Our School Governing Board

Welcome to the Regents Park Community School Governing Board

The Governors are representatives of the local council, the parents, the staff and the local community. They take a keen and active interest in the running of the school and, in conjunction with the staff, aim to foster a good relationship between the school and the wider community.

 

All parents are eligible for election to the Governing Board as Parent Governors. This occurs either at the end of a term of office or when an existing member leaves.

 

 

The Governors meet at least once a term at full Governing Board meetings and are elected for four years from the time of their election. Governors also carry out business within committees which also meet at least once a term - these are the Finance, Pay & Premises committee and the Standards & Performance committee.

Chair of Governors

Mr P Hynan

 

Vice Chair of Governors

Mrs R Kauser

Members of the Governing Board:

Key:

LA – Local Authority nominated or appointed Governor

PG – Elected or appointed Parent Governor

STF – Staff Governor

CG – Co-opted Governor, appointed by the governing body

AS – Associate member

HT - Head Teacher

ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

for the Governing Board of Regents Park Community Primary School

Academic Year 2021-22

 

School governing bodies ‘are the strategic leaders of our schools and have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education’. (The 2015 Governors’ Handbook, published by the Department for Education).   For maintained schools this is reflected in the law, which states that the purpose of maintained school governing bodies is to ‘conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement at the school’.

 

In accordance with the Government's requirement for all governing boards, the three core strategic functions of the Regents Park Community Primary School Governing Board are:

 

1. Ensuring the clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
2. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils;
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

 

 

Governance Arrangements

The Governing Body  consists of

• 4 co-opted governors
• 1 governor appointed by the Local Authority
• 2 elected parent governors
• 1 head teacher governor
• 2 elected staff governor
• 2 associate governors

 

This constitution is laid down in the Instrument of Government for Regents Park Community Primary School which came into effect on 22nd September  2014 when the Governing Body was re-constituted under the School Governance (Constitution) (England) regulations 2012.

 

The full Governing Board meets once each term with additional committee meetings being held once each term to cover:

• Finance, Pay and Premises
• Standards and Performance

 

In addition, governor panels may also meet to cover the following areas:

• Appeals Panel
• Complaints Panel
• Disciplinary Panel
• Exclusions Panel
• Pay Review Panel
• Head Teacher Appraisal Panel

 

Each member of the Governing Board also takes on the role of Link Governor for a particular aspect of school life and reports back to the full Governing Board. Link Governor roles include:

• SEN
• Safeguarding
• Governor Training & Development
• PSHE & RSE
• Pupil Premium
• English
• Maths
• EYFS
• Behaviour & Attendance

 

Committees

The Governing Body delegates some of its work to committees through terms of reference which are reviewed and agreed annually by the Full Governing Body.  The membership of these committees is also agreed annually by the Full Governing Body.  The key committees are:-

• Finance, Pay & Premises Committee (which is principally concerned with function 3)
• Standards and Performance Committee (which is principally concerned with function 2)

 

Terms of reference and membership of these committees are available via the school office.

 

Meetings

During 2020/21 the following meetings have been held:-

 

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all GB meetings were held remotely via Teams. As such, committee meetings were suspended and work normally undertaken by these committees was incorporated into additional full Governing Board meetings.

 

In addition, formal meetings have been held of the statutory committees (Head teacher’s performance appraisal and Pay) to enable governors to carry out their statutory duties in these areas.

 

Governor Attendance 2020-21

 

The work we have done on our committees and on the Governing Board in 2020-21

 

2020-21 has been one of the most challenging years for all those involved in working in education and those supporting schools. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted significantly on the children, families and staff of Regents Park Community Primary School, as it has for everyone living and working in the UK.

 

As such, the vast majority of the work covered by the Governing Board of Regents Park Community Primary School this year has been to:

• support the leadership of the school in ensuring that children, parents and staff have remained safe and well
• ensure that children who are vulnerable or whose parents are key workers have been supported
• ensure that staff have been able to continue to support children's learning remotely and that children have had equal access to that remote education
• provide all children with opportunities to catch up on any missed learning or gaps in their education

 

In light of the COVID pandemic and following Government guidelines, most of the work done by the Governing Board was done remotely via Teams in full Governing Board meetings whilst most committee meetings were suspended.

 

The Finance, Pay and Premises Committee have met twice in order to continue to oversee the financial management of the school and received detailed updates from the school leadership, particularly from Mrs P Kelly, the School Business Manager. This committee have overseen the annual pay review following in-school performance management and have reviewed school spending and allocation of school funding, including pupil premium.

 

The full Governing Board have met twice each term and received Leadership reports that provided an overview of how the school was managing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as progress towards school improvement targets. During full GB meetings, governors have been provided with regular safeguarding updates including progress towards completing the annual Section 175 safeguarding audit. Discussions have been held during full Governing Board meetings to keep governors updated on the consultation and implementation of the updated Relationships and Health Education policy across school as well as the development of the curriculum across school.

 

When staff and children were isolating, children received online learning. Staff maintained contact with their pupils and particular attention was given to children from hard-to-reach families or in vulnerable families. As a governing body we were consulted on and approved the remote learning strategy.

 

As no national tests were undertaken in 2020/2021 and the majority of pupils having a severely disrupted year in terms of attendance, the impact of the curriculum, teaching and targeted interventions was difficult to fully assess. Remote working was in place for all year groups and children without devices were provided with them. Throughout the year staff maintained close tracking of pupil progress, this was monitored by middle and senior leaders and reported to Governors by different leaders who attended the meetings.

 

The work we are going to do during 2021-22

 

During 2021-22 we are intending to begin meeting again regularly in committees and as a full Governing Board to fulfill our core functions as a Governing Board. Specifically we will endeavour to support the school further with the following:

• Ensure that the leadership continues to make certain that the school envronment is safe for pupils and staff in light of the removal of COVID-19 restrictions
• Oversee the provision of catch-up funding and that it is used effectively to support children who have gaps in their learning
• Ensure the curriculum in EYFS and across KS1 & KS2 is securely embedded - the intent is clear, the implementation is coherently planned and sequenced and the impact can be seen in pupil outcomes
• Ensure that school leaders continue to support the social and emotional wellbeing pupils and staff
• The school seeks to re-engage with parents following the COVID-19 pandemic in order to ensure parents are able to fully support their children's learning.