Governors
New Governor Services Website
Welcome to a new academic year in Warwickshire. We hope that you and your family have had a restful, refreshing and well-deserved break and we look forward to working with you during the new school year.
We are proud to announce that after months of planning, design, tweaking and testing our new Warwickshire Governor Services website is now live. We feel our website reveals a new look that reflects governance in Warwickshire today and will provide current and prospective governors with useful and up to date information.
We continue to develop our document library / resources section on WES and GovernorHub. Please can we encourage you have a look to see what documents / resources are available to support you in your role.
We really hope you enjoy visiting our website and we welcome your feedback.
Training and Support
Below is a list of the training offered by Warwickshire Governor Services for the first half of this Autumn Term. Email gailevans@warwickshire.gov.uk if you would like to enquire or make a booking:
Effective Clerking
Wed 20th September 2017
Bulkington Village Centre, Bedworth
0930 – 1530
Using School Performance Data (Primary)
Monday 25th September 2017
Nicholas Chamberlaine School, Bedworth
1900 - 2100
Headteacher Appraisal & Teacher Pay and Performance
Tues 26th September 2017
Stratford High School
1900 - 2100
Induction: the Effective Governance of Schools
Wed 27th Sep, 4th and 11th Oct 2017
Aylesford School, Warwick
1900 - 2130
Child Protection and Safeguarding
Thurs 28th Sep 2017
Stratford College
1000 - 1230
Engaging with parents and the Community
Thurs 28th Sep 2017
Nicholas Chamberlaine School, Bedworth
1900 - 2100
Headteacher Appraisal & Teacher Pay and Performance
Mon 2nd October 2017
Boughton Leigh Junior School, Rugby
1900 – 2100
Using School Performance Data (Secondary)
Tues 3rd October 2017
Myton School, Warwick
1900 – 2100
Induction: the Effective Governance of Schools
Mon 9th October 2017
Rugby College
0930 - 1630
Closing the Gap - the achievement of pupil groups
Tues 10th October 2017
Bulkington Village centre, Bedworth
1900 – 2100
Special Educational Needs & Disability and the Governing Body
Wed 11th October 2017
Aylesford School, Warwick
1900 – 2100
Preparing for Ofsted Inspection
Thurs 12th October 2017
Myton School, Warwick
1900 - 2100
Clerks Induction
Mon 16th October 2017
Stratford College
0930 - 1530
Clerking exclusion, appeals & complaints Hearings
Tues 17th October 2017
Nicholas Chamberlaine College, Bedworth
1900 - 2100
Headteacher Appraisal & Teacher pay and performance
Wed 18th Oct 2017
Pound Lane Learning Centre, Leamington spa
1000 - 1200
Essentials - Update for experienced governors
Thurs 19th Oct 2017
Stratford High school
1900 - 2100
Governor Services can also offer in-house training - get in touch at the email above for details.
Please note that all in-house training requests must be received by 31st December 2017 (maintained schools) and 31st March 2018 (academies).
Governing Board membership update
We are required to collect Governing Board membership information from maintained schools on behalf of the Local Authority and we keep this information on a central database.
The information is needed for a number of reasons including; governor recruitment purposes, in case of urgency and Ofsted inspections.
It’s that time of year when we will be asking Clerks of both maintained schools and academies to complete a School Governing Board Details form so that we can update our records. This year we intend to supply Clerks with a copy of the records we hold to enable all records to be checked and updated.
We often send out communications to all schools and having up to date contact details helps you and certainly helps us to be better informed.
Edubase is changing
The DfE is developing a replacement for Edubase, to be known as ‘Get Information about Schools' (GIAS).
A link to the test version of GIAS can be found on the Edubase homepage, or can be accessed directly here. The GIAS site’s news page provides regular updates, and the latest update 30th August confirms:
Monday 18th September – GIAS will be launched.
In preparation for this launch, users should stop making updates to Edubase from 5pm on Friday 15th September as the new database will be frozen and data transferred to the new service.
We will continue to share any information that we receive but suggest Clerks and Chairs take a look at the GIAS news page for updates.
Patch Meetings 2017/18
Patch meetings provide the opportunity for Governors from all schools and academies to meet and share ideas and information. As Warwickshire is such a big county the meetings are held in 4 different locations giving governors the opportunity to attend one of the meetings. All Governors are invited to attend but Governing Boards tend to elect a Patch Meeting Governor who attends and then shares the information with the rest of the governors.
Like any other training event or meeting, we do ask governors to confirm their attendance as this enables us to ensure we cater for the right number of people both in terms of refreshments and materials.
The dates of the Patch Meetings for 2017 / 2018 are:
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
| Tuesday 7th November |
Tuesday 24th April |
| Thursday 9th November |
Thursday 26th April |
| Tuesday 14th November |
Tuesday 1st May |
| Thursday 16th November |
Thursday 3rd May |
All meetings start at 7.00pm and we aim to finish at 8.30pm (venues to be confirmed).
Parent governor vacancy on O&S committee
There is currently a vacancy for a Parent Governor Representative on Warwickshire County Council's Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The committee reviews and scrutinises the provision of public services in Warwickshire relating to education and skills and services for children, families and young people including:
- Schools
- 16-19 years education
- Pre-school children
- Child protection
- Family support and social care
- Children with specific needs
- The Youth Service
This meeting is open to the public, unless otherwise stated. An allowance is paid for the role which will require the successful candidate to attend between 5 & 8 meetings per year. The meetings last approximately 2 hours are held primarily at Shire Hall in Warwick.
The following meeting dates have been arranged:
10:00am - 19th September 2017 – Committee Room 2, Shire Hall, Warwick
10:00am – 14th November 2017 – Committee Room 2, Shire Hall, Warwick
10:00am – 16th January 2108 – Committee Room 2, Shire Hall, Warwick
10:00am – 13th March 2018 – Committee Room 2, Shire Hall, Warwick
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch:
Ben Patel-Sadler
Democratic Services Officer
Tel: 01926 736 118
Email: benpatelsadler@warwickshire.gov.uk
Update: removal of elected governors
As you will be aware, from September 1st 2017 maintained school governing boards have the power to remove elected parent and staff governors in the same way as they can remove co-opted governors.
Statutory guidance published by the DfE says:
‘Governing bodies are expected only to exercise the power to remove an elected governor in exceptional circumstances where the actions or behaviour of the elected governor warrants removal rather than suspension. The power should not be used simply to remove dissenting or challenging voices.'
In addition, from May 1st 2017, any person who has held office as an elected parent or staff governor and who is removed from the governing board during their term of office will be disqualified from serving or continuing to serve as a school governor for five years from the date of their removal.
You can access the amended Constitution Regulations here
Website compliance
Don’t forget your school website is a shop window to your setting, not only for parents but for other stakeholders including Ofsted who will review your website prior to an inspection.
We recommend you review your school website to ensure it is compliant using the guidance provided by the DfE and / or checklists which are available to download from GovernorHub or the WES document library.
What maintained schools must publish online
What academies, free schools and colleges should publish online
(Mainstream and special academies should refer to their own funding agreements).
Statutory guidance - The constitution of governing bodies of maintained schools clearly explains what information needs to be published in respect of governance. It is considered best practice to review the information about the governing board on a “rolling basis” so that is it always accurate.
Safeguarding information for governors
Prevent Duty
Following the introduction of the Prevent Duty for schools two years ago, the University of Coventry recently published a research report on What the Prevent Duty means for School and Colleges in England. Drawing on a combination of interviews with school staff, interviews with Local Safeguarding Authority Prevent professionals and an online survey of people working in education, the report found that:
- The message that Prevent is about “all forms of extremism” and that it should form part of a schools’ wider safeguarding duty, was widely accepted by all;
- There has been some opposition around the requirement to teach British values, which is linked to the Prevent duty. Specifically, schools are uneasy about calling the values “British” and are unsure as to how to embed this into the school curriculum effectively;
- Staff who are not part of a school’s “safeguarding team”, or are relatively junior, are less confident about fulfilling the Prevent duty; and
- There were “widespread concerns” that the Prevent duty caused “increased stigmatism of Muslim students”
Commenting on the report, Chris Keates, the General Secretary of NASUWT, highlighted that “schools need appropriate support to ensure that the Prevent duty is being implemented in a way which supports equality and diversity in schools and promotes community cohesion”. This emphasises the strategic role that Governing Boards need to play in order to ensure the effective implementation of Prevent within their schools.
Weekly Safeguarding Briefing
Governors can subscribe to a weekly safeguarding briefing as it provides practical information and resources for anyone with responsibility for safeguarding.
Preventing & tackling bullying (updated guidance for schools)
The Department for Education (DfE) has updated its guidance for schools on preventing and tackling bullying.
The latest version (July 2017) includes additional information about how schools can support children and young people who are bullied.
Governing boards should familiarise themselves with the guidance, which also includes information on cyber-bullying and how to support vulnerable pupils.
Sexting in Schools and Colleges
Safeguarding governors may wish to share the following with school safeguarding leads. It contains a lot of information including a clear run through of the law in this area.
Sexting in schools and colleges: Responding to incidents and safeguarding young people by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety
General Data Protection Regulation – Is your school / academy trust ready?
Significant changes to the law on data protection will be coming into force on 25 May 2018.
Every organisation in the UK, including schools / academy trusts, will be required to comply with the new legislation – known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
To help organisations prepare for the changes, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has put together a 12-step guidance note which we recommend all Governors should be aware of.
School teachers' pay
On August 24th the DfE issued Statutory guidance - School teachers' pay and conditions (STPCD).
The STPCD provides a framework for teachers’ pay and conditions, and is statutory for all maintained schools, although many academy trusts also choose to adopt the STPCD for their schools.
The main change is to take account of the September 2017 pay award, which gives a 2% uplift to the statutory minima and maxima of the main pay range and a 1% uplift to the minima and maxima of all other pay ranges in the national framework (including head teacher groups) and all allowances across pay ranges.
Schools must determine how to take account of the uplift for those not currently on the minimum, in line with their own pay policy.
Governing boards will need to ensure that their pay policies take account of the new requirements.
Updated exclusions guidance
The DfE has released updated guidance on exclusion for maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units.
When does the new statutory guidance come into force?
The new guidance comes into effect from 1 September 2017. Any exclusion issued before 1 September 2017 which is still subject to review would need to be considered under the 2012 statutory guidance.
Does the new statutory guidance change the exclusions process?
Whilst the new guidance makes changes to certain aspects of the exclusions process, the legal framework for excluding a child remains as it was before; the legislation and regulations (The School Discipline (Pupil Exclusions and Reviews) (England) Regulations 2012) remain unchanged.
What is the key change we need to be aware of?
The new guidance places a much greater emphasis on the role of governing boards in the exclusions process. Where required to do so, the governing board must meet to consider the exclusion by the head teacher – which is nothing new. However, the new guidance makes very clear that the focus of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) must be on the decision of the governing board, rather than the head teacher. It is therefore essential that governors actively consider the facts, test the evidence, properly consider all relevant policies, and check whether all procedures were followed given that it is their decision that will be scrutinised at the IRP stage. At least one member of the governor panel will need to attend any IRP in order to explain the decision taken by the panel and answer any questions.
How should we prepare for this change?
Given the focus of the new guidance, we recommend that governors read through and understand the new exclusions framework to ensure they are prepared for the greater focus on their decision-making. If they do not apply the correct legal tests or fail to follow due procedures, they risk their decision being quashed by an IRP and will have to re-take the decision with a presumption of reinstatement, or face a £4,000 fine.
Schools will also have to review any exclusion letters that they send out as the guidance requires some additional information to be sent out to parents following exclusion.
What other changes have been made?
The new guidance has also made changes to clarify some of the existing rules and procedures such as converting/extending exclusions, the process for reconsideration of the governors’ decision and adding further guidance on the funding that follows a permanently excluded pupil.
A new Annex B contains non-statutory guidance for head teachers providing
- advice on the procedures that need to be in place before excluding a child
- and the process to follow after an exclusion
A new Annex C contains an additional FAQ section for parents, which answers some key questions that parents are likely to have.
Is there any change to the role of the SEN Expert?
Most of the provisions around Special Educational Needs (SEN) experts remain the same and parents are still able to request a SEN expert at the IRP stage regardless of whether the school believes the child has SEN. The new guidance now allows the SEN expert to provide advice to the IRP in writing, if parents agree. However, parents still have a right to request the SEN expert attends the hearing and are able to request an adjournment until the SEN expert can attend if the hearing is in progress. This suggests that the apparent flexibility is unlikely to be of much use to local authorities/trusts organising IRPs.
Academies Magazine
Governors in Academies may be interested to read the latest edition of the Academies Magazine.