Annual Governance Statement

In accordance with the Government’s requirement for all governing bodies, the three core strategic functions of Barlby Bridge CP School are:

1. Ensuring Clarity of Vision, Ethos and Strategic Direction
2. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and it’s pupils
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure it’s money is well spent.

The governing body of Barlby Bridge C. P. School shall be made up of 11 governors of
whom 2 shall be parent governors, 6 co-opted, 1 local authority governor, 1 staff
governor and the head teacher.

To effectively contribute to the governance and success of the school the governingbody employs a range of attributes in finance, education, business and management helping to provide a strategic view for improvement to ensure accountability and act
as a critical friend so that good quality education is provided by Barlby Bridge C. P. School. The governing body has a programme of meetings throughout the school year and a committee structure that focuses on specific areas of governance including Standards and Pupils, Performance Management and Personnel, Finance and Buildings.

Dr. K Wailing comes to the end of her term of office and our thanks go out to her for the contribution she has made to the governing body. In September 2021 there will be three governing vacancies. Mr. R Wells joined the governing body in 2020.

The governing body have a clear overview of the schools’ work on raising outcomes for all pupils with a focus on the following

1: To oversee the introduction of a rigorous , ambitious and enriched curriculum,
coherently planned and sequenced

2: To promote staff and pupil health and well being, having achieved the
Healthy Schools Award

3: To oversee a rigorous and sequential approach to reading and mathematics throughout
the school so as to develop pupil confidence, fluency and enjoyment.

During the first term Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Hockley were both on maternity leave and Mr. Dyer continued as acting Head Teacher with Jo Ellis as his deputy. School life had changed completely in March 2020 with the onset of Covid 19 and consequently governing body meetings continued via the virtual zoom platform.

In September 2020 all children were welcomed back to school in a covid safe way
operating in class “ bubbles “. The governors supported staff ensuring that safeguarding was a top priority. Children adapted well to new routines and attendance has been excellent despite the effects of the pandemic.

Throughout this crisis the governing body continued to support the school, the Chair of Governors making frequent contact and occasional visits in a safe  manner when possible to ensure that oversight and assistance was provided.

In the light of this unique crisis with the school being unable to function properly and many pupils missing some of their school year , the governing body has agreed to support the Head and staff in continuing the school development plan for 2019-20 into the this academic year, 2020-21. As a result the curriculum focus was on closing the attainment gaps, providing booster sessions for this recovery phase, following the Healthy Schools agenda and introducing a school house system to encourage
children to be more active.

Isolation preparation and planning for home learning were an essential part of the covid policy. The governing monitoring schedule was severely limited by the pandemic but two governors managed to monitor the isolation procedure and all members were
encouraged to study the “ Keeping Children Safe in Education “ document. Throughout the pandemic the school remained open for the children of critical workers and plans were made for the safe return of pupils after closures, including
lateral flow tests for staff.

In March 2021 Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Hockley returned from maternity leave and the governing body greatly appreciates the fantastic work Mr. Dyer did during their absence with the assistance of Jo Ellis. Since Mrs Hughes returned the governors received updates from the headteacher regarding the impact of Covid 19 on the children’s education including maths, reading vocabulary and writing. The headteacher introduced the National Tutoring Programme in order to boost confidence and help children catch up for lost time. The health, well being and self esteem of both staff and pupils has been a priority for the governing body throughout the year as they are
presented with many challenges.

The governing body continued to review policies, complete required courses on line and ensure that they had good financial oversight so that the school gets good value for money.

Looking forward to the next academic year the governing body hopes to receive an outline of the catch up strategy “ Curriculum on a Page “ in the Autumn term 2021. Curriculum planning remains a critical aspect of the whole school development plan
monitored by the governing body. Let us hope that as we recover from the effects of the pandemic we can continue to learn, grow and achieve together next year!

Stephen Walker, B. Phil., B. A. , PGCE Chair of Governors