FullGoverning Body Meetings for this Academic Year:

Monday 24 November 2008

Monday 16 March 2009

Monday 22 June 2009

Fortismere Governing Body Code of Conduct

1. General

1.1        Our Vision: Fortismere strives to become a centre of excellence and a world class school with strong community links.  It aims to provide a diverse curriculum which challenges and encourages all members of the school, both students and adults, to reach their full potential.

1.2        The Governing Body will contribute most effectively to this aim by focusing on its three roles:

·         providing a strategic view of where the school is heading

·         acting as a critical friend of the Headteacher

·         holding the school to account for what it achieves and accounting to the community for these achievements.

1.3               Governors have a responsibility for determining, monitoring and keeping under review the policies, plans and procedures within which the school operates. The Headteacher is responsible for the implementation of policy, day-to-day management of the school and operation of the curriculum.

1.4               All Governors have equal status. Although governors are appointed/elected by different groups, their central concern will be what is best for the current and future pupils of the school.

1.5               Governors have a general duty to act fairly and without prejudice at all times.

1.6               Governors should fulfil all reasonable expectations of a good employer.

1.7               Governors should consider carefully how the decisions of their Governing Body might affect other schools.

1.8               Governors should encourage open governance and should be seen to do so.

1.9               Governors do not act alone but as members of a corporate team. Individual Governors have power only when it is delegated specifically to them by the whole Governing Body.

2. Commitment

2.1        Being a Governor involves a significant amount of time and energy. This should be kept in mind when agreeing to serve or to continue to serve on a governing body.

2.2        All Governors should involve themselves actively in the work of the Governing Body and accept a fair share of responsibilities, including service on committees.

2.3        Regular attendance at meetings of both the full Governing Body and committees is essential.

2.4        Governors will endeavour to learn about the school and its activities, taking opportunities to visit it and become involve.

3. Relationships

3.1        Governors should operate as a team in which constructive working relationships are actively promoted.

3.2        Governors should develop effective working relationships with the headteacher, staff, parents, the local authority and their local community.

4. Confidentiality

4.1        Governors will observe complete confidentiality, especially in relation to matters concerning individual staff, pupils or parents.

4.2        Although decisions reached at Governors' meetings are normally made public through the minutes or otherwise, the discussions on which     decisions are based must be treated as confidential.

4.3        Governors should exercise discretion when discussions of potentially contentious school issues arise outside the Governing Body.

5. Conduct

5.1        Governors should express their views openly within meetings but must accept collective responsibility for all decisions.

5.2        Governors should only speak or act on behalf of the Governing Body when they have been specifically authorised to do so.

5.3        All visits to school should be undertaken within a framework which has been established by the Governing Body and agreed with the Headteacher.

5.4        In responding to criticism or complaints relating to the school, Governors should refer to the school's agreed Complaints Procedure and advise the complainant accordingly.

5.5        Governors have a responsibility to maintain and develop the ethos and reputation of the school. Their actions within the school community should reflect this. In particular, they should keep in mind that actions they take as a private individual may be perceived as taken on behalf of the Governing Body.

5.6        Any conflict of interest, financial or non-financial, that a Governor may have in connection with the Governing Body's business must be recorded in the Register of Interests. When such an interest is declared, the Governor must leave the meeting while the item is under discussion.

INSTRUMENT OF GOVERNMENT:  FOUNDATION SCHOOL

Made:   30th August 2007

Coming into force: 1st September 2007

1.         The name of the school is: Fortismere.

2.         The school is a foundation school.

3.         The name of the governing body is: "The Governing Body of Fortismere".

4.         The governing body shall consist of:

            (a)        7 parent governors;

            (b)        4 Local Authority appointed governors;

            (c)        4 staff governors;

(d)                 3 community governors;

(e)                 2 partnership governors

5.                   Total number of governors - 20.

6.                   The term of office for each governor is 4 years.

7.         The instrument of government comes into effect on 1st September 2007.

8.         This instrument was made by order of Haringey Local Education Authority on the 30th August 2007.

Fortismere Board of Governors

[revised version following discussion at the Governors' meeting on 23 May]

Meeting on 23 May

Developing a Communications Strategy

For discussion and decision

Recommendations

Governors are invited to discuss the paper and agree -

the proposed terms of reference for the communications sub-group (Annex A);

the objectives for a communications strategy (para 2.2);

the principles to be taken into account in developing the strategy (paras 2.1-2.10);

that the detailed development and implementation of a communications strategy and plan is a matter for the SLT (paras 1.3 and 3.1);

that the sub-group should meet from time to time, to provide advice as appropriate, to comment on the draft strategy as it emerges and to review progress in implementation (para 3.2).

Background

Governors have agreed that a communications sub-group should be set up and that a communications strategy should be developed for implementation in the school year 2008-2009.  This paper is a result of the sub-group's initial discussions.

The membership of the sub-group and suggested terms of reference are at             

Annex A.

The SLT has already put work in hand to develop a communications strategy, led by Karen Allaway.  This will be closely linked to the School Plan 2008-2010 and the vision and values which will underpin it.  The Plan, vision and values are in preparation.

Consideration

The communications sub-group suggests that the following principles should be

taken into account  by the SLT in developing the strategy.

2.2     It is suggested that the objectives in improving internal and external communications should be to:

engage parents in a two-way process, actively seeking their views;

promote more effectively the school's vision, values and achievements;

increase the proportion of our stakeholders, in particular parents,who have a positive opinion of the school;

demonstrate the school's commitment to being as open, inclusive, accessible and responsive as possible.

2.3        The starting point should be clear agreement on the high level messages we wish to transmit, flowing from the school's vision and values.  Depending on what finally emerges from the current discussions on the vision and values, we (the Governors and SLT) might want to focus, for example, on:

academic excellence;

nurturing the individuality and potential of all students;

community links/partnerships;

extra-curricular opportunities;

the school's achievements and outcomes

2.4        The high level messages we transmit must be short, simple, consistent and 'owned' by all the staff and Governors (who should be ready to promulgate them corporately and personally.

2.5        It will be important to carry out a risk *****ysis in relation to potential

            unfavourable responses to the school's high level messages, whether from

            parents or the media.

Beneath the high level messages, there is a wide range of operational, day to

day communications, internal and external.   These include much of what is in the weekly newsletter for parents and in Fortissimo (the staff newsletter); much of the information on the school website; email communications with individual parents; the school's complaints procedure; and the home/school agreement.

All of these operational communications will need to be handled in a way that       

reflects the vision and values (one of the draft values speaks of 'a sense of being at the heart of a wider community of stakeholders through excellent communication and involvement).

Our various audiences will need to identified and prioritised; it may be

necessary to tailor our messages and information to engage different audiences.  Some audiences will be higher priority than others.  First and foremost, there are parents, prospective parents, students and staff. We also need to communicate with 'feeder' schools, other high-achieving schools, local institutions (the LEA, politicians, businesses, etc.), and local and national media.

An important consideration is the OFSTED recommendation last June that

the school should improve communication with parents  (the response to this recommendation is part of Karen Allaway's brief).

Our approach to our audiences inclusive; communication is a two-way process.  The strategy needs to be developed in an inclusive way, seeking views from parents, teachers and students, and effective mechanisms for engaging our constituencies in the longer term need to be put in place.  These might include some initial 'focus groups' with staff and with parents.

The nature and mode of communications should take full account of the

of the school's commitment to sustainability of resources.

Once the communications strategy is in place, we (the Governors and SLT)

will need to measure its impact.  This could be done, for example, through annual surveys of staff, parents and students.

Next steps

The SLT is asked to complete the development of the strategy and to consolidate the actions and initiatives arising from the strategy into an annual plan, initially for the year 2008-2009.

The draft strategy and plan should be submitted to the communications sub-

group for comment and then to the Governing Body.   The sub-group will

meet from time to time to review progress in implementation.                                                   

Annex A

Composition of communications sub-group

Mehrnoush Ataii, Nick Olive, Laura Bugden, Valerie Smith, Stephen Dunmore.

Terms of reference

To make recommendations on the principles and approach underpinning the development of a communications strategy.

To comment on drafts of the strategy and the plan which flows from it.

From time to time to review progress in implementing the strategy and plan.

All copies of governing body minutes and its sub-committees are kept by the clerk. Minutes dating back to the last two academic years are below, should you require copies of minutes for governing body minutes going back further, please contact the Clerk.