page of the school website.

Governor

Full Governing Body

(6 meetings)

Resources Committee

(3 meetings)

Pay & Policies

(5 meetings)

SIDC

(6 meetings)

Heather Benson

100%

100%

100%

100%

Sian Cosham

50%

n/a

50%

n/a

Steph Fairman

83%

100% (1 meeting*)

50%

67%

Penny Folkard

83%

n/a

100%

100%

David Goddard

100%

100%

50%

n/a

Simon Hill

83%

100%

80%

n/a

Yvonne Hornby

83%

n/a

n/a

33%

Julie Parrott

100%

n/a

n/a

n/a

Rob Walker

67%

0%

n/a

n/a

Tim Weatherstone

83%

100% (2 meetings*)

100% (1 meeting *)

50%