Clerk`s briefing papers summer term 2015
Transcription
Clerk`s briefing papers summer term 2015
CLERKS’ BRIEFING Summer 2015 Wednesday 29th April 2015 1.00 pm to 2.30 pm Venue – Bracknell Open Learning Centre, Rectory Lane, Easthampstead, Bracknell RG12 7GR (next to Brakenhale School) (copied to Headteachers & Chairs by email) CLERKS’ BRIEFING AGENDA Local Authority advice is that the headteacher, the Chair and the clerk meet to discuss the content of the Governing Body agenda. Items for inclusion may be put forward by any individual governor, by the clerk or the headteacher. Certain items will always appear and some items will appear at regular times in the yearly cycle of meetings. The list of items below is not comprehensive and should also be considered for inclusion. 1. Finance 2. Human Resources 3. Safeguarding Update for Schools 4. Prevent – Designated Child Protect Leads Meeting 5. Ensuring school websites are compliant 6. Governor and Clerk Training and Development Opportunities 7. National Governors’ Association Development Opportunities 8. The Constitution of Governing Bodies – update and new guidance 9. Changes to regulations 10. Election of Chair and Vice Chair 11. Governors with particular responsibilities 12. Notification of Governing Body Changes – a reminder 13. Copies of minutes 14. Education Governor Nominations Committee 15. Governing Boards and School Leaders - paper Discussion item – Recruitment of Governors – what happens in your Governing Body? APPENDICES A – List of Clerks to Governing Bodies Date of next meeting – Tuesday 15th September 2015 CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO. 1a TITLE Financial Issues 2015-16 School Budgets Setting the 2015/16 Schools Budget presented considerable challenges for the Schools Forum and Chairs of Governors have been kept up to date with regular email communications. The most significant issue is the significant financial pressures relating to high needs pupils – those with assessed support needs above £10,000 - and in particular fees paid to specialist providers in the private, voluntary and independent sector for post-16 students where numbers are increasing as a result of the changing legislative framework but for which the Schools Budget has not been adequately resourced by the DfE. Taking account of the need to fund these unavoidable statutory costs, the Schools Forum has agreed a budget that funds schools for changes in pupil numbers and their characteristics, such as eligibility to a FSM to the value of £0.929m, with the balance of available funds, at £1.993m being allocated to cover the increased costs being incurred supporting high needs pupils. The budget changes are summarised in the table below Changes reflected in 2015-16 budgets Ref. Items delegated to schools 1 Original budget for 2014-15 Amount £'000 60,022 Changes for 2015-16: 2 3 4 7 Effect of additional number of primary pupils (+337) Effect of reduced number of secondary pupils (-41) Rates - inflation Effect of changes in pupil characteristics e.g. additional FSM numbers Transfer copyright licensing funds to central contract budget BF supplement (Living Wage equivalent) 8 Total budget for 2015-16 9 Change 5 6 859 -148 29 104 -15 100 60,951 929 Whilst a budget has been set in the context of significant financial difficulties, further significant cost pressures are anticipated in the near future. Whilst levels of future funding are unclear, recent DfE funding allocations have been made without a provision for inflationary or other pressures, apart from increases in pupil numbers. Schools need to take account of future cost increases in setting their budgets for 2015-16 and be clear that they can be afforded moving forward. The key cost increases facing the Schools Budget known at this time are as follows: • Start-up cost for up to 9 new mainstream schools. • On-going impact of the growing population on SEN budgets, together with the expected increase in post-16 SEN students. This will be partially off-set in the medium to long term from savings anticipated from the new SEN Units at Eastern Road and Blue Mountain. • The full year effect cost of the increase in contribution to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, from 14.1% to 16.4% at September 2015. • Additional business rates liabilities arising from the school places expansion programme. • A new funding source for the Bracknell Forest supplement (equivalent to the Living Wage). The Earmarked Reserve is now fully spent. • The underlying deficit on the Local Government Pension Scheme is being reduced by way of additional lump sum contributions. Payments due from schools are forecast to increase in 2016-17. • Minimum prudential balances. Adequate funding needs to be put aside to manage in-year emergencies or cost increases. The Schools Budget funds a range of high cost and high risk services for which it has been established that a minimum balance of £0.510m should be maintained to manage these risks. In setting the 2015-15 budget all reserves were used meaning no balances exist Note there is no longer a requirement to submit a Best Value statement to the Council. ACTION POINTS: • • • • • • A budget plan should be formulated for 2015/16 having regard to known facts and a realistic assessment and financial provision for future events. All sources of income due to the school should be taken into account, and not just the delegated budget. Schools should be taking account of future known cost pressures when setting an affordable 2015-16 budget. The full governing body, or responsible sub committee, if authority to make the approval has been delegated, must formally approve the 2015/16 budget plan. The budget plan should be emailed to the CYPL Finance Team by 31 May on the spreadsheet that has been provided for this purpose. Should you experience difficulties in balancing your 2015/16 budget plan, you should contact CYPL Finance without delay. An extension to the submission deadline can be approved to 31 July when approved by the Director of CYPL. A copy of the minutes from the full governing body meeting approving the plan are to be sent to CYPL Finance once agreed, and no later than 31 December 2015. DEADLINE 31 May (budget FOR plan) ACTION 31 Dec (minutes) CONTACT NAME Paul Clark, Head of Departmental Finance TELEPHONE 01344 354054 EMAIL [email protected] More information on the budget setting process and SEN pressures can be found at: http://democratic.bracknellforest.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=18 7&MId=5424&Ver=4 CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO. 1b TITLE Financial Issues Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) Governing Bodies have a statutory duty to complete an annual CFR return which sets out school expenditure in a prescribed format. The final 2014/15 return will be required by 15 June, and schools will very shortly be given further guidance. Each school’s CFR return is posted onto the DfE website to enable schools to undertake financial benchmarking enquiries from a national database which assist in meeting the requirements of the School Financial Value Standard. ACTION POINTS: Governing bodies need to ensure that this task is properly completed. DEADLINE FOR ACTION 15 June CONTACT NAME Paul Clark, Head of Departmental Finance TELEPHONE 01344 354054 EMAIL [email protected] Useful website link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ consistent-financial-reporting-framework-cfr2014-to-2015 CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO. 1c TITLE Financial Issues Annual Financial Statements Section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 requires LAs to produce annual financial statements that identify overall planned expenditure on Education and Children’s Services, as well as detailed school budget information. These will shortly be posted on the Bracknell Forest School Management website. They cover the actual budget statement for 2015-16. ACTION POINTS: The availability of the Borough Council’s Annual Financial Statement should be brought to the attention of the relevant governors. DEADLINE FOR ACTION Information only CONTACT NAME Paul Clark, Head of Departmental Finance TELEPHONE 01344 354054 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO. 1d TITLE Financial Reporting Issues for Schools Pupil Premium and Primary PE and Sports Premium Grant Schools are reminded of the need to publish financial information on their public websites in respect of spending against the Pupil Premium and Primary PE and Sports Premium Grants. Pupil Premium The pupil premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’). Schools also receive funding for children who have been looked after at any time, and children of service personnel. The pupil premium is also used to fund Summer School Programmes for disadvantaged pupils to support their transition to secondary schools in September. Schools are held accountable for how they spend the Pupil Premium through: • • • the performance tables which show the performance of disadvantaged pupils compared with their peers the Ofsted inspection framework, under which inspectors focus on the attainment of pupil groups, and in particular those who attract the pupil premium the reports for parents that schools have to publish online How schools present the information in their online statement is a matter for each school. There is certain information that must be in the report: the school’s pupil premium allocation in respect of the current academic year; details of how it is intended that the allocation will be spent; details of how the previous academic year’s allocation was spent, and the impact of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school, in respect of whom grant funding was allocated Primary PE and Sports Premium Grant This grant was introduced in September 2013 and is designed to help primary schools improve the quality of the PE and sport activities they offer their pupils. Schools must spend the funding to improve the quality of the PE and sport activities they offer their pupils, but they are free to choose the best way of using the money. This could include: • • • • • • • hire specialist PE teachers hire qualified sports coaches to work with teachers provide existing staff with teaching resources to help them teach PE and sport support and involve the least active children by running or extending school sports clubs, holiday clubs and Change4Life clubs run sport competitions or increase pupils’ participation in the School Games run sports activities with other schools purchase the SLA available from BFC Reporting requirements have been introduced, including on school web site. How schools present the information in their online statement is a matter for each school. In a similar way to the Pupil Premium, there is certain information that must be in the report: the school’s allocation in respect of the current academic year; details of how it is intended that the allocation will be spent; details of how the previous academic year’s allocation was spent, and how it made a difference to the PE and sport participation and attainment of the pupils who attract the funding. Since September 2013, Ofsted inspections report on how primary schools spend their PE and sport premium funding. ACTION POINTS: • DEADLINE FOR ACTION Annually Governors need to ensure that the reporting requirements from the grants are met. CONTACT NAME Paul Clark, Head of Departmental Finance TELEPHONE 01344 354054 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO.2 Human Resources - Childcare Disqualification guidance The Department for Education (DfE) has issued supplementary advice to the statutory guidance “Keeping Children Safe in Education” detailing a new requirement for childcare disqualification checks to be carried out on relevant staff. These checks arise from the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 and the Education Act 2006. The Regulations apply to schools and registered childcare settings. The Regulations prohibit anyone who is disqualified themselves under the Regulations, or who lives in the same household as a disqualified person, from working in a relevant setting. Bracknell Forest Council has produced guidance and a model letter for schools to use which has been sent to all headteachers. The document ‘Childcare Disqualification Guidance’ can be viewed on the HR Section of the School Management Website http://schools.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/hr ACTION POINTS: DEADLINE FOR ACTION Governors should ensure that their school is compliant with the requirements of the legislation; ongoing CONTACT NAME Human Resources TELEPHONE 01344 354060 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO.3 Safeguarding Update for Schools – summer term 2015 Please note that Debbie Smith will be speaking at the Chairs’ Briefing on the new safeguarding updates (30th April, 7.30pm, Education Centre, Easthampstead Park Conference Centre). A summer term ‘Safeguarding Update’ was copied to chairs and clerks by Governor Services on 16th April. Much of the information will be useful to the Governing Body in ensuring the schools safeguarding arrangements and understanding responsibilities of the Designated Lead for Child Protection. This update will be sent to chairs and clerks on a regular basis in future. Information included in the Safeguarding Update was as follows: 1. DFE Keeping Children Safe in Education Update; 2. Information sharing – advice for practitioners; 3. What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused; 4. Bruising Protocol; 5. Children’s Social Care threshold document; 6. New Child Protection Conference Format; 7. Draft Safeguarding Policy for Schools; 8. Draft Model Restrictive Physical Intervention Policy; 9. Safeguarding training for staff; 10. Sexting 11. Designated Child Protect Leads Meeting. The update will be of particular interest to the governor with responsibility for Child Protection (CP). Please see item 11 for information for the role of the CP Governor. Inspecting safeguarding in maintained schools and academies The new OFSTED Inspecting Safeguarding Briefing for Section 5 Inspections was published in April 2015. This document can be found on the OFSTED website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted This briefing paper aims to support inspectors in reviewing schools’ safeguarding arrangements when carrying out section 5 inspections. The section ‘Leadership and Management’ on page 9 sets out the responsibilities of Governing Bodies. Safeguarding Training for Governors Tuesday 2 June 12.30 – 14.30 Open Learning Centre Provided by Governor Services as part of SLA It is good practice for all governors to attend safeguarding training and this is provided by Debbie Smith, SEN (Pre 16), Safeguarding & Inclusion Manager, and is offered on a regular basis. The next session will be held in June as shown above. Governors should refer to the Governor Training Programme for further information. Please note that this session was delivered last term and now again in June so it is unlikely it will be held again in the near future. Governors should ensure they do not miss the opportunity to book a place if they wish to do so. To book a place: Sue Shields – [email protected] Please note this course will not cover e-safety which will be subject of separate training (date to be decided). ACTION POINTS: DEADLINE FOR ACTION • Governing Bodies should be confident that the schools safeguarding arrangements are in place. • Any queries or concerns around the safeguarding arrangements in your school to be directed to Debbie Smith who will be able to provide advice or further information. • Governor Services should be informed of the name of the CP Governor as stated in the item 11 on ‘Governors with particular responsibilities’. • Book onto Safeguarding training as appropriate. As soon as possible / ongoing. CONTACT NAME Debbie Smith SEN (Pre 16), Safeguarding & Inclusion Manager TELEPHONE 01344 354014 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO.4 ‘Prevent’ - Designated Child Protect Leads Meeting ‘Prevent’ is 1 of the 4 elements of CONTEST, the government’s counter-terrorism strategy. It aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. All schools should have a designated lead member of staff. TH The next Designated Leads Meeting will on 7 May 2015. This meeting will be longer than the usual 2 hours and will instead be 9:30 – 12:30, finishing with lunch which will be provided. This will be an important session to attend as it will incorporate WRAP (Workshop raising awareness of Prevent) training. This training which is on the PREVENT agenda will be delivered by a Member of the Community Safety Team. Prevent will soon become a statutory duty for LAs and a range of other organisations including educational institutions and Ofsted will be scrutinising implementation. It is an expectation that all Bracknell Forest schools are in receipt of WRAP training. In primary schools, it is hoped that the Head and Designated Lead are in receipt of training and in Secondary Schools, the Head, Designated Lead and Heads of Year as a minimum. This training session will enable you to start the process of ensuring one member of staff is trained. Further opportunities for other staff will be facilitated throughout the rest of the year A full agenda for the meeting will be sent out shortly. It is anticipated that training will be made available for governors and information will be circulated in due course by the Governor Services Team. ACTION POINTS: DEADLINE FOR ACTION • • Clerk to ensure Safeguarding Governor is aware of this item; Governing Bodies should ensure that their school is represented at meeting as above. As soon as possible. CONTACT NAME Amanda Warwick Targeted Services TELEPHONE 01344 353317 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO.5 Ensuring school websites are compliant The DfE and Ofsted regularly review school websites and it is very important to ensure the website is compliant, up to date and easy to navigate, particular if the school is in the inspection window as Ofsted pay particular attention to school websites. Every maintained school must publish specific information on its website to comply with The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012. Academies, depending upon when they were established, may be required to publish the following on their website: Full details of information that must be on your school website can be found on the National Governors’ Association site by following the link: http://www.nga.org.uk/Guidance/Legislation,policies-and-procedures/Government-advice-andguidance/Information-that-must-be-on-your-school-website.aspx From 1st September 2015, maintained schools will be required to publish the register of interests on their school’s website. The register of interests must detail each governor’s business interests, the details of any other educational establishment that they govern and any personal relationships they have with school staff. Governor Services will review guidance on this prior to September. ACTION POINTS: DEADLINE FOR ACTION • • • • School websites should be compliant with regulations as above. Register of Interests are on school websites. Governor Services to provide revised guidance. With immediate effect. From 1st September 2015 CONTACT NAME Governor Services TELEPHONE 01344 354066/4071 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO.6 TITLE Governor and Clerk Training and Development Opportunities: Summer term programme and new Training Opportunity for Secondary School Governors Governor Training and Development Programme The summer term governor programme begins on 30th April with the first training session. It is important that Governing Bodies discuss the programme and ensure that they are represented on training as appropriate. The summer term has some key training opportunities. Please book onto training which will assist you in your role and note that most sessions are only delivered once a year. Clerks have spare copies if you prefer to have a paper copy of the programme. Development Governors meet on a termly basis to discuss future training sessions. Please let your Development Governor know if you wish them to raise any suggestions at the next Forum which will be held on 10 June. New Training Opportunity for all secondary school governors We are delighted that Sue Hackman, our Conference keynote speaker, can provide the following training session. ALL CHANGE! Briefing on important changes to curriculum, assessment and accountability Sue Hackman, Associate Trainer Wednesday 3 June 7 – 9pm Education Centre, Easthampstead Park Target audience: Secondary school governors, especially those who have responsibility for curriculum, assessment or accountability Aim: • • • • • To brief governors on changes to the content of each of the KS3 curriculum subjects, already under way; To brief governors on the options for KS3 assessment following the abolition of levels, and some of the risks that now exist in KS3; To reflect on the lessons learnt from last year's GCSE results; To alert governors to changes to the KS4 accountability regime from next year and its implications for schools; To reflect on the likely impact of the general election result on these issues. Content: Working through the agenda given above, this session will give governors an overview of the important changes that have taken place in curriculum content. Some subjects have had major overhauls. The session will also offer a handy digest of changes to the assessment and accountability regime, including a new floor standard and a new way of measuring success. Which children will be the new 'borderliners' when the gold standard changes? How will schools conduct assessments in KS3 now that levels have disappeared? What are Ofsted saying about internal assessment now that they are the main guardians of it? And what, if anything, might change as a result of the general election? Booking via Sue Shields – [email protected] Governor Training – Personal Feedback Form A copy of this form is given to each delegate at all training sessions. It allows governors to record the information they wish to take back to the governing body, the actions they will take following the session and any further training they feel would help them as a result of attending the session. Please ensure that you complete the form following any training attended and provide your Development Governor with a copy. Summer term training The training programme which includes a booking form was sent to all governors, associate members and clerks by email and can be found on the governor section of the school management website at: http://schools.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/governors. DATE COURSE TITLE TARGET AUDIENCE AND WHY ATTEND Induction for New Governors All new governors. Ideally within six months of appointment. Clerks should also attend. Only induction opportunity during the summer term. Wed 6 May Implications of the new assessment and accountability arrangements for primary schools It is expected that all primary schools will have governor representation on this session. Sue Hackman will speak about the shift of approach in the curriculum and in assessment, things to consider and the implications. A must for primary school governors. Tues 12 May Clerks’ Forum An opportunity for your clerk to keep updated and to learn from other clerks through facilitated discussion. Thurs 14 May Briefing on the new Primary National Curriculum Sue Hackman will explain the differences in the new primary national curriculum and the challenges this will present for your headteacher. Another must for primary school governors. All primary schools should be represented. Mon 18 May Monitoring, providing evidence and planning for improvement For all governors, monitoring from a different perspective. Karen Roche will be sharing examples and tools to help governors with monitoring tasks, without onerous report Thurs 30 April writing, while using the monitoring outcomes to plan for improvement. Tues 2 June Safeguarding for Governors Although not a statutory requirement, all governors should attend safeguarding training. This session will be suitable for all governors and clerks will find it of interest too. Wed 10 June Development Governor Forum An opportunity for Development Governors (formerly Link Governors) to meet and discuss current and future training needs. Thurs 18 June Thurs 25 June Thurs 2 July Making a difference to the quality of teaching (Primary) Performance Management Part I - The Regulations Part II - The Practical Side Tues 7 July Wed 3 June ACTION POINTS: For all primary school governors, this workshop is designed to give some insight into how governors can support schools in making a difference to the quality of teaching in school. All governors involved in the headteacher’s performance management need to understand the process. The training has been split into two parts to accommodate the need for both an understanding of the regulations and also the opportunity to explore the practical side of reviewing the performance management of the Headteacher. GBs need to look ahead and decide who will be on the panel. It is important to also train other governors so that trained individuals are available in the event of an appeal, and as part of succession planning. For all primary school governors. Diane Pye, our Early Years Consultant Preparation for the New will provide an insight on Ofsted Ofsted Inspection Framework expectations when inspecting Early for Early Years Years provision and recognising good quality early years provision. ALL CHANGE! Briefing on important changes to curriculum, assessment and accountability. • • • For secondary school governors, especially those who have responsibility for curriculum, assessment or accountability Secondary school governors to note new training opportunity. Book onto governor training as appropriate via [email protected] Ensure personal feedback forms are completed when attending training. DEADLINE FOR ACTION ongoing CONTACT NAME Anne Hall Governor Services TELEPHONE 01344 354066 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO.7 National Governors’ Association (NGA) Development Opportunities Special Schools Conference Saturday 16th May 2015 – Free places for members The NGA are holding their biennial conference for governors of Special Schools on Saturday 16th May in Birmingham City Centre. This event is a great opportunity to hear about the latest developments in SEND policy and share best practice with fellow Special School governors. Jane Friswell, the CEO of Nasen will be the keynote speaker. Nasen is the leading organisation in the UK which aims to promote the education, training, advancement and development of all those with special and additional support needs. It has an influential voice at national level on issues concerning special educational needs. Nasen personnel meet regularly with government officials to discuss special educational needs issues, and are represented on many influential national organisations such as the Special Education Consortium. You will need to book onto the members’ area of the NGA website to book your place or follow the link from your weekly newsletter. Free FFT Governor Dashboard Webinars, in association with the NGA The Fischer Family Trust (FFT) Governor Dashboard is now available in FFT Aspire which is a new reporting tool - http://www.fft.org.uk/fft-aspire/about-FFT-Aspire.aspx FFT is holding free webinars to explain how the Dashboard can help governors support and challenge the school leadership team. The FFT Governor Dashboard has been developed in partnership with the National Governors’ Association and the Wellcome Trust. It clearly displays information about results and pupil progress, subject performance, progress of pupil groups, attendance and school context. The Dashboard will also help governors get to grips with the government’s new Attainment 8 measure and from 2016 dashboards will also include Progress 8 analysis. The senior leadership team of all schools subscribing to the FFT can download the Governor Dashboard from FFT Aspire to share it with governors. Alternatively, governing boards should make clear to the senior leadership team that they wish to be provided with their own account, giving access to not only the Governor Dashboard but also a range of other information to aid their ‘support and challenge’ role. FFT are holding free webinars for Governors to outline the new Governor Dashboard Tuesday 12 May, Tuesday 9 June and Tuesday 23 June. The webinars are live and last forty five minutes. For more information see the attached flyer. To book your free place, please visit www.fft.org.uk/training-events/Webinar.aspx. ACTION POINTS: Book places on NGA training as appropriate. DEADLINE FOR ACTION As soon as possible. CONTACT NAME TELEPHONE Governor Services EMAIL [email protected] 01344 354066 CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO.8 The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools Revised Departmental Statutory Guidance March 2015 Revised Statutory Guidance for maintained schools The previous Statutory Guidance was issued in May 2014 and has been the prime source of information for governing bodies in the process of reconstituting. A revised document was issued in March 2015. It is essential reading for Clerks as it covers all aspects of the constitution of governing bodies, not just re-constitution. There are several significant changes: Page 7 Para 16 While it is essential to build a strong and cohesive non-executive team, the most robust governing bodies welcome and thrive on having a sufficiently diverse range of viewpoints, such that open debate leads to good decisions in the interests of the whole school community. Notwithstanding the role of foundation governors in a faith-designated school, governing bodies should be alert to the risk of becoming dominated by one particular mind-set or strand of opinion, whether related to faith or otherwise. Having some members who have no close ties with the school can help ensure that the governing body has sufficient internal challenge to how they carry out their strategic functions. Page 9 paras 24 – 27 Publication of Governors’ details and Register of Interests 24. Governors hold an important public office and their identity should be known to their school and wider communities. Governing bodies should therefore publish on their website information about their members. The information they should publish should, as a minimum include for each governor: • their name; • their category of governor; • which body appoints them; • their term of office; • the names of any committees the governor serves on; and • details of any positions of responsibility such as chair or vice-chair of the governing body or a committee of the governing body. 25. Governing bodies should also publish this information for associate members, making clear whether they have voting rights on any of the committees they serve on. 26. From 1 September 2015, governing bodies will be under a duty to publish on their website their register of interests. The register should set out the relevant business interests of governors and details of any other educational establishments they govern. The register should also set out any relationships between governors and members of the school staff including spouses, partners and relatives. 27. Governing bodies should make it clear in their code of conduct that this information will be published on their governors and, where applicable, their associate members. Any governor failing to reveal information to enable the governing body to fulfil their responsibilities may be in breach of the code of conduct and as a result be bringing the governing body into disrepute. In such cases the governing body should consider suspending the governor. Note: Governor Services will be reviewing the guidance regarding declarations of interest and recommending how the information should be portrayed. Page 17 term of Office The term of office for all categories of governor is a fixed period of four years, but: • the instrument of government may specify a shorter term of office (being at least a year) for a particular category of governor; • the instrument of government may specify that the term of office for an individual governor within a category of governor may be between one year and the maximum term the governing body has set for that category, as determined by the appointing body at the time of appointment; Annex C – Model Instrument of Government This has been amended to include a clause relating to the variance of terms of office for individual governors which is permissible after 1 September. If a GB has not yet agreed their new Instrument of Government and they decide that they may wish to use this freedom, it may be possible to include in their new Instrument with the qualification that it can only be used after 1 September 2015. Call Governor Services to discuss if applicable. The guidance can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statutory-guidance-schools#governance Update on Reconstitution 29 schools have reconstituted or are known to be in the process of reconstituting. All school must reconstitute under the 2012 regulations by 1 September 2015. Please note that you must provide the LA with sufficient time to process the Instrument. The LA expects all schools to have agreed their new Instrument by the end of this half term. Note that it may not be possible to process and approve Instruments between 9 and 29 June. If you need to discuss anything to do with reconstitution please contact J Mulvey as soon as possible (see below). ACTION POINTS: DEADLINE FOR ACTION 1. Clerks to read new guidance and bring changes to the attention of governors. 2. Details of governors and associate members to be published on the school website 3. Declarations of interest to be published on the school website. 4. GBs who have not agreed their revised Instrument of Government must do so asap. 1 As soon as possible. 2 As soon as possible 3 By 1 September 2015 or asap thereafter. 4 Send to LA by 22 May CONTACT NAME Jackie Mulvey Governor services TELEPHONE 01344 354071 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO. 9 TITLE Changes to regulations The School Governance (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2015 These new Regulations come into force on 1st September 2015. They draw together several amendments to existing regulations concerning School Governance (see below), mainly to bring them in line with the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012, the new categories of governors and the new emphasis on skills. The regulations affected are: • School Governance (Collaboration) (England) Regulations 2003 • School Governance (New Schools) (England) Regulations 2007 • Collaboration Arrangements (Maintained Schools and Further Education Bodies) (England) Regulations 2007 • The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 Governing bodies will be allowed to delegate certain functions in relation to members of staff to committees which can include Associate Members (providing they are not pupils or members of staff) • School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012. An individual governor elected or appointed on or after 1 September 2015 may hold office for a period of between 1 and 4 years, where the Instrument of Government allows. The term to be decided by the appointing authority at the time of the appointment. Currently it is only permissible to vary the term of office for a whole category of governor. Governing Bodies wishing to use this freedom will need to formally seek a variance in their Instrument of Government. See also item 6 – new guidance. The new regulations can be viewed here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/883/contents/made Deregulation Bill The Deregulation Bill has had a long passage through Parliament and was enacted before the dissolution of Parliament. It affects many aspects of public life, but significantly there are some clauses that affect governing bodies. • The requirement for GBs to set behaviour principles on which the Headteacher should base their behaviour policy has been removed. • The requirement for schools to have home – school agreements has been removed (but they can be retained if the school wishes) • The requirement on schools to produce paper copies of Ofsted reports, denominational inspection reports, or reports by HMCI following certain types of complaints, has been removed. However schools still have an obligation to inform parents about the outcome of inspections. CONTACT NAME Jackie Mulvey Governor services TELEPHONE 01344 354071 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO.10 Election of Chair and Vice Chair It is usual for elections for the positions of Chair and Vice Chair to be held at the first GB meeting in the academic year. The governing body can determine their own procedures for electing the chair and vice chair, however these should be agreed in advance to avoid any confusion and it is timely to do this in the Summer term if elections take place in the Autumn term. It is important that both chair and vice chair posts are filled. The vice chair’s role is not just to chair meetings when the chair is absent. A model procedure has been drawn up by the NGA and can be viewed on their website at http://www.nga.org.uk/Guidance/Legislation,policies-and-procedures/Model-Policies/Procedurefor-electing-a-chair-and-vice-chair.aspx (You will need to log in to the NGA website members area). These procedures are short and fairly straightforward, however, it is suggested that GBs consider the following: • The GB MUST determine in advance of the election the date on which the term of office of the Chair and Vice Chair will end . In other words how long their term of office will be. Chairs/vice chairs can be elected for between 1 and 4 years. However, a governor in this role automatically ceases to hold the position at the end of their term of office. It is unlikely that a term of 4 years would coincide with a governor’s term of office. It is most common for chairs and vice chairs to be elected annually and this best practice. • How and when nominations are made. This is usually done by filling in a simple form which is sent to the clerk. Or it could be by email to the Clerk. Consider whether to allow self nomination. If nominated by another governor, check that the nominee is willing to stand. It is considered best practice for nominations to be requested in advance of the full governing body meeting at which the appointment is to be made. This avoids possible awkwardness (eg if someone else wants to stand against an existing chair) and also saves time during the meeting. It is recommended that the vote isa secret ballot. • Whether an election statement is required in advance. This allows consideration by all governors in advance of the meeting. It is suggested that the statement demonstrates how the individual has fulfilled their role as governor to date, how they intend to fulfil the role of Chair ie why they think they would be a good Chair/VC and what skills or experience they have to take on the role. • Whether candidates will be given the opportunity at the FGB meeting to put their case for (re)election. In the event of only one nomination for a post, the appointment is not automatic as all GB decisions must be decided by vote. The GB needs to decide what to do in the event that the vote is not in favour. In this situation there needs to be a way of resolving the problem as a GB cannot function without a Chair. One approach would be to invite additional nominations from those attending the meeting and then take another vote. A new nominee would need to be given the opportunity to make an election statement about their suitability. The Departmental Advice (The School Governance (Roles Procedures and Allowances)(England)Regulations 2013 – Departmental Advice for school leaders and governing bodies of Maintained schools and management committees of PRUs in England, issued in January 2014, state that it is possible to appoint more than one person to share the role of Chair, or vice chair, if the board believes this is necessary and in the best interests of the school. The board would need to ensure that any role sharing arrangement does not lead to any loss of clarity in its leadership. This is particularly important regarding the Chair’s ability to act alone in the event of an emergency. The Departmental Advice goes on to say that that the board may decide that none of its existing members has the skills to serve as its Chair. Nothing in the regulations prevents GBs advertising for and recruiting a highly skilled Chair from outside its current membership. However the successful candidate would have to be appointed to a vacant position on the GB prior to being elected. It therefore follows that if you don’t have a suitable vacancy you cannot follow this route. • Whether unsuccessful candidates for Chair will automatically be considered for Vice Chair. This is normally the case. • What to do in the event of a tie. Notes: As with all decisions made by a governing body, only governors (not associate members) can vote, and only governors present at the meeting can vote (no proxy or postal voting!) There is no legal limit on how many times a Chair can stand for re-election. In the view of the National Governors’ Association (NGA) all chairs should consider stepping down after serving 6 years in post at the same school. This allows for a healthy turn over of people and encourages newer governors who may feel rather awkward about standing against a long serving governor, to step up. This approach needs to go hand in hand with succession planning. If the Chair ceases to occupy the position eg due to resignation or he/she comes to the end of their term of office, the Vice Chair automatically assumes the role of Chair until there is an opportunity for an election. The vice chair can also act as chair and make decisions on behalf of the Governing Body in an emergency if the chair is unavailable or cannot be contacted. There is nothing in law to say that the Clerk must administer the election, but it is usually the case. ACTION POINTS: 1. GBs to agree procedures for electing Chair and Vice Chair. 2. Elect the chair and vice-chair 3. Inform Governor Services accordingly DEADLINE FOR ACTION 1. Summer term 2. First meeting of Autumn term 3. Asap thereafter CONTACT NAME Jackie Mulvey Governor services co-ordinator TELEPHONE 01344 354071 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO.11 Governors with particular responsibilities All governing bodies must have a Chair and Vice Chair, but in addition, it is recommended that the areas below are covered by individual governors, and their names should be notified to Governor Services. Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Governor Governing bodies have statutory responsibilities for pupils with SEND. A SEND governor has the responsibility for liaising with the school’s SEND co-ordinator (SENCO) and must ensure that the governing body is aware of, and fulfils its responsibilities for, special education as described in the DfE statutory guidance. Child Protection (CP) Governor (Safeguarding Governor) Governors are accountable for ensuring that their school has effective child protection policies in place that meet local and national guidance. A governor with CP responsibility needs to ensure that up to date appropriate policies are in place and that staff and parents are aware of them. It would also be appropriate for this governor to ensure (by asking the Headteacher) that all staff have received up to date safeguarding training and that the governing body meets statutory requirements for attendance on safer recruitment training. The CP governor has responsibility for championing child protection issues, liaising with the headteacher, and providing information and reports to the governing body. However they should not take the lead in dealing with specific safeguarding issues, nor do they have the right to know details of such cases. Development Governor (previously Link Governor) It was agreed at the spring term Link Governor Forum that the Link Governor would, from this point on, be called the Development Governor which more appropriately reflects the role. It was agreed that it was crucial to develop this role, to better support the effectiveness of the GB. The key role of the Development Governor is to encourage and support the development of the skills of individual governors and the governing body as a whole by ensuring that all are aware of appropriate training opportunities. Training should be discussed on a regular basis at governing body meetings. The role of the Development Governor will be revised and discussed at the next Forum on 10 June. The role can be as wide or as narrow as the governing body wishes, and could incorporate organizing a buddy or mentoring for new governors and supporting with recruitment. Governing Bodies may also wish to appoint governors with other responsibilities such as Health and Safety, Gifted and Talented or a governor linked to the core subjects. Further information is available in the NGA publication Welcome to Governance or on the NGA website. ACTION POINTS: DEADLINE FOR ACTION Clerks to notify Governor Services of their: • SEND Governor • CP Governor • Development Governor This information should be sent by email to the Governors’ Helpdesk as below. CONTACT As soon as possible Governor Services NAME TELEPHONE 01344 354066/4071 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO.12 TITLE Notification of Governing Body Changes – a reminder. Clerks will be aware that Ros Day has now left the Governor Services team. Rachel Clayton will be responsible for maintaining the Governor Services database. To assist her in this role please remind yourself of the following information: 1. Notification to Governor Services It is the clerk’s responsibility to notify Governor Services of any changes to your governing body. Please do this as soon as possible so that we have accurate records of our governors. If we are not notified, new governors will not receive any communications or support from us, and we will not be meeting our statutory responsibilities. The exception to this is for Local Authority Appointed governors where we receive notification from Democratic Services. We should also be notified of any Associate Members that are appointed to your Governing Body. Associate Members can be appointed for one, two, three or four years and this needs to be made clear at the time of their appointment. Changes should preferably be notified by using the change form available on the website under clerking information. Failing that an email to the Governors’ Helpdesk (see below) would be acceptable but please ensure that all details are provided: • Name • Address • Tel number • Email address • Type of governor • Date of appointment We also need to be notified of any changes of responsibilities eg Chair. If you choose to send a complete updated list of your membership, please highlight the changes which need to be noted. IMPORTANT NOTE We also require confirmation of re-appointments. Unless we are told otherwise, we assume that a person ceases to be a governor when their term of office comes to an end. They are automatically deleted from current database. Resignations Clerks may wish to remind governors that resignations must be made in writing to the Clerk to the governing body. 2. Notification to the National Governors’ Association (NGA) Now that membership of the NGA forms part of the Governor Services SLA, it is important that, as clerk, you ensure that the NGA are also advised of any changes in membership. New governors will then be supplied with their NGA password. Changes to be sent by email to: [email protected]. CONTACT NAME Rachel Clayton Governor Services (Tuesday – Friday) TELEPHONE 01344 354069 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO.13 TITLE Copies of minutes Clerks should ensure that copies of minutes for the spring term have been sent to the Governor Services helpdesk. If not, please send them in as soon as possible. The LA only require copies of the following minutes: − Full Governing Body − Committee dealing with Curriculum − Committee dealing with Finance Unless specifically requested, we do not routinely need: − copies of minutes of sites / premises/ staffing or any other committee − copies of agendas or associated papers − copies of school policies Each governing body organises its business through different committee structures. The above is a guideline only and it does not matter if there is some overlap. Please provide copies of the required documents in electronic form and send to [email protected]. Please do not send links to GVO. Please type in the subject of the email the name of the school and the type and date of the minutes. eg Curriculum Minutes – 9.6.14. This will assist us greatly as you will appreciate that we receive a large number of minutes each term. Hard copies of the signed minutes of the meeting at which the school’s budget is agreed each year is separately required by Education Finance. These are often sent through by the Bursar. Governor Services do not send copies to the finance team. For the summer term, please provide draft/chair approved minutes as soon as reasonably possible after each meeting rather than in batches. The minutes are read by a member of the team in Governor Services and also by the school’s curriculum adviser. If the minutes are received regularly the support services for the governing body can keep more up to date with current issues in the school, which can improve the support that the school receives. ACTION POINTS: Clerks to ensure that minutes of meetings for the spring term have been sent electronically to [email protected] . Clerks to send minutes of meetings for the summer term electronically to [email protected] following each meeting. DEADLINE FOR ACTION As soon as possible following meetings CONTACT NAME Rachel Clayton Governor Services TELEPHONE 01344 354069 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 ITEM NO.14 TITLE Education Governor Nominations Committee Set out below is a list of vacancies for Education Authority governors, to be nominated at the next meeting of the Education Governor Nominations Committee on Monday 15 June 2015. The deadline for receipt of nominations to these vacancies is Monday 1 June 2015. If your school has a vacancy which has not been listed or if a vacancy has been listed and the Governing Body has reconstituted or is about to and the vacancy no longer exists, please contact Katharine Simpson in Democratic Services immediately. Notification of any Education Authority Governor resignations should be sent to Katharine Simpson, with a copy to Governor Services. School Vacancies Name of Governor Date of End of Term of Office 1 Birch Hill Primary 1 College Town Infant 2 College Town Junior Mrs H Hill 19 June 2015 2* Cranbourne Primary 1* Holly Spring Infant 1* Holly Spring Junior 1* New Scotland Hill Primary St Margaret Clitherow RC 1 Primary 1 Sandhurst Mrs P McKenzie 19 June 2015 2* Sandy Lane Primary Wildmoor Heath Primary 1* * Governing Body is in the process of reconstituting. On reconstitution the vacancy will no longer exist. The nomination form has been designed to find out about the skills and experience of the nominee and whether they have the necessary attributes to become an effective and useful school governor. The form has been designed using the model Skills Audit Proforma produced by the National Governors’ Association as its base. Copies of the nomination form can be obtained from Democratic Services or downloaded from the Documents section of the following webpage: http://www.bracknellforest.gov.uk/schoolgovernors . Applications submitted on the old forms will not be accepted by the Committee and may delay the vacancy being filled. Any queries regarding Authority Governor appointments should be directed to Katharine Simpson. CONTACT NAME Katharine Simpson Democratic Services TELEPHONE 01344 352308 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING SUMMER TERM 2015 TITLE ITEM NO. 15 Revised publication: What governing boards should expect from school leaders and what school leaders should expect from governing boards ‘What governing boards should expect from school leaders and what school leaders should expect from governing bodies’ is a joint guidance document from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the Local Government Association (LGA), the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the National Governors’ Association (NGA), that aims to improve the effectiveness of school governance. The paper aims to improve the effectiveness of school governance through an expectation that governing boards and school leaders will jointly develop working practices that are mutually supportive and respectful of each others roles. The paper addresses four key areas: • the respective roles of governance and management, • developing and supporting the governing board, • effective ways of working, • understanding the school and engaging with stakeholders. The paper can be downloaded from http://www.nga.org.uk/News/NGA-News/What-governors-andschool-leaders-should-expect.aspx You will need to be logged in to the members area. It is recommended that all governors and school leaders read this short paper which is clearly set out under sub headings. It can also serve as a useful reference document. CONTACT NAME Jackie Mulvey Governor services TELEPHONE 01344 354071 EMAIL [email protected] CLERKS’ BRIEFING Summer 2015 TITLE APPENDIX A List of Clerks to Governing Bodies School: Ascot Heath CE Junior School Ascot Heath Infant School Binfield CE Primary School Birch Hill Primary School College Town Infant and Nursery School College Hall College Town Junior School Cranbourne Primary School School Tel No. 01344 883353 01344 882631 01344 860106 01344 455815 01276 31933 0118 989 3378 01276 35292 01344 882350 Clerk: Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Crown Wood Primary School Crowthorne CE Primary Easthampstead Park School Edgbarrow School Fox Hill Primary School Garth Hill College Great Hollands Primary School Harmans Water Primary School Holly Spring Infant and Nursery School Holly Spring Junior School 01344 485448 01344 772089 01344 304567 01344 772658 01344 421809 01344 421122 01344 424911 01344 422196 01344 483920 01344 422367 Jennett’s Park Primary Kennel Lane School Meadow Vale Primary School New Scotland Hill Primary School Owlsmoor Primary School Sandhurst School Sandy Lane Primary School St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School St Michael's CE Primary School (Sandhurst) St Michael's Easthampstead CE VA Primary The Brakenhale School The Pines School * new clerk Mellissa Jackie Claire Lynn Amanda Rachel Kate Kelly Bell Frew* Pascoe Covell Whiddett* Moss Harding Jones Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs VACANCY Mrs Mrs Mary Mary Penny Celeste Glynis Sandra Louise Wilkins * Jenkinson Thompson Moruzzi Keeble Wilson La Cumbre Sarah Claire Webb Pascoe 01344 301269 01344 483872 01344 421046 01344 772184 01344 776642 01344 775678 01344 423896 01344 425246 01344 424030 Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Miss Mrs Mrs Mrs Penny Elif Jan Jenny Fiona Claire Angela Adele Angela Thompson Poile Smith Tucker Stanton Read De Grande Valentin De Grande 01252 873360 Mrs Dawn Deykin 01344 420878 Mrs Melanie Saville 01344 423041 01344 426413 Mrs Mrs Mary Penny Uplands Primary School Warfield CE Primary School Whitegrove Primary School Wildmoor Heath School Wildridings Primary School Winkfield St Mary's CE Primary School Wooden Hill Primary and Nursery School 01252 873069 01344 862074 01344 861020 01344 772034 01344 425483 01344 882422 01344 421117 Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Mrs Jane Claire Rachel Celeste Elaine Jackie Jane Jenkinson Thompson (temp) Steadman Pollard Clayton Moruzzi Morgan Mulvey Steadman Ranelagh Academy 01344 421233 Mrs Gladys Perrier Note: Celeste Moruzzi is on Maternity Leave and Pauline Williams is currently standing in as Clerk at Wildmoor Heath and Edgbarrow