Governor News Spring 2013

GOVERNOR NEWS ISSUE 29

SPRING 2013

A message from Ian James As you will know, I was appointed as Interim Director of Education in January this year. As the previous Head of Service for Education Effectiveness I am very aware of the vital role governors can play in school improvement.

Your role as a critical friend to schools, challenging and supporting school effectiveness, is essential in ensuring the best outcomes for our children and young people.

The Local Authority is keen to work in partnership with school governors and governing bodies to support you in the valuable work you do. I look forward to continuing to work with governors and will be taking the opportunity to meet and discuss issues with you at the Swansea Association of Governing Bodies meetings and at the Conference on 18th April 2013 at Dylan Thomas Community School. If you plan to attend this event please confirm your place with the School and Governor Unit on 636552. I hope to see you there and look forward to working with you in the future.

Ian James Interim Director of Education

The School and Governor Unit is made up of the following staff members: Kathryn Thomas

School, Governor and Student Support Manager Kate Phillips School & Governor Unit Manager Claire Abraham Deputy Manager/Schools Admissions Officer School & Governor Unit Paul Henwood Child Protection & Safeguarding Officer Ruth Rolfe School Governors Officer Susan Pitt Admissions Assistant Alma Lodwick Clerical Assistant Chantal Bideleux Administration Assistant

Officers of the Management Committee of the Swansea Association of Governing Bodies are as follow: Chair Mr Jeff Bowen • Penyrheol Comprehensive • Casllwchwr Primary School Vice Chair Mrs Debbie Lloyd • Gowerton School

Treasurer Mr. Peter Meehan • Gendros Primary School • Brynhyfryd Junior School Governor Wales Representative Mrs Debbie Lloyd • Gowerton School

CITY AND AND COUNTY COUNTY OF OF LEARNING LEARNING •• DINAS DINAS AA SIR SIR O O DDYSG DDYSG AA CITY

The Governors Wales Bronze Award The Award is centred on an audit of policy and procedural information, with governing bodies required to build a portfolio of evidence based on a checklist, designed to enhance and improve governing body effectiveness. The Award acts as a governing body self-review, providing a benchmark against which governing bodies can assess their effectiveness. Split into two sections, part 1 focuses on the statutory responsibilities of governing bodies, whilst part 2 includes additional requirements based on good practice. (Governors Wales) During the course of this academic year 5 Swansea schools have been working on portfolios as part of the Swansea Bronze Award pilot. They will soon be in a position to submit portfolios to the School and Governor Unit and we will assess them and then forward them to Governors Wales for moderation.

The second phase of the award will be rolled out after the Easter holidays and 15 schools have registered with Governors Wales to take part in this second phase.

The pilot schools will act as mentors and be able to offer guidance to the next phase of governing bodies going through the process. In the next few weeks all schools will be contacted to invite expressions of interest in taking part in the third phase of the award. All schools are encouraged to undertake the award as it is an excellent self review for governing bodies.

If you are interested in finding out about the Bronze Award then please contact me on 636551

Kate Phillips School & Governor Unit Manager

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Top Ten for Training Congratulations to the 10 Governing Bodies represented most frequently at the training sessions which have taken place from September 2011 to January 2013.

Four of these schools are currently working towards their Quality Mark Bronze Award. Governor training forms an important part of this award as it increases governors’ knowledge and enables them to perform their role more effectively

HERE ARE THE TOP 10

September 2011 – January 2013 Number of Training Sessions attended

School St Thomas Community Primary School Dylan Thomas Community School St Helen’s Primary School Trallwn Primary School Mayals Primary School Plasmarl Primary School Bishop Gore School Gowerton Primary School Pentrechwyth Primary School Gowerton School

38 38 36 36 35 32 32 31 29 28

Why attend training?

Attending training sessions will enable governors to network with other governors to share knowledge and experiences. Hopefully the wide range of training provided means that there is something to interest every governor and we welcome any suggestions for new courses.

Whatever method is adopted we are fortunate in Swansea to have course facilitators committed to ensuring that governors have every opportunity to learn about their roles. Governors have a great opportunity to take full advantage of the training programme and to use it for the benefit of the schools they serve.

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Governor Training Support Ruth Rolfe, School Governors Officer, and Chantal Bideleux, Governors Administration Assistant, deal with all aspects of the work of governors and governing bodies but the main focus of their work is related to governor training. With some aspects of governor training becoming mandatory (likely to take effect from September 2013) the number of training sessions offered is expected to increase. Governors will be made aware if they need to attend the mandatory training.

Ruth and Chantal are happy to book places for you on any of the training courses and will also answer any queries you may have regarding the courses. They will also help with any questions you may have regarding the role of governors and governing bodies and can offer advice and guidance on the work, constitution and procedures for governing bodies.

During the Summer Term facilitators are contacted for feedback from the current year’s training sessions. This year we will also be contacting governors

for feedback and suggestions regarding training. Information is then compiled for the following year’s training programme. Once the training sessions are agreed, venues are booked.

The training programme is printed in time for mailing out in the first week of the Autumn Term. We try to accommodate new developments and ongoing requests and so may adapt the programme during the course of the year. Governors are advised of any new or updated guidance and also given information about additional training courses.

Our contact details are: Ruth Rolfe  01792.636552 or  ruth.rolfe@swansea.gov.uk Chantal Bideleux  01792.636848 or  chantal.bideleux@swansea.gov.uk

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Quotes from Governor Training Evaluation Forms 2011/12 – 2012/13 1 Supporting Looked After Children in Our Schools – 27.11.2012 “As the designated LAC governor in my school, all the information delivered today was essential for me to fulfil my role” 2 Understanding of School Data – Primary – 22.03.2012 “Thank you so much. I never thought I would be enthusiastic and fascinated by data! You succeeded in achieving it!! An excellent session.”

3 Child Protection Training – 28.03.2012 “…thought the course was excellent. The content/delivery were very well matched to our needs as governors. Many thanks for an extremely informative session.”

4 Finance and Budgets – 18.01.2012 “A relaxed atmosphere to ask questions plus [the] presenters explained a very complex topic very well.”

5 Exclusions from Schools and The Role of the P.D.C – 06.12.2012 “First class presentation of the whole work required by committees.

Outstanding.”

6 Newly Appointed Governors – 21.06.2012 “As a brand new governor (less than three months) it was a clear introduction with not too much jargon. Thank you.”

Governor Training Analysis January 2012 - January 2013 Most recent Governor Training attendance figures for 2012/13 Course Date

Course Name

Attendance (%) of Governors who attended most recent Governor Training Courses

Attendance (%)

100% 80%

30.01.13 New Governor Training

72%

60%

17.10.12 New Chairs

100%

40%

21.01.13 New Clerk to Governors

100%

20%

21.11.12 Clerk’s to Governor Forum

73%

0% New Governor Training 30.01.13

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New Chairs 17.10.12

New Clerk to Governors 21.01.13

Clerk’s to Governors Forum 21.11.12

School Governing Body Complaints Procedures The Welsh Government recently developed amended guidance to help schools in Wales establish effective complaints procedures.

Under Section 29 of the Education Act 2002 the governing bodies of all maintained schools in Wales, including nursery schools, must establish procedures for dealing with complaints from parents, pupils, members of staff, governors, members of the local community and others. This includes complaints about the school and any community facilities or services that the school provides.

The Welsh Government consulted with stakeholders and has developed Complaints Procedures for School Governing Bodies in Wales (Circular 011/2012). This new guidance was circulated to schools in the Autumn Term 2012 and so the Local Authority’s model complaints policy has been revised to reflect the changes detailed in the October 2012 document. This revised policy has been circulated to Heads and

Chairs and it is suggested that governing bodies consider the revised policy with a view to adopting it for use.

Some of the key revisions are that the policy now: • Requires schools to have a person designated to deal with pupil complaints.

• Indicates that the chair of the complaints committee should not be the chair or vice chair of the governing body.

• Has no appeal stage.

If you choose to adopt the model policy you will need to ensure it is ratified by the full governing body and I would be grateful if you could send a copy to the School and Governor Unit so that we can replace the copy that we currently hold on file for your school. If you have any queries regarding the new guidance and model policy please contact the Governor Support Team.

Kate Phillips School & Governor Unit Manager  01792 636551 A CITY AND COUNTY OF LEARNING • DINAS A SIR O DDYSG

Conference for Governors and Clerks - 14 March 2013 EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE – EFFECTIVE CLERKING Governors Wales invites you and colleagues to its joint conference for governors and clerks and the clerks award at Trinity Saint David, Lampeter Campus on 14 March 2013. Numbers are limited, so it is advisable to book as soon as possible.

The conference aims to share information on a range of important

and topical issues affecting school governors and clerks. There will also be opportunities to network with other governors from across Wales to exchange knowledge and experience of effective school governance.

The conference will also feature the Clerks Award for the outstanding clerk.

For information and booking form: www.governorswales.org.uk/events/2013/03/14/conference-governors-and-clerks/

Restorative Practice Restorative Practice is being rolled-out across schools and organisations working with children & young people in Swansea. The aim of restorative practices is to develop relationships and to manage conflict and tensions by repairing harm and reaching positive outcomes.

There are already many positive results reported following the use of restorative practice in schools, including improved attendance & behaviour, reduction in exclusions, children ready to learn and there is an improved ‘feel good factor’.

Two training sessions on Restorative Practice have been offered in this years training programme and we hope to offer more in the next academic year.

Governors are also encouraged to attend training in their own schools if it is available via internal training sessions. You can find out more about Restorative Practice at http://www.cypswansea.co.uk/cyppandei Hilary Davies Prevention & Early Intervention Programme Manager, Education Department David Williams Restorative Practice Trainer, Education Department

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Finance/Funding Update The School Budget Forum, including governor representatives, has met a number of times to consider the budget for Education and Schools for 2013/14. The delegated school budgets are covered by a funding guarantee from the Minister and will increase overall by 2.08% in 2013/14.

Individual schools may not get exactly this level of increase due to factors at their own school, such as changes in pupil numbers. There is a further year of funding protection for schools in 2014/15 at 1.27%; however the financial outlook for Local Authorities is poor and governors will need to consider medium term planning when setting their budgets for 2013/14. My team will provide schools with an indicative budget share for 2013/14 in early March with estimates for 2014/15 and 2015/16 being provided at the end of March. Can I remind you that the full governing body needs to approve the budget plan for the coming year by 31st May and you will need to plan your meetings around this deadline.

The only formula change being proposed for 2013/14 is a slight amendment to the Severe and Complex Needs delegation to remove the ‘buffering’ element. This is a protection that would only allow a school to lose a maximum of £15,000 from one year to the next while the new funding formula is implemented

over a phased 4 years. In 2012/13 only 5 schools received ‘buffering’ totalling £39,278. It is proposed to remove the buffering protection but to allow schools in difficulties to claim against a ‘Managing the Need’ fund instead, if agreed criteria are met.

The School Budget Forum will review implications of recent teachers’ pay announcements during the course of the coming year to see if there is any impact on school funding formulas i.e. if teachers do not automatically progress up the pay scale each year from September 2013.

Schools have been advised recently of changes to insurance requirements where primary schools will have to pay £500 excess from April 2014 (instead of the current £100) and minimum security standards need to be met to ensure portable electrical devices in schools are covered by insurance e.g. storage of laptops, iPads etc.

My team will be asking schools in February if they wish to buy in to Service Level Agreements and the Long Term Sickness Scheme for 2013/14 and governors may want to discuss this at their next Finance meeting.

If you need any further information please let me know.

Kelly Small School Funding & Information Manager  kelly.small@swansea.gov.uk  01792 636686 A CITY AND COUNTY OF LEARNING • DINAS A SIR O DDYSG