10.11.2023

Hello!

 

Today I was in school for the morning to observe Read, Write, Inc and also talk to the children about this. My link role is the Early Years Foundation Stage so I spent some time in there too, exploring the brand new classroom provision and meeting the children, who are all very settled into their routines! It was a lovely visit and I was lucky enough to watch a singing assembly and stay for a delicious BBQ vegetable wrap. Three other governors went into school this afternoon to observe some of the foundation subjects in action, including PSHE, Geography and ICT. We will all be feeding back on our experiences in school at the next Full Governing Board meeting, towards the end of November. 

 

Vicky :)

05.05.2023

Hello!

 

My name is Vicky and I have been on the Governing Board at Sitwell Infants for over two years now. I recently took over the role as Chair of Governors, and just wanted to pop on to update you around the work I have been doing. As well as being Chair, I am also the Safeguarding and Child Protection Governor, and I recently met with Mrs Peart to go through a number of key policies regarding this. During another visit, I popped in to observe Read Write Inc being taught across school and it was wonderful to see all of the children so happy and engaged in their learning! Staff are extremely well trained and knowledgeable about how to ensure progress is made. We have another Full Governing Board meeting next month, so I will ensure I keep everyone updated about our discussions. 

 

Vicky

3^rd February 2022 

 

The communications governor met face to face with the head this afternoon. We discussed many aspects of school life including the outcomes from the parent survey, which continue to be extremely positive. We are exceptionally lucky to have dedicated school staff who go the extra mile for our young people. We are currently looking at changes that can be implemented in response to the main areas of concerns from parents. One of which were that many parents felt they were unsure of the roles of governors within our school. We are currently working on putting together some information about all our governors and their different roles within school, look out for this coming home with children. 

 

Many concerns were also raised regarding road safety/parking at school. We recently ran a Be Bright- Be Seen Bling Your Bike and Scooter event in partnership with Modeshift stars, to encourage active travel which was very successful. We are currently liaising with the active travel officer and the local authority to look at ways of further encouraging active travel/ road safety. 

Thank you to all who completed the parent survey, this is always very much appreciated and helpful for us to continue to make our school the best it can be! 

 

Please find the link to access the responses here.

11th June 2021

The Chair of Governors visited school this morning to meet with the Head, in our first face-to-face catch up following months of online meetings. It was lovely to be welcomed back into school again, and we are discussing tentative plans for more Governor visits during the next academic year. Visiting school to engage with the children and observe working practices is a key and enjoyable part of being a Governor which I know we have all missed over the last 12-18 months.

 

The Head and the school leadership team are currently working on updating the school’s long term strategy and on setting their priorities for the 2021/22 academic year. Governors will be discussing this in more detail at our next full governors meeting.

22nd June 2021

The governors met as a full group today for their Spring term meeting. This was the second of three planned full governing board meetings this year. Governors discussed the current risk assessment and what is being put into place in school to ensure staff and children are kept safe. Mrs Smith and Miss Hainsworth also shared an overview of their roles as senior leaders and explained their work in terms of leading the curriculum and assessments within KS1 and EYFS. Governors were very pleased with their enthusiasm and plans for the curriculum moving forward. 

Each term, the governors are given an update on the School Development Plan, and Mrs Peart explains the actions taken so far with the key priorities for school improvement. 

Governors also agreed the Safeguarding Policy at this meeting. 

17th March 2021

The Resources Committee met today and discussed the school budget, the single central record and update key policies. 

The governing board review the school budget six times throughout the academic year. Governors are given a clear and concise monitoring report which enables them to review income and expenditure against the agreed budget. 

The single central record is a live document which is used to gather information on all adults who work or volunteer within school. This helps to ensure all children are kept safe. Governors were able to view the document and ask questions. 

3rd March 2021

Today the Curriculum Committee met with Mrs Razaq, who is the Science and RE leader in school. Mrs Razaq shared how Science and RE are taught and assessed in school and also what the school's plans for these subjects are moving forward. It was a really interesting insight into the curriculum.

Mrs Peart also shared that there will be no formal national assessments this year, due to the school closure earlier this year. The Senior Leadership team have decided to complete informal assessments of the children to support end of year teacher assessments. These will support the children and class teachers in preparation for transition in September.

4th December 2020

The Chair and the Headteacher met today. We discussed the results of the recent parent survey - generally feedback was extremely positive, particularly around the school's handling of COVID restrictions. Parents also made some constructive suggestions for improvements which the school leadership team are already discussing and looking to implement. The Headteacher will share more on this soon. Thank you to all those parents who engaged with the survey!

 

The Governors recognise that staff have been under a lot of additional pressure as a result of COVID, and another focus of our discussion today was regarding how the school can help staff to be mindful of their own wellbeing and support them to actively manage it. We shared a lot of ideas on this subject which the Headteacher will discuss with the school leadership team and decide how to implement. Thank you to all school staff for their positive attitudes and hard work during these challenging times.

23rd October 2020

The Resources Committee met this evening to monitor the school's budget for this year, as well as agree pay recommendations for the teachers in school and agree important policies. We are very pleased and proud of how hard the staff have worked over the past year, considering the very challenging circumstances. We are also pleased that the school budget is looking very positive, despite the additional costs of additional cleaning and resources to keep everyone safe. There are plans to use a large amount on new resources to enhance children's learning in school, particularly around Reading.  

Keep your eyes open for our latest updates!

21st October 2020

This evening the curriculum committee met with the literacy coordinators in school - Miss Weston and Mrs Green. We gained an insight into the leader's role within school. We looked at how reading, writing and phonics was delivered throughout the school. It was useful to look at the new action plans for the year and what is being put into place to support the children with their literacy skills. It sounds like this is going to be a great school year with lots of exciting things lined up for the children! We can't wait to see their learning! 

13th October 2020

The Chair of Governors met briefly with the Headteacher today to discuss various matters including the impact of COVID-19 in the year so far. The impact of COVID-19 both on attainment and on wellbeing of staff and pupils will feature as one of the priorities for the school to address this academic year on its annual "School Development Plan", which is to be formally approved by the Governors in November. The school is already working hard in this area and we look forward to hearing more about its next steps at our November meeting.

16th September 2020

 

Hi everyone and welcome to the new school year. This evening a full governing board meeting was held to discuss and reflect on the new routines and changes that have taken place since the opening of school following the holidays. The staff at school are extremely pleased with how the children have adapted to the new routines and how well they have returned to learning. 

 

As part of the meeting new governor roles have been updated. (See the attached table).

Governors are allocated an area of responsibility within school. Over the year, it was agreed that each governor will visit school to discuss their area.