Governors

All Governors have been DBS checked and have registered their documents at the School Office in line with the Government’s directive. Governors' details have been entered on to GIAS (Department for Education register of information). All governors have reviewed and signed the GB Code of conduct.

Post-COVID actions

Although COVID has not entirely receded, the Governing Board’s activities have resumed to the pre-pandemic level this year. The FGB and committee meetings are now held in person or as a combination with online where this can accommodate Governors’ particular circumstances. School visits from Governor Subject Leads and link governors responsible for SEND, Safeguarding and Well-Being have also resumed.

Our SIP (School Improvement Partner), who is also an Ofsted Inspector, has undertaken training with Governors for a future Ofsted inspection. Governors who attended found the session very useful. In particular, Ofsted will look for evidence of how the GB fulfills its three key responsibilities of governance through accurate documentation of meeting minutes, school monitoring visits, reports etc. Without being complacent, Governors found this reassuring as this is a strength of Chelford GB, although Governors recognise that more work needed to be done in capturing pupils’ and parents’ voices and in further Governor Link visits to School. Last year the FGB agreed that a Strategy Working Group (SWG) should be formed to provide well-researched, accurate information to enable the FGB to make informed strategic decisions. The SWG is now in place led by Parent Governor, Sue Swain with so far, three Project Working Groups identified to tackle Academisation, SIAMs inspection and School Development. The first two groups have already held their inaugural meetings. Items reviewed and approved by the FGB include:

• School Financial Value Standard (SFVS) with the accompanying documents (including the Benchmarking report, the School Contingency Plan, the Business Continuity Plan, Scheme of Financial Delegation) was submitted by the deadline of 31st March 2022.
• Safeguarding Section 175 audit reviewed by Governors and submitted by the deadline
• Indicative budget for 2022/23 and the 3-year School budget plan submitted to Cheshire East by the deadline of 30th June 2022
• Nearly forty policies have been reviewed, updated and published on the school website in line with statutory guidance.
• The School Development Plan. The GB evaluated progress across the SDP in the Spring and Summer Terms. Significant achievements across agreed priorities were noted particularly in the design and implementation of the new curriculum and phonics system and the planning to introduce a more rigorous monitoring system of pupils’ reading across all ages. The Self Evaluation Form was reviewed and approved in the Spring term.
• Where applicable, the recommended uptake in teaching staff salaries based on performance
• The staffing structure for 2022/23
• Focus on Pupil Premium has continued to ensure that the grant is spent appropriately and effectively. The 20/21 Funding report has been published on the school website.
• School Fund Audit Certificate 2020-2021
• Catch-up Funding Report
• Proposed residential visits for 2022/23

Committees’ actions and activities:

All Governors are members of the Teaching & Learning Committee given that holding the Headteacher to account for maintaining the highest quality of education, is such a critical part of the Governor's role. Following discussions between the Chair of Governors, Headteacher and Co-Chairs of the T&L committee the structure of this Committee’s meetings has been changed to include ‘deep dives’ into the delivery of the new curriculum. Each term the committee has focussed on a different topic: the overall delivery of the new curriculum; implementation of the new Systematic Synthetics Phonics presented by the Phonics Subject Lead, Abby Baker; the curriculum provision for the foundation subject of history (Headteacher). This has given Governors a fuller understanding of the new curriculum and has been followed by school visits to see the implementation of the SSP, Maths and English curriculums with reports shared with the T&L committee. The Deputy Safeguarding Lead, Claire Badger, presented to the FGB the details of a course funded by the DFE on promoting well-being across the school for pupils and staff. The course has reinforced the amount of work already done at Chelford including its use of CPOMS and the ethos and environment of the school which fosters inclusion and diversity.

Governors learned that by September 2022 a whole-school approach to mental health and well-being for members of staff and pupils must be implemented as part of the school’s responsibility to provide this framework. Governors have reviewed in detail the pupils’ performance data including phonics, KS1, KS2 SATs. Governors congratulated the children, teachers and support staff on such excellent results which were the result of the whole school’s commitment to the highest standard of learning through three very challenging years. The Pay and Personnel Committee has supported the Headteacher in the ‘safer’ recruitment of new members of staff. Governors have reviewed staff performance appraisals with the Headteacher and the Headteacher’s Performance Management Panel has set and reviewed targets in conjunction with the School’s Improvement Partner for the Headteacher’s annual performance appraisal. The SIP and Governors agreed that the Headteacher has achieved a phenomenal amount of progress in producing the new curriculum plans and documents, designing and adapting content to be most useful and pertinent to the children at Chelford. This has taken much time and hard work but has been delivered within a short timescale. Medium-term plans which are very comprehensive are also in place and the new SSP has been implemented. Governors and the SIP agreed that the Headteacher had achieved the performance targets in full and addressed the areas of development identified by Ofsted.

Summary

This year has continued to present challenges but there have also been notable successes. The school budget has increased from receiving ‘sparsity’ and growth funding and also increases in other budget areas, but also from the most welcome and generous contributions from the Educational Trust and PTA. With diligent management by the Headteacher and Bursar and rigorous oversight by Finance Governors, this money will certainly enhance the educational experience for the pupils. The Ofsted inspection noted that the “School Governors are extremely supportive of the school. They value and respect the leadership of the headteacher. Despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, they have maintained a well-informed overview of the school’s work.” The GB is delighted to welcome two recently elected Parent Governors, Laura McAleenan and Johanna Hulme. Both have completed their Induction training and are already making valuable contributions to the work of the GB. Governors have taken advantage of the free online training available from CE and the Diocese Board of Education to improve their governance skills and knowledge.

This is my last term as Chair of Governors at Chelford CE Primary School. It is said that there is never a good time to leave but for me, this is the right time. It has been an absolute privilege to work with such a wonderful group of skilled and experienced individuals who are united in committing their time and hard work to support this wonderful school. During my time as a Governor at Chelford, the school’s future has not always been certain. Now I feel confidently assured that under Mr Brady’s inspirational leadership, the staff’s professional expertise and nurturing care and with the continuing, unstinting support from the Governing Board, Chelford School will continue to serve its community and provide a broad and high-quality education for the local children for many years to come.

Thank you all for your generous and much-valued support over many years, I really appreciated it. I wish you every well-deserved success in the future.