Governance NewsA Termly Newsletter for Liverpool Governors and

Trustees

Spring 2019 | #88

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Contents

Liverpool Learning Partnership

School Governance in 2018

Ofsted Annual Report Part 1: Schools

Ofsted Annual Report Part 2: Provision for Children with SEND

Making Data Work

Health and Safety: Responsibilities and Duties for Schools

Careers Guidance and Access for Education and Training Providers

Controlling Access to School Premises

Liverpool Governance Forum

SIL Governor training Programme Spring 2019

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Liverpool Learning Partnership

Mental Health and Emotional WellbeingLiverpool has been successful in gaining ‘Trailblazer’ status to take forward the government vision and commitment to develop integrated mental health teams in schools.

Building on the already successful ‘whole school approach’ to mental health and wellbeing, Liverpool is developing three new Mental Health Support Teams to work with primary, secondary, AEPs, Further Education and special schools across the city to increase access to mental health interventions for children and young people aged 5-18 years.

LLP will host the Project Manager for this pilot and the post is currently advertised on the LLP website and Ednet.

AttendanceThe roll of the Attendance Quality Mark (AQM) is about to take place with 60 school staff booked on to the briefing session this week. The CPD sessions will run through the coming term with schools being accredited before the summer holidays. Carolyn Harkness the DHT from St Finbar’s is supporting this programme, working with LLP one day a week to support schools. She can be contacted via email: charknessllp@gmail.com.

In the Annual Awards ceremony in November, 30 pupils were awarded for 100% attendance all the way through primary or secondary school, with two being awarded for never missing a day across both primary and secondary! 40 students were awarded for greatly improved attendance across all phases. There was positive feedback in the media and from individual parents.

CultureThe Liverpool Cultural Education Partnership has continued to support schools who are seeking Artsmark accreditation. 44% of the city’s schools now have this award, well above national average. Please contact Alice@liverpoollearningpartnership.com for further help.

In October half term 41 young people achieved Arts Award at a half term Arts Festival which included visits and specialists working with the young people, culminating in a performance at the end watched by Steve Reddy and Sarah Lovell.

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Reading FestivalJenny Holder is currently planning the Reading Festival for the end of June to early July. She is in the throes of contacting authors to support the event. Schools have offered space for the events city wide and a charitable trust is funding the purchase of books so that each child who takes part will receive a book from the author.

This large scale event will have scope for every school to send a class of 30 pupils to take part in the Festival. For more information, contact Jenny@liverpoollearningpartnership.com.

LLP SubscriptionsWe are very grateful to all the schools in the city for their support over the past four years. We have taken the decision at Executive Board to reduce the subscriptions from April 2019 to £2 per learner per year from the original £3 per learner.

We will be asking schools to sign up to this commitment for the coming three years which in effect is three years for the price of two! Governors are asked to note this and discuss it at the spring term meetings.

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School Governance in 2018

The National Governance Association (NGA) has been running a survey of school governors and trustees in partnership with Tes since 2011. The aim of the survey is to gather the views of those who govern in order to inform and shape education policy and, in the absence of official data, to provide an overview of the state of school governance in England.

Over the years, the scope of the survey has increased and so too has the number of responses: 5,218 governors, trustees and academy committee members shared their views in this year’s survey, almost four times as many as in 2012.

The key findings from the 2018 report are: 1. Three quarters of governors and trustees have a negative view of the government’s performance in education over the past year, with those governing calling for more funding and more stability in education policy.2. Funding is the biggest issue for governing boards, especially being felt in secondary schools, sixth forms and in early years. Just one in five are confident that they can manage budget constraints without compromising the quality of education. Indeed, only half of respondents said that they were balancing income and expenditure with almost a third drawing on reserves. 75% of those drawing on reserves said these would be exhausted within two years.3. High needs funding is a big concern, with 74% of respondents saying they disagree that current funding is sufficient; secondary schools especially are reporting being particularly badly hit.4. Diversity on governing boards is a major concern, including when it comes to who is elected chair, and not enough boards are actively considering the issue.5. Almost half of schools covered by the survey are providing additional services for families in need, including washing school uniforms, meals outside of term time, food banks and emergency loans. 38% of schools are providing financial support with purchasing school uniforms. 6. Volunteering to govern a school or group of schools is a form of professional development, yet the majority of governors and trustees are not getting paid time off work for governance.7. The time commitment involved in governing roles is a potential barrier to some volunteers taking on or continuing governance roles, particularly when it comes to stepping up to chair.

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8. Despite a trend towards smaller governing boards, recruiting volunteers to govern schools remains challenging with the number reporting two or more vacancies rising to 38% in 2018.9. It is concerning that despite the prominence of the need for effective clerking rising in recent years, 9% of respondents still either did not have – or did not know if they had – a clerk who could provide the board with advice on governance, constitutional and procedural matters.10. Staff recruitment is particularly challenging in regions surrounding London and in schools with lower Ofsted grades; many secondary schools are struggling to recruit teachers to core subjects.11. Only a little over a third of standalone schools are currently considering or in the process of forming or joining a multi-academy trust or federation, meaning that, in the absence of any clear direction from central government, maintained schools are likely to make up a substantial proportion of the schools sector for the foreseeable future.12. The majority of multi-academy trusts delegate significant responsibilities to their academy committees; this finding appears to contradict other reports in the sector that local governance is increasingly being overlooked by MATs.13. Most multi-academy trusts have overlap between people involved in different layers of governance, which poses a risk to effective governance as individuals are effectively responsible for holding themselves to account.14. NGA’s proposal for a fourth core function of governing boards - ensuring effective engagement with stakeholders – has the support of a majority of governors and trustees with only 17% saying they did not support the proposal.

The full report can be accessed here

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Ofsted Annual Report 2017/18 Part 1: Schools

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, Amanda Spielman, presented her annual report to Parliament on 04 December.

The following two pieces look at how the report addresses schools and provision for children with SEND.

SchoolsOverview

Ofsted inspects more than 21,900 state-funded schools. Together, they provide education for more than eight million pupils.

36% of schools are now academies (including free schools), compared with 32% last year. While 7 out of 10 secondary schools are now academies, a similar proportion of primary schools are still under local authority (LA) control. There are over 1,100 multi-academy trusts (MATs), many of which are getting bigger because most new academies now join a trust from the outset.

86% of schools were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection. This is a substantial improvement since 2010. However, a small group of schools have been stuck in a cycle of poor performance since 2005.

An important issue for the sector is that some pupils are being moved off the school roll because they may be seen as difficult to teach or likely to adversely affect the school’s performance data. This is known as ‘off-rolling’ and is in the school’s interest, not the pupils’.

Ofsted carried out almost 6,890 visits to schools in 2018. This includes 6,130 full and short inspections.

Inspections are carried out under a range of legal powers and for a variety of different reasons. For instance, we carried out:• nearly 2,470 full inspections, which lead to graded inspection judgements, including:• around 850 full inspections of schools previously judged to be inadequate or to require improvement• around 540 full inspections of new academies that were having their first inspection as a new school• nearly 3,980 short inspections of schools previously judged to be good or outstanding (including around 310 that became full inspections)

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• almost 150 visits to outstanding primary and secondary schools, which are exempt from routine inspection but which we visited because we had some concerns• around 650 monitoring visits

Inspection outcomes for state-funded schoolsOf the 2,470 full inspections this year, 7% of schools were judged to be outstanding, 47% were judged to be good, 37% were judged to require improvement and 9% were judged to be inadequate.

When a short inspection did not convert to a full inspection, the school maintained its previous grade of good or outstanding. When these outcomes are included alongside the outcomes for full inspections, the overall mix of grades seen this year is much more positive. Six per cent of schools were found to be outstanding, 76% were good, 15% were judged to require improvement and 4% were judged to be inadequate.

By the end of August 2018, 86% of schools had been judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection. There was little change from the position at the end of August 2017 (87%). Outcomes continue to be higher for primary schools (87% good or outstanding) than for secondary schools (75%).

Inspections of schools previously judged to be goodIn September 2015, short inspections were introduced for schools that were judged good at their most recent full inspection. Short inspections last for one day and take place approximately every four years. A short inspection determines whether the school continues to provide a good standard of education for pupils and whether safeguarding is effective. Following two consultations in 2017, in the 2017/18 academic year, two changes were made to the way good schools are inspected.

In November 2017, Ofsted began using risk assessment to select some good schools for full inspections instead of short inspections. When a risk assessment suggests that it would be highly likely for a short inspection to convert to a full one to gather more evidence, a full inspection is arranged from the start. This happens in approximately one in five inspections of good primary and secondary schools due for inspection in the year.

A further change from January 2018 reduced the proportion of short inspections that convert immediately. If a school was previously good, an inspection will now only convert if the lead inspector has serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education to the extent that the school may be judged inadequate at a full inspection.

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In 76% of cases, the short inspection confirms that the school remains good and a further section 8 inspection is scheduled for approximately four years’ time. When inspectors believe that the school may have improved to outstanding or declined from good if it had been a full inspection, a full inspection is scheduled for between one to two years’ time.

Before January 2018, these short inspections would have converted immediately.Overall, across all types of schools, over 4,800 previously good schools were inspected this year, either through a full or a short inspection. 83% maintained their good grade, 2% improved to outstanding and 15% declined to requires improvement or inadequate.

Inspections of schools previously judged to be outstandingThere are currently 4,500 schools judged outstanding at their most recent inspection, including 3,800 primary and secondary schools. As part of the 2011 Education Act, the government made outstanding primary and secondary schools exempt from routine inspections. As a result, 17% of outstanding schools have not had a full inspection in the last 10 academic years.

However, Ofsted is able to inspect exempt outstanding schools if their performance gives cause for concern, and has inspected 48% of these schools within the last six academic years, including 149 this year. Of those schools that had their inspection converted to a full inspection, only seven kept their outstanding grade, 55 declined to good, 35 declined to requires improvement and 10 declined to inadequate. The remaining 42 schools did not have a full inspection and remained outstanding.

Overall, 67% of the exempt schools visited this year declined from their previously outstanding grade. However, this is not surprising because most of the exempt schools inspected were those whose performance appeared to be declining.

Stuck schoolsThe overall quality of schools has improved over the last few years. However, 11% of schools were judged to require improvement at their latest inspection and 4% to be inadequate. This is over 3,100 schools.

Last year’s Annual Report highlighted a group of around 120 schools that required improvement, had not improved at their inspection in 2016/17 and had performed poorly for a very long time.For this year’s report, Ofsted looked in more detail at the characteristics of schools judged as requires improvement, satisfactory or inadequate at every inspection since 2005. This is a much wider group of schools because it is not limited to those most recently inspected in the last academic year.

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There are around 490 of these ‘stuck’ schools, including: around 290 primary schools and 190 secondary schools. The remaining 10 are pupil referral units and special schools. This means that around one in six of the schools that currently require improvement or are inadequate have been stuck in a cycle of weak inspection outcomes since 2005.

Our analysis of these ‘stuck’ primary and secondary schools found that:• 2% of primary and 5% of secondary schools have been stuck at satisfactory/ requires improvement/inadequate since 2005• 8 out of 10 stuck schools have moved back and forth between satisfactory/requires improvement/inadequate• the proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals and that for those who are White British and eligible for free school meals are well above the national average• 4 out of 10 schools had a review of how they use their pupil premium funding recommended in at least one of their inspections in the last 3 years• in 2017, pupils in stuck schools made poor progress by the end of key stages 2 and 4• the proportion of stuck secondary schools varies considerably between different regions (between 2% and 10% in each region)• stuck schools are more likely to have become academies and to be in multi- academy trusts, which is a reflection of the government’s policy to place struggling schools in multi-academy trusts (MATs)

Ofsted is to start an evaluation project to understand why some interventions to help schools improve, including inspection, are consistently ineffective for some schools and will consider the long-term trajectories of stuck schools when considering schools for inspection.

Academies and multi-academy trustsThe academy sector continues to grow and evolve. In August 2018, there were nearly 7,900 academies and free schools. This is an increase from 6,900 academies at the same time last year. More than two-thirds of these new academies were LA schools that chose to become converter academies.

One of the factors contributing to the increase in the number of academies is the legal changes that the government introduced in 2016. These changes mean that any school maintained by an LA and judged to be inadequate is required to become an academy.

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Directive academy orders for inadequate schoolsSince April 2016, the DfE has issued nearly 500 directive academy orders (DAOs) to LA schools that Ofsted had judged to be inadequate. At the end of August 2018, there were 220 schools under DAOs.

Based on the 240 schools that have closed following a DAO so far, on average, a school closes 10 months after the DAO was issued. These delays can be due to an appropriate sponsor not being available or due to legal and financial issues, such as debt, land or private finance initiative contracts.

Following discussion with the DfE, Ofsted changed its policy on monitoring schools under a DAO to reflect these extended timescales, moving from monitoring those schools with ineffective safeguarding to reviewing on a case-by-case basis whether the school may need an inspection. A school that is likely to remain open for a prolonged period of time may receive a visit. Sometimes an inspection may lead to an improved grade, the Secretary of State may then decide to ‘revoke’ the original academy order.

The growth of multi-academy trustsThe number of MATs has also increased this year. There were almost 800 MATs in August 2016, just under 1,000 in August 2017 and over 1,100 in August 2018. Collectively, these MATs oversee the education of over 2.5 million pupils. The rate at which new MATs are opening has slowed down this year, but at the same time around a third of existing MATs have grown in size.

The vast majority of new academies now join a MAT from the outset (98% in 2017/18). Almost all sponsor-led academies are in a MAT, as are 7 out of 10 converter academies, 6 out of 10 free schools and nearly 9 out of 10 studio schools. University technical colleges are still more likely to be in a standalone trust and only 3 out of 10 are part of a MAT.

Most MATs are small groups of schools, working together on a local basis. More than two-thirds operate within a single LA area. The average size of a MAT is five schools, although just under half have three schools or fewer. Around 160 large MATs have nine schools or more, including 35 that have 20 or more.

34% of MATs have taken on at least one additional school this year, 61% have remained the same size and 5% have contracted or closed. Overall, MATs now run just over 1,170 more academies than in August 2017.

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Academy transfersAcademies transfer between trusts for a number of reasons, including voluntarily, as a result of an intervention due to concerns (known as re-brokerage) or following the closure of a trust. Since 2011, over 700 academies have moved between trusts.

Although the number of academies transferring is increasing, it is still the case that only a very small proportion of academies move each year. In 2017/18, 260 academies transferred from one trust to another. This represents 3% of open academies.

Of the academies that transferred and joined a MAT this year, 49% did so for the first time and 51% transferred from one MAT to another. The move can be initiated by the academy rather than the regional schools commissioner. Two-thirds of the academies that transferred this year were judged to be good or outstanding at their last inspection prior to the transfer.

Of all the academies that have moved trusts since 2011, around 200 have been inspected both before and since the transfer. 52% of the 150 schools that were less than good before the transfer improved to good or outstanding at their most recent inspection.

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Ofsted Annual Report 2017/18 Part 2: Provision for Children with SEND

In January 2018 there were 1.3 million pupils with SEND, which represents 15% of all pupils. Of these, 250,000 pupils had a statement of SEN or an education, health and care (EHC) plan and around 1 million pupils were on SEN support. Both groups have increased in number since January 2017. 93% of pupils with SEN support are educated at state-funded mainstream schools, whereas 46% of pupils with a statement or an EHC plan attend a special school.

There are around 1,000 state-funded special schools and 480 independent special schools. All state-funded special schools are inspected along with 470 of the independent special schools which are not part of an association. Although the independent schools are fee-paying schools, some of the places in them are funded by LAs for children from their area.

In addition, some mainstream schools have specialist units, although the number of schools offering this support has decreased since 2017. In SEN units, pupils spend the majority of their time in the unit and only attend mainstream classes for a few lessons. There are now 1,392 SEN units compared with 1,524 in 2017. In specialist resourced provision (SRP), pupils spend most of their time in mainstream classes, but attend the SRP for individual support, to learn a specific skill, to receive medical or therapeutic support or to access specialist equipment. There are now 1,765 SRPs compared with 1,965 in 2017.

Inspection outcomesState-funded special schools have better inspection outcomes than non-association independent special schools (92% compared with 78% good or outstanding). State-funded special schools are far more likely to be outstanding (38% compared with 18%) and less likely to be inadequate (3% compared with 7%). Both groups have the same proportion of good and outstanding schools as at the end of August 2017.

Preparing young people for adulthoodOutcomes for young people with SEND are often poor by age 16. In 2016/17, the Progress 8 score for pupils with SEN support was -0.43 and for those with a statement or EHC it was -1.04. In June 2017, 87% of 16-17 year olds with SEND were in education or training compared with 92% without SEND.

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Special schools can play a vital role in preparing young people with SEND for adulthood. An analysis of inspection reports of state-funded special schools inspected and judged outstanding in 2017/18 showed that this was a strength in the vast majority of these schools. The inspection reports highlighted the following:• Senior leaders are ambitious for pupils and expect them to be as well prepared as they can be for the next stage of their lives.• Learning programmes are tailored to the individual needs, interests and aspirations of pupils.• Pupils work towards academic and vocational qualifications which are relevant to their further education and career aspirations.• There is a continued emphasis on developing pupils’ English, mathematics and communication skills.• Pupils and their parents receive clear and helpful information and guidance, helping them to make informed decisions.• The curriculum includes carefully planned opportunities for pupils to develop work-related knowledge and skills, such as high-quality work placements, internships and apprenticeships.• Transitions to further education, training or employment are carefully structured and supported.

Problems accessing the right education and supportThe level of demand for local authorities to undertake EHC needs assessments has increased by over 50% since 2015. In 2017, 45,200 children and young people were assessed and a decision taken to whether they need an EHC plan. The number of requests for EHC plans that are either refused or delayed is also increasing. LAs can refuse to carry out an EHC needs assessment if they believe it has not met the required threshold of needs. In 2017, there were around 14,600 refusals to carry out an assessment. This is a third more than in 2015. Once a child has been assessed, they may still struggle to access the services they need. In 2018, 2,060 children with a statement or EHC plan were awaiting provision, which is almost three times more than in 2010.

Pupils with SEND who are in mainstream secondary schools can also struggle to access good-quality education. They are more likely to have a fixed-term exclusion, a permanent exclusion or to be ‘off-rolled’ (the practice of removing a pupil from the school roll without a formal, permanent exclusion or by encouraging a parent to remove their child from the school roll, when the removal is primarily in the interests of the school rather than in the best interests of the pupil).

There are concerns that in secondary schools:• pupils with SEN support are 5 times more likely to have a permanent exclusion than pupils with no SEND• 27% of pupils with SEN support had a fixed-term exclusion last year – 93,800 pupils

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• nearly 5,800 pupils with SEND left their school between Years 10 and 11 and some of them may have been ‘off-rolled’; pupils with SEND account for 13% of all pupils but 30% of those who leave their school• it is not clear where these Year 10 pupils move on to; half do not reappear in another state-funded school, more than a quarter go to state-funded alternative provision/ pupil referral units, but only a small proportion move to a state-funded special school

Local area SEND inspectionsThe Children and Families Act 2014 places responsibility on the local area, which includes the local authority, health commissioners and providers, to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND aged 0 to 25. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspect how well local areas fulfil these new duties. The inspections are known as local area SEND inspections and began in May 2016. All local areas will be inspected over a 5-year period.

By the end of July 2018, Ofsted and the CQC had inspected 68 out of 152 local areas. Of these, 30 areas were required to provide a ‘written statement of action’ (WSoA), an indication of serious failings.

Ofsted’s Annual report 2017/18 can be accessed here

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Making Data Work

In November 2018 the Teacher Workload Advisory Group published Making Data Work, its report on removing unnecessary workload associated with data management in schools. The report made recommendations to help reduce the workload faced by schools related to data management.

BackgroundIn 2014, the coalition government launched the workload challenge which involved a month-long survey asking teachers for their views on how to reduce unnecessary workload. More than 44,000 people responded to the workload challenge. The survey focused on:• unnecessary or unproductive tasks• strategies that work in schools to manage workload• what Government and schools can do to minimise workload.

In 2015, three independent review groups were established to look at the greatest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and resources and data management. The reports developed by the groups were published in March 2016. Other actions by the government have included:• A commitment to collecting robust evidence on teacher workload at least every two years• The publication of an action plan with future commitments to help reduce teacher workload• A commitment to giving schools a minimum lead-time for significant changes to policy in accountability, curriculum and qualifications• The introduction of workload considerations into guidance for schools, such as revised school staffing guidance and revised content for National Professional Qualifications for School leaders• Funded groups of schools to carry out collaboration projects into reducing workload.

The Secretary of State made a series of speeches during 2018, emphasising the importance of removing unnecessary workload, backed up by announcements that there will be no new tests or assessment for primary schools and no changes to the national curriculum, GCSE or A-level for the remainder of this parliament; a move to a simpler system of accountability with a greater emphasis on supporting schools; and the establishment of a workload advisory group to explore data collection in schools and to make recommendations to further reduce it. In July the DfE published advice and tools to support school leaders and teachers in reviewing and reducing workload.

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The most recent feedback from teachers suggests that schools are tackling workload, with 67% of teachers and leaders claiming that their schools have changed their approach to marking, and 49% that they are tackling planning. However, teachers continue to report that they are spending hours on recording data on multiple programmes, analysing this data and reporting it in different ways for different audiences. The Workload Advisory Group reported on an ‘audit culture that remains in many schools’.

Principles for evaluating data use in schoolsThe Advisory Report promoted a series of principles to be used by schools to underpin the development of data systems. These are that:• The purpose and use of data are clear, relevant to the intended audience and is consistent with school values and aims.• The precision and limitations of data, and what can be inferred from it, are well understood.• The amount of data collected and the frequency with which it is collected is proportionate, taking into consideration whether the data collection and analysis is realistic within normal working hours, given staffing and resources available.• School and Trust leaders review processes for both collecting data and for making use of the data once gathered, evaluating the time costs for each stage of the process.

The report argues that in some schools, there are data practices that are impeding pupil progress and increasing teacher workload and these need to be reviewed.The report contains recommendations for the DfE and Ofsted, and advice for school leaders in formulating their school’s own approach to data management. This includes:• minimising or eliminating the number of pieces of information teachers are expected to compile• having simple systems for logging behaviour incidents and other pastoral information• reviewing and reducing the number of attainment data collection points a year and how these are used – as a rule, it should not be more than two or three a year.

Reporting to governing bodiesThe report recommends that governors should normally be prepared to receive information in whatever form it is currently being used in the school. They should agree with school and trust leaders what high-quality data they need, and when, in order to fulfil their role effectively and to avoid making unreasonable, ad hoc data requests during the course of the school year. This includes consideration of any in-year data they receive, how meaningful this is and whether this can be reduced.

Governors should also consider whether data is proportionate, how school and trust leaders are collecting it, and the frequency and time costs of data collection. For example, they should not routinely see data on individual pupils, ‘flight paths’ or other teacher judgement tracking data.

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They should understand the limitations of attainment, progress and target setting data, and be able to access training on the effective use of data on pupil performance.

Department for Education responseThe DfE accepted all of the recommendations from the report in full. A joint letter was sent to all school leaders from• the Secretary of State for Education• Ofsted• the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)• the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT)• the National Governance Association (NGA)• the Confederation of School Trusts (CST)

The letter sets out their commitment to taking action in response to the teacher workload advisory group report and support for school leaders to reduce workload.

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Health and Safety: Responsibilities and Duties for Schools

1. Responsibilities Pupils should be safe in school and when undertaking out of school activities. The risk management to keep them safe should be proportionate to the nature of the activities.

Teachers should be able to take pupils on exciting school trips that broaden their horizons. Pupils should be able to play freely in the playground and be able to take part in sports. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance on children’s play and leisure has more information.

The employer or, in the case of independent schools, the proprietor, is accountable for the health and safety of school staff and pupils. The day-to-day running of the school is usually delegated to the headteacher and the school management team. In most cases, they are responsible for ensuring that risks are managed effectively. This includes health and safety matters.

Schools must appoint a competent person to ensure they meet their health and safety duties. A competent person is someone with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to give sensible guidance about managing the health and safety risks at the school.

This can be someone appointed directly by the school, one or more of its staff, or the employer can arrange support from outside the school. In most schools, the senior leadership team can manage risks (further guidance from HSE).

The Association for Physical Education (AfPE) can offer advice on insurance for PE teachers.

2. Leadership Commitment from senior management is essential for effective health and safety management. Strong leadership is also vital. HSE provides information on leading health and safety at work.

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Schools must have a health and safety policy in place. This should be an integral part of the school’s culture, values and performance standards. The key elements of the policy should:

• set out the roles and responsibilities within risk management processes• the mechanisms to control risk• specific control measures that need to be implemented

In most schools, the headteacher is responsible for implementing this. Based on a thorough risk assessment, they should update it to reduce and reflect new risks. The risk assessment must cover the risks to the health and safety of employees and of persons (including pupils) who are not employees of the school.

Review the assessment if:• there is any reason to suspect that it is no longer valid• there has been a significant change in related matters

Schools are obliged to record significant findings of the assessment. They must identify any group of employees identified by it as being especially at risk.

HSE has further information on accountability for health and safety in a school and sources of competent guidance on health and safety.

If senior leaders or teachers feel the process is inappropriate, they should discuss this with their employer. Examples may include processes which are too bureaucratic or which do not mitigate risk sufficiently. All staff can request that procedures be reviewed.

3. Elements of a health and safety policy Every health and safety policy is separated into 4 elements:

• Plan – leaders should set the direction for effective health and safety management• Do – introduce management systems and practices that ensure risks are dealt with sensibly, responsibly and proportionately• Check – monitoring and reporting• Act – a formal management review of health and safety performance

HSE explains the elements in more detail in its guidance on leading health and safety at work.

As outlined in the guidance, the policy should include:• a general statement of the policy• who is responsible for what (delegation of tasks)

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• arrangements for risk assessments and the practical control measures to reduce risk• how the school will establish, monitor and review its measures to meet satisfactory health and safety standards

The policy should be proportionate and relevant to the school. The elected competent person in the school should work with the employer and its health and safety advisers to create the policy.

The following list gives examples that schools could include their health and safety policy.

This list is not exhaustive and the content of the policy will be determined by the school:

• line management responsibilities• arrangements for periodic site inspections• arrangements for consulting and involving employees • staff health and safety training, including assessment of risk • recording and reporting accidents to staff, pupils and visitors – including Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) • policy and procedures for off-site visits, including residential visits and any school- led adventure activities• dealing with health and safety emergencies, including procedures and contacts• first aid for staff and pupils• occupational health services• how you will investigate accidents and incidents to understand causes• how you will monitor and report performance and effectiveness of the health and safety policy

4. Assessing and managing risks Risk assessments identify measures to control risks during school activities. Health and safety law requires the school to assess risks and put in place proportionate control measures. The law also requires it to record details of risk assessments, the measures taken to reduce these risks and expected outcomes.

Schools need to record significant findings of the assessment by identifying:• the hazards• how people might be harmed by them• what they have in place to control risk

Records of the assessment should be simple and focused on controls. Outcomes should explain to others what they are required to do and help staff with planning and monitoring.

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Risk assessments consider what measures you need to protect the health and safety of all:

• staff• pupils• visitors• contractors

Schools will need to think about the risks that may arise in the course of the school day. This could include anything related to the school premises or delivery of its curriculum, whether on or off site.

Factors included in risk assessments will vary between schools, although some will appear in most schools. HSE provides guidance on the risk assessment process.

Schools can adopt or modify the guidance below to suit their circumstances:• HSE website: common hazards• DfE guidance: Asbestos management in schools• DfE guidance: Emergency planning and response• CLEAPSS for science and design and technology• ASE for science• The Design and Technology Association for design and technology• Association for Physical Education• Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel for school trips

5. Assessing and managing risks The list of guidance below provides sources of further help on health and safety related risks:

• workplace safety for teachers, pupils and visitors – checklist for classrooms• work at height• slips and trips in educational establishments• on-site vehicle movements• managing asbestos in your school• control of hazardous substances• selecting and managing contractors• good estate management for schools• school building design and maintenance (and where necessary examination and testing)• manual handling• managing work-related stress

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6. School security and emergency preparation All schools should have plans in place to enable them to manage and respond to incidents related to school security. DfE is consulting on guidance to help schools with school security procedures.

Schools should also have procedures for controlling access and barring individuals from premises. Schools can decide whether to include this within their school security plan or deal with the issue when it arises in another plan or procedure.

The DfE recommends guidance on helping schools with accessing and barring of individuals from premises.

Health and safety emergency procedures schools should consider include:• serious injury to a pupil or member of staff (for example, transport accident)• significant damage to school property (for example, fire)• criminal activity (for example, bomb threat)• severe weather (for example, flooding)• public health incidents (for example, flu pandemic)• the effects of a disaster in the local community

DfE provides emergency and planning response templates and guidance.

7. Additional powers of local authorities as employers Under section 29(5) of the Education Act 2002, local authorities have powers to direct health and safety matters relating to school premises or school activities taking place elsewhere in the following types of school:

• community schools• voluntary controlled schools• community special schools• maintained nursery schools• pupil referral units

Local authorities should only use these powers when a school’s health and safety arrangements are inadequate.

8. Staff training Schools must ensure that staff receive information and training about health and safety. This includes:

• how to assess risks specific for their job• how to meet their roles and responsibilities identified within the health and safety policy

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They can do this in different ways depending on individual or specific need. For example, providing staff with written guidance may be appropriate in some cases, while attending a training course may be more appropriate for others.

Staff whose work involves a greater element of risk will need extra or specific training. The HSE risk management guidance provides information about when staff require specific training in, for example:

• using industrial machinery• managing asbestos• having responsibility for the storage and accountability for potentially hazardous materials in their buildings

DfE also provide information about the safe storage and disposal of hazardous materials.

9. Duties on employees The law requires employees to:

• take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by what they do at work• co-operate with their employers on health and safety matters• do their work in accordance with training and instructions• inform the employer of any work situation representing a serious and immediate danger, so that remedial action can be taken

Employees should follow health and safety procedures put in place by their employer.

Teachers and other staff in schools have a common law duty when in charge of pupils to take the same care of them as they would as a parent.

10. Recording and reporting injuries and accidents Certain work-related injuries to a member of staff or a child must, by law, be recorded and reported.

The employer or proprietor is responsible for this, but staff may be asked to prepare the report. HSE explain when, how, where and when to report incidents in their education information sheet: incident reporting in schools.

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11. Review and evaluation All schools should regularly monitor and review their health and safety policies to ensure they are reducing risks. As part of this monitoring, schools should investigate incidents to ensure that:

• they are taking appropriate corrective action• they are sharing learning• necessary improvements are put in place

Schools should regularly (at least annually) consider how they measure their performance. They should set up an effective monitoring system, backed up with sensible performance measures.

Where there is a health and safety incident at the school, the competent person and others with health and safety responsibilities, should assess the effectiveness of the school’s procedures and its response. They should make necessary changes to policies and procedures.

12. The Law The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 determines British health and safety law. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with local authorities, enforce this Act.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 supports the Act.

Schools should make sure they are familiar with both of these documents.

Taken from DfE guidance updated November 2018

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Careers Guidance and Access for Education and Training Providers

The Government’s careers strategy sets out a long term plan to build a world class careers system that will help young people and adults choose the career that is right for them.

Good careers guidance widens pupils’ horizons, challenges stereotypes and raises aspirations. It provides pupils with the knowledge and skills necessary to make successful transitions to the next stage of their life. This supports social mobility by improving opportunities for all young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities.

The Government has set a clear expectation that the quality of careers education and guidance should be raised in all schools. The statutory framework requires every school to secure independent careers guidance for all year 8 to 13 pupils. This makes sure that all pupils have access to external sources of information on the full range of education and training options.

The Government wants to go beyond the statutory duties and introduce a framework around which schools can develop and improve their entire careers programme. This will help to promote a shared understanding of what excellent careers provision looks like and a consistent approach to achieving it. The Government expects all schools to use the Gatsby Benchmarks to improve their careers provision. The Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Good Career Guidance report brought together the best national and international research to look at what practical actions could improve careers guidance in England. It identifies eight Gatsby Benchmarks that define a world-class standard of excellent careers guidance. The research provides a clear and consistent message that a good careers programme means achieving all eight Gatsby Benchmarks with every pupil.

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The Gatsby Benchmarks1. A stable careers programme Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by students, parents, teachers, governors and employers.

• Every school should have a stable, structured careers programme that has the explicit backing of the senior management team, and has an identified and appropriately trained person responsible for it.• The careers programme should be published on the school’s website in a way that enables pupils, parents, teachers and employers to access and understand it.• The programme should be regularly evaluated with feedback from pupils, parents, teachers and employers as part of the evaluation process.

2. Learning from career and labour market information Every student, and their parents, should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.

• By the age of 14, all pupils should have accessed and used information about career paths and the labour market to inform their own decisions on study options.• Parents should be encouraged to access and use information about labour markets and future study options to inform their support to their children.

3. Addressing the needs of each student Students have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each student. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.

• A school’s careers programme should actively seek to challenge stereotypical thinking and raise aspirations.• Schools should keep systematic records of the individual advice given to each pupil, and subsequent agreed decisions.• All pupils should have access to these records to support their career development.• Schools should collect and maintain accurate data for each pupil on their education, training or employment destinations for at least three years after they leave the school.

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.

• By the age of 14, every pupil should have had the opportunity to learn how the different STEM subjects help people to gain entry to, and be more effective workers within, a wide range of careers.

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5. Encounters with employers and employees Every student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.

• Every year, from the age of 11, pupils should participate in at least one ‘meaningful encounter’ with an employer, ie one in which the student has an opportunity to learn about what work is like or what it takes to be successful in the workplace.

6. Experiences of workplaces Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.

• By the age of 16, every pupil should have had at least one experience of a workplace, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.• By the age of 18, every pupil should have had one further such experience, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.

7. Encounters with further and higher education All students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.

• By the age of 16, every pupil should have had a meaningful encounter* with providers of the full range of learning opportunities, including Sixth Forms, colleges, universities and apprenticeship providers. This should include the opportunity to meet both staff and pupils. A ‘meaningful encounter’ is one in which the student has an opportunity to explore what it is like to learn in that environment.• By the age of 18, all pupils who are considering applying for university should have had at least two visits to universities to meet staff and pupils.

8. Personal guidance Every student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a career adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made.

• Every pupil should have at least one such interview by the age of 16, and the opportunity for a further interview by the age of 18.

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Statutory duties1. Section 42A of the Education Act 1997 requires governing bodies to ensure that all registered pupils at the school are provided with independent careers guidance from year 8 (12-13 year olds) to year 13 (17-18 year olds). Independent is defined as external to the school. External sources of careers support could include employer visits, mentoring, website, telephone and helpline access and personal guidance provided externally to the school. Taken together, the external sources must include information on the range of education and training options, including apprenticeships. Personal guidance does not have to be external – it can be delivered by school staff, if trained. Where this advice or any other element of the careers programme is internal, it must be supplemented by external sources of support to ensure compliance with the legal duty.

2. The governing body must ensure that the independent careers guidance provided:• is presented in an impartial manner, showing no bias or favouritism towards a particular institution, education or work option;• includes information on the range of education or training options, including apprenticeships and technical education routes;• is guidance that the person giving it considers will promote the best interests of the pupils to whom it is given.

3. All schools and academies must ensure that there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access all pupils in year 8 to year 13 for the purpose of informing them about approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.

4. Schools and academies must prepare a policy statement setting out the circumstances in which education and training providers will be given access to pupils, and to ensure that this is followed. The policy statement must be published and must include:

• any procedural requirement in relation to requests for access;• grounds for granting and refusing requests for access;• details of premises or facilities to be provided to a person who is given access.

5. The proprietor may revise the policy statement from time to time. The proprietor must publish the policy statement and any revised statement. It is expected that a policy statement will be published for each academy within a multi-academy trust.

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6. The School Information (England) Regulations 2008 require schools and academies to publish information about the school’s careers programme. For the current academic year, this must include:

• the name, email address and telephone number of the school’s Careers Leader;• a summary of the careers programme, including details of how pupils, parents, teachers and employers may access information about the careers programme;• how the school measures and assesses the impact of the careers programme on pupils;• the date of the school’s next review of the information published.

What is the governing body expected to do?The governing body should provide clear advice and guidance to the head teacher on which he/she can base a strategy for careers education and guidance which meets the school’s legal requirements, is developed in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks and informed by the requirements set out in this document. Every school should have a member of their governing body who takes a strategic interest in careers education and guidance and encourages employer engagement.

The governing body must make sure that arrangements are in place to allow a range of education and training providers to access all pupils in years 8-13 to inform them about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships, and that a policy statement setting out these arrangements is published. This should be part of a broader approach to ensuring that young people are aware of the full range of academic and technical routes available to them at each transition point.

Taken from DfE statutory guidance Careers guidance and access for education and training providers.

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Controlling Access onto School Premises

1. Staff pay as percentage of total expenditure Schools are private property. People do not have an automatic right to enter. Parents have an ‘implied licence’ to come on to school premises at certain times, for instance:

• for appointments• to attend a school event• to drop off or pick up younger children

Schools should set out their rules for this and tell parents what they are. Anyone who breaks those rules would be trespassing.

2. Barring individuals from school premises Trespassing is a civil offence. This means that schools can ask someone to leave and take civil action in the courts if someone trespasses regularly. The school may want to write to regular trespassers to tell them that they are potentially committing an offence.

Schools can bar someone from the premises if they feel that their aggressive, abusive or insulting behaviour or language is a risk to staff or pupils. It’s enough for a member of staff or a pupil to feel threatened.

The school should tell an individual that they’ve been barred or they intend to bar them, in writing. Letters should usually be signed by the headteacher, though in some cases the local authority, academy trust or proprietor may wish to write instead. The individual must be allowed to present their side. A school can either:

• bar them temporarily, until the individual has had the opportunity to formally present their side• tell them they intend to bar them and invite them to present their side by a set deadline

After the individual’s side has been heard, the school can decide whether to continue with barring them. The decision should be reviewed within a reasonable time, decided by the school.

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3. Removing individuals from school premises Section 547 of the Education Act 1996 makes it a criminal offence for a person who is on school premises without legal permission to cause or permit a nuisance or disturbance. Trespassing itself does not constitute a criminal offence.

To have committed a criminal offence, an abusive individual must have been barred from the premises or have exceeded their ‘implied licence’, then also have caused a nuisance or disturbance.

If a school has reasonable grounds to suspect that someone has committed an offence, then they can be removed from the school by a police officer or a person authorised by the appropriate authority such as the:

• governing board• local authority• proprietor of that school

Taken from DfE guidance published November 2018

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Liverpool GovernanceForum

Governors’ Role in Reducing School Exclusions Over the last few years the number of exclusions has risen quite dramatically. Nationally, the latest figures available show that 0.10% of pupils were permanently excluded in 2016/17 compared to 0.08% in 2015/16. In Liverpool the numbers of have risen from 0.17% to 0.24% in the same time period. In primary schools there were 9 times more pupils permanently excluded in 2016/17 than there were in 2012/13. A high proportion of excluded pupils, 83%, are also persistent absentees.

Schools are faced with the tough challenge of reducing the number of exclusions while maintaining a behavioural environment in which all children can thrive. Governors have certain statutory responsibilities with regard to pupil exclusions, but in an attempt to reduce exclusions some schools involve governors in the pre-statutory process. Following a discussion at a Liverpool Governance Forum meeting it was agreed to commission an article from a governor of two schools where governors are involved in the pre-statutory process. The article below details how governor involvement, in the pre-statutory process, works and what the impact has been in these two schools.

It should be noted that LGF is not offering this as a model to be adopted by all schools, you are best placed to decide what is appropriate for the context of your school. However, LGF would like to hear your views on this model (email address above) and whether your board operates a similar process and the impact it has had. A note of caution, any governor involvement prior to the statutory role would need to be discussed and agreed with the Headteacher to ensure it does not encroach on her/his operational and statutory responsibilities.

The Role of Governors Governing bodies receive Safeguarding Reports containing information about pupil behaviour and, where necessary, information of Fixed Term or Permanent Exclusions. In the two schools covered by this article the headteachers wanted to involve governors in Pupil Behaviour Panels to see if such an intervention could have a positive impact on the behaviours of the pupils involved. The role of the governor in one school was to be in attendance and comment as appropriate, and in the other school the governor chaired the panel.

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The Referral ProcessProgress Leaders in consultation with the relevant Head of School identify students causing concern as part of weekly Keeping in Touch meetings. There is a review of existing interventions and how effective these have been. From this, a list of ‘High Tariff’ students is identified and referrals are made to Governors Panel (once any mitigating factors that may mean it is inappropriate to out the student in front of Governors have been considered). Panels will also address attendance and punctuality concerns which, whilst not reasons to exclude, may be indicators of poor attitude to learning and subsequent behavioural problems.

The Panel• The process of the panel is straight forward, parents, carers and pupils are invited to attend.• The Chair or Headteacher clarifies if the pupil knows why they are there. The panel will not be a surprise as it will follow a process of conversations with pupils, carers and parents.• Evidence such as behaviour or progress reports are presented and, in both instances, they have included both positive and negative feedback from staff.• Pupils are asked about the actions which prompted the report and it is pointed out that if this behaviour continues, it could lead to exclusion.• Full discussion, involving parent, carer, pupil, teachers and governor, takes place to agree an improvement plan. Included in this are monitoring targets to evidence improvement. • This is then communicated in writing to the parents and pupil, with a new review date set. This review would not be in front of Governors (unless problems had persisted/escalated) but would be with Progress Leader/Head of School. Relevant Governors would however be informed of progress made against targets set and any consequent actions.

Why involve a Governor?The role of the governor in the meeting is to reinforce to pupils, parents and carers that the situation is serious and the potential for permanent exclusions is very real.

Does it work?In both schools, staff reported an improvement in the behaviour of the pupils who attended. Plans are in hand to repeat the process in one school while in the other one, which has been running the Pupil Panels for longer, there has been a review and the Behaviour and Progress and Attendance Pupil Panels are going to be merged into one. The rationale behind this is that the panels are related in that improved attendance and behaviour will contribute to an improvement in Pupil Progress. A governor will continue to chair the new panel.

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Personal viewInvolvement in the Pupil Panels provides an excellent opportunity for governors to discover first-hand the issues causing behaviour problems. Through their involvement governors can get a good understanding of the different interventions employed to address behaviour issues, and they will become better equipped to discuss the subject at governing body meetings.

Overview of the 2018 November ConferenceIntroductionThe purpose of this report is to provide governors, trustees and our stakeholders with an overview of the outcomes from the conference. The information is primarily based on the feedback forms completed by governors and trustees attending the event.

The sixth half day conference we have organised for Liverpool school governors and trustees focussed on: • Governing Body Self Assessment: This was an interactive session delivered by Ruth Agnew, Director of RMA Governance. Ruth lived up to her reputation of being an excellent speaker for the delivery of quality governor training events. Fully understanding what is effective school governance is so essential if we are to achieve performance improvements and positive life changes for the children in our respective schools.

• Liverpool’s Education Vision: This session was delivered by Cllr Barbara Murray, Cabinet Member - Education. Barbara was keen to ensure governors and trustees understand the important role they have in driving the city’s vision forward (from improving attendance, wellbeing through to raising aspirations) so that lasting improvements are achieved for the benefit of our children. The session included the opportunity to ask questions.

Both speakers are designated National Leaders of Governance (NLG) and have extensive experience as school governors, including the important role of Chair. The presentation notes by the two speakers are available for downloading on the LGF website (above).

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Attendance and analysis of feedback forms

Schools represented

NUMBERS ATTENDING FROM ALL SECTORS NUMBER

Total number of governors / trustees attending 64

Booked-in who did not attend 4

EVALUATION FORMS

Forms completed 49 (76.5%)

OVERALL RATING

Very good 37 (75.5%)

Good 12 (24.5%)

Requires improvement 0

Inadequate 0

SCHOOL SECTOR NUMBER

Nursery 1

Primary (Including infant and Junior) 29

Secondary 12

Special 4

Liverpool Diocese 1

TOTAL 47

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Synopsis of delegates’ comments

“The conference fully met the key objectives of the two sessions.”

“Excellent event; speakers very knowledgably and easy to listen to.”

“Clear and focused presentations.”

“Excellent delivery.”

“Informative, thought provoking ideas and engaging.”

“Good table discussions and opportunity to share best practice.”

“Opportunity to ask questions.”

“Very informative across the board.”

“Generally speaking, nothing needs to improve.”

“Well organised event.”

“Very good venue, facilities and refreshments.”

SummaryThe delegates attending the conference clearly indicated the key objectives were met and that they benefited from their attendance.

We had a total of 64 governors and trustees attending this 6th conference and it was the largest number we have had at an event to date. It is most encouraging and gives recognition to the importance of the topics being discussed.

We were particularly pleased to be able to attract more members from the secondary school sector, which has always been a challenge.

It is rather disappointing that once again we had a number of governors/trustees booked in who did not attend on the day nor offer any apology for the their non-attendance. We would like to take the opportunity to record our thanks to both speakers for making this another successful event and for ensuring that our members found it informative and beneficial from their attendance.

We would also like to thank the members who attended and for their important contribution during the discussions and for sharing their own experiences and best practice.

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Spring 2019 Committee meetings

Tuesday22nd January 201910:00 to 12:00

Childwall Abbey School Childwall Abbey Road, L16 5EY

Guest speaker: Kathy Desmond, LGF Chair will give a little more background

to Pupil Premium with examples of how different schools use theirs and to

what effect. Hopefully this will lead to governors at the meeting, sharing their

experiences and outcomes.

Tuesday12th March 201910:00 to 12:00

St Julies Catholic High School Speke Road, L25 7TN

Guest speaker: To be confirmed

To attend any Committee meeting please book in via the LGF email: admin@livgovforum.org.uk

We welcome offers from schools to host one of our committee meetings. Please do let us know if your school can accommodate us.

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Governor Training Courses Spring 2019

Tues 15 January6pm – 8pm

Cost: Free

Venue: Liverpool Town Hall High Street. L2 3SW

Termly Briefing for ChairsThis meeting is open to Chairs, or representatives, of all Governing Bodies. Councillor Barbara Murray, Cabinet Member for Education, Employment & Skills, Steve Reddy, Director of Children’s Services, and Heather Duggan, Chief Education Officer will be present at the meeting.

There will be a presentation of the Director’s Items for the term followed by opportunities for discussion and questions.

Thurs 24 January 10am - 12pm

Cost: Free

Termly Briefing for ClerksOur termly meeting for clerks to governing boards and/or committees includes briefings and discussion on current issues as well as an opportunity to share good practice and raise queries.

Presenter: Terry Brown, School Governance Services.

Mon 28 January10am to 12pm

or6pm to 8pm

Cost: Free

Pupil Premium This session will cover:• The responsibilities of governors• Ofsted expectations and requirements• Questions for governors to ask• How successful schools are using the Pupil Premium Presenters: Terry Brown and Dave Cadwallader, School Governance Services.

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Thurs 07 February10am - 12pm

or 6pm - 8pm

Ofsted Inspections This session will cover:• The framework for inspections• The inspection process• Implications of outcomes• How is Governance inspected?• What will the Inspector ask me?

resenter: Dave Cadwallader, School Governance Lead.

Mon 11 February10am - 12pm

or6pm - 8pm

Pupil ExclusionsThis course will cover:• Regulations and statutory procedures • The role of the governing board in reviewing an exclusion• Appeal hearings• The role of the Independent Review Panel

Presenter: Terry Brown, School Governance Services.

Governor Training Courses Spring 2019

Wed 27 February10am - 12pm

or6pm - 8pm

The Mastery Approach to Teaching and Learning (Primary)This session will cover:• An exploration of the Mastery approach to teaching reading, writing and maths• Opportunity to explore the features of this approach and examine what it may look like in practice

Presenter: Clare Putwain, School Improvement Officer Primary.

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This course is held over two sessions:

Part 1 Tues 05 March10am - 12pm

or6pm to 8pm

Part 2 Tues 12 March10am - 12pm

or6pm to 8.pm

The Role of the School Governor:An induction course for new governors (or a refresher course for experienced governors!)

This course is an important element of a governor’s induction and it is recommended that all new governors attend. It covers the essential aspects of a governing board’s responsibilities and provides an opportunity for participants to discuss how best to approach their role as a governor. The course is informal, non-threatening (you won’t be put on the spot) and provides a forum for you to ask questions about your new role. This course will cover: • The core functions of governing bodies• The legal framework for meetings• What is strategic? What is operational?• How governing bodies ‘challenge’ school leaders and

hold them to account• Monitoring and evaluating progress• Complaints against the school Presenter: Dave Cadwallader, School Governance Lead.

Tues 26 March10am - 12pm

or6pm - 8pm

Parent GovernorsThis informal session aims to clarify the role of the parent governor and will include: • How do I represent the other parents?• The importance of confidentiality• What if I’m approached by another parent?• Separating being a parent from being a parent

governor

Presenter: Dave Cadwallader, School Governance Lead.

Governor Training Courses Spring 2019

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Thurs 21 March10am - 12pm

or6pm - 8pm

Understanding Educational Visits and the Role of GovernorsThis session will outline current regulations and guidance required for safe and successful off site visits, including: • LA and school policies• National Guidance • Different roles for a successful Educational Visit• Procedural requirements• Induction, training, apprenticeship, succession

planning • Risk management and risk-benefit assessment• Assessing venues and providers• Emergency procedures and incident reporting

Presenter: Chris Price, Healthy Lifestyles Officer.

Wed 03 April10am - 12pm

or6pm - 8pm

Financial BenchmarkingThis session will cover:• Identifying historic trends and relationships over

time• Focusing on areas that are out of line with average• Known changes and links to the current budget plan• Identifying possible future areas for improvement• Questions for governors to ask

Presenter: Dave Collins, Principal Finance Officer.

Governor Training Courses Spring 2019

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Booking information: For more information or to book a place on a course call Jean Worrall on 0151 233 3944 or email jean.worrall@si.liverpool.gov.uk. You will receive written confirmation of your booking by email or post. Our courses are available to all schools, whatever their status (maintained, academy, free, independent, UTC) and from any local authority.

Cost: Unless otherwise stated all sessions are FREE with the Governor Training Service Agreement or £100 excl vat per session if no Service Agreement. Longer sessions are priced individually. As a courtesy, please liaise with your school before booking onto a course if this will incur a fee. If you are unable to attend a course on which you have booked please tell us as soon as possible otherwise a fee, if applicable, will be charged.

Venue: The venue for all sessions is Toxteth Annexe Conference Centre, Aigburth Road, Liverpool, L17 7BN. Free car parking is available within the grounds of the building (please note that Aigburth Road is a dual carriageway). Bus routes 82 and 60 run regular services along Aigburth Road whilst St Michael’s train station is located 600 metres away on Southbrook Road, L17 7BQ.

Governor Training Courses Spring 2019

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0151 233 3901 | sil@si.liverpool.gov.uk | www.schoolimprovementliverpool.co.ukToxteth Annexe, Aigburth Road, Liverpool, L17 7BN

School Improvement Liverpool @si_liverpool School Improvement Liverpool Limited