MINUTES

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” (John 1:9)

1. PRAYER

The Deputy Chair led the meeting in a prayer chosen to reflect today’s verse from John 1:9.

2.WELCOME

The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed Lee Reynolds (Maths Subject Leader) who wasgoing to give the Governing Body a presentation building on the written Maths Report that she had sent to governors in the summer term. The meeting appreciated her giving up her time to talk to them. The Chair alsowelcomed Hannah Lockey, new Staff Governor, to her first full governing body (FGB) meeting, and thanked her for joining the governors’ team.

3. MATHS PRESENTATION

The presentation aimed to cover:

• the impact of Covid and of the school closure on Maths;
• what was put in place to support Teachers and pupils on the return to school in September;
• evaluate where the pupils were now and how they were getting on with the subject.

National school closure hadimpacted on the children’s learning, and Maths was no different to other subjects. Fortunately, the pupils had come back into school really confident and keen to participate in lessons. Feedback obtained via the “Teachers’ voice” concluded that the pupils’ fluency in topics and speed of recall had been impacted. It was clear that the children’s deeper thinking and reasoning was not as sharp as it would have been if the school had not closed. The school therefore chose to address this by signing upto the premium version of the White Rose Maths resource package in order to support pupils and Teachers. This helped the school to restructure Maths planning and lesson structure,focussing on recapping and reviewing knowledge. This premium package provided PowerPointresources for staff, as well asvideos and worksheets –all of which was helpful for the blended learning approach and for pupils who were self–isolating. The White Rose programme met the DfE criteria for teaching, and coveredcurriculum objectives that pupils neededto know in order to progress to the next band of attainment.

Maths Teachers identified the topics that had not been covered either in school or by remote learning, or had not been covered as deeply as if taking place in the classroom in normal times –to enable them to place more emphasis of these topics in the near future. Pupils who were not able to access home learning as well as others were identified where possible, in order that staff could provide suitable support and track their progress. Overall, the staff felt that the White Rose resources had definitely helped the children.

In terms of progress to date, while the end–of–term full assessments had not yet been completed, the end–of–block assessments have been done; the latter revealedthat theprogress of thewhole group of pupils was “Good” or even slightly better than it was this time last year (without the White Rose support). Generally, Teachers concludedthat the pupils are progressing well.

Within the overall pupil group, the school had been looking at the children covered by the Pupil Premium Grant, of which there were 37 as at November 2020:

9 were working towards their required band level;
16 were at the expected level;10 were working at Greater Depth;
2 were out of band due to SEND factors.

Pupils not accessing home learning that could be identified totalled 26, of which:

9 were working towards the band;
10 were at the expected level;
7 were working at Greater Depth.

The meeting was pleased to see that pupils were progressing well, and noted that progress was not necessarily the same as attainment.

Activities unaffected by Covid that had taken place included Yrs.5 & 6 participating in the Primary Maths Challenge, and the whole school being involved in the international school Mathletics Challenge this September (where 670 school had entered, and HTCE was placed 37thbased on participation levels.) Digging Deeper Challenge Clubs were being organised for the Spring term to challenge the more able pupils. In June, the school would join in the London Maths Week.

Governors asked the Maths Leaderthe following questions:

Q: What is happening about the more formal national assessments next year, such as SATs?
For 2021, the following have been removed:

• all key stage 1 (KS1)tests
• thekey stage 2 (KS2) English grammar, punctuation and spelling test
• the requirement tomakeand report teacher assessmentjudgementsfor scienceat KS1 and KS2

This means that the following statutory assessments will continue in 2021:

• the phonics screening check for year 1 pupils (and year 2 pupils who have not met theexpectedstandard previously)
• KS2 English reading and mathematics tests
• KS1 and KS2 teacher assessment ( excluding science)

The Year 4 Multiplication tables check is optional and it is proposed that the school will still do it.

Q: Were the White Rose videos developed since March 2020?
Yes, they were very recent, and since then the school has been following the White Rose progressionresource.

Q: Is the Premium level of the White Rose package expensive –and will the school scale–back on this to the normal package in the future?
This higher level is not much more expensive than the standard level; it is so good for supporting staff development that the school intends to retain it; it is very rigorous and covers DfE criteria; it also has booklets for parents and can be a parental support after Covid.

Governors agreed that the Maths Subject Leader and team had worked hard to reach this positive position, and a governor who was also a parent applauded the integration of physical challenges withtheMaths subject (Mathletics Challenge.) The Head teacher concurred that the school was lucky to have such a skilled and thorough Subject Leader, and added her thanks to those of the FGB Chair and governors for the very inspiring presentation and encouraging statistics.

4. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Colin Smith had sent his apologies. This was to be his last meeting; he had been on the governing body for two years, and the Chair would thank him for his diligence in coming into school to check on maintenance issues and his sharing of his projectmanagement experience, which was particularly helpful when quotes for work were received by the school and when contracts with suppliers were needed. He wouldbe difficult to replace.

5. BUSINESS INTERESTSIN AGENDA ITEMS

There were no business interests declaredintonight’s agenda items.

6. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

(5thOctober 2020)The minutes were approvedasan accurate record.The Clerk would mark them as “signed” on Governorhub; minutes still need hard–copy signatures for the file.

7. MATTERS ARISING

The actions from the previous meetinghad been completed. Questions that Link Governors might pose to Subject Leaders on their visits, and the list of staff,had been uploaded onto Governorhub.

8. HEAD TEACHER’S WRITTEN REPORT

Governors noted the contents of this report, and focussed on the following:

Attendance

Q: I see that not all children that were able to return to school did so. Of the 3% who did not return, arethere any categorised as “missing” and still not back in school?
No; everyone has come back in to school.

Q: Under the Leadership and Management section of your report, I note that Teachers have been getting more email communication from parents. Has this become a burden?
While this is an increased burden ,staff understand the need for this and are happy to respond. There has however been an increased demand for references for Yr. 6 pupils which is very time–consuming for the Teachers, and therefore the school might charge for this in the future (as other schools already do.) Staggered starts to the day and pupils lunching in classrooms has impacted on Teachers’ time to plan and have some “me” time, and the school has been putting in measures where possible to mitigate this –packed lunches are now eaten in the Hall, for example.

Governors congratulated the SLT on the school’s excellent attendance figures.

Phonics

The Head teacher drew Governors’ attention to the fact that there has been a big focus on phonics teaching since returning in September. The Phonics screen for year 2 children who were not screened in year 1 took place week in November. 91% of children passed –a real achievement, as prior to closure in March only 69% of this cohort were on track to pass (2019 outcomewas 78%, LA 81% and National 72%). The aspirational target for the current year 1 cohort in Summer 2021 was 91%. Year 3 pupils who were due to take the statutory check in June 2020 (when they were in year 2), were not formally required to take the autumn check. The school has however been maintaining a programme of support for them and were also screened (although this phonics data didnotneed to be returned to the LA.) Of the sixteen children who were screened,6 did not pass.

It was notedthat the Teaching & Learning committee would keep track of the latter group. ACTION.

DfE Catch–up Fund

The Head teacher had compiled a report explaining how the school planned to use the funds given. The school was accountable for the money, and the Report had been drafted with this in mind.

School Development Plan

Governors noted the contents of this, and asked the Head teacher the following:

Q: You did not mention in the SDP in the Leadership and Management section the huge impact of Covid and how the school responded to this. Perhaps the school might want to capture how teaching and learning continued under lockdown, and cross–refer this to the Covid Catch–up fund?
Yes, I can add this in, and will also be capturing this information on the school’s self–evaluation form (SEF).

Performance Targets

The school was now in a position to set achievement targets for KS1 and KS2. KS2 targets looked strong; KS1 targets might increase, but were realistic at present. Targets will be constantly reviewed by the school throughout the year. The meeting approvedthe targets. Governors thanked the Head teacher for her detailed Report.

9. POLICY REVIEW

HTCE Pay Policy

Recommended for approval by the Resources Committee; approvedby the FGB.

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

This policy was based on guidance from AfC.

Q: Does the wording “at any time” in Section 7 with respect to the school’s safeguarding obligations seem appropriate given it captures private hire of the school’s facilities and weekend use?
No; I will look at the wording. The policy was approved,subject to the amendment above being made.

Remote Learning Policy

The policy had been recommended for approval by the Teaching & Learning Committee.

Q: Given that there are protocols around chaperoning/adult supervision ofchildren who are on video–calls/online meetings, should these be captured in thispolicy or are they captured elsewhere?
I will look into this.

Q: Are staff aware of which video–conference suppliers they are permitted to use?
Yes –for example, we are not permitted to use Zoom as it is not a secure platform.

This policy was approvedby the FGB, subject to any amendment in the light of the question above.

Online Safety Policy

The policy on the website was a draft –the PP&C committee had sent their comments to the authors, who were currently updating the document.

Q: How does the school educate the pupils about how to access age–appropriate content, and about phone safety in general?
Every year in the Autumn we focus on online safety with the children. Yr.6 visits Holly Lodge in Richmond Park, which has a session on online usage. A letter is sent to Yr.6 parents to ask them to ensure that their children do not share the internet and Wi–Fi. Peter Cowley (AfC Lead Adviser for Online Services & Safety) givestalks to the children too. PSHE and Computing lessons emphasise the importance of not sharing passwords, for example.

The Head teacher undertook to feed these comments in to the policy authors, and would send the finalised document to governors for their comments. ACTION.

10. FEEDBACK FROM RECENT COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Admissions Panel

A variance had to be made to the Admissions Policies of Church schools to account for the fact that under Covid and the closure of churches, families might find it harder to meet the criteria for church attendance. This decision was made under Chair’s Actions.

Head teacher’s Performance Management Panel

The Head teacher’s performance had been appraised; the Panel passed on governors’ thanks and congratulations to the Head teacher for her excellent first year with the school, and for her resilience and cool–headedness during this pandemic.

Pay Panel

The Panel had met to consider the annual pay rise for members of the SLT.

Resources Committee

The school’s financial situation was better than expected due to cost–efficiencies; the PTA was working hard at fund–raising, and the Kingfisher parental contribution fund was doing well. It was anticipated that the school might end the financial year at a break–even point.

The Chair thanked the Resources Committee for their scrutiny, and the school for working hard to get to this encouraging position in such difficult circumstances. The PTA was doing a wonderful job, and hadbeen creative in finding events to put on –a socially–distanced Christmas Fair, a pantomime for the children to watch online, and Christmas trees being sold. Tanya Williams was asked to convey the FGB’s thanks to the PTA for their sterling work. ACTION.

Teaching and Learning

Governors noted the committee’s minutes. There were no questions.

Pupils, Parents and Community

Governors noted the committee’s minutes.

11. CHAIR’S VERBAL REPORT

FGB Membership

There were 2 Foundation governor vacancies. Several opportunities had been pursued, but there was no success to date, despite adverts being placed nationally, locally and in nearby churches. Governors’ suggestions would be welcomed. The meeting was informed that the Diocese was looking to build up apool of candidates that schools could call upon.

The Chair was mindful that the governing body membership should reflect the diversity of the school community. The recent Director’s Briefing for Chairs suggested attracting younger members. A governor felt that it might be worth advertising for governors at Roehampton Teacher Training University, therefore. There was a discussion about whether particular skills should be sought, or whether an enquiring mind was sufficient in a prospective governor. The Chair undertook to re–write the advert with less emphasis on a skill set. Governors were asked to send in details of any person they knew who might be interested in the vacancies.ACTION

School Vision and Governance

A grid is now produced at the end of every set of governance minutes to marry up the discussions with the school’s vision, while also capturing governors’ scrutiny. This was felt to give a strategic overview of governors’ work, andwould help meetings to be more purposeful.

Governors’ Visits to School

Sara Bromfield had attended a Latin lesson out of a personal interest; she had also made a visit to observe the Forest School in her capacity as Link Governor, and was thanked for her excellent feedback reportswhich reflected how the school lived out its vision. Joe Lowther had made a visit as SEND Link Governor. Their reports would be uploaded onto Governorhub for all to view. Finally, the Chair urged Governors to keep setting up meetings with their Subject Leader. ACTION.

FGB Self–evaluation

The FGB Clerk had recently been appraised by the Chair and Vice Chair, and on top of the evaluation of each FGB meeting, and the annual Skills Audit of governors, further measures would be introduced in the near future to ensure that the FGB could build on its effectiveness.

12. GOVERNOR TRAINING

Skills Audit

This exercise was almost complete –two responses were still awaited.ACTION. The Chair felt that this was useful to see where there might be skills gaps in the Governing Body, and the questionnaires served as a prompt to individuals to book courses where they felt the need to acquire knowledge.

Training for Governors

The Chair reminded the meeting that it had been mooted that the SIP conduct a short virtual training session for governors on the OFSTED inspection process. However, as the school would have a new SIP in January –Rosemary Hafeez–thisidea would have to be revisited. See link to Rosemary’s career history: https://afcservices.org.uk/Page/15651

Annual Safeguarding Training–refresher training isavailable for Governors onlinevia the Diocese and AfC.

13. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

The FGB meeting in February would include a presentation on Science. The Chair thanked governors for their attendance and wished everyone a HappyChristmas.

14. DATE OF NEXT MEETING –Monday, 8th February 2021at 6.15pm (via Google Meet)

Supporting meeting papers are electronically–filed on the GovernorHub web portal.

The meeting closed at 19.55 hrs
Attendance was 93%

Signed:
Date: