governor newsletter january 2014

8/13/2019 Governor Newsletter January 2014

1/4

EMMER GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

GOVERNORS NEWSLETTER

Janu ary 2014

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda/Happy New Year to all of you.

Welcolme to the first Governors Newsletter of 2014.

In this edition, we review the recent Governor Day and reflect on the recent excellent

academic results.

You may also recall from my previous Newsletter in July 2013 that I said that I would return

to the issue of the Schoolsfinances.

During the autumn of 2013, we met with Reading Borough Council (RBC) a number of

times to discuss the Schools financial position and the fact that we feel that a number of

factors conspire against us when looking at the current funding formula and comparing this

with the funding other schools receive eg we are a large School, with a relatively low number

of children on free school meals but a relatively high number of children with special

educational needs.

We expect to incur a significant deficit in the financial year April 2013 to March 2014 and the

preliminary funding formula in place for April 2014 to March 2015 looks as though it means

that an even greater deficit will be incurred in this next period.

In my view this means that we can no longer rely on RBC funding to provide us with all of the

resources required for the School to continue to operate as it has been over the past few

years.

So, where do you, the parents, fit in to all of this? I am conscious that many of you already

make a major contribution to the School whether it is via the PTFAs activities or assisting

with such things as pupil reading and this is very much appreciated. But with around 800

parents, I am convinced that much more could be achieved. Across all of our parents, theremust be a whole host of skills, experience and contacts that could be utilised. A perfect

example of this was Gavin Aldrich giving up a significant portion of his own time to assist the

School with its new website which resulted in the School saving several thousand pounds by

not having to use an outside agency. Also, a number of local businesses already provide

sponsorship of events.

So, this is a call to arms to those parents out there who might be able to help, whether it is

offering a skill or expertise that you think might benefit the School or perhaps for those who

work for a locally based major corporation some form of gift, fundraising or sponsorship

activity could be offered (possibly via the PTFAs activities). I am open to all ideas, however

creative, minor or major, and if you think you can help please contact the School Office or


2/4

the PTFA representatives and if you want to speak to me, I can also be contacted via the

Office.

I appreciate that some of you will take the view that we are a state maintained School and

that parents shouldnt be expected to contribute in any way over and above their own childs

activities and I respect this view. However I do hope that considerable numbers of yourespond to my plea and together I am certain we can continue to take the School from

strength to strength.

Best Wishes

Gareth Roberts

Chair of Governors

13 January 2014

Governing Body

Chair: Gareth Roberts

Vice Chair: Jack Miller

Teaching Members: Tonia Crossman, Aimee Crofts, Claire Waite

Non-teaching Member: Janet ORiordan

Local Authority Members: Richard Willis, Alexandra Smith, Annette Hendry

Parent Members: Katy Trigg, Sally Power, Jon Cowles, Peter Greenham

Community Members: Gareth Roberts, Jack Miller, Andrea Grashoff


3/4

Governor Day 2014

The Governors who sit on the Curriculum Committee and who have a responsibility for

Literacy and Numeracy, play an integral part in the Schools self-evaluation and monitoring

process. A key event on their calendar is to attend in our annual Governor Day to gain an in

depth understanding of their specific subject areas.

The Governor Day begins with a meeting with the School leader for their subject area, in

which the Schools action plan is discussed. Each subject area within the School has an

action plan devised in order to address areas in need of development; these plans are

closely linked to the whole School Development Plan and the associated targets for the

childrens progress.

To understand how the curriculum is taught at Emmer Green, the Governors then visit

lessons to observe a variety of year groups. This is an excellent insight for Governors to see

how key initiatives are being implemented and the impact they are having on the quality of

teaching and learning. Jon Cowles, Numeracy Governor Lead, commented on one of thelessons, a great example of engaging the children, with tasks set in a way which made

the learning fun and enjoyable.

The final element of their visit is to fully evaluate the data achieved within their subject area

and what was accomplished in terms of the previous years targets. Sally Power, who has

had responsibility for Literacy for two years, commented in her report, The objective last

year when I attended the Governor Day was to improve 2b writing and the School achieved

an excellent result, increasing from 77% to 88%. Well done!

Curriculum Committee Governors not only celebrate the Schools achievements, but also

challenge the targets set and how we plan to realise them. This leads to rigorous analysis ofthe Schools progress. Another Curriculum Committee Governor, Alexandra Smith, focusses

on the data analysis which takes place. Her job is to look at our School data and gain an

understanding of the action points required. Alexandra understands the yearly progress of all

of the year groups as well as the summative results of KS1(Year Two) and KS2 (Year Six)

assessments.

The results for the last academic year were as follows:

KS1 2013 Results

% children achieving L2B+ in 2013

School data

2013 2012 2011

Maths 93% 93% 100%

Reading 92% 93% 93%

Writing 88% 77% 81%

% children achieving L3+ in 2013

School data

2013 2012 2011

Maths 58% 56% 53%

Reading 65% 54% 53%

Writing 30% 30% 20%


4/4

KS2 Results 2013


School data

2013 2012 2011

Maths 95% 98% 90%

Reading 96% 97% 93%

Writing 96% 100% 88%


School data

2013 2012 2011

Maths 54% 55% 55%

Reading 60% 67% 73%Writing 54% 45% 33%

Progress in KS2

% children making 2 levels progress

School data

2013 2012 2011

Maths 94% 98% 88%

Reading 91% 92% 95%

Writing 100% 100% 88%

Due to the Schoolsclose partnership with its Governing Body and the determined strive of

the School for continuous improvement; our pupils are making very good progress and

excellent attainment. Emmer Green Primary achieves significantly above national figures

and ranks within the top five when compared to the other thirty six RBCs schools.

Aimee Crofts

Deputy Headteacher

governor newsletter january 2014

Documents