Q  Can you tell what the procedure is for Community Governors. We have one coming to the end of their term in March and is considering staying on – do they automatically start another four year term or is their a process where we have to advertise the position and possibly have an election process if more than one person is interested?  A  Community governors are appointed by the GB and, unless you have more volunteers than places, you do not need an election. It is up to the GB to decide if they would like to ask this governor to stay on or if they want to investigate other potential candidates. If you have more than one candidate, it might be helpful to ask the two candidates to write a brief (half side of A4) summary of how they could support and contribute t the work of the GB. The GB can then decide who they want to appoint. The decision can be by vote if that is your usual process.  Governors can’t automatically stay on. They would need to be reappointed. There is no specific documentation. Someone proposes and seconds the nomination, the GB votes and the outcome recorded in the FGB minutes.

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Q  I understand that the focus of the SIP visit in the summer term is leadership and management.  hould the Governing body be represented during that visit or is it really a Head / SIP thing - with the Governors getting the report ? A  This answer was checked out with a SIP before replying:  The reply may not be helpful in that it is one of those things that is up to governors and Heads to decide for themselves. If there is a good working relationship between the Head and the Chair, there would probably be no problem with the Chair asking if they could be present for at least part of the summer meeting.  For example, the Chair could hear the feedback from the SIP and perhaps ask whether what the SIP has seen of governing body work and whether the governing body minutes, visit records etc reflect a true picture of the school. It is one way of governors validating the information they receive and, perhaps more importantly, that they have understood what they have received. It also gives the Chair an opportunity to ask for feedback or guidance about the way in which the governing body is holding the school to account and providing appropriate challenge and support.  Some SIPS see the Chair at every meeting and other SIPS have never seen the Chair. We do encourage the Chair to be involved in at least one of the meetings and the leadership and management meeting in the summer term does lend itself to this kind of discussion.  There may be an area of discussion, such as the Heads personal development, that the Head may prefer not to have discussed with the Chair present, but it does very much depend on the relationship between the Chair and the Head.  The SIPs that I have spoken to saw governors attending the meetings as a positive thing and Governor Services would definitely encourage it but it is up to Head and the Chair/governing body to agree.

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Q  Charging for School Activities. I had a meeting with my vice chair of Finance and Staffing this morning prior to our meeting tomorrow and we were discussing the question of financial help for parents with little money to enable their children to go on school trips and holidays. As you are probably aware the catchment area for our school is not an affluent area at all.  Our children especially need to have the experience and stimulus of trips and residential holidays. What is the policy for charging for school activities?  A  Guidance from the Fair Access Office (PDF) and the following new charging guidance: The government has issued revised guidance to schools on their charging policies following research undertaken by the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB).  BMRB carried out a survey on behalf of the DCSF to record the amount spent by parents and carers of children at maintained schools in England throughout 2007.  One focus of the report was on schools’ charging policies in relation to school trips, where it was found that compulsory charges were imposed for 1 in 10 curricular trips in primary and 3 in 10 in secondary schools, even though no compulsory charges should be made. It was also reported that half of parents sometimes felt pressured into paying for schools trips. The Children’s secretary, Ed Balls, said he was very concerned that some schools risk putting extra pressure on family finances by not following the rules on charging and school uniform. ‘The rules on charging are crystal clear and no child should be disadvantaged or penalised because they cannot afford out of class activities,’ he said. ‘It is completely unacceptable for schools to levy compulsory charges for activities, like day trips, which are part of the school curriculum or for families to feel pressured into making voluntary contributions.’ School governing bodies and local authorities cannot charge for: Schools and local authorities can charge for: An admission application to any maintained school Education provided during school hours (including the supply of materials, books, instruments or other equipment) Education provided outside school hours if it is part of the National Curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education Tuition for pupils learning to play musical instruments if the tuition is required as part of the National Curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education Entry for a prescribed public examination, if the pupil has been prepared for it at the school Examination re-sit(s) if the pupil is being prepared for the re-sit(s) at the school Any materials, books, instruments, or equipment, where the child’s parent/carer wishes him to own them Optional extras Musical and vocal tuition, in limited circumstances   RESIDENTIAL VISITS education provided on any visit that takes place during school hours; education provided on any visit that takes place outside school hours if it is part of the National Curriculum, or part of a syllabus for a prescribed public examination that the pupil is being prepared for at the school, or part of religious education; and supply teachers to cover for those teachers who are absent from school accompanying pupils on a residential visit.    board and lodging and the charge must not exceed the actual cost.  When a school informs parents about a forthcoming visit, they should make it clear that parents who can prove they are in receipt of the following benefits will be exempt from paying the cost of board and lodging: Income Support (IS); Income Based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA); support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; Child Tax Credit, provided that Working Tax Credit is not also received and the family’s income (as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) does not exceed £15,575 (Financial Year 2008/09); The guarantee element of State Pension Credit; and income related employment and support allowance that was introduced on 27 October 2008. If you are charging for any activities, your governing body must draw up a charging policy which makes clear which activities you intend to charge for, and a remissions policy which sets out any circumstances in which you propose to remit those charges (e.g. for parents in receipt of certain benefits) Further guidance can be found in the Guide to the Law, March 2009 Chapter 23 and from the document “Charging for School Activities” produced by Fair Charging Division of the DCSF.

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Q  A school has the Clerk to the Governors acting in an advisory capacity at the Finance Committee meetings on a regular basis as she is the school bursar. In the minutes she is referred to as co-opted. I took this to mean she was acting in an associate governor capacity but Ch3 Para 55 Governors, ‘associate members and the headteacher of the school cannot be appointed as clerk..’   Is she ok to be acting in this capacity and if so what should the terminology be.  A  Excerpt from the Guide to the Law  Page 18,  Chapter 3, Para 55  Appointment of the Clerk to the governing body  55. The governing body must appoint a clerk to the governing body Governors, associate members and the headteacher of the school cannot be appointed as clerk to the governing body. So, the Clerk to the Governing Body cannot be an associate governor – of any committee. The reference to the clerk being ‘co-opted’ is interesting as there is no longer any category called co-opted.  The only means by which a non governor could become part of a committee is through appointment as an associate governor. However, a committee or governing body could invite anyone to join the meeting to give them advice (but not be a member of the committee).  At one school, for example, members of the SMT attend committee meetings to advise but they are not members (associate or otherwise).  So, I think the school could continue to have the bursar attending to offer advice, but not be a member.    I also don’t think there is anything to prevent the Clerk to the Governors being the clerk for the committee although in the context of FMSiS, this is not always favourable. N.B. the School Governance regulations are at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20031377.htm

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Q  My Chair of Governors attended a Chair's network meeting where contracts of employment were discussed for Clerks. Can you clarify whether they are paid salaries or expenses & if they need a job description!  A  The 'employment' status of clerks is something of a vexed question.  To date South Gloucestershire has taken the line that clerks are not LA employees but they are 'office holders' appointed by the individual governing body to undertake set tasks and paid on a fee/expenses basis for carrying those out. Fees are paid through the payroll system to comply with tax and NI requirements.  As the “appointing body” the governing body should agree the requirements of the role. It is advised that a meeting is held, annually, between the Chair and the Clerk, to ensure that the role is being carried out as required and to ensure that both the Clerk and the governing body are in agreement about any changes that may have taken place during the year. It also provides an opportunity to consider any training or development that the Clerk may require.  There have been instances when a governing body has changed its requirements or is no longer happy with the work carried out by the clerk. In those instances, it is important that a meeting takes place, at the earliest opportunity, to provide the clerk with an opportunity to respond and meet the revised service requirements.  A model job description is available, as a guide, but Governing Bodies and Clerks are free to negotiate their own arrangements and fees.  The Governing Body can remove its clerk from office by resolution at a governing body meeting.

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Q  We have a governor who is not getting much assistance from his employer to take time out to carry out his duties as a governor.  Is there any information that supports governors getting time off work that we can use to send out to employers requesting their co-operation?  A  No, we don’t have a standard letter as this is something that has to be negotiated on an individual basis. If you have a look at Chapter 4, paragraphs 6 – 8 of the Guide to the Law, they provide some information about time off from work. http://www.governornet.co.uk/linkAttachments/GTTL%2005.12.09.doc  The (very long) link below, takes you to the Business Link guidance on time off for public duties. Business Links are funded by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform so provide the definitive guidance on business related issues. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?r.l1=1073858787&r.l3=1074451710&r.lc=en&type=RESOURCES&itemId=1074453440&r.l2=1073858926&r.s=sc  The Guide to the law does on to suggest seeking assistance from the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) as a last resort.

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Q   Since my school has gone through the FMSiS process they have asked me to remove the agenda point, which states that any one with a pecuniary interest cannot attend the relevant section of the meeting.  The argument is that during FMSiS they were told that even if a person has a pecuniary interest, they can still sit in the meeting as they might have a useful contribution to make.   This, to me, defeats the object of having a declaration.  The person might make a valid contribution but this might be bias in favour of their pecuniary interest. How would other governors know this or not?   Can you clarify please? A  I think that there may be a bit of confusion creeping in here. There should be an item on every agenda that asks for and records any vested interest in any agenda item for that meeting. Governors, on hearing the nature of any declared interest, may allow the individual to stay if they have relevant expertise, for example, but may decide that they may not vote. Alternatively, the governors may vote and agree that the individual should withdraw for that item and not take any part. It depends on the nature of the interest.  If, for example, a new contract is being considered for some minor building work and a governor is employed by a builder. They may have expertise that could be of benefit to the governing body but, if the company that they are employed by might be  tendering for the business, it would not be appropriate for them to be party to any discussion about the proposed work.

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Q  I note from the Governor Update that we are to review Staff absences at the next meeting . In my last LA this was what we did and I had already asked for these figures for Finance and Staffing Committee. However my school administrator tells me that she is having great difficulty obtaining these figures from the LA. Please could you find out how governors could be provided with these figures?  A  The LA does not provide these figures as it is assumed that the school keeps its own records. Schools Personnel becomes involved when there are specific situations such as long term or regular absence. You school administrator/office should have a record of staff absence but the full record should not need to be shared with governors. It is often reported by the Head, in their summer report that absences have been x% (or number of days) which is an increase/decrease from last year, for example. If the number seems high, governors could ask the Head to look into why that might be or if there is a significant increase, again, it may be an indication that something needs looking into. Details of individuals wouldn’t be shared.  If it seems reasonable, then there is nothing to be done. If it seems particularly high, and this can’t be explained, then the Head would take advice from Schools Personnel.

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Q  Are there any recommendations about what should be included in the report from the headteacher?  A  Headteacher's report - a suggested framework Article from Governornet 2009 A suggested framework of purpose, principles and content for the headteacher's report to the governing body. The role of the governing body in supporting school improvement relies to a great extent on receiving accurate information about the performance of the school. Headteachers play an extremely important role in providing this information by reporting on and giving an account of the performance of the school. Below is a suggested framework of purpose, principles and content for the headteachers' report to the governing body. Nothing is intended to be prescriptive; it is offered simply as a sound basis for heads reporting to governing bodies. Account has been taken of statutory requirements and what has been found around the country where schools have offered up examples saying, "This is what works well for us". Purpose Headteachers' reports to governors are the key vehicles by which s/he accounts to governors for the quality of education provided in the school. They are likely to include information about: the development of pupils standards attained the efficiency of the management of the school's resources and crucially, progress in implementing the school improvement / development plan against previously agreed outcomes and targets. Key Principles Agree and understand the language used! Much of the reporting will, therefore, include monitoring and evaluating information. By this we mean: a) Monitoring information. That is telling the governing body about whether everything is happening in the way and to the timescale and cost agreed, and b) Evaluation of everything which has taken place. This means asking questions about the achievements of pupils and of the school as a whole. For example: Have all these actions made a difference and are we clear what that difference is and how it supports improved performance of the school? Is there evidence of improvements in pupils' learning? There are other possible key principles: 1. Reporting arrangements and contents of reports should be the result of negotiation and agreement with clear objectives established and reporting and content related to the governing body's working structures 2. Reports including information on performance which ensures governors are in a position to discuss the progress the school is or is not making 3. Information should include performance data about the school and how it compares with similar schools 4. The headteacher provides summarised reports on local and national legislation and policy developments 5. There is a future emphasis to the reporting. The often used comment by Joan Sallis about there being no participation in the past is well remembered. Headteachers will benefit from having governors who are aware of future plans, are well informed and knowledgeable and, therefore, well placed to make sound decisions. Content of Headteachers' Reports to Governors Items which could be included in a termly report progress on school development plan targets including curriculum developments, staff development and staff management issues such as use of staff time a simple digest of the key messages from the 'Autumn Package' SAT scores with area / LEA / national comparative data and trends over say three years financial accounts / progress of budget premises issues (related to School Development Plan) achievements of pupils and other members of the school community school visits and journeys - numbers of visits, purpose, numbers of pupils involved (not detail of each visit) extra curricular activities baseline assessment results in secondary schools, public examination results with area / LEA / national comparative data and trends over three / five years value added analysis of results where possible (from baseline to end of KS1, KS1 to end KS2, KS3 - 4, etc) leavers' destinations year on year trends for admissions / applications projections for Form 7 numbers staffing structure with changes in allocation of responsibility (if any) identification of emerging priorities for school development plan for discussion in Spring term review of material resources, premises requirements policy monitoring information according to agreed arrangements financial plans fund-raising outcomes of reviews of curricular areas Items which could be included at least once per year (and probably tie in with production of Annual Parents' Report) pupil attendance data with trends and commentary if significant pupil exclusion data, by type, gender and ethnic group and with comparative data / trends (may be termly in secondary schools) home school links (visiting policy, systems for reporting to parents, communications with parents) community links to include use of facilities Health and Safety issues - in line with reporting arrangements in policy visitors to the school (but beware of falling into the trap of long listings) information on SEN policy implementation summary of extra curricular activities LEA's Educational Development Plan targets and links to school's own S.D.P. contribution to Public Services Agreement targets (if there is one). Items which occur on an 'as and when' basis staff appointments with number of applicants staff changes, resignations, vacancies formal complaints requests for approval for school visits and journeys policy monitoring information - according to arrangements specified in policy and an overall plan which allows governors to monitor all policies over a 3 / 4 year cycle maintenance and improvement work undertaken.

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Q         Does South Gloucestershire have model terms of references for committees? A         As every school organises its committees differently, there is no recommended South Gloucestershire model terms of reference for any committees.  It is possible to gather a selection of terms of reference to consider through internet searches, asking other local Governing Bodies or by raising it as a query at the Chair or Clerk’s network meetings.  Any committee that has delegated powers must have a terms of reference document which is renewed annually. Q         What is a scheme of delegation? A         A scheme of delegation is a document that is being recommended to schools as they work to attain the Financial Management Standard in Schools.  The scheme of delegation concerns what decisions the Governing Body has made to allow others such as the Headteacher, or Finance Officer, or the Finance committee, to carry out financial responsibilities on its behalf.   This would traditionally have formed a part of the terms of reference of the Finance (or equivalent) committee, and indeed this may still be acceptable to an FMSiS assessor as long it does cover all the potential areas of delegation.  However, many schools are now being recommended to have a scheme of delegation. South Gloucestershire Audit have issued a CD rom for schools currently undergoing assessment for FMSiS, which contains many useful documents, including a suggested scheme of delegation. It is important that all other documents are consistent with your scheme of delegation – an obvious example being the Finance committee terms of reference, but also the Purchasing policy and any other financial policies which you may have.  And the scheme should be considered and approved by the Full Governing Body and recorded in the minutes of the relevant FGB meeting as having been approved. Q         Is there a sample Governors Handbook or induction pack A         No, but examples of good practice have been included in the CD rom which South Gloucestershire Audit have issued for schools currently undergoing FMSiS assessment. Q         Should Clerks to the Governors draw up a register of Pecuniary Interests, or does a file of signed Pecuniary Interest forms suffice? A         There is no requirement to draw up a separate document drawing all the entries together, but it is important to keep a full up to date set of completed declaration forms with one form for each governor, including any governors who have recently joined the Governing Body.  The governors should complete a fresh form annually. It is also now recommended for there to be an agenda item at the start of all FGB and committee meetings to allow governors to declare an interest in any specific agenda item eg: “Declaration of Interests: Governors to declare if they have any business interests relevant to the items on this agenda”

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School Profile FAQs  Q. Which schools need to complete a school profile? A. All maintained schools need to publish a school profile, except maintained nursery schools, which will continue to produce a governors' annual report. Non-maintained schools, independent schools and academies are not required to complete a school profile, and will not be able to log on to the secure school-profile area.  Q. Where do I find my profile template? A. Profile templates are available on https://schoolprofile.teachernet.gov.uk. Your username and password for the school profile are the same as your school's user name and password for TeacherNet and Online Publications for Schools.  Q. When do I have to publish my profile? A. Your profile should be published once in each academic year, by 31 July.  Q. Which academic year should I report on? A. Your profile should report on the current academic year.  Q. How often must I publish our school profile? A. The statutory requirement is to publish a school profile once each academic year.  Q. Can we publish our profile more often than once a year? A. Yes. In response to feedback from some schools, who wanted to be able to maintain the currency of their profiles, we have introduced an option to update and re-publish profiles throughout the year.  Q. Do I have to hold a governors' meeting with parents? A. No. The 2005 Education Act removes the requirement for a school to hold a governors' annual meeting with parents. However, there is nothing to stop schools arranging meetings for parents and governors should they wish to do so. Q. What about the annual governors' report to parents? A. The school profile is designed to replace this report. There is no longer a requirement to produce the annual governors’ report to parents, except for maintained nursery schools. Q. What are my username and password details? A. Your username and password for the school profile are the same as your school's username and password for TeacherNet and Online Publications for Schools. For a reminder of your password or to request a new one please email the school profile helpdesk at school.profile@dfes.gsi.gov.uk or phone 0845 600 9506. Q. Do I have to complete it all in one go? A. No. You may start work on your profile and then return to the site and complete the rest later. However, make sure that you save your answers by clicking on the ‘save changes’ button in each narrative section. Q. How much text can be entered in each narrative section? A. The narrative sections allow you to enter 1,200 characters including spaces. An automatic counter tells you how many characters you have left. Q. How can I upload my school’s logo? A. All logos must be in jpg or gif format. You will not be able to upload a logo which is part of a word document. If you do not have a logo, tick the ‘no logo available’ box and click on ‘save changes’. For further details on how to upload your logo click here. Q. I have made changes to my profile, but when I go back into the section the changes do not show. A. This may be because of the internet settings on your computer. For an explanation on how to resolve this click here. Q. When is data inserted into school profiles? A. For Key Stages 2 -4, the timetable for data to be uploaded is as follows: ·        Key Stage 2 — end of January 2007 ·        Key Stage 3 — March 2007 ·        Key Stage 4 — March 2007 Q. Our school profile has no data. Is this correct? A. In the following cases no data will be uploaded onto your profile: ·        Key Stage 1 schools - There is no requirement to publish Key Stage 1 data and it is therefore not included in profiles. ·        If there were 10 or fewer pupils eligible for assessment at the relevant Key Stage. (This is to avoid the possibility of identifying individual pupils’ results from the data). ·        If yours is a special school and less than 50 per cent of the cohort were entered for national examinations or tests. Q. Our profile has no Ofsted summary. Is this correct? A. Details of Ofsted inspections are uploaded once each month, so if you have been inspected recently, your summary should appear within one calendar month. If it does not, please contact the helpdesk on school.profile@dfes.gsi.gov.uk. If your last inspection took place more than 3 years ago, the summary is not included, as it could give a very outdated view of the school. In either case, you should complete the narrative section headed 'What have we done in response to our Ofsted report?’.  Q. What is alternative provision? A. It is education commissioned by schools for some of their pupils from external providers. Alternative provision may include full or part-time placements in Pupil Referral Units, placements in Further Education colleges, and other provision such as hospital teaching-services, tuition centres, e-learning centres, and a range of alternative projects provided by the voluntary or private sector. If you checked the box marked 'School has alternative provision' in the contact details when you first accessed your profile template, a section entitled "Information about any alternative provision the school has commissioned" is automatically added to your template. This allows you to report to parents about the education these pupils receive.  Q. I have completed my profile but it is not available on the DirectGov website. Is something wrong? A. Your profile will only become available to the general public on the DirectGov website once you publish it. For instructions on how to publish it see ‘How do I publish my profile?’  Q. How do I publish my profile? A. All sections in your profile need to be completed before you can publish it. Once you have entered text and saved changes, click on the ‘Click to complete’ button next to each section. The word ‘Completed’ will appear in green next to the section to indicate that it has been completed. Then click on the ‘Publish’ button. You can now preview your profile by clicking on the ‘Preview’ button. Note that the preview page will open in a new window. You can close that window once you finish previewing the profile. If you are satisfied with your profile and are ready to publish it, tick the disclaimer boxes, re-enter your password and click ‘Confirm publication’.  Q. Where do I find my published profile? A. When your profile has been published it can be found on the DirectGov website, at the following address: http://schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk/xxxyyyy/school-profile , where xxx is replaced by your 3 digit LA-number and yyyy is replaced by your 4 digit school-number. Please note that it takes up to an hour after publication before the profile appears on the DirectGov website.  Q. Can I amend my published profile? A. Yes. You can make amendments to your published profile as many times as you like until 31 July. To amend a section in your profile, click on the ‘Click to re-edit’ button, which will take you to that section. Click on the title to open the narrative section, enter your amendments and click on ‘Save changes’. Once you have made all the amendments to your profile make sure all sections are completed by clicking on the ‘Click to complete’ button next to each section. Once you are ready to re-publish your profile click on the ‘Update’ button. This will update your published profile.  Q. Once I publish a new profile, what happens to the previous one? A. During an academic year you will be able to update your profile as many times as you like (see ‘Can I amend my published profile?’). Every time you update your profile, the previous version is deleted and only the latest one is kept. On 31 July every year, your current profile will be moved to the ‘Previous profiles’ section and you will no longer be able to edit or publish it. However, it will still be available for parents to view. A new profile template will then be created for the following academic year.  Q. How do I tell parents where to find the profile? A. You should inform parents when you have published your profile, giving them the website address (see ‘Where do I find my published profile?’). If your school has a website you could include a link to your profile there and tell parents to look at your school’s website.  Q. What if parents don't have access to the Internet? A. When you inform parents that the profile is published, you should offer to produce hard copies.  Q. How do I produce a hard copy of my profile? A. When you view your published profile on the DirectGov website, click on the ‘Printable/downloadable version’ link. You will need Adobe Acrobat in order to download this version. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat software on your computer, click here to install it for free.  Q. Do I need to produce versions of the profile in alternative formats and languages? A. You should make every effort to produce the profile in alternative languages and formats for those who need them. To publish your profile in another language you will need to arrange translation once your English-language profile has been published, just as you would with any other document. You can talk direct to the school profile support team on 0845 600 9506 or you can email them at school.profile@dfes.gsi.gov.uk . Detailed guidance and frequently asked questions can also be found at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/newrelationship/schoolprofile/ We strongly advise you to read this guidance before you start drafting text for your next profile.

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