FGB Minutes 26th March 2014

NEWSTEAD WOOD SCHOOL
Minutes of a meeting of the Full Governing Body
held at the school on Wednesday 26th March 2014 at 6.30pm
Present: Steve Penny (Chair) Naureen Khalid (Vice Chair), Alison Ross (Headteacher),
Elaine Wanostrocht, Colleen Young, Vinoo John, Jonathan Capon, Jo Penn, Darren Norris,
Pat Petch and Lyndon Cabot
In attendance: Angela Stone (Kent Clerking Service)
Item
1.
Action
Apologies
Christine Allsop and Paul Marshall offered their apologies. These were
considered and accepted by the Governing Body (GB).
The Chair advised that from this point forward, apologies would be
considered by governors on a case by case basis and would not
automatically be accepted.
2.
Declarations of Business Interest
Elaine Wanostrocht declared an interest in any items relating to the
Tennis Centre.
The Chair made a short statement advising all present that the
Governing Body needed to move forward from recent problems and
conduct business as a corporate body concentrating on good
governance.
The Chair particularly stressed the importance of governors observing
confidentiality and not discussing items of business outside of
meetings.
3.
Minutes of previous meetings
Appendices 3.0 and 3.1 had been available for review prior to the
meeting.
10th January 2014 (The minutes of this meeting are Confidential).
Dr Lyndon Cabot referred to page 2 of the minutes and directed
governors to the wording of the first vote:
The Chair addressed the meeting and asked governors to vote if they
considered Mr Savur had breached the Code of Conduct.
Dr Cabot advised that he believed he had been voting for a breach of
trust and not a breach of the Code of Conduct. Following a short
discussion, governors who had attended the meeting confirmed that
they all had understood that they had been voting for a breach of the
Code of Conduct.
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ACTION POINTS
The Clerk agreed to note Mr Cabot’s comments in the minutes.
Clerk
The Confidential minutes of the meeting on 10th January 2014 were
agreed to be a true and accurate record and duly signed.
14th March 2014
The minutes of the meeting were agreed to be a true and accurate
record and duly signed.
4.
Matters Arising
All items were covered elsewhere on the agenda.
5.
Chair’s Actions
These would be covered under Any Other Business.
6.
School Performance
Jo Penn arrived at 7.30pm
Appendix 6.1 had been circulated prior to the meeting.
6.1 Immediate Actions
Staffing Structure
The Headteacher reported that the current staffing structure was over
heavy as the school did not require three Deputy Headteachers at a
cost of £200k per year.
Under a potential new structure, there would be one deputy and five
Assistant Headteachers, with clearly defined job descriptions. Such a
structure would save approximately £120k a year:
Deputy Headteacher: Quality assurance linked to the SEF
Assistant Headteacher: Timetable/ curriculum
Assistant Headteacher: CPD/staff appraisals/pastoral support
Assistant Headteacher: Teaching and learning
Assistant Headteacher: Community
Assistant Headteacher: Assessment, recording and reporting
information
In the first instance, the school would internally recruit for two posts at
an additional cost of £667.00.
The support staff structure would also be looked at and roles redefined.
A governor asked if the office manager role would be similar to that of a
business manager and was advised that the office manager would be
office based and would encompass the current bursar role. The Office
Manager would also be part of the Senior Leadership Team.
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The Headteacher was requested to produce a full business case/paper
on a revised staffing structure outlining roles and responsibilities and
cost savings.
The paper should also include aspects of manning against a new
establishment ie how the new structure might be implemented and in
what timescales.
Student Behaviour/dress




Students who misbehave would receive a detention on a
Thursday evening
Middle managers would also be responsible for setting student
detentions
Staff had been encouraged to be collectively responsible for
students following the correct dress code
Currently form tutors do not have job descriptions and
consistent signing of planners is poor
Oxbridge
 Earlier emphasis on students aspiring to Oxbridge would be
encouraged with student talks starting for Year 7, Year 9 and
Years 10 and 11.
 Visits to Oxbridge had been planned with students encouraged
to consider Oxbridge earlier in their school career. The
Headteacher advised that students needed to be able to
demonstrate a passion for their subjects when they were invited
to interview.
 The Director of Sixth Form had applied to attend an Oxbridge
Course .
 A governor asked when students currently consider Oxbridge
and was advised this normally starts at Year 9.
Catering


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New fully staffed catering facilities were to be installed in the
sixth form common room
The Headteacher and the Bursar were responsible for line
managing the catering company
Year 7 had been put on a rota to ensure that they got a chance
to eat first
Quality assurance questionnaires were to be introduced for
students to complete
There were plans for the food serving areas to be redesigned
Food would be continually replenished to ensure all students
have a choice of food items
6.2 School’s Current Evaluation on Strengths and Weaknesses



Consideration would be given to include ‘selective’ on the
school sign
There would be further discussion to consider a reduction in the
quantity of GCSEs each student is allowed to study for.
A governor observed that many colleges and medical
universities consider 10 as a minimum number of GCSEs
required
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School Development Plan
 A governor observed that the synopsis of the previous year
needed to include impact statements
 The proforma SDP should show costs against budget
 Success criteria needed to have ‘SMART’ timescales
Update on Appraisal Arrangements
Governors asked what was currently in place for assessment of quality
of teaching and judgements. The Headteacher agreed to produce an
up to date report ready for FGB in July 2014.
Confidential Minute
7.
Update on Action Plan
The Action Plan had been submitted to the Education Funding Agency.

Governors noted their gratitude and appreciation to Pat Petch
for her efforts in formatting the Plan

A further workshop to continue discussions on the vision of the
school was planned. Members of the Senior Leadership Team
would be invited to attend.

The following governor roles were agreed:
o Safeguarding – Vinoo John
o SEN and Additional Education Needs – Jo Penn
o Health and Safety – Jonathan Capon
o Monitoring Visits Protocol – Jonathan Capon
The following working groups were agreed:

Working Group to review Governing Body composition:
o Steve Penny
o Naureen Khalid
o Pat Petch
This work should be completed by May 2014

Working Group to review Committee Structure
o Darren Norris
o Vinoo John
o Jo Penn
o Christine Allsop
o Alison Ross
This work should be completed by the July FGB

Self Review Working Group:
o Jo Penn
o Pat Petch
o Colleen Young
This task should start immediately and feed into the external review of
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governance.

8.
Governors agreed to engage Mr Steve Barker at a cost of £900
to undertake an external review of governance in the summer
term
Committee Reports
Each Chair gave an overview of their recent meetings.
Students, Parents and Community
 Year 7 students had settled in well
 The additional form had integrated well but the extra numbers
were expected to impact on school resources in three years
time
 Fifty two students were on SEN register
 Three students were SEN and Pupil Premium
 Eighteen students were in receipt of Pupil Premium
 The committee has asked the school to provide a breakdown of
how the PP grant is spent and its impact
Achievement and Curriculum


The committee had received a detailed data report
A review of the curriculum in Sixth Form had also been
discussed
Resources

The proposed Tennis Centre contract had been reviewed and
recommended to the FGB for approval
 The best value tender for the washrooms had been approved
 The photocopier lease was circulated via email for approval
o Governors approved the lease. A unanimous vote was
recorded.
9.
Policies for approval
The policies had been available for review prior to the meeting.
Data Protection Policy: Governors unanimously approved the policy
Gift and Hospitality Policy: Governors unanimously approved the policy
Special Educational Needs: Governors unanimously approved the
policy
10.
Governor Training Update
Governors noted appendices 11.0 to 11.2. Mrs Naureen Khalid
addressed the governors expressing the need for all governors to
undertake training and to return the skills audit.
11.
Any Other Business
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Confidential Minute
12.
Confidentiality
Part of Item 6
Agenda Item 11 – ‘Any other Business’ was noted as a Confidential
item.
13.
Date and Time of Next Meeting
15th July 2014 at 6.30pm
Meeting ended 10:15pm
Signed……………………………..
Date ……………………………….
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