Parent Governor Representative elections for Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Are you a parent of a child registered at a Hertfordshire maintained school or in some form of education provided by the Local Authority? If so, you should have received an email from Governance. The email was to let you know about the forthcoming Parent Governor Representative elections for the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and included the relevant information about the role and eligibility. The closing date for receipt of nominations is Friday, 4th March 2016 at 12.00pm.
The elections are being run through Governance and Mike Scandrett (Chair of HASG) is the returning officer. If you haven’t received an email and would like more details, please contact Cathy Irons atcathy.irons@nullhertsforlearning.co.uk requesting a copy to be forwarded.
The January/February edition of the paper is now in schools, with a spotlight on science including ideas for science week, how to take part in Safer Internet Day 2016 and also news from Hertfordshire schools’ and Herts for Learning.
This HfL monthly newspaper has something for all staff based in schools and school governors, whether looking for a little light reading on current educational news or for courses to further your professional development.
how schools can benefit from a new budget toolkit,
Hertfordshire school contacts British astronaut Major Tim Peake,
P2P pilot launches in secondary school,
and much more!
Do you have something you want us to cover? Get in touch!
If you or your Chair of Governors would like to receive extra copies for the governing body please get in touch with Ryan Fisher at Ryan.Fisher@nullHertsforlearning.co.uk who welcomes any feedback or content suggestions for future editions.
The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 will increase the base rate of pay for lower graded staff over the age of 25 to £7.20 per hour, rising to £9 per hour in 2020.
A dialogue has been ongoing between the Trade Unions (representing employee interests) and the National Employers (representing employer interests, primarily local authorities) in response to the announcement of the National Living Wage by the Government.
Discussions to date
The Trade Unions have been calling for:
deletion of nationally and locally agreed pay points for non-teaching staff which fall below the level of the National Living Wage, and;
a flat rate increase of £1 per hour on all other pay points.
This would have entailed pay points 6 to 15 becoming obsolete between 2016 and 2020, for those schools using them, and a £1 per hour increase being applied to all other pay points.
Latest pay offer
The National Employers have made a final offer to the Trade Unions. This offer, rather than deleting the lower pay points for non-teaching staff, applies a significant increase to the lower pay points to bring them in line with the National Living Wage over the next two years. It also applies an uplift to higher pay points as well, to ensure a differential is maintained between lower and higher pay points.
This offer does not accept the Trade Union proposal of allowing for deletion of lower pay points that would otherwise become obsolete with the introduction of the National Living Wage.
Implications for schools
The introduction of the National Living Wage would have entailed a gradual increase in staff costs for schools. The latest offer from the National Employers is likely to result in significant immediate cost to many schools from April 2016 as a broader range of pay points will be affected.
Full details of the proposed increase to pay scales are included in the detailed guidance.
Further information
The Schools HR service will be holding a Termly Briefing for School Leaders on date 1st and 2nd March 2016 to include the latest pay offer. The topic will also be covered at the School Business Manager briefing on 20 January 2016.
You can also contact the Schools HR Service on 01438 844873, Financial Services for Schools on 01992 555713 or School Business Management Service on 01438845529 for further advice.
Schools are being invited to sign up to the Cosmic Classroom event which will give teachers and pupils the opportunity to connect with Tim Peake on the International Space Station.
Being organised by the TES together with the UK and European Space Agencies, teachers are being encouraged to ask their pupils for ideas on how they would spend 20 minutes in a live, public, connect with Tim Peake.
Lord Jim Knight, chief education adviser of TES Global, the digital education company, said:
This is a once in a generation opportunity, for British school teachers and pupils to make a live connection with a British astronaut in space. We want every teacher in the country to sign up now, to make it the world’s largest schools and space science event.
BCC radio 4 is running a new series of the Educators. The latest episodes are below:
Character Lessons– The KIPP school movement began 20 years ago in the US. It stands for Knowledge Is Power Program, and the schools focus on two things; academic achievement and building strength of character. Sarah Montague speaks to KIPP co-founder Dave Levin about how character is taught alongside traditional subjects. She visits the KIPP Infinity school in Harlem and hears from Kings Langley Academy. To see an HfL case study on character education at Kings Langley School, click here.
What Finland Did Next– Since the first international comparisons in 2000, Finland has been at or near the top of league tables for the abilities of its teenagers in reading, maths and science. Sarah Montague interviews the city’s Education Manager Marjo Kyllonen and visits a Helsinki school, to see the changes being made to a world-leading education system.
Turning Schools Around– Schools in England have been warned that if they coast, rather than improve, they risk being closed down. Sarah Montague meets the new head teachers of a Birmingham secondary school involved in the so-called Trojan Horse scandal.
The First Teachers– The most important educator in most children’s lives is their parents, and the first five years is deemed to be critical. Sarah Montague meets Margy Whalley, the co-founder of Pen Green Children’s Centre and Research Base in Corby, Northamptonshire.
The World’s Best Teachers– Studies have shown that the most important thing in a child’s education is the quality of their teacher. A child at a bad school with a good teacher can learn more than someone at a good school getting bad tuition. Doug Lemov has trained thousands of teachers in the UK in how to use their classroom time effectively – keeping children focused with the most subtle of techniques and gestures.
The School Food Standards, as you may be aware, came into force in January 2015 and legally require all schools, excluding academies established between September 2010 and June 2014, to make milk available to children at any time during the school day.
The School & Nursery Milk Alliance has produced a guidance briefing (reproduced below) to ensure that school governors are best positioned to fulfil their legal duty to require their schools to comply with the standards. This will also enable children in their schools to enjoy the health, educational and social benefits for milk.
The Alliance’s briefing provides context to the requirements and offers advice on ensuring that children choose to drink milk – for example, by providing it as a mid-morning snack, and ensuring that it is chilled and appropriately packaged. References to the EU School Milk Scheme and the Nursery Milk Scheme as ways of helping schools meet the requirement are included. The Alliance has also outlined the health, educational and societal benefits of milk as a further incentive.
Adhering to the School Food Standards
Ensuring that children in your school receive the benefits of milk
Advice for school governors
The government’s Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014, which came into force in January 2015, require that schools must provide milk at least once during the school day. Milk is a healthy, nutritious and natural drink for children and young people, providing them with the nutrients and other benefits needed to help them thrive in school. The School and Nursery Milk Alliance is keen to ensure that as many children as possible benefit from milk in school, and so has compiled advice for school governors on complying with the standards, as well as background to the legislation itself.
The scientific community, the European Union and the Government all recognise the value of milk. From January 2015, all schools – with the exception of academies or free schools founded between September 2010 and June 2014 – are legally required to provide milk to children once during the school day. Over 1,400 academies and free schools that are not legally required have also signed up to the standards voluntarily.
Your duties as a school governor: milk must be provided once during the school day
Regulation 9 of the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 outlines that:
Lower fat milk and lactose reduced milk (sub-group D1) must be made available on every school day at a time during school hours.
For the purposes of this regulation, “school hours” means any time during a school session or during a break between school sessions.
A school’s governing body is responsible for ensuring compliance with the standards, according to the Department for Education’s guidance, School food in England: Departmental advice for governing bodies (2015).
Getting the most out of milk: advice and action for ensuring uptake
The School Food Standards recognise the benefits of milk to children during the school day. The School and Nursery Milk Alliance would like to see school governors ensuring that their schools comply with the standards, and that they actively work to ensure that as many children as possible drink milk during the school day. Better uptake is likely if the milk is:
Provided as a mid-morning snack – Milk is an ideal mid-morning snack due to its high satiety effect (it is filling and combats hunger) – conversely this makes it less suitable as a drink provided with lunch. Milk is also refreshing, providing children with extra energy needed to focus effectively through to lunch time. For some children it may be their first meal of the day, with 2013 research by Kellogg’s finding that 10% of children go to school hungry at least once a week.
Chilled – Chilled milk tastes nicer, which makes it more appealing to children. Some Alliance members have reported that some children find the taste of warm milk off-putting. Simply providing a jug of milk on the side at lunchtime is unlikely to make it appealing to drink.
Get in contact with local suppliers using DairyUK’s Find Me A Milkman (findmeamilkman.net), and they will assist you with supply. Alternatively, visit www.coolmilk.com.
Ensure that you have fridges available to keep milk chilled. Schools participating in the Nursery Milk Scheme may receive a free fridge from some suppliers.
Appropriately packaged – Cartons enable easier milk consumption. Pouring milk takes up more time and leaves more washing up for staff.
Purchase single-serve cartons of 189ml (⅓ of a pint). This is a suitable quantity for a primary school child, as determined in the Welfare Food Regulations 1996, with less chance of spillage and the packaging can be recycled.
Beyond legislation: the health, educational and societal benefits of milk
Milk has an array of benefits which should be considered alongside the legal requirement to provide it:
Vitamins and minerals that ensure healthy teeth, bones and skin – Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, B12, and C, as well as minerals like zinc and calcium. These minerals help guard against gum disease and tooth decay, as well as mouth sores and bleeding gums.
Natural and filling – Milk has a high satiety value (it is filling and therefore ideal as a mid-morning snack), is free of harmful free sugars and has a relatively low fat content (1.7% for semi-skimmed milk). These factors make it ideal an ideal element of a healthy diet, which combats childhood obesity.
Good for the British countryside – School milk is an additional market for the many British farmers who help maintain Britain’s green countryside.
About the School and Nursery Milk Alliance
The School and Nursery Milk Alliance was formed in 2011 with the long-term aim of ensuring as many children enjoy the health benefits of milk as possible. It works with the government, public health bodies and organisations across the health, dairy and children’s sector to encourage the uptake of milk.
Contact:
For more information about the School and Nursery Milk Alliance, please contact snma@nullsnma.org.uk or get in touch via 020 7089 2607. You can also visit our website at www.snma.org.uk.
Herts for Learning are running a further school funding consultation concerning funding arrangements for the 2016/17 academic year. The consultation covers:
A proposal to discontinue the sixth form funding factor within Hertfordshire’s local school funding formula and to recycle this resource through pre 16 funding: Secondary schools and academies with sixth forms receive sixth form funding allocations from the Education Funding Agency. These are determined by the national post 16 funding formula. Currently additional funding for sixth forms is provided through Hertfordshire’s local school funding formula. This totals £2.994m in 2015-16 for all Hertfordshire schools and academies with sixth forms, equating to £182.10 per sixth form pupil..
Changes to the Scheme for Financing Schools from April 16: The Scheme for Financing Schools is the statutory document that governs the financial relationship between the local authority and the schools it maintains including ESCs. It does not apply to academies. Changes to the scheme are made with the agreement of the Hertfordshire Schools Forum following a consultation with schools. The Authority is consulting on three changes.
Left to Right: Cllr David Williams, Claire Barnard (Winner), Ian Hankin (Winner), Nicky Clarke (Winner), Maureen Bruce (Winner), Mike Scandrett (Chair HASG), Jan Paine (M.D. HfL)
The outstanding work of school governors in Hertfordshire has been recognised again in 2015 Outstanding School Governors Awards. The awards are run by Hertfordshire Association of School Governors (HASG) and the UK’s largest, not-for-profit School Company, Herts for Learning, The awards ceremony took place on Saturday 14th November at Hertfordshire Development Centre in Stevenage and formed part of the Hertfordshire Governors Annual Conference. The Awards were presented by Councillor David Williams, cabinet member for education at Herts County Council.
The awards were established last year to publicly recognise, not only the contribution of individual school governors, but to celebrate the dedication and commitment of all governors in Hertfordshire’s 500+ schools. Schools across the county were asked to nominate governors who they believe have really made a difference and helped to improve the educational outcomes of children in their school. Many nominations were received and reviewed by an independent panel of judges and from these; a short-list of 10 governors was drawn up. The judges visited all the nominees’ schools to gather more information. After further review 4 winners and 2 runners up were selected. Each winner attracted a prize for their school(s) of £500 and a £50 individual prize.
The four Outstanding Governor of the Year Awards went to:
Claire Barnard St Albans Girls’ SchoolMaureen Bruce St.Mary’s Church of England High School, CheshuntNicky Clarke The Barclay School / Almond Hill Junior School, StevenageIan Hankin William Ransom Primary School, Hitchin
The two runners up were:
Margaret Birleson Ludwick Nursery School, Welwyn Garden CityWendy Smith Roger De Clare First School & Nursery, Puckeridge
The other finalists were:
Sarah Murdoch Hillshott Infant School and Nursery, Letchworth Garden City
Robin Osterley Hunsdon JMI, Hunsdon
Chris Partridge Parmiter’s School, Garston,
Sarah Starr Wheatfields Infants and Nursery School, St Albans
What made the difference?
The finalist merited their selection through glowing nominations, some key elements of which are given below:
Claire Barnard truly epitomises the critical friend. She a consummate professional and attends every governing body meeting with knowledge, challenge and enthusiasm.
Maureen Bruce leads our Governing body with dedication, commitment, tenacity and vision. She is devoted to the school and the progress of its young people.
Nicky Clarke launched the Stevenage Inspire Federation. She was relentless in promoting the positive benefits of federation to both schools. She took the brunt of the workload upon herself. The enormous success of the federation, is very much down to her lead.
Ian Hankin has grit and determination, meticulous attention to detail, hard work, dedication and care for the staff and pupils. He deserves to be recognised as he really does go above and beyond the call of duty.
Margaret Birleson has driven the transformation of Ludwick from a standalone nursery school to a multifaceted early years centre. Whilst chair, the school has received 3 consecutive outstanding Ofsted reports.
Wendy Smith during her time as a governor has overseen the change of three Headteachers and been on hand to support when necessary. Wendy holds the school to account for the decisions that are made.
Sarah Murdoch has pushed the governing body to become more professional and strategic in its direction. She has organised a regular programme of governor events which has raised the profile of governors.
Robin Osterley leads by example. Meetings are run efficiently, with an emphasis on improving outcomes and opportunities for pupils. He is very supportive but is never afraid to act as “critical friend”. He deals with difficult situations.
Chris Partridge has contributed far and beyond what would normally be expected of a school governor, he led a full review of the composition and direction of the Governing Body. His knowledge of the ever-changing Governors’ Handbook has become legendary.
Sarah Starr chaired the “Impact on Learning” sub-committee addressing the substantial number of issues raised by Ofsted. She transformed the meeting template and working practice and was also the Governor link to several important JARV meetings.
The Hertfordshire Association of School Governors is an independent organisation that supports and informs school governors, to ensure their views are heard and to promote high standards in school governance.
Herts for Learning Ltd, is the UK’s largest School company. Developed from Hertfordshire Local Authority’s education services, the company is 80% owned by schools (20% by Hertfordshire County Council), with 98% of Hertfordshire schools now owning a share of the company. A not-for-profit organisation dedicated to raising standards and improving teaching and learning, Herts for Learning Ltd provides high quality teaching, learning, leadership and business support to schools and education settings in Hertfordshire and beyond.
In his second monthly commentary Sir Michael Wilshaw looks at the role that governance plays in an increasingly autonomous education system. Wilshaw launched a call for evidence for anyone who has views and experience to contribute to inform a piece of work about the effectiveness of governance in schools.
At the Closing the gap: test and learn event, almost 50 teachers shared their school-led research. Robin Hall, school-based research and development manager at NCTL, explains more about the project
The BBC is reporting a new study that suggests children who eat a healthy breakfast are more likely to do well – up to twice as well – in end of primary school assessments than those who do not. The full report published in Public Health Nutrition can be found here.
The ASCL School Leaders Survey has revealed that school leaders are facing intense budget pressures and are considering making cuts to both teaching and non-teaching positions over the coming year as they look to manage their budgets.
The Independent is reporting that bidding wars between schools mean sought-after teachers are being paid up to £10,000 extra as headteachers compete to attract or retain the best staff.
The TES is reporting that public health experts are calling for “fat letters” – in which teachers write home to parents to tell them their child is overweight – to be scrapped or reformed.
This report about a volunteer governor was published in the Autumn edition of HCC’s Horizons publication (click the image to view the whole magazine).
Across Hertfordshire, volunteers play a part in and make a real difference to their local communities. From leading health walks to allowing carers to take breaks, volunteers are increasingly helping our residents stay healthy and thrive.
John de Braux, from Rickmansworth, volunteered to become a school governor, this is what he has to say:
For me being a school governor is a very important responsibility, it has given me so many new opportunities and a sense that I am contributing in my own small way to our children’s futures for the good of the whole community. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the future of young people.
If you’re interested in becoming a school governor, or volunteering in any other role, visit our website www.hertsdirect.org/volunteering
