Highfield Hall Governors 2022-2023

The work of the Governing Body 2022 - 2023

The Governors believe that Highfield Hall is an inclusive school. We seek to ensure that all children are given the opportunity to achieve and succeed. We are focused on supporting the Head Teacher and his team to remove barriers to learning and enable our children to develop their interests and skills, expand their horizons, and become good citizens.

The main functions of the Governing Body are to:

• agree the aims and objectives of the school
• agree the policies to help achieve those aims and objectives
• monitor and evaluate progress
• support and challenge the Head Teacher and the other school leaders in relation to the progress and attainment
• manage the school’s use of resources
• ensure that the school is a safe place to work and learn

​The school's Governing Body consists of eleven members appointed in the following categories:​

· 2 parent governors

· 1 Head Teacher governor

· 1 Local Authority governor

· 9 Community governors

· 1 staff governor

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​Committees

​The Full Governing Body appoints each year a number of committees which carry out detailed work and bring recommendations back to the Full Governing Body. The main committees for 2022-23 are:

• Pay and Performance

• School Improvement Group
• Finance and General Purposes

All members of the Governing Body sit on one or more committees. In addition, certain governors are appointed to act as a link with those teachers who have certain responsibilities in the school, such as special educational needs. A governor is also appointed to take special responsibility for safeguarding provision for the children.

Pupil Welfare and Personnel Committee

This committee reviewed the child safeguarding audit to identify areas where further work is required. The file of documents and other material which staff and governors are required to be familiar with in relation to safeguarding has been reviewed and updated. 

In the coming year the committee will be overseeing changes to our SEND provision..

The School Improvement Group

Progress and attainment data for reading, writing and maths is brought to this committee by the Head Teacher and analysed by the committee. The Committee looked at a variety of different groupings within the school, including year groups, children categorised as disadvantaged, children qualifying for special education needs support, more able children, and boys/girls. The data analysed includes performance in national tests (including relative performance against national results) and data recorded internally within the school.

Governors are all familiar with Ofsted performance measurements which enable them to benchmark the school’s performance against other similar schools and against national performance data. Training on the new IDSR will be carried out in December. They are also all familiar with the OfSTED data for the school which again shows the school's performance in the national context. Performance in Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6 in nationally standardised assessments was in the main good or better with particular improvements in maths.

The Finance and General Purposes Committee

This committee consider financial issues and ensures that the financial resources provided to the school are well spent. It also focuses on the best application of specific grants. In its work of managing the school’s financial resources the committee uses benchmarks to compare us to similar schools to ensure that we are broadly conforming to common standards. It also checks the school’s financial procedures against county-wide schools financial value standards to ensure compliance with those standards. This ensures that the school is applying best practice in these areas and acts as a safeguard against misappropriation or misuse of funds.

The committee is also responsible for maintaining the school’s IT equipment within the scope of the available financial resources. In the course of the year new interactive whiteboards were purchased for five classrooms. The new whiteboards provide better visibility within the classroom, better graphics, and can be used in a wide variety of ways in conjunction with other IT equipment making it faster and easier for the class teacher to access information, so that the classroom learning experience is improved.

​​This committee is also responsible for Health and Safety and ensures that the school fully complies with all Local Authority Guidelines. In addition to this, they carry out an annual check on different aspects of Health and Safety.

In the coming year this committee will review the way pupil premium and sports premium money is used in the school, ensuring the most effective outcomes for our children.

Head Teacher’s Performance Management

The Head Teacher is responsible for the day-to-day leadership and management of the school. An essential part of the Governors' work is to assess how the Head Teacher is performing these functions, and by this means to monitor the standard of teaching and practice in the school. A special committee of the Governing Body has responsibility for assessing the Head Teacher's performance against targets set the previous year, they are supported by an advisor from the local authority.

The governors look closely at the performance of the Head Teacher, have discussions about areas of strength and development and set new targets against which the Head Teacher’s performance will be evaluated. The impact of this is that the governors understand, through their assessment of the leadership and performance of the Head Teacher, the areas of strength and development needs within the school as a whole, including children's progress, curriculum coverage, and the learning environment. In addition, the data presented enables them to develop an accurate picture of the school. The governors are by these means better informed so as to enable them to challenge and support the Head Teacher.

Reviewing policies

​Every year the committees review the school’s policies on matters falling within their remit. Some policies are revisited annually and others fall into a three year cycle of monitoring and review. In some cases changes are made to these policies by the governors to reflect best current practice and experience within the school.

External Review

The governors and the Head Teacher sometimes have the benefit of an external review of the school’s performance. Our last OfSTED inspection was in 2019, when we were judged ‘good’. In 2017/18 our assessment judgments were moderated by the Local Authority in Reception and Key Stage 1 and found to be robust and accurate.

The School Improvement Plan (S.I.P.):

​The governors work co-operatively with the Head Teacher to identify priorities for school improvement and in preparing, and then monitoring, the School Improvement Plan (S.I.P.). The S.I.P. sets aims for the forthcoming year, it is monitored and reviewed termly at each meeting of the Full Governing Body.

​Over the course of the year individual governors have taken the opportunity to visit the school informally to listen to children read; attend events such as plays and sports days; join in class activities and help on school trips. We also have an annual Governor’s Day when most of the governors come in to visit the classrooms; join the children for lunch; meet with the School Council and talk to the children about their school.

Governors' Day

Every year the Governors set aside one day when as many of them as possible come in to school to have a look at the work we are doing- and join in the fun... this year they came in on India Day when the children learnt about arts and crafts from India, mastered some Bollywood dance moves and sampled some tasty traditional food.

Stuart Yeowart is a co-opted Governor, appointed by the Governing Body. He has been a Governor since October 11th 2022 and his term of office runs out in 2026.

He is currently the Chair of Governors and the Chair of the Pay and Performance Committee.

Attendance over the last year: Governing Body meetings 1/1, committee meetings 0/0. 

Dianne McCollum is a co-opted Governor.

She has been a Governor here for 14 years and this term of office runs out in 2022. Dianne is Chair of the Pupil Discipline Committee and the Governor School Improvement Group, she is also a member of the Pupil Welfare & Personnel Committee and the Headteacher Performance Group.

She is the lead governor for looked after children, children with special educational needs or disabilities and vulnerable groups. She is not a governor at any other school.

She worked as a teacher for 33 years in schools in Dronfield and Chesterfield, ending her career as Deputy Headteacher of Highfield Hall. She retired in 2009.

To continue and extend her own professional development Dianne undertook several secondments during her career.  She worked for the local authority as a trainer of teachers on many occasions. She also worked with staff in schools experiencing problems and she really enjoyed supporting newly qualified teachers and newly appointed deputy heads.

Dianne also worked as an Associate Primary Tutor for Sheffield Hallam University, on a part time basis, for 3 years delivering lectures and working with tutorial groups.

Dianne’s four grandchildren used to attend Highfield Hall Primary School before moving successfully to their secondary schools, and she still has a strong commitment to the school’s continuing success. 

Attendance over the last year: Governing Body meetings 5/5, committee meetings 4/4. 

Joanne Etchells was appointed as a Governor on March 1st 2022 and her term of office ends in 2026.

She has three children, the eldest is at Outwood Academy Newbold and two children at Highfield Hall.

Joanne has worked within Public Sector organisations for 13 years, 10 years in Public Sector Procurement and currently Head of Procurement for East Midlands Railway.

Joanne is enthusiastic about improving the school for the children and local community and bringing her knowledge and skills of business to the school.

Nicola Salt was appointed as a Governor on the March 1st 2022 and her term of office will end in 2026. She is a parent of a child in Year 4 and a former pupil of Highfield Hall.

Nicola applied to be a governor to be part of the progression as we move back to being a community again following on from the pandemic. 

Her current role is as a Family Support Worker based in a local Primary School, where she works closely with school staff and parents. Her responsibilities include Safeguarding and this academic year she was made one of the School’s Designated Safeguarding Leads, as part of this she represents school at conferences and meetings. 

Nicola's role also includes being part of a Well-being Team, working to support the children’s mental health and well-being. Training and experience has enabled her to carry out work directly with the children and alongside colleagues she looks at the best support for individuals as well as groups. 

A large proportion of her employment has been working with children with complex medical needs and disability which gives her a good insight into how a school needs to be adaptable for every situation that may arise. Working with families to overcome barriers to education and ensuring all children are given the opportunity to enjoy and achieve.  

Dan Carroll was appointed as a Governor on March 1st 2022 and his term of office ends 2026.. He has two daughters, one in Year 6, one in Year 3 and a stepson in Reception at Highfield Hall.

Dan is a qualified Apprenticeship trainer as well as a SEND Coordinator. He has also been involved in the planning and delivery of teaching sessions around moral and cultural development for 16-19 year olds and has over 15 years in retail and sales management.

Louise Wilson was appointed as Governor July 1st 2019 and her term of office will end in 2023. She is a parent of two children at Highfield Hall Primary School, one currently in year 3 and one in Nursery.

Louise works for Derbyshire County Council and has done since 2010, where she managers the Careers Team for the county within the Employment and Skills Department. Most of Louise’s employment with Derbyshire County Council has been within careers, employment, skills and education.

These are the areas Louise’s feels passionate about for our children.