Governor’s Annual Statement

Academic Year 2017/8

 

Foreword

At Mission Grove, we strive to ensure all of our pupils leave as well rounded individuals who have the passion and confidence to do their best, and the skills to succeed and flourish in life. The governing body is proud of the safe, caring and inclusive environment created by all staff at Mission Grove, and we fully support the school’s aims to:

• Follow its motto ‘Respect yourself, respect others’;
• Promote social, cultural, moral and spiritual development, preparing pupils to be responsible citizens;
• Encourage partnership with parents/carers and foster positive links with the community.

In accordance with the government’s requirements, the governing body at Mission Grove Primary School concentrates on three core strategic functions:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

Governance Arrangements

The governing body is made up of 13 positions:

• 3 parent governors appointed by ballot of the parents at the school

• 1 staff governor appointed by ballot of the staff

• 1 headteacher

•  Local Authority governor nominated by the Local Authority

• 7 Co-opted governors appointed by the governing body based on a skills audit (including 1 additional staff governor)

School governors are all volunteers and give a huge amount of their time for the benefit of the pupils of Mission Grove. Governors (apart from the headteacher) are all appointed, they are independent and have equal status to each other. They act first and foremost in the best interests of the school.

The governors are part of the leadership of the school. Together with the headteacher, business manager and senior leadership team, they have planned, monitored and supported every aspect of the school’s work. This happens through half-termly governing body meetings, along with half-termly meetings of the curriculum and finance committees. These committees operate within agreed Terms of Reference, and report back to the full governing body. We have a cycle of business to help us ensure that all the topics we are required to oversee in a year are covered.

Minutes of governing body meetings are available on the governors section of the Mission Grove website.

Attendance and skills analysis

A copy of the governing body’s annual attendance record is available on the governors section of the school website. In the autumn term of each year, the governing body also completes an annual skills analysis; we use this to inform our training and development and to help identify gaps that we can fill when recruiting to our vacancies. This report is anonymised and is available on the school website.

Monitoring and evaluating

Governors undertake a number of activities in order to monitor and evaluate how the school is operating. In full governing body and committee meetings, we receive reports and presentations from the headteacher, senior leadership team and subject coordinators. In the last academic year, governors also attended three governor days, where we visited a range of lessons and extra-curricular activities, as well as talking to teachers and pupils about their time at Mission Grove. Governors also attend events such as parent coffee mornings, open days and school assemblies.

 

Each non-staff governor has link responsibilities. Link governors monitor their area of responsibility by engaging with the lead staff member within the school for that area. They check that all required processes and procedures are in place, and report back to the full governing body. Mission Grove has link governors in the following areas:

• Numeracy
• Literacy
• Science
• Computing
• Creative and expressive arts
• Wellbeing
• Behaviour and attendance
• Finance and pupil premium
• Early years foundation stage
• Special educational needs and disabilities
• Safeguarding and looked after children

Effectiveness and impact

The school has a School Development Plan (SDP) that is used by the governing body and senior leadership team to ensure the school is working strategically to deliver the best education for every child. Below is an overview of some of the ways the governing body carried out its duty to monitor and support the school in the delivery of the SDP in the academic year 2017/8:

 

• Governors have attended governor days to understand how the school is implementing policies, evaluate day to day practice and identify any areas for development;

• The governing body have approved financial proposals and the use of pupil premium, followed by scrutiny of the impact of this spending;

• Governors have received presentations from the Maths co-ordinator, Inclusion Manager and Science Leader in order to understand new developments and monitor how policies are being implemented;

• Governors have attended a range of Local Authority training sessions, allowing them to better understand and develop their roles;

• Governors have attended Local Authority governor briefings, and the Local Authority Chairs’ Forum to ensure they are up-to-date with new developments;

• Governors have presented link reports on literacy, maths, science, safeguarding, SEND and wellbeing.

• Governors have carried out a self-evaluation, using the DfE Competency Framework for Governance.

• Governors have started work with Governor Space with a mentor to develop effective monitoring of the governance development plan

Key priorities for next year

Over the next academic year, the governing body has set itself the following priorities:

• To recruit one parent and one co-opted governor;

• To support new governors, and established governors in new roles, through an induction process and training provided by the Local Authority and Governor Space;

• To implement monitoring processes to assess the effectiveness of governing body and committee meetings, with support from Governor Space;

• To support the headteacher and business manager in setting a balanced budget for 2018/19;

• To support and challenge the headteacher, senior and middle leaders in embedding policies and practices introduced in the last academic year, for example the more able policy and new practices with reading and writing.

Conclusion

This report gives only a snapshot of the work and activities carried out at Mission Grove over the last academic year. The governing body would like to thank Ms Jennings and her team for their dedication and commitment to ensuring every child has a stimulating, fulfilling and enjoyable education.

If you would like any further information about the governing body, or if you have any questions, please contact the chair of governors at governors@missiongrove.org.uk

Signed on behalf of the governing body

Nicole Whitelaw (chair of governors)