Autumn Term 2022
Welcome to the Governors’ News, where we hope to keep parents and carers up to date with our progress, and hopefully give you an insight to what we do!
Governors are responsible for overseeing the management side of a school: strategy, policy, budgeting and staffing. They enable their school to run as effectively as possible, working alongside senior leaders and supporting teachers to provide excellent education to children.
What’s in this issue?
Visits taken place this term
Message from the Chair of Governors
Changes to the Governing Board
Free School Meals
Safeguarding
Community Plant Swap
1. Visits taken place this term
- Health and Safety: 29th September
- Ofsted: 11th & 12th October
- Finance: 3rd October & 7th November
- Writing: 29th October
- SEND: 29th October
- Safeguarding: 16th November
2. Message from the Chair of Governors, Keith Evans
As you will be aware, on the 10th October, Mr Mason received the long anticipated call from the Ofsted Inspectors, who arrived the following morning for a full Section 5 Ofsted Inspection, a two day process which is both detailed and rigorous. I’m pleased to say the school as a whole thoroughly demonstrated to the inspectors the excellent work that is ongoing and I’m extremely delighted and proud with the outcome of GOOD in all areas:
Overall effectiveness GOOD
The quality of education GOOD
Behaviour and attitudes GOOD
Personal development GOOD
Leadership and Management GOOD
Early years provision GOOD
These results were emphasised by some excellent comments within the report:
“Pupils live up to the school’s aims of being ‘happy, confident and prepared’ at Southill. They enjoy coming to school.”
“Leaders ensure that there is a real love of reading throughout the school.”
“The curriculum is well sequenced with the knowledge that leaders want pupils to learn.”
This of course is not the end, the work will continue as we drive to make Southill even better for today’s and future pupils. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank Mr Mason, Mrs Wood and all the Staff, Children, Parents and Governors who work so hard to deliver the best quality education and make Southill Primary such a fantastic environment in which to work, learn and play.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
Keith
3. Changes to the Governing Board
At the beginning of the academic year, we held elections for the Chair and Vice-Chair of Governors. Members put themselves forward for the roles and we then vote at the first Full Governing Board meeting of the year.
Keith Evans was re-elected as Chair of Governors for a further term of 2 years. Pete Barrow stepped down as Vice-Chair of Governors and was succeeded by Sheena Chamberlain, for a term of 1 year.
We’re sad to announce that Rev Jo Haine stepped down at the end of October as a co-opted Governor. We’d like to thank her for the time she gave to the school and the contribution she made towards our new Wellbeing policy, and she will of course continue to work closely with the school in her capacity as Reverend.
4. Free School Meals and Pupil Premium
We are encouraging Southill families who qualify to take up the free school meals (FSM) offer. Not only is a daily nutritious lunch good for health and wellbeing, but our school will also benefit from extra Government funding for every qualifying student that takes up the FSM offer. Many families have experienced change in their finances recently and may be unaware they are now eligible for free school meals, or they may feel uncomfortable claiming them.
All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 automatically get free school meals. However, parents and guardians who are in receipt of qualifying benefits are encouraged to apply separately for the pupil premium for their school as it is not paid automatically.
The pupil premium grant is an allocation of Government funding for schools to support children who may be vulnerable to underachievement. Currently, this is £1,385 per pupil (for primary schools), but can be more if the pupil has been adopted from care or is being looked after by the council.
Our school uses pupil premium:
- to support TA staffing levels – this is important because it is the TAs who provide most day-to-day and in-class support
- to maintain ELSA levels in school – so that trained staff are available to help with emotional needs
- to subsidise trip costs (day trips and residentials) to make these more affordable for parents
- to buy uniform (including shoes)
- to provide free Breakfast Club places
- to subsidise attendance at after-school clubs
- to support attendance at clubs outside school
- to provide for specific individual needs as appropriate
As you can see, Pupil Premium has huge benefits for the school, as well as to the pupil who it applies to.
Free holiday activities
Nutritious food and healthy activities are vital for a child’s development, so an added benefit for children eligible for free school meals is the offer of free holiday clubs and activities. These take place during the Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays and include a free midday meal.
You will need to register to receive a passcode to access the free activities and meal.
For more information about applying for Free School Meals, please visit:
Apply for free school meals – Dorset Council
For more information about applying for Pupil Premium, please visit:
Apply for pupil premium – Dorset Council
For more information about the Holiday activities and food (HAF) programme, please visit:
Holiday activities and food (HAF) programme – Dorset Council
You can also ring Dorset Council on 01305 221090 if you have any questions regarding the application process.
5. Safeguarding
One of our roles as Governors is to ensure appropriate safeguarding measures are in place at the school. We all train in Safeguarding when we join as a Governor, and are required to keep this training up to date. We review many policies linked with safeguarding throughout the year, and we have recently approved a new version of the Child Protection Policy, written by Mr Mason, which can be found on the school website https://www.southill.dorset.sch.uk/our-school/safeguarding/
You will also find details of our Designated Senior Leads (DSL) for Safeguarding on this page, and we’re pleased that Mrs Hill has recently completed her training as DSL, which boosts the number of staff that support and direct other staff on safeguarding issues.
As link Governor for Safeguarding, I visit the school once a term to carry out a check on the Single Central Register (SCR) with Mrs Howe, to ensure all staffing, volunteer and contractor checks have been completed and are kept up to date, and to meet with Mr Mason. We discuss any matters arising from the annual Safeguarding audit that he submits to Dorset Council, changes to policies and any recommendations made by the Education Challenge Leads (ECL), Richard Howes and Sharon Peel, who work for Dorset Council.
We recently discussed the pupil survey, which will be carried out again in the Spring term. It will include a section on Safety and Wellbeing, asking the children if they feel safe and if they know who to talk to if they have any concerns. We agreed that the next Safeguarding visit would take place shortly after the survey is completed, so that I can meet with the children and speak to them about the questions that are raised in the survey.
Rebecca Sanderson
Parent Governor
6. Community Plant Swap
After last year’s successful event, we’ve already set a date for our next Community Plant Swap. Come along and join us on Saturday 13th May 2023, between 2pm – 4pm. Now’s the time to start planning what seeds you’re going to sow in the spring, ready for our swap!
Refreshments will also be available.
