Run by Devon Governors for Devon Governors
Run by Devon Governors for Devon Governors
Issues raised at Area Meetings Autumn Term 2010
Related Papers - A list of documents referred to in the area meetings
The following topics were discussed / presented:
Changes to Admission Procedure
Independent Safeguarding Authority Update / general Safeguarding issues
Admissions Arrangements for 2012 /13
Local Government Ombudsman’s (LGO) – School complaints
Devon Parent Partnership Service
LLC Area Review Meetings – only applicable to Holsworthy LLC
Single Equality Act 2010 – only addressed at Bridestowe meeting
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Issues Raised at DAG Area Meetings Autumn 2010.
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This report is a summary of points raised by governors at the Area Meetings held in September in the following Local Learning Communities: Axe Valley, Exmouth, Honiton, Ottery-St-Mary and Sidmouth: Dawlish, Newton Abbot, Teign Valley and Teignmouth: Culm Valley and Tiverton: Holsworthy, Okehampton and Tavistock.
These meetings were attended by governors, clerks and headteachers from a number of schools in these areas. Discussion focused initially on the termly ‘Checklist’ of current issues sent to all Devon schools at the beginning of each term and also available on the Devon Governor Services web site.
Further discussion embraced other issues of current concern raised by those present. The sections in normal type indicate points from the Checklist or made by me at the meetings in italics indicate comments made by governors at the meetings in bold indicate the questions with responses in red (where received) from LA officers, NGA and others to the points raised.
This is a very detailed report which will almost certainly have items of immediate relevance to your school / GB. It offers answers to questions that may have been concerning your GB as well as providing an insight in to what fellow governors are thinking about topics of current concern. Please share this report with your GB, in particular committee chairs. There are also cross-references to the Devon Governor.
Governors should note, especially those attending the earlier meetings, that additional matters may have been discussed and the agenda expanded.
These were the first meetings since Ivan Godfrey’s retirement, but followed his excellent previous practices. Nonetheless DAG seeks feedback on future meeting content, venue, time and frequency. Fiona Collier will send a short questionnaire and responses will be most welcome.
DAG is grateful to Kings School Ottery St Mary; Newton Abbot College; Tiverton HS and Bridestowe PS for allowing us to use their premises for these meetings.
Please, always, feel free to contact the following DAG Officers:
David Tall EO,
Amanda Blewett
Fiona Collier
Paulette Furnival
(The documents are Word documents
, except
for those indicated as pdf )
DAG Academy Position Statement v2
Academies - DCC Briefing Update v2
Academies Assets and Liabilities
Special Education Needs and Academies
Model Memorandum and Articles of Association
Guidance for NGA members on the Academies Bill v7 New
DBE National Societies Academies Guidance
NGA Briefing Paper Free Schools
NGA Clerks Award Nomination Form
Academies will not be expected to have a sponsor, as unlike most of the schools that had previously benefited from the Academies programme, they are not underperforming and in need of external expertise to drive school improvement. Instead, the individual members of the governing body will be responsible for establishing the Academy Trust. An Academy Trust is a charitable company (limited by guarantee) responsible for the running of the academy and has control over the land and other assets. It has a strategic role in running the academy but delegates day-to-day management of the school to the governors. It will be for the members of the governing body of the school to decide and agree, in discussion with the Department, who amongst them would wish to be members of the Academy Trust and which of them would wish to be governors of the school. It is possible to be both a member of the Trust and a governor of the school. For more information on other issues relating to Academies refer to the Department for Education website Academies section. We will endeavour to keep governors updated with developments in this developments in this area as we receive them.
Meanwhile see the Devon County Council Update Briefing 2 on Academies and Committee paper which went out to schools last term. Briefing 3 will be out this month and will feature more details on the governance arrangements in Academies.
The Department for Education has confirmed how the Academy status impacts upon federations: A new style academy may not federate, as it is a non-maintained school. Advice is not quite so clear-cut where a school already in a federation acquires Academy status. Further guidance awaited.
Two Devon Schools, Uffculme School and Broad Clyst Primary School, have been granted Academy Status from 1 September, under new “Outstanding” criteria. There is a third Academy, Dartmouth All Through Academy, but that was established under previous criteria.
Governors were alerted to the 9 Papers on the DAG Website about Academies.
Attendees were reminded that DAG takes a neutral position on Academies. It is for Governors to make any decision. DAG wants to ensure, however, that all Governors are fully briefed on their Governance responsibilities and the Governance Guide in the LA statement v3 is commended, as is v7 of the NGA Q and A paper. These and other papers are on the DAG website.
Ottery: Comment: The devil is in the detail – it is very difficult to get to the bottom line. Q: will those that go for Academy Status first lead the way for others as regards guidance? A: Hopefully. Q: Where does DAG stand re Academy Schools membership? A: until 31st March 2011 all schools can be members of DAG but future Academy Membership is an agenda item for next DAG Board meeting on 2 December, noting in DAG’s position statement that “It is for individual GBs to decide whether to seek Academy status, but DAG hopes that if a school becomes an Academy, the GB will remain engaged with DAG at all times.”
Newton Abbot: There was general concern about the impact that Academy Schools would have on other schools in the same LLCs. A governor said a number of Community Colleges were considering Academy Status and that there would inevitably be an element of competition for some schools. The money was sufficient to make schools consider Academy Status but the LA will need to rethink the core services. Free Schools were mentioned here too (see later note) – Re the Area Reviews, there needs to be rationalisation of places in areas in case Free Schools come along. Question: What happens to old sites if looking for a new build? This will hold governors back because old school buildings will no longer be an asset. There was also concern about the registration of pupils in Free Schools and safeguarding children in these schools could become an issue. A warning was given that that Free Schools will take pupils from other schools and therefore exacerbate the surplus accommodation issue. If a school is 25% below capacity the LA is obliged to notify the Government. It was commented that 25% surplus in schools equalled no investment and it was therefore hard for governors to plan strategically.
Tiverton: Q: Is Academy Status a one-way ticket? Can they come back into the LA state system? A: Yes, after 7 years Academy Schools will be formally reviewed and it is the funding agreement that triggers this. Q: At what point is the County no longer viable if Academy Schools outnumber maintained schools? DT will raise this question with LA but suspects it will be a difficult question to answer. LA - Tipping point dependant on size of school and how much they choose to buy back into - it’s not a straight-line formula.
Bridestowe: Observation: A governor observed some schools are already only get 73% and this could be one reason schools might opt to go for Academy Status - £15,000 per pupil is tempting. IC: commented on Academies v Federations – Academies cannot federate but federations can become Academies.
Following an amendment to regulations, the required statutory content of a School Prospectus was to change considerably. These changes were to apply for pupils joining the school in the 2011–12 academic year. Most noticeable were the number of policies and/or duties which had to be summarised in the prospectus. These were Curriculum, Teaching and Monitoring Progress, Parental Engagement, Race Equality, Community Cohesion, SEN, Disability Equality, Gender Equality, Collective Worship, Looked After Children, Behaviour, Attendance, Uniform and Gifted and Talented. Schools were to provide information as to where and how a person is able to obtain further information about the policies.
BUT
The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2010, SI 1006 have been revoked and will not come into operation. This involved changes to the information contained within a school’s prospectus. You should continue to follow the guidance within the Guide to the Law, Chapter 25.
MEANWHILE
The existing primary curriculum continues to be in force following the government’s decision not to implement the new primary curriculum from September. The government intends to return the National Curriculum to a minimum entitlement organised around subject disciplines. More information will follow.
From 1st September it is a legal requirement that ALL applications for school places are processed by the Local Authority to improve tracking and safeguarding of children as well as offer a transparent and consistent admissions system. This means not just the normal transfer and admission into year 7 and Reception, but any mid-phase application too. Parents must be referred to the Admissions Team via the Helpline 0845 155 1019. For an application for in-year admission parents should use the Devon Common Application Form (D-CAF).
Parents will be invited to express 3 preferences, ranked in priority order. Discussion will take place with schools and the offer letter will be issued by the Admissions Team, copied to the receiving school and the leaving school if relevant. Names must be placed on roll within 10 school days and checks will be made to ensure this happens. Voluntary Aided, Trust, Foundation and potentially Academies will be given the information and their ‘admissions committee’ expected to meet and respond, enabling the Admissions Team to respond to the parent as quickly as possible. (from Autumn 2010)
Ottery: Q: Does this mean no movement around January Census date? A: Yes amongst other things – this will be part of the reason.
Newton Abbot: Some schools represented at this meeting had experience that this new practice was not being adhered to, and some schools were probably not even aware of it. There was evidence that moving schools had already happened locally this term. The issue about precisely when any move takes place was raised.
Andrew Brent, Policy and Strategy Officer (Education) 01392 381214 - states
Where there is a request for a school transfer without a change in home circumstances then yes, the move should not normally take place straightaway. The Admissions Code specifically provides for a delay to the beginning of the next term in the interests of not disrupting children or schools. We felt that for a request to move for an unhappy child now for example, offering a place in January may be unreasonable. Therefore, the Devon policy is to offer for the next term or half term so long as the half term is not within 10 school days. We feel that is a reasonable compromise. If there are compelling reasons for immediate transfer - severe medical or bullying reasons for instance - then that can still happen. Generally though, the intention is to avoid knee-jerk transfers where parents perhaps fall out with a school. The request for transfer should be dealt with on receipt though - it is not acceptable to hold onto an application and not deal with it for weeks to get closer to the next term.
If you know of any schools offering places outside of the mandatory co-ordination scheme, they should be reported to Karen Howes or to me. The temptation to do so*** (see below) may be understandable, particularly where there are plenty of vacancies but the law is very clear. It was introduced in part for tracking and safeguarding purposes and also to maintain a consistent and fair service for families. There are instances where schools tell parents they cannot have a place or the school may not be suitable or ‘try the school further down the road’. In a system where all applications and enquiries are managed by the LA, parents will receive the same response whatever their circumstances or appearance.
Tiverton: Q. How does this affect Traveller Children?
All children come under the various co-ordinated admissions schemes - Traveller families should still have a D-CAF completed. On the front page there is space to indicate urgency. Traveller children would require an urgent response and closer consideration under Fair Access arrangements to potentially place over-PAN. Where schools are approached directly, a referral should still be made to Admissions and they will try to confirm a place even more quickly.
*** In Year Coordination has been introduced in part in the interests of fairness and consistency. Even where schools act outside the schemes in an attempt to help a family, it could be unfair or inconsistent for others.
During the summer the government announced that the introduction of the scheme would be halted to allow it to be remodelled to ‘common sense’ levels. During this remodelling period the need for CRB checking will not alter. From the 16th July a new CRB form has been available and must replace any old application forms. The present criteria for safeguarding children and the safer recruitment of staff remain in place. Any queries can be directed to the Records Disclosure Service at .
Ottery: Safeguarding is a key issue for Ofsted. Q: It should be remodelled to common sense levels, how often do CRBs need renewing? A: Every 3 years.
A Governor asked for a definition of “common sense levels” An LA officer has responded “To be quite honest we have no idea what ‘Common Sense Levels’ in terms of vetting checks will mean. To date, neither the ISA or the Government have indicated their remit, terms of reference or scope for the remodelling. The eligibility for the ISA Registration and CRB checking had already been changed in December 2009, to reduce the number of CRB checks and ISA Registrations required. Our only understanding is that it is going to be ‘scaled back’ further, so that less (sic) people will be vetted than had originally been envisaged when the scheme was created.”
Newton Abbot: There was some discussion about the impossibility of printing off the Central Record required by Ofsted as one continuous sheet. LA Current document is an Excel Spreadsheet. That can be adapted to a Word document PROVIDED ALL FIELDS are catered for.
Tiverton: Governors were asked what their recent experience has been on Ofsted’s visits and Safeguarding matters. The answer came back loud and clear that Ofsted were very thorough on it. However, it was recommended that schools can prepare for it by requesting a Safeguarding Audit from the LEA (Beverly Dubash) at a cost of c. £200. Q: Is it the audit people’s role to point out anomalies of CRB checks/raise concerns governors have. Yes. Indeed better any errors / omissions discovered during audit than during Ofsted Inspection.
Bridestowe – mentioned the anomaly of regularity of CRBs (3 years) and Terms of Office for Governors (4 years) Unlikely to be any immediate resolution to this apparent anomaly.
The issue of portability and number of separate checks which volunteers are required to undergo was raised. The Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education Consultation may assist in sorting out perceived problems / issues. Until the decisions from that consultation are announced there will be NO REDUCTION IN STANDARDS OR DETAILS REQUIRED ON SINGLE CENTRAL RECORD. WHERE FIELDS ARE MANDATORY THEY MUST BE COMPLETED. PLEASE REMEMBER THERE IS A NEED TO CHECK QUALIFICATIONS OF CURRENT STAFF IRRESPECTIVE OF LENGTH OF SERVICE.
Meanwhile Governors may wish to attend a Safeguarding in Education Course at Exeter Racecourse on March 23 2011.
Over the summer the DfE launched a consultation, School Funding 2011-12: Introducing a Pupil Premium, closing date Monday 18 October. The consultation sets out the proposed methodology to implement the coalition’s intention to fund ‘a significant premium for disadvantaged children from outside the schools budget’. For instructions on e-consultations and a link to the consultation see the DfE page About e-consultations.
The consultation also includes funding for Looked After Children and the coalition’s commitment to rebuilding the Military Covenant.
There does seem a “change of tack” from the previous Government which sought to ensure the funding notionally identified in the DSG as relating to deprivation, was allocated through deprivation indicators. This intention caused Devon difficulties as delegation of DSG was already in percentage terms, at a very high level. It would have meant taking funding mainly from Age Weighted Pupil Unit funding and redistributing through deprivation factors which would have led to significant movement of funding between schools and significant gainers and losers. The coalition does not appear to favour this approach and are instead committed to the Pupil Premium.
While supporting the introduction of a Pupil Premium, there is a danger that the use of the Free School Meals (FSMs) as the main indicator of deprivation will again disadvantage rural areas like Devon. The county has a culture of non-claiming of benefits. Also, Devon has low pay/low unemployment which means lack of eligibility for FSMs while eligible for other benefits that are taken into account by other measures of deprivation.
Governors are encouraged to participate in this 10-question consultation.
David Tall can provide a copy of his responses if that would be helpful.
The autumn term is the time to prepare for the consultation on admission arrangements for 2012-13. Schools which are their own admission authorities should schedule governing body meetings early in the term to agree the arrangements they are to propose and in early March to determine the arrangements after the consultation. Bear in mind that Church of England own admission authority schools must consult with the Diocese before the formal consultation. Admission authorities of other faith schools must also consult with the body representing their religion.
For secondary schools with a sixth form, please consider the arrangements you propose to operate. They must be the subject of full consultation. Community and voluntary controlled schools may also wish to meet to consider any aspect of the arrangements they are likely to comment on. This may include the PAN or whether the designated area map is accurate for instance. If you have any queries, please contact Andrew Brent 01392 381214 mobile: 07971 746032.
From 19 April 2010 the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 extended the LGO jurisdiction to take over the escalation of complaints about school from what was the DCSF. Devon is likely to fall under this new process sometime after the Autumn of 2010. The LGO already deal with escalated complaints about the special educational needs statementing process, school admission appeals, permanent exclusion appeals and the provision of home to school transport. They have 35 years of experience in complaint handling and operate a robust system when investigating complaints. The LGO will nearly always insist that complainants follow the complaints process at school level before they become involved. It is therefore vital that schools follow their own procedures, investigate complaints properly, give comprehensive responses and put things right if necessary, before the complaint reaches the LGO. Now is a good time to review your feedback procedures with headteachers and raise awareness to all staff (teaching and nonteaching) to ensure your school is fully able to embrace and deal with complaints effectively. A link to a model school complaints procedure is available at Governors - Paperwork And Policies.
No questions were asked on this issue, THOUGH governors with experience of dealing with complaints reminded us how very stressful such matters were. The consensus was always to follow the guidance and seek help / advice at the earliest opportunity.
Governors were reminded of the opportunity to use Governorline which offers Free, confidential advice, information and support to School Governors in England on 08000 722 181. The declaration of interest by a Governor was noted.
The Lamb Inquiry specifically identified Parent Partnership Services (PPS) as being a crucial part of the support that should be available to parents of children with SEN – with the aim of increasing parental confidence in educational provision. Some of Lamb’s key recommendations include that schools and governors actively promote the PPS to staff and parents and that the PPS plays a key role in informing parents of their rights regarding assessment and provision. In direct response to Lamb, Devon Parent Partnership Service will be undertaking a series of activities this term, as part of a major relaunch of its service. We welcome support from schools and their governors to ensure that all parents are aware of our service. For further details or to request SEN information call 01392 383080 or email or see www.parentpartnershipdevon.org.uk.
Governors at both the Ottery and Tiverton meetings wanted clarification that this was a separate issue from the future of the Parent Support Advisors which finishes in April 2011. Govs are encouraged that if they feel strongly about the future of the PSAs they should write to the authority.
Meanwhile David Tall has copies of the excellent briefing papers produced by PPS and will send them on request. A couple of such requests were made at meetings. Could ANYBODY, including those who may already have asked for copies please contact .
The autumn term is a good time for governors with a responsibility for SEN to be talking to the Senco about the year ahead. The SEN Framework, Devon’s framework for managing SEN in schools, is a useful document for schools to complete and can help to give governors a clear overview of what is happening in the school for children with SEN. It comprises identification of children’s needs, provision, resources, outcomes and forward planning. Schools are able to download the SEN Framework from the page SENCO Handbook. For further information please contact Anne Porter on 01392 383678 or by .
Ottery: Q: Is Stepping Stones still in place? The following is a précis of minutes from the Forum for Learning and Achievements meeting held 8 September.
Chris Wardle, Stepping Stones Programme Manager has left the authority and Sue Clarke is picking up the leadership and strategic oversight of the programme with Simon Niles supporting. Whilst a change in personnel is not ideal a different skill set is advantageous.
The programme is highly complex with many work streams. There are some tough and difficult decisions to be made as the programme progresses to the implementation stage. The team will be looking at maximising existing skills and resources as well as value for money. They will be looking at how provision can be measured and how accountabilities will ensure that providers are delivering quality. A change in culture will be needed, the team plan to talk to head teachers and teachers.
Meanwhile a booklet on Past, Present and Future Stepping Stones’ activities dated July 2010 has been sent to schools and can be downloaded from the FLA page on the LA website. Access through Devon Education Forum and FLA.
Newton Abbot: Questions were asked about the items in the national press recently regarding the reporting of SA and SA+ SEN pupils in school data to influence results in league tables. There needs to be a more level playing field. Currently SEN pupils in Devon have increased by 82% as opposed to 40% nationally. Watch this space.
DAG has placed three papers on the website to assist completion of appropriate forms relating to a Primary pupil and examples for Y7 and Y10 students.
Parent Engagement – Improving Practice 18.00–20.30, 16 November, Great Moor House, Exeter.
It is a well researched and documented fact that children do better where their parents are fully engaged with the school and their child’s learning. The Ofsted descriptors for governance now include a section on this and in order to secure a judgement of outstanding, governors would need to evidence that they ‘engage very effectively with parents ...and are well informed about users’ views of the school. They use these views to inform strategic priorities for development.’ Therefore this judgement cannot be met by good day-to-day parental engagement with the headteacher and staff alone. If you would like to assess your own governing body with respect to this import area of responsibility, develop your own practice and work out next steps in school, then join in the practical session, including an opportunity to draft out an action plan.
New Governors for Old Governors 09.45–15.30, 4 Nov, Tiverton Hotel.
Networking for Governors (Focus on Partnerships and Federation) 19.00–21.00
5 Oct, Lavender House, Ashburton
14 Oct, Great Moor House, Exeter
19 Oct, The Barnstable Hotel, Barnstaple
Role of the Chair 09.30–15.30, 13 Nov, Great Moor House, Exeter
To book a place on any of our training courses please telephone 01392 383613 or visit: www.devonldp.org/governorsupport.
Ottery: DT explained that a Devon Governor is involved in the National Body which has six aims of governance currently under discussion. All present agreed that training for governors should be mandatory but thought it scared off potential governors. Q: Was training to be cut? Because if so, their experience of localised training was to be commended and the best option to save costs, plus some e-training and/or video conferencing etc. Networking with other GBs in same area was invaluable and shared training was a good opportunity to do this.
Newton Abbot: There was a lot of concern that training will be cut under current restraints and that it was not reasonable to ask volunteers to do their job without adequate training. Governor involvement in LLC training was thought to be one way forward to save costs. Will LLCs get additional funding? A: probably yes.
One governor reported that in her area Chairs are invited to LLC meetings in the afternoons following the HTs getting together in the mornings and that this was working well. Someone present argued that if HTs meet during the working day some Chairs would not be able to attend, but there should be some means of reporting back to the GB what took place at the LLC meetings. DP added that this is an important issue. It is helpful to have information on schools as an ‘anonymous mass’ – ie the issue and school should not be named but the LLC can be asked generally how other schools address particular issues. Alternatively they could use information from SIPS without identifying schools. It would be useful to see if there is a theme running through LLC schools. However, this would not be beneficial at secondary level as there are too few schools, but would be valuable support especially for small primaries.
Generally felt that governors were best suited to look at the longer term whereas HTs were better on tactical / operational issues. Governors are strategic planners, HTs are operators. Anonymous data will be useful for primaries but not secondaries – it is in the interest of secondary schools to engage and support Primaries as they feed to them eventually – pooling primary data is a good idea.
Tiverton: It was reported that there was already a £3.1m in year savings imposition and general feeling is one of slash and burn which will inevitably impact of services to schools. Governors should anticipate that non-statutory services and ‘arm around the shoulder’ services will disappear, or may have to be purchased. The focus, however, will be on statutory duties and non-statutory duties will more than likely go.
Question: Will schools be asked to run their own bank accounts? A: No just be asked to change they way they manage schools. It is not expected that the real shape of things will be known until the end of December, which inevitably makes planning difficult so close the end of the financial year and beginning of the new one.
Question: what will become of DGSS? A: DC’s team have had to undergo the same restraints and some services provided by DGS will go. Governor: volunteers can only volunteer if they get adequate support. DT: this will be raised at NGA. Question: We must all expect three years of real cuts but in the meantime population growth and pressure of numbers on school buildings is dire is some areas. Will there be any prioritorisation for these areas? Yes there probably would be, based on basic need.
Newtown, Exeter said at this point that they did not understand why, having attended their Area Review and been told they would receive feedback, certain projects seemed to be going ahead, an apparent contradiction. Explained that those schools will have come under the ‘basic need’ heading as outlined in the previous comment. We were reminded that capital spending in Devon has been very ambitious over the last few years. Now, however, they were looking at spending only £500 per sq mtr which is simply not do-able. This will be a challenge and schools can no longer expect to see the same individualism in new school designs.
A governor responded that maybe if some LEAs had taken up the standardisation option there would still be money in the pot. Returning to the training question and DGS it was said that there will be a consultation on what DGS can offer for free and that they are looking at e-learning alongside core training. Question: Do Modern Governor – an e-learning programme for Governor Training, charge? A: Yes.
Bridestowe: It could possibly be that school budgets will be only for one year.
E-learning – governors present questioned who was monitoring the content of e-training companies – ie was it up to date/current.
DAG suggested that Governors take advantage of a 30-day free trial of E-learning via www.elc-gel.org and report back.
The following LLCs have yet to undertake their Area Review Meetings and dates have been set as follows:
It is DAG’s experience that Governors, and all the LLC, should be as well-prepared for the day as possible.
Governors should have acquainted themselves with their LLC Data Sets, available from their HT under signature of access protocol and read these as well as:
In addition the LA team have held two briefing days in Buckfast and Tiverton for those LLCs who remain to undertake their review and have produced an excellent “Summary of Information for Schools and Governors”.
You might like to access the ARM website for this and further information at by keying in “Devon County Council Area reviews” to Google.
Ottery: Axe Valley had produced an excellent matrix and DT can make it available to GBs on request.
Newton Abbot: Everyone present had seen their datasets.
Tiverton: A Culm Valley governor told the meeting that her LLC governors are getting together for a pre-Area Review meeting. It was agreed that this was an excellent idea and an example of good practice.
Newtown, Exeter: Were concerned that they had had no feedback from the Area Meeting they had attended, so were surprised to see news of some nearby schools expanding without any prior notification following the Review meeting. Where is the real feedback from these Area Reviews, when the idea was that Heads of LLCs would get the initial feedback to trickle down to GBs. What is the next stage? Things appear to happen but no inclusion or discussion. DT will chase up an answer for Newtown. LA will talk to Newton GB to determine what sort of information will be useful.
Bridestowe: Okehampton LLC underwent the first Review Meeting and has since had many more meetings and currently some schools are considering federating as a result. It was observed that it was not originally clear what Area Reviews were, but the situation has improved since then. Question: Peter? asked where the centrally produced feedback was that they were promised? What was the current state of the capital primary programme? The following projects are currently underway via PCP: Montgomery – New build: Dartington – New Build: Dawlish Oaklands – Refurbishment: Ottery St Mary PS – Refurbishment: Holsworthy PS - extra accommodation: Our Lady and St Patricks - Refurbishment: Thurlestone PS -Refurbishment: Braunton Caen – extension and Cheriton Fitzpaine - New build.
One new governor had no idea what data sets were – but all the others were familiar with them. This is very good news.
The NAHT has decided not to ballot its members on a boycott of the Key Stage 2 SATs, after the Government announced its decision to conduct an external review of the tests.
The NGA is pleased that the Secretary of State has announced a very necessary and thorough review of the Key Stage 2 tests, and delighted that NAHT has decided not to boycott the 2011 tests in the meantime. NAHT will be participating along with the other headteacher and teacher associations in the review.
While leaving teaching methods to the professionals, governing bodies are concerned with the ethos of teaching and learning, and we would suggest that the governing bodies of primary schools should pay particular attention this term to the ethos in year 6. We have heard time and time again that teachers are being compelled to ‘teach to the test’. Is the governing body compelling headteachers to do this, with the result that large portions of year 6 are spent doing practice papers? This should be considered fully by the governing body. NGA does not want the teaching and learning of year 6 children to be limited by preparation for SATs and would suggest that headteachers who promote a broad curriculum for their year 6 children, which embraces creativity alongside the mastering of basic skills will have the enthusiastic support of their governing bodies. This should not be interpreted as a lax approach to standards; it is right that high standards for literacy and numeracy remain at the heart of our primary schools.
Whilst the governing bodies of primary schools should absolutely be held to account for the performance of their schools, SATs results are not the ‘be all and end all’ in terms of measuring success. We would like the government to recognise this in devising a system that takes some of the heat out of SATs. The NGA supports the external assessment of children on leaving primary school, but believes that league tables are a crude and unhelpful measure of performance. NGA supports the development of other methods of robust, meaningful reporting to parents and prospective parents, which reflect the complexity and variety of the challenges faced by schools, and the breadth of their successes. We hope the new review will deliver this.
NGA would be very interested to hear from primary school governors with ideas on how we discourage headteachers from ‘teaching to the test’ without sending a message that we are unconcerned with standards of literacy and numeracy. Please email with your views.
Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, announced yesterday, the end of the Self-Evaluation Form (SEF) associated with Ofsted inspections. He described it as an ‘end of form-filling’ and ‘another step in the lifting of the bureaucratic burden on heads and teachers’. While the move was welcomed by ASCL and NAHT (the headteacher unions), governors should note that the NGA is not convinced it will drive up standards as Michael Gove mentioned in his letter to Christine Gilbert, HM Chief Inspector.
Self-evaluation remains part of the Ofsted process and rightly so, the National Governors’ Association believes, as it is an extremely important component of school improvement. All governing bodies carrying out their functions properly sign off the school’s SEF and use it a key part of their school improvement cycle. NGA whole-heartedly welcomes the removal of unnecessary and duplicated information from the SEF, but has concerns that the absence of an overarching framework for self-evaluation might lead to less robust and less objective evaluation of performance. Although abandoning the standard SEF may seem attractive to some schools, especially those that used independent consultants to help them complete it, starting from scratch could well lead to each school developing its own template, and possibly paying for more days’ support from those consultants. To NGA, this would be an increase in the bureaucracy associated with school improvement.
NGA will be considering ways of supporting our members in ensuring school self-evaluation is robust and worthwhile. Please send any thoughts to , entitled ‘Self-Evaluation’.
DAG recognises that the SEF is time consuming and challenging, but whatever its merits or demerits, it has undoubtedly been of some use in the self evaluation process, and GBs are encouraged to develop some form of self evaluation.
Tiverton: General feeling at this meeting was that SEF was a good self-evaluation tool and that schools should keep it running anyway. Question: If there is no SEF, what will Ofsted look at? See DAG note above.
Observed, too, that there was a parallel announcement when the SEF one came out saying that the Ofsted items had been reduced from 7 to 4 – ie there is now less for Ofsted to do.
On 16 September at the offices of the National Governors’ Association in Birmingham, an informal meeting took place to discuss the possibility of forming a ‘body’ that could represent governors of special schools nationally. Currently nothing exists that focuses on the demanding role and needs of special school governors.
The next meeting will take place on Monday 1November at 1.30pm at the NGA offices in Birmingham (although the new body is not yet affiliated with the NGA; we are exploring ways in which they may become part of the NGA). Notes from the first meeting can be downloaded from the NGA website, www.nga.org.uk. If you are a governor of a special school and would like to attend the next meeting or require further information, please contact Geoff Gubb by email: or phone him on 07840 274788.
Teachers’ TV is now available exclusively online. Access all you wish to view by going to www.teachers.tv. TTV has a microsite on the NGA website: www.nga.org.uk/ttv.aspx.
Teachers TV have also produced a complementary CD ‘Training for Governors’, which will be distributed with every new edition of Welcome to Governance ordered.
The outcomes of the Comprehensive Spending Review will be published on 20 October and the understandable temptation will be to expect an early announcement of budget allocation, however DAG have been advised that we should not expect to receive any allocations until the end of the calendar year.
However, DAG has been advised that it might be helpful for Governors to anticipate a 3% annual reduction for 3 years, when projecting their budgets for 2011 – 12.
Refers to the registration of application to transfer to Secondary Education in Devon in September 2011. Registration has been available since 1 September and closes on 31 October.
It is quite clearly the parents’ / carers’ responsibility but a note in your Governor newsletter / the HT weekly newsletter, may just be enough to ensure the DEADLINE is met. Late applications will not be actioned.
The Inside Knowledge programme, currently in its pilot phase, is designed to enable schools to learn from other schools with leading practice. Each visit will provide a unique opportunity for schools to share their own experiences and progress towards excellent practice on national priorities.
The visits are delivered by a number of host schools, who have been chosen based on the progress they have made in areas focused around the national priorities. They have been recommended to share their own experiences across the following six initial topic areas:
In Devon Alphington PS, recognised as a centre of excellence for sustainability and a recipient of an International Development Award, are participating in the Sustainable schools bit.
The school hosted visitors on 12 October and will hold two more events on 10 February 2011 and 14 June 2011.
IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER TOO PLEASE PHONE SCHOOL TO SCHOOL TEAM ON 08451 800356.
Please note the following has been taken from the Ashden Awards website www.ashdenawards.org.
“In addition to individual prizes of up to £10,000, with an overall UK Gold Award of £20,000, Ashden make a short, broadcast-quality film about the winning work and offer our winners a substantial package of benefits and support to help them grow.
We dedicate ourselves to building sustainable energy champions that can be held up as inspiring examples of sustainability in action. That is why receiving an award is just the beginning of the journey for most of our winners.
In the last year we helped one of our winners attract new finance to their business; we helped a charity to strengthen its political influence by demonstrating its effectiveness through research; we created opportunities for one of our winners in government and we undertook a year-long research project that took the experience of our UK winners right to the heart of UK policy making.
Our UK winners represent the diversity of approaches to sustainability that the UK needs to achieve a low carbon future: developing the supply and demand for renewable energy; making it easier for us to opt for microgeneration, energy efficiency and solar thermal; and engaging our future citizens and the wider community in living more sustainably.
Please note that schools are now invited to apply as part of the general UK Awards and no longer need to complete a separate application form.
Applications for the 2011 UK Awards have a closing date of 26 October 2010.”
Seaton Primary School won an award in 2007 and Okehampton CC in 2010.
A Primary School C of Gs wished to record publically his great appreciation for the work Oke CC is doing with local PS in raising and supporting the issue of sustainability.
Governors are a modest bunch, but now there is an opportunity to drag that light from under that bushel!!!
I have extracted the following from the NGA website www.nga.org.uk.
“To thank good governors for their time and efforts in contributing to school improvement, the NGA Governance Awards aim to celebrate good school governance and spread examples of best practice throughout the school governor community.
Two awards are run by the NGA: the Clerks’ Award and the Governing Body Award. The nominators of short-listed applicants will be invited to a prestigious national awards ceremony in March 2011. For more information on how to apply, view the Awards page on the NGA website. Also, please download our Awards leaflet and e-mail it to anyone you feel may be interested.
The closing date for entries is 15 November.”
Clerks to Governors had seen their grade drop from C to B under JE. A spirited appeal was undertaken and a revised Job description, reflecting their modern Clerk to Govs role was produced and much of this has been incorporated into the DGSS paper.
Feedback on its content would be welcome.
Question: Has the back pay issue been addressed yet: Reply awaited.
This new service has been established with the backing of DAPH, DAG and the Local Authority to offer confidential professional and personal support and development to all primary school leaders – including governors. Contact or .
Tiverton: Newtown, Exeter Question: Governor questioned confidentiality because when phoning HR it is apparent that the content of the calls are recorded (can hear the person typing whilst speaking). A: This service is totally confidential and no notes or records are kept except of the issue, not the content. Recommendation that Governors can always try Governorline for impartial and useful support for confidential issues.
Bridestowe: Governors asked what sort of help exactly were they offering. A: advisory. It is for Primary schools only (Secondary and Special Schools did not want the service) and replaces the now defunct HT Support Service.
A HT commented that the original service was very helpful and is in favour of this new service for headteachers.
You will be aware of the recent press coverage regarding Connaught.
Yesterday it was confirmed that only Connaught Partnerships will enter into administration. Connaught Compliance and Environmental divisions are not being placed in administration, and will ‘continue to trade normally’.
The DCC’s contract for Water Quality & Legionella testing is undertaken by Connaught Compliance and as such this work will continue as normal (until the end of September). At the end of September a new contractor may be appointed following the completion of current tender exercise which commenced a few months ago.
Governors were alerted to keep an eye open for precise dates of Federation Open Days. Week beginning 15 November.
Ottery: one governor present felt the LA was really pushing schools to federate. Q: Should savings to finances be a good enough reason to consider federation? A: No – savings should not be the most important factor. The prime consideration must always be whether it is best for the children. DT to put governor asking question in touch with a small school that had already federated. Another governor suggested schools put federation on the back burner until after 20 October when more is known about funding for schools.
Bridestowe: None of the schools represented at this meeting were in federations. There was discussion about the small amount of £5000 to pay for the administrative costs of federating was disappointing. AB asked if anyone was aware of a “before” and “after” costed model for a federation? No one was aware of any model of costings.
A governor responded that federations were supposed to set up their own admin body, ie create it yourself and there was no blueprint it is up to GBs to sort out how they do it – best advice was to visit a federated school.
You may already be aware that it will be proposed as part of this year’s consultation on admission arrangements to amend the education transport policy with effect from September 2011. The proposal will be to phase out supported transport to a school attended on the grounds of religion or belief or to a selective school. In that event, no new applications will be approved, including those of younger siblings of children who have previously been provided with assisted transport under these circumstances.
Children already provided with transport on these grounds will not be affected for the remainder of their time at the school from that address up to and including Year 11. This proposal will be the subject of public consultation from 15 December 2010 to 1 March 2011 at Consultation on admission arrangements for 2011/2012.
Transport will continue to be provided where the school is the designated school for the home address or the nearest school available and where home is further than the statutory walking distance or the maximum walking distance where Devon has exercised discretion to reduce from 3 to 2 miles for children at primary school aged over 8.
Ottery: No one present was aware of these changes.
Tiverton: Newtown, Exeter: Does this affect children who have to travel to Special Units? At the moment the only definite changes to be proposed relate to faith and selective schools - according to Cabinet decision in April. It is possible that there may be proposals to change provision for children at PRU/SSS/PACC.
This is a complex and contentious area with regard to transport to multi sites and during the school day. There has been no decision yet about whether to recommend additional provision.
Tiverton: Felt the removal of Harnessing Technology Grant was unfair as it came at such short notice some schools had already committed to spending it and feeling was that it had been held back to support Academies and Free Schools.
Newton Abbot: is the ‘reduced service’ offered the same cover as the current ‘minimum service’? No answer I am afraid.
With the winter fast approaching, the potential threat of fuel strikes and the continued risk of seasonal and swine flu there has never been a better time to think about reviewing the schools Business Continuity Plans. See: www.devon.gov.uk/sc-sep1037030c.doc.
Meanwhile Governors might wish to know that Supply Zone have purchased a huge amount of salt and are able to offer schools and communities salt in 25Kg bags at a fraction of their usual RRP (together with advice to help make it go further), so that they can be prepared for extreme weather conditions this winter by purchasing their stock in October.
Any questions, please contact David Solomides, Commercial Manager, SUPPLY ZONE, Devon County Council, 2 Trusham Road, Marsh Barton Exeter EX2 8RB Tel: 01392 384610 Fax: 01392 384633.
Unhelpfully only 90% of this Act came into force on 1 October 2010, and the best way to know what is in effect and what impact this Act will have on schools and their Equality Policies you should visit www.equalities.gov.uk and access the comprehensive Q and A section.
Meanwhile the LA are preparing a Model Single Equality Policy for GBs to consider for adoption and which they hope to have ready shortly.
Meanwhile DAG understands that the Equality Act 2010 replaces all existing equality legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act. It also provides some changes that schools need to be aware of, for the most part the effect of the new law is the same as it has been in the past, meaning that schools cannot unlawfully discriminate on the grounds of sex, race, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation. Protection is now extended to pupils who are pregnant or undergoing gender reassignment. There are also differences in the health related questions that can be asked before job offer, so have a look at the Act, a copy of which is on the DAG website. DGS are currently working on a Schools’ Single Equality Scheme which is at the draft stage to bring together all six Equality strands along with the statutory and non-statutory equality schemes for schools.
Please note also the NGA will be providing a briefing on the Act which will be accessible via their website. The Act brings together the numerous acts covering equalities into one ‘super-act’ with over 200 clauses and 27 schedules. The Act sets out the basis on which people are protected from discrimination. Although much of the Act is a reiteration of existing legislation there are some important changes, which broaden the scope of current equalities legislation.
The County Council has launched a major public engagement campaign called Tough Choices. This will take the form of a series of local public meetings led by the Council Leader, John Hart, with an online campaign to get the views and ideas of those unable to attend meetings. This will be backed up with a PR campaign and promotional activity.
The purpose of this campaign is to involve local people and communities, including and, in DAG’s view, especially, School Governors, in a dialogue about the difficult budgetary decisions ahead. There will also be an opportunity to propose ideas for saving money and or improving the way things work.
These consultations will undoubtedly cover a very wide range of topics and subjects and it is vital that education receives a high profile in these meetings, and thus DAG encourages as many Governors as possible to attend the most convenient of the meetings below, all of which start at 6.30pm.
PLEASE ATTEND AND HAVE YOUR SAY.
Consultation on “How to continue to deliver excellent and sustainable 21st century education from a reducing cost base”, will take place throughout the county. John Barnard and Caroline Armstrong will be present to answer questions. An afternoon and evening session is planned for each event. Full details will be on the DEF website shortly. The planned dates are:
Please note the 2011 DAG Conference will take place on Saturday 21 May at a venue to be announced. Please remember this Conference is for all Governors and Clerks, not just / only Chairs.
Newly appointed Governors may find it a useful part of their induction.
Free Schools are part of the Coalition education policy. It is believed that at least 4 Devon settings are considering Free School status.
Ottery: Not known if any Free Schools were planned for this area yet.
Tiverton: There have been reports in the local press about an independent 6th form college in Exeter looking at becoming a Free School.
It has been rumoured that Free Schools do not have to employ qualified teachers. DAG has been reliably informed by that:
“I can confirm that there have been rumours around the issue of qualifications (and many other areas!).
As to whether or not these rumours prove to be true in relation to Free Schools would be a question for the DfE. I have asked this question and have been told that it is ‘under consideration’. Of the first 16 schools announced, there is a Montessori school listed – however, they may circumvent the QTS issue by employing dual-accredited teaching staff.
In relation to your second point, Free Schools have the exact same legal status as Academies and will be run and monitored to exactly the same standards. The process that they will follow as they come on-stream will be as thorough as those for ‘old-style’ Academies (as distinct from existing schools converting to Academy status). This should give you comfort around the keeping of records and issues of safeguarding.”
Question: How are children who attend Free Schools tracked? This is an extremely important issue, with potential safeguarding implications. NGA have been approached for an answer – but this will not be forthcoming until after 16 October. We shall endeavour to report back then. Meanwhile see above.
Question: Do Free Schools have to undergo the inspection process? Free Schools will be subjected to Ofsted inspection.
Concern was voiced about independent schools being funded by LA money thereby taking money from the state schools.
All Governors know (!!) the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the responsibility of governments to make sure that we all understand and respect children and young people’s rights. There are 54 Articles in the Convention and some of those pertinent to involving pupils in schools are:
Article 12 – States recognise the potential of children to enrich decision-making processes that may be relevant in their lives and to influence decisions taken regarding them, within the family, the school or the community. It requires a clear commitment and effective actions to become a living reality and is therefore much more than a simple strategy.
Article 13 – Children have the right to get and share information as long as that information is not damaging to them or others.
Article 29 – Education should develop each child’s personality and talents to the full: it should encourage children to respect their own and other cultures.
There is an expectation that schools will listen to their pupils. Their views are used to inform your self-evaluation, and Ofsted reports on this aspect of a schools work.
The LA has produced a document called “The listening school” which the LA “hopes that it will inspire schools to identify ways they can involve pupils in the school community and begin their own pupil participation journey.”
All schools should have a copy but David Tall has about a dozen copies if governors would like one. First come first served via .
Outlined below are details of the Safer School Partnership operated by Devon and Cornwall Constabulary as part of their “Youth Strategy”.
It is recognised that a number of schools will have different informal / formal arrangements with their Beat Manager / PCSO, but to avoid dependence of the success of this initiative, it is recommended that a formal arrangement be entered into, and allow continuation in the event of individual changes. The lead officer is Sergeant Andy McClenaghan Youth Issues Manager Devon BCU Devon and Cornwall Constabulary 07740 066958 / 01271 341261, .
Safer Schools Partnership Guidance has been developed jointly between the DCSF, Home Office, Youth Justice Board and ACPO in order to provide an assessed and appropriate response to the Policing needs of a school.
There are varying levels of intervention recognised within the context of a Safer Schools Partnership:
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary are fully committed to integrating the Safer school partnership model through the Force Youth Strategy. By working in partnership, we can tackle the following issues through engagement with schools:
In order to establish the appropriate level of intervention a joint agency audit is required to identify the policing needs of the school. Such information obtainable through the school or Local Education Authority:
Information accessible through police data:-
The force will be focusing police resources to work alongside partner agencies and communities to create confident, safer and secure Neighbourhoods where people know that the police and partners understand the issues which matter most to them and are able to tackle them together.
Neighbourhood Policing Team will be the first point of contact for the school, recognizing that education is a key preventative tool and schools are essential partners in Youth Crime Prevention.
It is expected that Neighbourhood Policing Teams develop regular contact and liaison with head teachers and teaching staff and strong working relationships to address policing needs within the school and promote integration between the school and wider community.
The Neighbourhood Policing Team will be supported by a Youth Intervention Officer who provides specialist advice and support in addressing the needs of those children and young people whose circumstances or behaviour is having a detrimental effect upon their own development or the quality of life of others.
Where a policing need is identified and joint funding opportunities exist, police officers and police community support officers can be based in schools working closely with members of the school’s senior management team.
Where a PCSO is working within a school, tasking of a PCSO is the responsibility of the NBM; supervision of the PCSO rests with the Neighbourhood Sergeant. Deploying any resource to engage with schools and children is a matter for the Neighbourhood Sergeant to determine.
In many cases the NBM will maintain primary responsibility, in other instances a PCSO will be deployed. In those circumstances, deployment will be in line with these guidelines. In making that decision, the team leader will liaise with the BCU Youth Issues Manager.
The School must have a clear understanding of the role, responsibilities and designated powers of a PCSO and support the ethos of the PCSO within the school community. Such an understanding will underpin all agreed protocols and working practices.
It must be very clear to the School that the PCSO is not a replacement for Police Officers, nor are they school security officers.
A dedicated PCSO will not replace the role of the YIO within the Force Youth Strategy, but will support the Neighbourhood Beat Manager and Youth Intervention Officer in delivery of the strategy.
A dedicated PCSO will require additional training provision on Youth Issues and the Educational System.
Safer Schools Partnerships are not mandatory, however where the Force is considering dedicating resources to a school it is strongly recommended that SSP guidance is followed.
Ottery: several schools said they were happy with the Community Support Officers who visit them and all had good experiences of these contacts. It was questioned as to whether this new initiative was a self-preservation exercise? And was a formal arrangement really necessary?
Newton Abbot: Also asked if it was a self-preservation exercise for the police? A: it is an old DCSF initiative and has so far been well received. DT has DVD he can send out on request.
Bridestowe: The Chair of Tavistock College told the meeting that they are the first school to form a formal partnership with the police, and that the police prefer to have a formal link. Another governor said that unless there is a formal link with schools the informal link between police and schools will not continue. Schools are being advocated to do it or they will not get help from the police – it needs to be seen by the police as core business.