Sheldon School Annual Governance Report 2016-17 Sheldon s Board of Governors comprises: The Board of Governors 7 parent governors elected by parents 3 teacher governors elected by teachers 1 staff governor elected by the non-teaching staff The Headteacher, as an ex-officio governor 6 community governors appointed by the Board of Governors 1 community governor appointed by the Local Authority (or by the Board of Governors if the Local Authority fails to make a nomination) In addition, the 2 Deputy Headteachers and School Business Manager attend full governor meetings and committee meetings. There are four governor committees: Staffing, Care and Guidance; Finance; Premises; Curriculum. These meet as many as six times each year. The full Board of Governors meets six times a year; at each meeting we have reports from the committees and either a report from the Headteacher or a Deputy Headteacher. Most of the governors work goes on at committee level; when the full meeting of governors convenes we look at all the work done at committee level and in the last 12 months we have had reports from: the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Governor the Responsible Officer on Health and Safety on Child Protection on Pupil Premium on the Enrichment Fund On Senior Management Team (SMT) Conference On admissions On school budgets Deputy Heads Reports Head teacher Reports Report from outgoing Sixth Form President and the Student Voice Ambassador Exam results Student data Vision and Values The governors have approved the budget for the next financial year, appointed the auditors for the school s accounts and approved the Governors Report to the Charters Board. At each full meeting we have reports from any governors who have attended their link faculties or received individual training. A governor attends each Parent Forum and follows that Year group as they progress through the school. We have reviewed our Governance, the Sheldon Constitution and Sheldon Charters The Chair of Governors, appointed (or re-appointed) at the start of each academic year, meets with the Headteacher at least once a month and between meetings they discuss any matters that need attention. 1
In June the School had Ofsted and the Governors attended a meeting with the lead Ofsted inspector. The Governing body was described as Highly effective by Ofsted. The focus for the coming academic year is keeping a keen eye on the budget and all aspects of students and staff wellbeing. Strategy Committee The Strategy committee meets before each full Board of Governors meeting, 6 times a year. It is made up of the Chairs of all the committees, the Vice Chair of governors, the Headteacher and the SEN Governor. Its role is to agree the strategic aims of the academy. During the last school year we have successfully: Reviewed the School s Vison, aims, SWOT analysis and the Charters Reviewed the make-up of the Governing body and monitored and evaluated the Skills Audit Reviewed the new Competency Framework and Governance Handbook Reviewed the new Scheme of Delegation and Terms of References for all the committees. Enabled the Governing body to work towards going paperless Met with the Ofsted inspectors during the recent Ofsted inspection In addition to its routine tasks the prime objectives for 2017/18 are: Continue to monitor the impact of Schools funding on students and staff Embed the new Competency Framework and comply with the Governance Handbook Look at all aspects of staff and student wellbeing Prioritise maintenance tasks to the school s buildings and grounds, ensuring a safe environment Staffing, Care and Guidance The Staffing, Care and Guidance Committee (SC) supports the Governing Body and has delegated responsibility for the spending of all staffing budgets to agreed staffing levels, ensuring a spread of curricular expertise through the process of our teaching staff appointments. Helped teachers become more effective through training opportunities and personal development 2
Ensured that teachers are appropriately rewarded so far as budget and national teacher s pay structure permit Reviewed staffing policies Reviewed complaints and exclusions Monitoring staff and pupils morale and well being Monitoring of staff recruitment and retention Ongoing monitoring of staff and pupils morale and well being To ensure staffing changes are effectively managed with minimal impact on pupils Monitor the transition to the new Child Protection Lead Ensure Safeguarding information is updated and disseminated to Governors, staff, parents and pupils in a timely way Finance Committee The Finance committee ensures that standards of financial control and administration are adhered to. This includes monitoring progress of income and expenditure during the year. We have an oversight of budget setting, determination of financial priorities and end of year reporting. Setting and regular monitoring of budgets and actual income and expenditure Monitoring the new trading company which is used for letting income Review of money saving options including school printing and copying and energy use Review of new income streams including Sheldon Associates and the Enrichment Fund Condition Improvement Fund grant (Jointly with Premises committee) for the new Dance block and Library refurbishment Monitor and support the finances for the construction of the new Dance Studio Monitor and support the finances for the library refurbishment, including investigation of new income streams to complete the project Continue to monitor the new trading company especially in light of the VAT registration thresholds Continue with detailed budget setting process and continual in year monitoring Review the reserves policy Premises Committee 3
The Premises Committee supports the Head and the School Business Manager to cost effectively maintain, develop and improve the School s facilities, and to ensure that services such as catering and cleaning are provided to a high standard. On behalf of the Governing Body, they monitor Health and Safety, security and the external lettings of school property. Obtained Government funding for, and initiated the appointment of contractors for a new Dance Studio and class room Updated the property condition survey in order to prioritise future maintenance and replacements Appointed a new Facilities Manager Further improved the management of risks to the work of the school, including achieving a Good rating from external H&S Consultants Completed an Insurance Review and started to review utilities contracts and systems Monitor and support the construction of the new Dance Studio Investigate further funding opportunities especially those related to the Library refurbishment, and support and consider the next bid for building condition improvement funding Reduce the energy consumption of the school through a programme of monitoring and improvement, including reducing costs for utilities Prioritise maintenance tasks to the school s buildings and grounds to ensure a safe environment Continue to improve the awareness and management of risks to the school Curriculum Committee The committee ensures the curriculum offered is broad and balanced, good progress is made by pupils from all groups and at all stages, monitors emotional well being and pupil destinations. Each member champions the needs of a specific pupil group during data analysis and policy review. This year we have had presentations from DT, Sixth Form, PE, Maths and SEN on the Impact and Effectiveness of Teaching Assistants. Presentations provide an overview and highlight strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Across the year we have monitored the performance of all pupil groups across the whole school with a particular focus on the most able and boys. Progress has been made and valuable insights have been gained which will lead to even greater progress next year. Emotional well being reports across the year have shown that stress and anxiety are increasing in years 10-13. Many personalised strategies are in place. We intend to investigate the triggers in more depth next year. We have reviewed policies on the Most Able, Literacy and Relationships and Sex Education and the impact of the Homework policy. 4
The committee will determine its exact focus at the start of next term. It will be based on the summer exams and trends observed across this year. SEN Governor The Governing Body has legal duties in relation to pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). According to the Governance Handbook, the functions these duties require can be delegated to a committee, an individual governor or to the Headteacher, although the responsibility is still with the Governing Body itself to ensure that the functions are carried out. It should decide, with the Headteacher, the school s general policy and approach to meeting pupils SEND. At Sheldon, the SEN governor, as a member of the Curriculum committee and the Strategy committee, assists the governors to fulfil their legal duties under the Children and Families Act 2014, School Admissions Code and the Equality Act 2010. The SEN governor helps ensure that the Governing Body has regard to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years and that information is published on the school s website about the implementation of the Governing Body s policy for pupils with SEND: SEN Information Report 2016-2017. The SEN governor's principal function is to keep the governors informed about the way the school manages its provision for pupils with SEND and ensure that the governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities by: being familiar with relevant documents and legislation, including relevant school policies meeting regularly with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) to become better informed about the assessment of special needs, the numbers of pupils with SEND, provision made, staffing and funding levels, how pupils access the curriculum and SEND priorities in the School Development Plan making visits to the school to see what pupils need, what resources are available for SEND pupils and how teaching methods work questioning any Governing Body decisions which have implications for SEND pupils overseeing the implementation of the SEN Policy and Equalities Policy attending teacher training days and governor training courses relating to SEND reporting regularly to the Governing Body 5