Minutes For 9th July 2012 PDF - Brune Park Community College

BRUNE PARK COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Meeting of the Full Governing Body
on 9 th July 2012 at 6.00pm in Room M1
MINUTES
Present (P): Mr Brain (P), Mrs Bray (P), Mrs Bruce, Mr Channon (P), Mr Clinton (P),
Mr Foster (P), Cllr Gill (P), Mrs Howe (P), Mrs Hudson, Mrs Kircher (P),
Mrs Newall (P), Mr Robinson (P), Mrs Robinson (P), Mrs Rose (P) Chair,
Mrs Ruddick (P), Mr Smyth (P) Mrs Strowger (P), Mr Witham (P)
In attendance: Mr Kelly, Headteacher Designate
Mr Rolfe, Deputy Headteacher
Mrs Kelly, Senior HR/Finance Manager, items 1,2,3,7,9,10,25A
Mr M Smith, Subject Leader Careers, item 7
Rebecca Moss, Year 10 student, item 7
Mrs Orr, Clerk to the Governors
ITEM 1 – APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND ABSENTEES
1. Apologies had been received in advance from Mr Anders (Havant Federation Governors’
strategic meeting), Miss Dearden (personal commitments) and Mrs Hudson (family
commitments).
2. Governors accepted these apologies.
ITEM 2 – DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
3. There were no declarations of interest.
ITEM 3 – INTRODUCTION OF POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIP GOVERNOR
4. The Chair welcomed Mr Channon as a potential Partnership Governor and asked him to
introduce himself to the governors. He had attended the Standards Committee on 18 th June as
an observer.
5. Mr Channon explained that he lived in Gosport with his family and would bring his experience
as Chair of Governors at a feeder primary school. Mr Channon was also an editor at a
newspaper in West Sussex and could advise the school on positive publicity opportunities. He
had attended Brune Park, and his two children had also attended the school.
6. Mr Channon assured governors that that he would keep the confidentiality of the governing
body.
7. Mr Channon withdrew from the meeting to allow governors to discuss and vote.
8. Governors unanimously agreed to accept Mr Channon as a Partnership Governor as his skills
would be an asset to the governing body.
9. Mr Channon was asked to return to the meeting as Partnership Governor.
ITEM 4 – MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING HELD ON 21 ST MAY 2012
10. Governors approved the minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 st May 2012.
11. Mr Clinton reported that the Health and Safety re-audit would take place on 29 th August and he
expected positive results.
ITEM 5 – SIGNING OF THE MINUTES
12. The Chair signed the minutes.
ITEM 6 – MATTERS ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES
13. 9(46) Headteacher’s Report, the sharing of non-confidential information with parents.
Governors agreed that some of the non-confidential contents of future reports could be shared
with parents.
14. 13(54) Governing Body Self Evaluation, Chair to arrange a second meeting. The chair agreed
this would be set for the autumn term.
15. 14(56) Governor Visits Policy – the clerk confirmed this had been circulated on 29 th May and
governors were reminded to complete the form and return it to the clerk to governors.
16. Governors agreed that if feedback was required from the senior leadership team then this would
be done via the clerk.
Full Governing Body Meeting – 9 th July 2012. Page 1

17. 15(66) Governor Visits Schedule for 2012/13 – discussed by the Standards Committee on 18 th
June 2012 and was agreed that the issues raised by the Ofsted report would be the focus for
discussions with Heads of Departments and senior leaders and this would be linked to the
school development plan.
18. Governors discussed the suggestion that each department could complete a self evaluation but
agreed this should wait until the new development plan had been created and could therefore
reflect the actions identified in the plan to enable a level of consistency with the department
plans. These documents would inform governors of progress against targets, trends and would
provide valuable feedback to enable governors to independently evaluate development and
progress.
19. Mr Kelly informed governors that he would produce the school development plan in the first half
term of the new academic year and governors could start to visit and evaluate.
Action: Mr Kelly
20. 17(70) Meetings for 2012/13 – the clerk had circulated dates of the meetings for 2012/13. The
clerk circulated an update list of meetings which also included INSET days and Parents’
Evenings. Governors were encouraged to attend these events, where suitable, which had
proved to be invaluable in developing good staff and parent relationships. Governors were also
reminded they could attend school productions throughout the year.
21. 18(73) GB Constitution, this was covered under the legislation updates in Paper C.
ITEM 7 – FAIRTRADE
22. This item was discussed after items 1 and 2. Mr Smith. Subject Leader Careers updated
governors on achieving Fairtrade Status for Brune Park, as detailed in Paper D and showed
photographs on the whiteboard of recent initiatives. Mr Smith informed governors that the
school had achieved Fairtrade status after a two year journey and thanked governors for the
opportunity to report back on the activities the students had been involved in.
23. Rebecca, Year 10 student, gave an update on the recent events, including Year 7 picnic, Fair-y
Christmas Fairtrade fair, dance groups for the fashion show wearing Fairtrade clothes and
playing Fairtrade music.
24. Governors were informed that Caroline Dinenage MP had visited the school and saw the work
the students were involved in regarding Fairtrade. There was still some further work to be done,
for example presenting to students in assemblies and raising the awareness of Fairtrade foods
used in the Footlights café. A Fairtrade shop had been setup in the Information Centre on
Fridays selling Fairtrade food and products.
25. Rebecca reported that she had become involved in the group as she had felt passionately about
the importance of Fairtrade goods and was proud to be part of this school and community
initiative.
26. Mr Smith reported that he had taken a few students to the Hampshire Fairtrade meeting in
Basingstoke and had met representatives from other Fairtrade schools and towns in the county.
The students had shared ideas for activities.
27. The school had committed to taking three steps for Fairtrade 1) the Fairtrade shop; 2) Fairtrade
sports balls being used by the Physical Education Department, and 3) Fairtrade tea, coffee and
sugar being used by the school at all times. This last initiative was still a work in progress and
Mr Smith hoped governors would support this.
28. Governors asked if there would be new students to replace the Year 11 students who had just
left and Mr Smith said that four new Year 7 students had been recruited onto the Fairtrade
group. In addition the students in the group would encourage their friends to attend events.
29. Mrs Kircher reported that her workplace had achieved Fairtrade status for the last five years and
invited Mr Smith to visit to share good practice.
30. Governors asked if the shop had been successful and were informed that it had been open for
two weeks with cookies being particularly popular. It was hoped that students would spread the
word about the shop and the products.
31. Governors agreed that raising awareness through the curriculum was important particularly with
History, Geography and Religious Studies and thanked Mr Smith and Rebecca for their hard
work and achievements and gave their support for future Fairtrade initiatives.
32. Mr Foster arrived at the meeting at 6.15pm.
33. Mr Smith thanked governors for the opportunity to present and give them an update and noted
that he would be attending the next Parent Partnership meeting on 12 th July to give an update to
parents.
34. Mr Smith and Rebecca left the meeting at 6.15pm.
Full Governing Body Meeting – 9 th July 2012. Page 2

ITEM 8 – REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES
35. Governors noted the minutes from the Community Management Committee meeting held on
23 rd May, Paper E.
36. Governors noted the minutes from the Resources Committee meetings held on 9 th May and 25 th
June, Papers F and G. The budget had been discussed under item 9.
37. Governors noted the minutes from the Standards Committee meeting held on 18 th June 2012.
38. Governors discussed the ‘Responsible Person’ allocated for Health and Safety; at the meeting
Mr Anders had agreed to continue this responsibility until 1 st September when Mr Kelly,
Headteacher Designate would then commence his headship. Mr Kelly would then take on that
role.
39. Governors asked why the Head of School and Deputy Headteacher had not been asked to take
on this responsibility. They were informed that the Head of School had not undertaken this role
as a training session would be required and governors had asked if available training could be
investigated.
40. Governors suggested that both the Head of School and Deputy Headteacher attend the
necessary training for the Responsible Person for Health and Safety to ensure that there was a
suitably qualified person on site in the absence of the Headteacher.
Action: Head of School and Deputy Headteacher
ITEM 9 – 2012/13 BUDGET FOR APPROVAL
41. Mr Clinton, Chair of the Resources Committee referred governors to Paper I and explained that
these papers had been discussed at the Resources Committee meeting on 25 th June (Paper G)
where governors had voted unanimously to present the budget for approval at the Full
Governing Body meeting on 9 th July 2012 for both the main college account (4315O) and the
community account (4315Y).
42. Mrs Kelly confirmed that the figures had been produced in conjunction with EFS who was
working closely with the school.
43. Mr Clinton referred to the minutes of the meeting on 25 th June and highlighted a caution with the
forecasting of the figures for 2013/14 and 2014/15 noting that it would be difficult to obtain
accurate projected figures due to the substantial variables taking place at the current time, e.g.
numbers of students on roll, the uncertainty of the future funding formula, and the ongoing staff
restructuring.
44. Mr Clinton noted that the school had met the HCC remit showing a surplus and starting to
reduce the deficit.
45. Governors asked how involved HCC were with the school finances and how long this support
would continue. Mrs Kelly reported that she met weekly with EFS and telephone support was
also available; the support would continue for as long as the school required it.
46. Mr Kelly noted the school was continuing with the EFS SLA and he would be meeting with Mr
Andrews, Senior Finance Services Officer for Education Finance Services (EFS) once every
half term. The strategy group would also continue to meet for at least two years and would then
be reviewed.
47. Governors were reassured by the continuing support from HCC.
48. Governors voted unanimously to approve the budget for both the main college account (43150)
and the community account (4315Y) as detailed in Paper I.
49. The details presented to governors were as follows:
a. Main College Account – ‘O’
Income £8,312,178
Expenditure £8,170,838
Forecast in Year Surplus £141,340
Deficit Brought Forward £723,075
Cumulative Deficit £581,735
b. Community Account – ‘Y’
Income £111,159
Expenditure £174,911
Forecast in Year Deficit £63,752
Deficit Brought Forward £124,791
Cumulative Deficit £188,543
Full Governing Body Meeting – 9 th July 2012. Page 3

50. Mr Kelly reported on a possible HCC change to the linked schools and catchment areas which
was being discussed and challenged by local Headteachers. The current situation would
continue for one year only and was being reviewed by the county.
51. Governors were concerned and asked to be kept informed of the decisions made by the local
authority and the implications it would have for Brune Park and for other schools in the area.
Action: Mr Kelly
ITEM 10 – EDUCATION PERSONNEL SERVICE SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (EPS SLA)
52. Mrs Kelly referred governors to Paper J giving details of the EPS SLA and noted that the
decision had been taken by Mrs Rose (Chair of Governors), Mr Clinton (Vice Chair of
Governors) and Mr Kelly, Headteacher Designate to continue with the EPS SLA for the next
three years.
53. Governors were content to accept this.
54. Mrs Kelly left the meeting at 6.40pm.
ITEM 11 – CHANGE OF SCHOOL NAME
55. At the meeting held on 21 st May 2012 governors had voted unanimously to amend the name of
the school from Brune Park Community College to Brune Park Community School with effect
from 1 st September 2012.
56. It had not been made clear to governors at that meeting that by changing the name with effect
from 1 st September 2012, the governing body would need to change the constitution under the
new regulations, as detailed in Paper C.
57. Governors were asked to vote on the change of the date that this would take effect from and
unanimously agreed to change the school name with effect to 31 st August 2012.
58. Governors decided to have a discussion about the future constitution in the autumn term.
Action: Clerk
ITEM 12 – HEADTEACHER’S REPORT TO GOVERNORS
59. Governors noted the Headteacher’s report to governors and in the absence of the Executive
Headteacher Mr Rolfe answered questions.
60. Governors discussed the fixed penalty notices for absences and the effect of the proposed
changes to the HCC Educational Welfare Officers (EWO). It was possible that this
responsibility would pass to the schools either for September or the following year. The 14-19
Fareham and Gosport Consortium had raised this as an issue and wanted to ensure there was
consistency across the area. Mr Kelly would keep governors informed.
Action: Mr Kelly
61. Governors referred to the exclusion data and asked if the school had the adequate support in
place to try to prevent further exclusions. Mr Rolfe noted there was a rising scale of exclusions,
dependant on the situation. Readmission meetings with parents took place, and Governors’
Discipline Committees met where required. Support and intervention strategies were in place.
62. Governors asked if the school was targeting the individual problems of why an excluded
student’s behaviour had led to the exclusion.
63. Mr Rolfe noted there were several sanctions used before fixed term exclusions. Governors
noted that the number of exclusions were comparably lower than other schools in Hampshire.
The importance of continuing with learning was noted along with continuing the behaviour
support strategies there were already in place.
64. Mr Rolfe noted that half of the number of students excluded had not been excluded again this
year. Mr Kelly noted the good partnership working with Quayside and other agencies and the
importance of linking all the sanctions and support strategies and reported that there was a lot
of good practice already in place at Brune Park.
65. Governors understood that persistent poor behaviour would disrupt the learning of other
students in the school.
66. Governors referred to the number of seclusions and asked if they were effective. Mr Rolfe
noted the seclusions, which ran from 2.30pm – 5pm, and noted that where these took place, the
timing and who would supervise the seclusions would be discussed. Some schools used
inclusion rooms with trained staff but there would be a cost to this. Governors asked to be kept
informed.
67. Governors noted that the teaching staff absence peaked in November and March and asked if
there was a reason for this; it was noted that these months were full months and the figures
could appear higher.
68. The school was looking at the options for filling the Teacher of Science post and governors
asked if all appointments had been filled. Governors were informed that there were still some
Full Governing Body Meeting – 9 th July 2012. Page 4

posts and interviews to take place. The Chair requested governors to be part of the interview
panels where at all possible.
ITEM 13 – OFSTED UPDATE
69. Governors noted that the Ofsted report had been circulated to staff, parents and to governors.
ITEM 14 – RAISING ATTAINMENT PLAN
70. Mr Kelly reported that he was in the process of drafting a school action plan which would be
discussed with the senior leadership team before being presented to governors and would
reflect issues and actions raised in the Ofsted report.
71. The school would be trying to reduce the variability to ensure consistency across the school and
this would be reflected in the INSET staff training sessions.
Action: Mr Kelly
ITEM 15 – LIST OF POLICIES
72. Governors noted the list of policies as detailed in Paper L.
73. Governors agreed that a decision would need to be made regarding the frequency of the review
of the policies and which ones they needed to see on an annual basis.
Action: Autumn Agenda
ITEM 16 – SCHOOL COMMUNICATION – CHANGES TO SCHOOL INFORMATION REGULATIONS
74. Governors noted the changes to school information regulations as detailed in the school
communications SC008427 dated 18 th June 2012.
75. School Communications
76. Governors noted a concern with parents not having access to the internet. It was agreed that
the school would be able to send paper copies to parents on request as with the Parents’
Newsletters.
77. Governors asked who was ensuring that this information was available and were informed that
Mr Brooks, Assistant Headteacher was looking at this requirement.
ITEM 17 – GOVERNOR INTRANET UPDATE
78. The clerk updated governors on the new intranet which was still a work in progress. Governors
would be updated in due course.
ITEM 18 – ELECTION PROCESS 2012/13
79. Governors noted Paper N and were asked to submit to the clerk their intent to stand for
positions and committees by either post or email, by 31 st August 2012. Appointments would be
agenda items for the Full Governing Body meeting to be held on 10 th September 2012.
ITEM 19 – COMMITTEE STRUCTURE AND FOCUS 2012/13
80. Governors agreed that they needed to focus strategically and discussed the committee
structures.
81. One suggestion discussed was splitting the Resources Committee into one committee for
finance issues and the other for personnel; the Health and Safety and buildings would need to
be a remit for one of these committees or separate committees.
82. Governors agreed that this would link with the strategic direction of the governing body and
could be covered at the 1 st October meeting.
ITEM 20 – COMMUNITY PROVISION FOR 2012/13
83. Governors were informed that Mrs Howe and Mr Rolfe were currently developing an action plan
for community provision and would consult with governors once developed.
84. Governors noted the opportunities and facilities available as community provision and agreed
the importance of marketing. The closure of a local sports complex had a positive effect on the
use of the pool and gym.
85. Governors agreed this would be discussed at the 1 st October meeting.
ITEM 21 – COLLECTIVE WORSHIP POLICY
86. Mrs Howe referred to Paper O noting that there had been no change to the Collective Worship
Policy. Governors noted and approved this policy.
87. Governors asked about the statutory requirements for schools to teach Religious Studies and it
was confirmed that it was currently still statutory.
Full Governing Body Meeting – 9 th July 2012. Page 5

88. Governors referred to the opportunity for teachers not to ‘lead assemblies; Mrs Howe noted that
a teacher could opt out to lead but would still be required in a supervisory role.
89. Governors were content to accept this policy.
ITEM 22 – CORREPONDANCE AND CHAIR’S ACTIONS
90. Governors noted the correspondence and chair’s actions, papers P and Q.
ITEM 23 – GEIP UPDATE
91. Governors noted the GEIP newsletter, Paper R.
92. The chair referred governors to the GEIP newsletter and noted that all the Headteachers were
working together.
93. Governors asked if all schools had paid the £5 and were informed that where a school had not
paid there would be ongoing discussions.
ITEM 24 – GOVERNOR TRAINING UPDATE
94. No update given.
ITEM 25 – APPRECIATION AND THANKS TO THE EXECUTIVE HEADTEACHER
95. The Chair thanked Mr Anders, Executive Headteacher, in his absence for his hard work and
dedication. Governors agreed that an honorarium of £250 should be paid into his salary.
ITEM 25A – STAFF INTERVIEWS
96. The Chair noted that, wherever possible, governors should be included in the interview panels
for staff interviews.
ITEM 26 – DATES OF THE NEXT MEETINGS
97. All meetings to take place at 6pm, M1
10 th September 2012
1 st October 2012 – Strategic Meeting, all governors
5 th November 2012
3 rd December 2012
4 th February 2013
25 th March 2013
20 th May 2013
8 th July 2013
The meeting closed at 8.15pm
Full Governing Body Meeting – 9 th July 2012. Page 6