Governors Annual Report 2021-2022

On behalf of all the Governors, we want to thank you for your support during the academic year.

 The last 18 months has seen several changes in the make-up of the Governing Body. In July 2021 Sarah Nelson stepped down after an incredible 10   years on the team, with the last 2 years as Chair seeing her successfully navigate us through the difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic and the   unprecedented move to home learning. We are grateful for all her support and guidance.  Sadly, we have also said goodbye to Rodney Wilson,

Reverend Jeremy Trigg, Kay Cairns , they will be equally missed and our thanks go to all of them for their time and valued contributions.

In their place we have welcomed Raj Selvarajan as Parent Governor, Emma Roberts as Staff Governor and most recently Jennifer Barker as Co-opted Governor, Andrea Wilson as Local Authority Governor and Ruth Curtis who has re-joined us as Foundation Governor. 

Julia Russell’s term of office as a parent governor came to an end in the summer term,  which leaves a vacancy for one Parent Governor on the governing board. We will be seeking nominations this week in order to bring us back to full strength ready for the year ahead. As the Chair of  Governors I am confident that I have a good team behind me, all of whom are passionate about our school and committed to providing the best opportunities for our pupils to flourish.

The commitment and dedication of the Governors is outstanding. We have a strong team with a broad wealth of knowledge and expertise. Each supports and challenges the school in equal measure and are well placed to lead our school to a positive result when OFSTED visit and ensure our core responsibilities are met:  

· To oversee the financial performance of the school and ensure its’ money is well spent.

· To hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its’ pupils.

· To ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.  

Our full Governing Body meetings continue to take place every half term. Alongside this we all hold positions on either the Resource Committee or the Standards and Curriculum Committee as well as undertaking other roles. Details of all our members, their roles and how to contact us can all be found on the school website. I am keen to build on the relationship between Governors, Staff and Parents over the coming year, with a focus on

collaborative working, and welcome your comments or suggestions. 

The chronic and sustained underfunding of education continues to impact the school, and the obligation to manage our budget and provide a high standard of education remains a delicate balancing act. Budget restrictions meant some very difficult decisions had to be made and we have sadly seen a reduction in support staff as a result. However, please let me reassure you that the wellbeing of our children remains at the heart of our decision making. We are highlighting the issue at a higher level wherever possible and continue to strive to deliver the best we can for our pupils. 

Our academic focus this year continues to be on the “catch up” of students following the disruption of the pandemic. Returning to normal school life proved to be quite a challenge, however the majority of children are now feeling more settled and making good progress. Our teachers have worked hard to identify any gaps in learning and support has already been put in place for those who need it. National lockdowns and a move to home learning saw a switch to a more online world, some of which has remained in place and has been a positive in keeping everyone connected. The school website is updated regularly by teachers and is a great way to keep up to date with the day-to-day activities and learning of our children.

Our governor led nursery provision, Wrens, continues to thrive. It has gone from strength to strength since opening in 2016 and is an asset to the school. In addition to this, we received the exciting news that the current portacabin is to be replaced by a new purpose built, permanent building. Work is due to start in the spring term with the view that it will be ready to use at the start of the 2023/24 academic year.

Quackers was impacted significantly as a result of the pandemic, largely as a result of a change in working practices seeing many more parents working from home. Numbers steadily increased throughout the term and the before and after school clubs are now well attended. Flexible booking remains in place; please do contact the school office should you need to use the service.

Whilst these continue to be challenging times the school community has really pulled together over the last 18 months. I cannot thank the staff and parents enough for their ongoing support and feel incredibly privileged to be a part of Bishop Monkton School.

I remain hopeful that better times are ahead and wish you all the best for this new academic year.

 Ashlea Costelloe

Chair of Governors 

Achievement

In the Summer term 2016 the DfE introduced new tests for Key stage 1 and 2 children which reflected the new national curriculum. Outcomes for tests are reported as scaled scores, rather than levels, with scores ranging from 80 to 120.  100 is the national expected standard that a child should achieve. Children may be working towards this standard (WTS), working at the expected standard (EXS) or working at a greater depth within the standard (GDS). 

EYFS and Key stage 1 comparative data

This shows Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception), Phonics (Year 1) and Key Stage 1 (Year 2) results and compares it with the attainment of other pupils in these year groups in schools across England.

*A good level of development is achieved when a child reaches the expected level in the prime areas of learning as well as the specific areas of Maths and Literacy.

 Key stage 2 SATS test report

This shows end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6) results and compares it with the attainment of other pupils in this year group in schools across England.  Pupils scoring at least 100 will have met the expected standard on the test. There has been no published threshold for greater depth this year, but this is usually 110

Financial Overview

At a national level, funding in education remains a concern. We were in a position where we were forecasting a surplus budget for both this financial year and the next, but unfortunately, price increases in both gas and electricity will impact on this. Difficult decisions have had to be made in order to balance the books, most noticeably in the recent decision to reduce the support staff within school. It was a decision we have tried tirelessly over the last few years to avoid and was quite honestly a last resort.

As mentioned in my opening letter, the Governing body have a legal obligation to oversee the financial performance of the school. Whilst this means ensuring that the funding provided to us is well spent, it also includes a responsibility to not go into deficit; something that has become increasingly difficult in recent years especially with the continuing gas and electric price increases. It often feels like an impossible task to both balance the books and provide the outstanding quality of education that we strive for but with prudent budgeting and these tough but necessary cuts, we have been able to retain our autonomy and make decisions that are both in the best interests of our school and meet the needs of individual pupils.

We are, as always, committed to providing the best experience for our pupils and are constantly striving to find ways to save money without impacting on their education. An area where parents can help significantly is with contributions towards swimming lessons and trips/visits. The contributions remain voluntary but subsidising these is a financial burden to the school and takes vital funds away from other areas. The plea from the governing body is that parents kindly support us with their voluntary contributions on ParentPay wherever possible.

 Learning Outside the Classroom

We have been pleased  that learning outside the classroom could resume this year enhancing the children’s learning and encouraging both physical and emotional development.

We have been able to attend all three school residentials to Robinwood, East Barnby and France. The whole school theatre trip took place along with class trips to Eureka, Ripon Museums, Barley Hall and Science Museum. The Year 6 pupils also got to enjoy their leavers’ day out to Aplamere.

BeckBusters

 We are pleased with the continued success of the now annual BeckBusters 10km and 2km running event, which raises much needed funds for school. As governors, we know how limited the school budget is and how the school uses every penny assigned to them to provide quality education. Last years event raised a staggering £6000 which has been added to the smaller amount we raised with the virtual Beckbusters event during the pandemic and some sport funding received by school. All of this money has enabled the school to purchase an all weather track for the back field at school, which will enhance outside play as well as sport throughout the entire school year. Work on this will commence in the next academic year.

Now that we are an established event within the area, we hope to build on our success year on year in order to raise money for school. We have always received positive feedback and our amazing sponsors are now our regular sponsors as they have returned to support us again for this years upcoming BeckBusters in September.

We would also like to thank the army of volunteers that make this event happen. Not only do we have a group of dedicated parents organising the event behind the scenes, we also have support from school parents and villagers on the day when it comes to marshalling, baking cakes, and helping out on our refreshments stalls. Thank you, we really could not do this without your support.  

Of course, we love it when we have entrants! Please do enter – whether you’re a first timer or a competitive runner we would love to have you. Sign up your children and please spread the word by liking and sharing our facebook page. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday 18th September. There are also 2 free child places to be won in the prize drawer for the first 50 entrants

Entry can be online at: https://beckbusters10k.co.uk

And the BeckBusters team can be contacted on: beckbusters@gmail.com

What do the children, staff and parents say about our school?

Every year the governors ask pupils in years 2 and 6, all staff and all parents their opinion in order to reflect on the school year and to identify priorities for the following year. These results are collated anonymously and help to form our School Improvement Plan. We value your time in completing these questions. Here’s what people had to say.