Vision, Ethos and Strategic Direction

 

Partnership and Collaboration   

 

We joined the EMET academy trust along with other local family primary schools in the Spring term of 2019. 

 

Impact - Joining the academy is allowing us to build on the partnerships we have formed with local schools . The academy has a primary school improvement deputy CEO who is facilitating a more formal and structured environment of school improvement through the primary school improvement team. There are various networks set up in areas such as subjects and business management, and Hollywell staff are contributing to and learning from these opportunities. 

 

We also have access to vital support services from the Academy in areas such as finance, HR and premises and thee have been very useful during and directly after the conversion process.. 

 

The trust also has a programme of governor training session that we are accessing.  The first one provided vital insight into Ofsted inspections which we have used to ensure we focus on the key strategic areas in our meetings and other work.

 

 

Self Review of Governing Body

 

A self review of the key strengths and weaknesses of the governing body was performed using the GovernorSpace service.  Out of this came key areas for development and learning credits have been used to increase our capability in those areas.

 

Impact Improvement through continual development of the skills and competencies of the governing body.

 

Web Site Updated

 

A thorough update of the school website has recently been undertaken by the school and governors.   

 

Impact More accountability to stakeholders

 

Next steps – Get continual feedback from parents/stakeholders and improve based on that, focusing on ease of use.  Ensure best practice is maintained by benchmarking other school web sites in the trust.

 

Parent Feedback Gained from Parents Evenings 

 

Gained good insight into parents main likes and concerns. 

 

Impact Continual feedback to Senior Leadership Team (SLT). 

 

New Head Teacher Appointed

 

A thorough recruitment process was undertaken based on our specific strategic requirements to successfully recruit a new head teacher in the Spring term of 2019.  

 

Impact, A new head is in place who the governors feel will build on the existing success of the school, address any weaknesses and ensure we continually improve.

 

New Governor Mentoring and Induction Program

 

A thorough process was undertaken to successfully appoint two new parent governors.  The key expectations were laid out during the nomination period, once nominated induction meetings were held, learning opportunities were shared and a continual mentoring programme is underway  

 

Impact, New governors have been assigned link roles.

 

Next Steps Follow up at end of official mentoring period to ensure new governors feel they can successfully contribute and feel engaged.

 

 

Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff

 

Alignment of Head Teacher objectives with School Development Plan (SDP) and Staff Objectives

 

Impact Strong alignment between SDP, heads objectives and staff objectives leading to focused and agreed areas for improvement by all.

 

Removal of Committees and Individual Link Governors Assigned to Key Focus Areas

 

The key focus areas for each governing body meeting have been assigned a year in advance.  Each governor is responsible for monitoring specific areas and reporting back to the governing body in a written format. 

 

Impact Better focus on key strategic issues, less repetition between different meetings, better monitoring of key improvement areas throughout the year so we can address issues earlier, better ownership of key strategic areas by the Governing Body, more engagement by all governors in work of governing board.

 

Next steps - Review and refine model based on governor and head's feedback

 

Pay and Appraisal Meetings with SLT During Year to Review Objectives/Progress

 

Impact  Governing Body has confidence that objectives for staff are SMART and in line with School Development Plan.  Better monitoring throughout the year to prevent any surprised at end of appraisal cycle.  Early interventions can be made if necessary.

Financial performance of the school

Monitor the financial performance of the school

 

Budget reviewed at each governing body meeting. 

 

Impact: Through regular reviews the governing body has gained a detailed understanding of the school’s budget and therefore been able to support the school in prioritising expenditure and ensuring the school has a sound financial base. This has allowed us to put extra teaching resources to focus on a key area of the school development plan.

 

Capital Funding

 

Through capital funding the school is looking how best to reconfigure to ensure we can deliver the best education possible and the best working facilities for our staff in our current location.

 

Impact: The governing body have stated that any work done has to meet the requirements of improving the education for staff and facilities for the staff.

 

Pay and Performance

 

The pay link governors meets twice per year to ensure the pay and rewards of the staff are appropriate for the roles which they perform and that the appropriate pay increments are implemented for those affected individuals. They also agree with the Head Teacher the personal objectives of the teaching staff to ensure they are sufficiently challenging and support the School Development Plan.

 

Impact: Compliance with statutory requirements and ensures that the teaching staffs are paid commensurate with their performance. The link governors also review progress against the agreed objectives through the academic year against quantifiable measures.

 

How Pupil Premium is spent

 

The Governing Body have been looking in detail at the ways in which the pupil premium funding is spent to support the children’s development, and we have had increased emphasis on how we measure the impact of the spending to ensure we are achieving the best possible improvement in performance. Pupil Premium link governor is working closely with the Head Teacher

 

Impact We have reliable measures in place to assess the impact of the funding on pupil progress, thus ensuring we are able to target funds appropriately.