Parents & Governors Meeting - Minutes March 26th

Minutes - March 26^th

• Welcome from Gill Gordon
• Introduce Lois Nicholls
• Previous meeting
• Parent readers have now started working with pupils
• Parents have been in to look at Read Write Inc resources and lessons as was requested
• Bollards have been purchased for the lower car park entrance and are now being placed outside every morning.
• HMI Feedback
• Ofsted placed the school into Special Measures - requires termly monitoring visits. After each visit a letter is written to publish findings and set updated targets for the next monitoring visit
• Result of the inspection is that the school is now graded as satisfactory – please see the link of the school’s webpage to read the full report online. Copies have been distributed to parents.
• The visit was very positive - clear commentary on how teaching and achievement have improved
• Will no longer be termly visits by HMI - next visit will be by a full Ofsted team in next 12-18 months
• Team Work
• Improvements have been achieved through all stakeholders working together
• Pupils behaviour and willingness to engage and speak positively about the school has been key
• Parents have shown clear support for the school - attendance, uniform, discipline, giving views and ideas, running clubs, attending meetings, helping readers, raising money, organising events for the children
• Governors have been ever present and supportive - raising money, attending training, present at meetings, helping co-ordinate new build
• Staff have worked hard to develop their practice and respond to training, adopt new strategies, implement new policies and resources
• Looking ahead
• Brave new world for schools with changing Ofsted rules
• Satisfactory is not satisfactory any more - will be called ‘requires improvement’
• Our desire is to be a good school within 12-18 months
• Clear targets to work on which require continued support of whole school community
• Pupils’ good behaviour and attitudes are a notable strength
• Children’s early writing and number skills develop steadily through the Early Years Foundation Stage, and reading levels are improving and gaps with all children nationally are closing.
• Pupils make quicker progress in their speaking, listening and computer-based skills.
• Teaching quality is typically satisfactory and, as a result, pupils' learning of basic skills is more systematic than at the time of the previous inspection.
• Targets for next 12-18 months
• Improve pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by December 2012 through:
• giving them more guidance in sentence structures, spelling and punctuation
• extending their wider reading skills and enjoyment, particularly in Years 1 and 2
• providing them with more compelling reasons to write frequently and at length
• enabling them to practise and their number skills more frequently.
• Improve teaching and the pace of pupils’ learning through the school to become typically good by September 2012 through:
• ensuring pupils understand why they are learning certain skills and knowledge and how they can benefit their later learning
• ensuring that teachers’ explanations or discussions are briefer so that pupils have more time to tackle learning activities
• making activities as meaningful and relevant to pupils’ interests as possible.
• Develop the skills of middle leaders in improving teaching and learning and raising achievement.
• Your role in this
• Support with wider reading - visits to the Library (school to introduce a stamper card in partnership with Hilldene Library)
• Continued support for attendance and punctuality
• Maintaining push for consistent high standards - if you're not getting the service you expect, tell us!
• Give us your views - upcoming Kirkland Rowell survey and Parent View
• School website to be updated this week to highlight Parent View - recent news item also placed on blog
• Computers to be made available at Open Days and Parent Evenings to allow for registering of views

• New Build Update
• Funding has now been released for the new Nursery - approx £200,000 – meaning it will be in place for September
• Planning approval and drawings already complete
• Will include covered outdoor area for both Nursery and Reception
• Area previously used by demountable classroom to become an EYFS garden
• devolved capital from this year and next to be used
• fundraising by children and parents will also help complete project
• school to pursue support from locality & private sponsorship
• Remaining parts of Phase 3 are not yet confirmed
• shortage of primary places in Harold Hill make Broadford a key site
• LA intending to mothball old building - some intent to refurbish it in the future
• Would mean that school retains use of kitchen and hall for one more year

• Bike Safety
• Changes outlined above have delayed purchase of new bike shed
• Can use racks at the front of the school:
• We wear cycle helmets to and from school
• We walk our bikes onto the premises
• We do not cycle down the hill towards Dulverton
• We do not come to or leave school unaccompanied unless in Year 5&6
• Reminder of closure dates
• not affected by any strike action on the 28th - school open as normal
• not affected by the London Mayoral Elections - school open as normal
• will be closed on 30th April INSET
• will be closed on 21st May INSET
• will be closed on 23rd July - last day of summer term is 20th July
• Upcoming events
• Please see the date list distributed to parents for a full listing of events
• Events at the school still creating interest from local press - two stories in this week
• Farm are in with Reception today
• Cookery workshops again on Wednesday for parents/pupils - will try to offer more next term
• Harold Hill Olympics event on 9th July - organised by Drapers
• Jubilee Event on Wednesday and Thursday before Summer Half Term
• Sharing assembly on Wednesday morning - dance troupe, choir and dance club
• Police Question time event for Year 6 pupils
• Basketball competition at the YMCA
• Year 6 trip to Stubbers
• Stubbers day has now been booked for 29^th June for Year 5
• BFG Pamper night 11th May
• Havering Music Festival 22nd June
• Country Dance Festival
• Harold Hill Festival on 7th July and 14th July Summer Fete
• Training and Advice for parents in Summer term
• Maths workshop on methods for multiplication etc
• Information evening for Reception parents (including RWI)
• Requests from parents - what can we offer you?
• Comments from parents
• Can parents’ evening appointments be lengthened to 10mins to avoid having to over run?
• Can the Junior teachers be in their classrooms for the meetings so that the hall is not too noisy and crowded?
• Can there be better co-ordination
• Can the school camera be turned to look at the pelican crossing so that incidents can be recorded? Parents noted that there have been several incidents of inconsiderate driving in recent weeks
• If there are further events for the children like the Romford Dance Festival could there be a ticket system so that unused places for parents could be redistributed?
• Why is homework not always marked and feedback given?
• Could there be homework and study clubs for the children?
• Can the routines for the changing of reading books be checked? There have been some occasions where the children have missed out on getting a new book.

Mr Drakes will talk to the teachers about the questions raised. Feedback from parents about changes they may have seen will be sought at the next meeting. Parents were reminded that if there are specific issues they have questions about they can see their class teacher. If that does not give an adequate resolution they can see Miss Rutherford (Year 5/6) Mr Trezise (Year 3/4) or Miss Chiswell (Year 5/6). EYFS parents could ask to see Mrs Nicholls (Deputy Headteacher).

Mr Drakes is available on the gate most mornings to speak to and parents can always fix an appointment if there is something they would like to discuss.

• Set date for next meeting – 28^th May @ 9.10am