Trust Board Minutes Friday July 15th 2016

Transcription

1 Trust Board Minutes Friday July 15th 2016 Attendance: Dame Rachel de Souza Sir Theodore Agnew Mr David Tibble Mrs Maggie Hollingsworth Mr Sam Berwick Mark Vandenburgh (item 15/080 I & 15/081) Jon Ruddock (items 15/080 ii, iii, iv, v) Wendy Cousins (item 15/080 vi) Tom Leverage (item 15/083 & 15/084) Rebecca Handley-Kirk (item 15/082) Gareth Stevens (item 15/086) Kimberly Morton (item 15/087) Minutes: Sally Willcox Item No. Action 15/075 Chairman s welcome, apologies for absence and notification of any urgent business: Apologies were received from Julian Hanson Smith and John Hodgson 15/076 Declarations of relevant Interest There were no declarations of relevant interest. 15/077 To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 th May 2016 The Board APPROVED the minutes of the meeting held on 27 th May /078 To address any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting not covered by the agenda The Chairman asked that item 15/040ii be carried forward. A request was made for Jo Brown to forward the Nursery Budget to the Clerk for circulation to the Trustees. SW/JB 15/079 CEO Report (Chief Executive) The report was taken as read with the Chief Executive updating the Trustees as follows: The Charles Darwin exchange of contracts was signed on 14 July 2016 with the contract for Trafalgar due to be signed that afternoon. The Trustees were advised that conversations were ongoing with the Department for Education in respect of Great Yarmouth High School, which was now unlikely to join 1

2 the Trust in September. The Chief Executive advised that the Trust would continue to support the school during this transition period and that the cost of this would be borne by the school prior to transition to the Trust. The Chief Executive updated the Board on the work being undertaken in respect of safeguarding and asked that a green safeguarding rating be used as part of the Principals Performance Bonus. The Board APPROVED this suggestion. Sam Berwick advised the Board that discussions he had around GAG Pooling had left him being concerned that moving to this method of funding would not incentivise Principals to manage budgets efficiently. The Chief Executive advised that a workstream, led by Principals, would look at the development and introduction of GAG pooling and that the response from all had been very positive. The Chief Executive and the Chairman appraised the Trustees on their recent visit to Outwood Grange where they focused on Curriculum Lead Financial Planning. Richard Dolding at East Point Academy was working on these models for the Trust schools and would be visiting Outwood Grange to look further at the system that they use to streamline spending and make the Trust more financially efficient. The Chief Executive advised that all Principals had seen the strategic plan that included Curriculum Lead Financial Planning and would be attending a training session with Outwood Grange in the autumn on this item. The Trustees were advised that Outwood Grange used a model where they had a pool of central teachers to provide intervention and curriculum development and that this model helps with capacity. 15/080 Departmental Reports (standing Items) Data Report (included in CEO report) Mark Vandenburgh discussed with the Trustees the KS2 and KS4 predictions for 2016/17 results. He advised the Board that KS2 results cannot be compared with past results as there was a new assessment model in place. He advised that the results the Trust had seen had thrown up some surprises however, the same had been seen countrywide. The Board were assured that using this year s data the Trust now has a benchmark for children going forward. In respect of KS4 the Trustees looked at the predictions for next year's GCSE results. The Board asked that the data includes a second page which gives an overview of what score is good, great, poor etc once national data is available. In respect of Progress 8 scores the Board were advised that each +0.5 recorded is equivalent to half a grade above the expected level. May Management Accounts (Jon Ruddock) The May Management accounts were taken as read with a request that the June Management accounts be ed to Trustees when available. Finance Committee ToR s (Jon Ruddock) to be approved JR The Board APPROVED the Terms of Reference for the Finance Committee. Confirmation that Julian Hanson-Smith had seen them and approved them is to be sought by the Clerk. 2016/17 Trust Budget (Jon Ruddock) SW 2

3 Jon Ruddock presented the budget for 16/17 to the Board. He asked that the Board note that increased contributions to pensions and National Insurance had impacted by around 800K. The Board were advised that there had been non-pay cost savings of around 650k. The Board APPROVED a mechanism whereby funding for all schools within the Trust would be based on actual pupil numbers and not on lagged numbers with Principals being expected to justify their deficits in future. The Board APPROVED only those budget that were predicting a surplus. Finance Paper (Jon Ruddock) Taken as read. HR Report and Update (Wendy Cousins) The report was taken as read and the Board noted that the Trust was now actively managing absence. Wendy Cousins advised that since the HR officers have been in the schools there was much better information coming through on absence. The HR staff are training line managers in respect of return to work interviews for absent staff, which are carried out despite the length of absence. The Board were advised that absent percentages work on days and that the average target should be 2.5, equivalent to 5 days. The Board have asked that the HR reports include the number of supply days covered in each school per month. 15/081 5 Year Strategic Plan (Chief Executive) WC The Data targets in plan was presented by Mark Vandenburgh who gave an explanation as to why the targets were set where they were. The Chief Executive advised that these targets may need changing annually once more data is known about pupils. The Performance Management targets will still be set individually. The Board asked the Chief Executive to bring Charles Darwin targets to the October Board meeting. The Board asked for the inclusion of Pupil premium data however, Mark Vandenburgh advised that this wasn't possible at present however a gap target could be set up and the plan needs to show a closing of the gap. Mark Vandenburgh to come back with a solution to the October Board. RDS The Chief Executive advised that the target for EBACC eligibilty had been set at 95% with a 66% achievement rate which would prove difficult and challenging to meet and would need building into the curriculum led model. Progress 8 targets are looking forward 2 years as there is no mechanism for tracking pupils any further forward than this. The estimated attainment 8 figure will change annually once updated data is available. The Board asked that the progress 8 information be removed and re-introduced to the plan in 2 years time when there are actual figures to forecast from. The Board further requested that the KS5 value added figures be set on a yearly target basis and roll forward each year. 3

4 The Board were advised that the DFE will start to publish KS5 destination data annually and 1 year in arrears. The Chairman is to discuss with Mark Vandenburgh how best to define best universities as there is some discomfort around using the phrase Russell Group. /TA The Board were advised that the attendance target is set at above national average to boost improvement across all Trust schools. 15/082 SIN / JAC Recruitment update (Rebecca Handley-Kirk) Rebecca Handley-Kirk gave an update to the Board on 6 h Form recruitment figures for Sir Isaac Newton and Jane Austen College. She further advised that a recent induction day has seen students through the doors with another wanting to attend but unable to do so due to prior commitments. The Board were advised that applications across both sites were at and that take up is usually around. Compared to this time last year, more applications had been made. The Board were advised that marketing for 2017/18 intake had already commenced. 15/083 Hewett Staffing UPDATE (Tom Leverage) Tom Leverage gave a verbal update to the Board advising that the staffing restructure had now come to an end with the recruitment of strong teachers and a full staffing compliment for September The budget deficit of for the coming year was discussed and the Board were advised that Tom Leverage would be meeting with members of the Finance Committee to look at this. Unexpected costs were the biomass boiler ( and overspend of on IT). 15/084 Hewett Safeguarding Report (Tom Leverage) The Hewett Safeguarding report was taken as read. 15/085 Policies (For Board Approval) The Board APPROVED the following policies: Recruitment Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Safeguarding Educational Visits 15/086 Gareth Stevens Hethersett Academy The Trustees discussed the overspend at Hethersett with Gareth Stevens. Gareth advised that there had been a few issues with staffing and incorrect figures being put into the budget with a late addition of IT spend from finance which pushed the figures over and no accounting for increased National Insurance contributions. The forthcoming year is showing a deficit however, it was noted that the new accounting system will be giving the per pupil allowance for current numbers and not lagged numbers which will help with better budgeting. Gareth advised that the school had a large senior team for its size all of whom each teach 16 hours per week. 4

5 The Board were advised that the intake for 2016 was close to a 6 form entry at present and that the teaching school will generate income. 15/087 Kimberly Morton Cobholm Primary (recent DFE visit) The Board discussed with Kimberly Morton the recent Regional School Commissioner visit to the school and congratulated her on the improvements reported by the inspector. A brief discussion took place in respect of KS2 results and Kimberly Morton advised the Board that the Senior Leadership Team team will be leading intervention and not having a form group. Kimberley advised the Board that she would like to see a pass mark of next year. 15/088 Items for October agenda: Trust Wide plan for Teaching School (Rachel de Souza) Update of Trading and Lettings (Jon Ruddock) 15/089 Any other urgent business, previously notified to the Chair There was no other business Date and time of next meeting The next meeting will be held on Friday October 7 th 2016 from at Trust HQ, Norwich 5