Meeting documents

Apologies for absence were received from David Babb, Katrina Wood, Wendy Mallen and John Chilver.

To declare any Personal or Dislosable Pecuniary Interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive oral evidence from Clive Parker – Democratic Services Manager as part of the School Governance Select Committee Inquiry.

Contributors

Clive Parker – Democratic Services Manager

Andrew Walker – Chairman of the Buckinghamshire Association of School Governors

Mr Parker provided the following evidence:

·       Democratic Services use a database system called ‘modern.gov’.

·       Modern.gov enables agendas to be created into a pack, which means reports and appendices are kept together. Modern.gov also stores documents electronically which means they are easy to retrieve should they be needed at a future date

·       Modern.gov has a ‘subscribe to updates’ facility. Updates can be searched by Committee or subject

·       If governor clerks are based in County Hall it may be possible for them to use modern.gov

·       There are other web based systems which the governor clerks could use

·       Democratic Services work strictly to Acts of Parliament and Regulations in relation to the publication of agendas, minutes and decisions etc. Agendas for example are published 5 clear working days prior to the date of the meeting

·       There are provisions for urgent decisions, however these again are strictly regulated

·       Within the governing body regulations there is a requirement that papers should be sent at least 7 days prior to the meeting date.

·       Modern.gov is an expensive system and it may not be a priority for governing bodies

Members had a discussion and made the following comments:

·       Mr Walker said that most governors’ clerks were good at influencing and were invaluable. He advised that as Chairman of governors he had also required the assistance of Legal and Democratic Services who provided a really good service.

·       The Governors website is very useful and has model agendas for meetings

·       It cost money to access software systems. Governing bodies should be asked if they are happy with their current process and enquires about the costs for governing bodies to access modern.gov should be made.

·       There is a cloud based system for retaining governing body records called GSET and the licence cost approximately £250 a year

·       There is also a system called openhive which Aylesbury High School have

·       It would be good if all schools used the same systems

·       There is not the facility to file the self-evaluation framework document electronically and this is done paper based

·       Modern.gov is a very good system. Could resources be pulled together so that all governing bodies use one system

·       There needs to be some market testing of governing bodies to see if there is appetite for modern.gov

·       The easier things are made for governors and governing bodies the better.

·       If you ask members of the public how they think they are able to obtain copies of governing body minutes they would probably think they had to go to the school office to request a copy.

·       There may be a confidentiality issue in future as governing bodies responsibilities for pupils are increasing

·       There is also an issue regarding email accounts. If governors use their home email account these can be audited. There needs to be clear understanding from governors about what business should be transacted by email. Should governors have email accounts for governor business?

Action: Clive Parker to speak to other colleagues to enquire what other systems are being used and contact Nicola  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To receive oral evidence from David Letheren - Chairman of High Wycombe School as part of the School Governance Select Committee Inquiry.

Contributors

Clive Parker – Democratic Services Manager

David Letheren - Chairman of High Wycombe School

Andrew Walker – Chairman of the Buckinghamshire Association of School Governors

Agenda items 4 and 5 were taken together.

Mr Letheren introduced the item and invited questions.

Has the advent of Academies had a bearing on the BAL governors? Are you finding any difficulty in engaging with governors in Academies?

Mr Walker said that by and large Academies are choosing to maintain their links with the LA for Governor Support Services.

Mr Letheren said that Academies are free to choose what services they purchase from the LA and there are some schools which choose not to purchase from the LA. He said that Property Services may outsource the work to a local company. Schools can therefore cut out the middle man and go direct to the local supplier.

Mr Walker commented that governing bodies in the main are continuing to purchase educational services but are looking elsewhere for HR, IT and legal services. Generally they are not purchasing from the LA the services which do not relate to standards.

Is it harder to recruit governors for Academies?

Mr Walker said that there are the same pressures with recruitment whether the school is an Academy or not. The only difference with Academies is that terminology is being used interchangeably such as member, governor or trustee.

Mr Letheren said that the Articles of Association can limit personal liability and at Wycombe High School personal liability for governors is limited to £10.

From your experience, to what extent are school governors involved in narrowing the attainment gap?

Mr Letheren advised that tracking is extensive and said that governors would consider this information.

Mr Walker said that at the Primary Academy where he is governor there wasn’t a gap. He said that pupil premium funding is spent on teaching assistants and said that this can be very effective in narrowing the gap if the resource is properly managed.

A Member commented that many schools spend money on teaching assistants but do not involve them. She said the Sutton report flagged up to schools that they cannot expect to put another adult into a classroom and expect magic to happen. She said teaching assistants need to be part of team who are monitored effectively.

How do teaching schools work?

Mr Walker said that when teachers and other staff go to other schools there is also consideration of the benefits to the pupils at their own schools. Mr Letheren commented that the schools whose teachers go to other schools benefit just as much as the schools that the teachers go to. He said initiatives such as these contribute to the development of teachers and said it has a positive impact on recruitment of staff.

A Member commented that newly qualified teachers also benefit from the exchange of ideas.

How do you feel the new payment system for teachers will work?

Mr Walker said that there is a lot of apprehension about the new system and said that some schools are expecting an increase in appeals.

From your experience, what are the key aspects of effective school governance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

ORAL EVIDENCE: Andrew Walker – Chairman of the Buckinghamshire Association of School Governors AND Heather Mintern - Vice Chair of Buckinghamshire Association of School Governors

To receive oral evidence from Andrew Walker – Chairman of the Buckinghamshire Association of School Governorsand  HeatherMintern - Vice Chair of Buckinghamshire Association of School Governors as part of the School Governance Select Committee Inquiry.

This item was discussed under agenda item 4.

To consider any other business relevant to the Scrutiny Inquiry. 

There was no any other business.

To note the next meeting of the Education, Skills and Children’s Services Select Committee on

The Chairman said that the information received would be considered and another meeting arranged if necessary.