Governors Annual Statement and Impact Report

“Members of the governing body have played, and continue to play, a strong role in driving the school forward” (Ofsted 2013)

The major concern to the governors is ensuring that our pupils progress appropriately in their education and appreciate that for this to happen the pupils must be supported by a well led, enthusiastic, professionally competent and motivated staff all working together within a safe, supportive, expecting but yet relaxing environment.

Governors appreciate too the requirements of our children’s parents and carers and their need to be satisfied about the overall leadership and management of the school and how it affects safety, learning and enjoyment of their children.

To achieve their objectives governors too must continually evaluate the role they have played within the life of the school, and publish relevant information to all interested parties.

This statement and report are part of that evaluation and publication process.

School Improvement Plan (SIP) –

Governors work co-operatively with the head teacher and senior management in the writing and monitoring the School Improvement Plan. The School Improvement Plan sets aims for the forthcoming 3 years. The current SIP is based on priorities identified from data, school self-evaluation and Ofsted priorities. The SIP is set out with clear aims, the key tasks which will be completed in order to achieve these aims and the success criteria in order to measure outcomes. The SIP is monitored and review termly, with an evaluation overview being completed and presented to governors alongside the HT report.

The current targets of the school improvement plan are:

• Leadership/ Curriculum: Further refine our curriculum through effective subject leadership and the developments of concepts.
• Teaching and Learning: Further embed the delivery of early reading so that all children can read at the earliest opportunity.
• Curriculum: Further enhance pedagogy and maintain high standards in maths through implementation of White Rose Maths and NCETM.
• Teaching and Learning/ Curriculum: Continually develop the aspirational high-quality first teaching so that teaching remains highly effective across the school

Governor visits –

The governors visit the school as part of their monitoring of the SIP and of specific issues and these are considered a valuable opportunity for governors to be able to work closely with staff members across the board so to speak. Link governors follow a cycle which sets out the monitoring activities which they will be undertaking with the staff leader. Guidance in terms of the roles and responsibilities of statutory link governors are provided to relevant governors and regular training is available in order to up skill our team.

Examples of the impact of these visits include:

• Co-operative working to prepare and introduce new policies and working practices on Special Educational Needs, Keeping Children Safe in Education, progress towards achieving the key objectives to implement a programme of effective interventions which will show sustained progress and positively impact on learning in Reading, Writing and Maths.
• Implementation of a structured programme to give pupils opportunities to team up with children from places other than your local area so that they can learn from each other about how different people live.

Data analysis –

Governors have received training in Monitoring and Evaluation, Closing the Gap, Understanding School Data and the Fisher Family Trust Dashboard.

Data is made available to governors through termly meetings with verbal and written presentations followed by question and answer sessions with the head teacher and members of the senior management team thus the governors are able to benchmark their data against similar schools, the Local Authority and schools nationally to ensure the schools standards and expectations are high and are able to be closely scrutinised.

Particular scrutiny is placed on pupil progress across all ability groups including vulnerable groups and on the effective use of the Pupil Premium.

Governor Plans this year have included appointing a Vulnerable Groups Link Governor who will meet with the Head Teacher and Pupil Premium Champion to further analyse pupil performance across the school.

Policies –

Governors review all relevant policies on a programmed basis to ensure that all guidance is current and up to date.

Specific attention is paid to ensure that the school complies with the Department of Education mandatory policy list and the Local Authority recommended list.

Financial management –

The governing body have been trained in School Finance management.

The governors have worked with school staff to achieve The Schools Financial Value Standard accreditation.

The impact of the governors’ role in the school ensures that the budget is managed effectively and improvements are effective and continuous. Governor expertise – the governors bring a wide variety of expertise to the school and this helps to ensure the school is moving forward.

Examples of the impact of governor expertise on school improvement include involvement in the provision of ICT throughout the school. This has helped the school to improve its wireless network, introduce new and upgraded hardware, establish and review the website and develop its ICT strategy for the future.

Allocating funding:

• For continued and improved staff and governor CPD
• To increase intervention teaching and allow the more management time for the deputy head teacher

Staff recruitment –

The head teacher and a number of governors are trained in “Safer Recruitment”

Governors are involved in the recruitment and selection of all teaching staff and use the appointment process to ensure that high quality staff who share the schools mission statement and aims are appointed.

Governor Meeting Attendance–

There were 5 formal governor meetings for the year 2022 - 2023.

Governor attendance has, as always, been of a very good level, with any absences having been fully explained and accepted and approved by the governing body.

There are no causes for concern at the level of commitment shown by any current member of the governing body.

Governor Development Plan–

This enables the governing body to demonstrate its focus on its three core strategic functions: ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction; holding the head teacher to account for educational performance of the school and its pupils; overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

One of the main objectives in preparing the development plan is to align the governors’ focus on its three core strategies with the requirements of the school improvement plan, training requirements and any requirements arising from the Ofsted inspection.

In its three areas the main thrusts of plan may be described as:

Holding the HT to account:

• Link programme upgraded to link individuals to SIP and pupil progress
• Pupil progress and CPD included in HT Performance Management
• More structured and timed review of pupil progress
• Training on understanding school data

Overseeing financial performance:

• Implementation of performance related pay policy and procedures
• Review and update of current budget
• Training on Pay Policy, Performance Related Pay and Capability

Impact statement – review 

The governing body, the head teacher and senior management team and indeed all members of staff are constantly striving to improve and develop the school. This was recognised by OFSTED in their December 2013 inspection following which the school was graded as “Outstanding” in all areas.

This has been successful with continued improvement in pupil progress and attainment with end of Key Stage 2 results which has been due to a whole school drive to increase standards.

There has been effective allocation and imaginative use of Sports funding so as to further inspire and up skill teaching staff and pupils.

Co-operative working has also developed the school site to make it more secure, wheelchair accessible, and more parent/visitor friendly. 

Future and Continuous improvement –

The governing body and senior management team are constantly striving to improve and develop the school.

Ongoing and future areas for targeting will include:

• Ensure continued improvement in pupil progress and attainment across all ability groups including vulnerable groups.
• Ensuring that all evaluations of learning are recorded, in order to provide an even more secure basis for continuing professional development.
• Full implementation and review of new policy of linking individual governors to each of the 3 school improvement plans.
• Training and implementation of governor roles in the new appraisal and appeals policies and procedures.