Governors Annual Report 2023-2024

On behalf of all the Governors, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new families. Our reception class seem to have settled in beautifully and it’s lovely to see them participating in celebration assembly so confidently already.

At the end of the last academic year we said a sad farewell to Mrs Handslip, but wish her all the best in her retirement. Her role as English lead has been taken over by Mrs Filippi, and Mrs McMahon has joined us alongside Mrs Cairns teaching our Yr 5/6 class, Kites. Miss Pickles and Mrs Coad have returned from maternity leave and Mrs Beazley has joined us as HLTA across both Kestrels and Kites facilitating valuable single year group teaching sessions. We also said goodbye to Miss Hare who has taken on a new role at Ripon Grammar School, and have welcomed Mrs Bell in her place, supporting both Wrens and Quackers.

The last 12 months has also seen some changes in the make-up of the Governing Body. We have said goodbye to Ruth Curtis and Raj Selvarajan and our thanks go to both of them for their time and valued contributions. In their place we have welcomed Anna Kirby for a second term as parent governor, Alex Hawkes as parent governor and Mike Taylor as foundation governor. I have also commenced my 3rd term as co-opted governor and look forward to continuing to serve the school as Chair of Governors.

We currently have a full compliment of governors and I am confident that I have a dedicated team behind me, all of whom are passionate about our school and committed to providing the best opportunities for our pupils to

flourish. Each supports and challenges the school in equal measure and ensures our core responsibilities are met:

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

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

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

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 mean that difficult decisions often have to be made, particularly in regards to classroom resources and support staff within school. However, please let me reassure you that the wellbeing of our children remains at the heart of our decision making. We highlight the issue at a higher level at every opportunity and will continue to strive to

deliver the best we can for our pupils.

I am keen to continue 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 easiest way to do this is via our online suggestion box - Suggestions to Governors | Bishop Monkton Church of England Primary School which is reviewed at each of our half termly meetings.

The school website is also updated regularly by teachers and the class pages are a great way to keep up to date with the day-to-day activities and learning of our children.

Our school priorities this year continue to build on the recommendations from OFSTED as well as areas that have been highlighted by subject leaders and class teachers.

· To ensure that the writing curriculum is adapted to become a Bishop Monkton model for writing and that teachers have the expertise and knowledge to deliver it with confidence,   leading to improved outcomes.

· To ensure excellent learning behaviours are evidenced throughout the school and that the   behaviour policy is understood and consistently followed.

· To ensure that through our school vision and practice, the school is living up to its foundation as a Church school and is enabling all pupils to flourish.

Our governor led nursery provision, Wrens, has gone from strength to strength since opening in 2016 and is an asset to the school. The new permanent building has been completed and is being enjoyed by staff and children alike.

Quackers provision has now been complimented with the addition of after school activities such as cookery club and woodland club and again, is enjoyed by many of our children. You may have seen the latest government initiative for all schools to provide wrap around care between 8am and 6pm, however following a parental consultation the decision was made to keep to our current timings as these seem to serve our families best. Flexible booking remains in place; please do contact the school office should you need to use the service.

I cannot thank the staff and parents enough for their ongoing support and feel incredibly privileged to be a part of Bishop Monkton School.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ashlea Costelloe

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 Year 1 Phonics Key stage 1 comparative data

This shows Early Years Foundation Stage (Reception), Phonics (Year 1) 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.

In 2024 Year 2 SATSs became optional this means there are no comparisons to national data.

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 and we continue to be

impacted by cost of living increases as well as government incentives that are not funded accordingly and come at a cost to the school.  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. 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 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 with the many varied opportunities for learning outside the classroom this year, enhancing the children’s learning and encouraging both physical and emotional development.

Children across Key Stage 2 enjoyed our regular residentials trips to Robinwood, East Barnby and France. Wrens visited Studfold and Robins the Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Kites and Kestrels have recently visited the Lime Tree Observatory in Grewelthorpe and the Year 6 spent their

leavers day out at Lightwater Valley.

Last week the whole school once again enjoyed their annual trip to the pantomime at Harrogate  Theatre. 

Friends of Bishop Monkton School

As governors, we know only too well how limited the school budget is and how the school uses every penny assigned to them to provide quality 

education. FOBMS events help to raise vital funds and provide those extra resources for the school. The recent Christmas Fair, for example, was a huge

success and raised an incredible £1366. Over the last year FOBMS have kindly funded new laptops, bought new classroom furniture, upgraded the playground markings, provided resources for the  Hive along with funding the school productions amongst other things.

However, they can’t do it without the support of our parent volunteers. If you would like to get involved, even in a small way, please do get in touch.

BeckBusters

Beckbusters 10K race and fun run has been an annual event since 2019 and is FOBMS biggest fundraiser. This years event raised over £5000 and the committee are currently working closely with school to decide how best to utilise these funds.

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 many of our amazing sponsors returned to support us again for this years BeckBusters.

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, teachers 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 also could not do this without our runners, both young and old. Watch out for entry details for the 2025 10K race and fun run in the School Newsletter and please do sign up!

If you would like to get involved, even in a small way, please contact the Beckbusters Committee.

https://beckbusters10k.co.uk

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.

In response to feedback from parents, school has now introduced a termly report which will serve to provide more regular updates. And thanks to money raised by FOBMs school has been able to update the playground equipment. School have also provided more sports equipment for the children to access at playtimes which is proving a great success.