Maynards Green Community Primary School

The Governors at Maynards Green School endeavour to fulfil their role defined by Government supported by the Local Authority. In doing so we hope to help make our school the very best it can be, for the benefit of our children.

An annual statement from Governors is not necessarily a requirement, but instead best practice and indeed we feel many of you would like to know a bit more about us and how we satisfy our responsibilities. This statement aims to:

• Explain the governance arrangements in place
• Show the attendance record of individual Governors at Full Governing Board (FGB) meetings
• Demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of the board with any challenges that have arisen

Before covering these areas, we should firstly explain that the Governor role is strategic, whilst being a “critical friend” to the Head Teacher and Senior Leadership Team (SLT), who are responsible for the day to day operational running of the school. The last two years have certainly been a challenge, which we discuss later, but we would like to start with how proud we are of ALL the staff at Maynards Green who make the school the special place it is. The amount of effort, care for our children, and going the extra mile we see on a regular basis from everyone, is nothing short of inspirational. We would like to take this opportunity to give a huge thank you to all our staff for the level of effort and care they contribute.

Governor Meetings

At Maynards Green School members of the Governing Board have played, and continue to play, a strong role in driving the school forward. The governors who are all listed on the school website are all volunteers, giving up their own time to fulfil the roles for the benefit of our children.

There have been six formal Full Governing Board Meetings for 2020-2021, plus an additional budget setting meeting. Most of these took place remotely, except the last couple as COVID restrictions were relaxed. Governor attendance has always been high, all absences have been fully explained and accepted by the governing body. There are no concerns on the level of commitment shown by any member of the governing body. Attendance can be viewed on the school website.

We were lucky to recruit an excellent clerk for the year, who due to other commitments has sadly had to resign from September 2021 and one of our actions for this year will be to recruit and train another clerk to assist us in our duties.

Our Governing Board operates a circular model – every Governor is involved in most decisions, with no committees. This has worked well over the last year and we have no plans to change this.

Our role as a Governing Board is defined as:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
• Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent

This year has been exceptionally demanding and eventful, particularly considering the global pandemic, but also with many staff changes, including an interim Head Teacher and a many changes on the Governing Board. Our key priority was to ensure the safety, academic progress and mental wellbeing of our children.

The biggest impact the Governing Board have had this year is to appoint our new Head Teacher, Karen Cromwell, who is already having a marked improvement on the school. We’re incredibly pleased to have her, with the vast experience, expertise and enthusiasm she has bought with her! We look forward to working closely with her over the forthcoming years.

School Development Plan (SDP)

Governors work co-operatively with the Head Teacher and SLT in developing and monitoring the School Development Plan, which sets aims for the year. The SDP for 2020/21 was based on priorities identified from data, the school Self Evaluation and also Ofsted findings. The SDP has clear aims with key tasks to be completed with success criteria in order to measure outcomes. The SDP is monitored termly. Obviously COVID has had a profound impact on school targets. Some examples of items included within the SDP are:

• To  develop an effective ‘Recovery Curriculum’ to addresses the academic needs of pupils identified following the Covid19 closure of schools
• To develop pupils age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships through a rigorous relationships and sex education programme
• To ensure that school finances are used effectively to support and enhance pupil progress and attainment.

Governors visit the school to ensure that the actions and tasks are being completed as reported, this also gives an opportunity for governors to work closely with staff members across the school. It has been difficult to make many monitoring visits this year due to COVID and this is a priority for us in the coming year.

Data Analysis

Data is made available to governors with benchmarks against other local and national schools. The way assessments are made has changed recently and information is now stored electronically which allows us to view the data in different formats and for different groups of pupils. This has allowed targeted interventions for certain pupil groups that may need additional support, and for governors to be able to measure the impact of those interventions. We have a high expectation for all our pupils to progress well and again, monitoring of school assessment data is another priority this year.

Policies

Governors review all relevant policies on programmed basis to ensure all guidance is current. We pay specific attention to the Department for Education mandatory policy list and the Local Authority recommended list. We also ensure the school complies with the publishing requirements on our website.

Financial Management

The Governing Board are responsible for ensuring that school funds are spent effectively for all pupils. Most governors have had financial training and we review the budget each term. We strive to ensure best value is sought on contracts, equipment and services.  The school has been operating at a small overspend for the last couple of years but we’re pleased to say this has been resolved and the budget is looking healthy for the foreseeable future.

Governors have been working hard to ensure the school can make the most of its resources, such as the swimming pool, which will hopefully be self-sustainable  after some excellent collaboration with the Friends Committee and Head teacher.

Governor Expertise

We already have a wide variety of expertise to call on within the Governing Board. The Local Authority run training programmes and governors attend regularly, on various topics, plus local area forums where we can discuss local issues with governors from other schools.

Looking Forward

We are really looking forward to this year, hopefully COVID19 is behind us and we have the opportunity to make huge steps forward in how we govern Maynards Green. We are currently working on an Action Plan to provide us with a clear 5 year plan and priorities for success. There is also work in progress on a rebranding and a relaunch of the school into the local area where we aim to be the centre of the community, so watch this space.

Impact Statement – a review

The Governing Board, the Head Teacher and all staff are constantly striving to improve and develop the school. The challenges of the last 2 years have shown us as a board where we need to change and progress. However as shown below we are making continued progress in improving the school and building a solid foundation on which to flourish.

Key Issues and Priorities that Governors have faced in 2020-21

1. Scrutiny and analysis of data within the context of the school and impact of Covid 19
2. Reviewing a new data collection computer programme (STAR) for monitoring pupil performance data and progress and its impact on effective interventions
3. Monitoring the implementation of the SDP
4. Discussion of the School Improvement Partners visit to site, the findings of the report and the implementation of recommended actions
5. Managing the short- and long-term sickness of members of staff in relation to COVID 19
6. Improvement of the school playground and swimming pool
7. Monitoring changes in staffing and pupil numbers and implications for the budget
8. Budget setting and monitoring and review of school finances
9. Monitoring the continued impact of COVID 19 on the budget
10. Ensuring best value on building works and purchases
11. Review of school policies and documentation
12. Completion of the school SFVS (Schools Financial Value Statement) ensuring national financial compliance
13. Appointment of a new Head Teacher
14. Supporting the Head Teacher in a restructure of staff with new phase and middle leaders.
15. Working alongside the interim Head Teacher to ensure provision for vulnerable and key workers during COVID 19 lockdowns.
16. Ensure safeguarding (including mental wellbeing) of all pupils during COVID 19
17. Working alongside the Head Teacher to produce a robust and effective risk assessment for children attending school during and after lockdown.
18. Completed all actions on the external review of governance