Minutes of FGB Meeting - 15 May 2019 FINAL
Page 1 of 5 Chair’s Initials _____________
Minutes of the Statutory Meeting of The Board of Governors at Blossomfield Infant & Nursery School on Wednesday 15 May 2019
Present: Mrs L Bosley (Chair of Governing Body) (LB), Mrs B Farkas (Headteacher) (BF), Mrs S Church (SC), Mrs D Rothwell (DR), Mrs Michelle Wilson (MW), Mrs Olivia Chapman (OC), Ms Sophie Garraty (SG), Councillor Annette Mackenzie (AM), Mr J Shaw (JS)
Apologies:
Absent without Mr Stuart Hughes
Apologies:
In Attendance: Mrs P Atkinson (Business Manager) (PA), Mrs K Morrison (KM) (Deputy Headteacher), Ms Deborah Yardley (Clerk to The Governing Body) (DY) – from 6.15pm
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The meeting opened at 6pm and was quorate throughout (9 governors) Agenda Item |
Supporting Documents |
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Governors agreed that once the government spending review had confirmed the education budget, they would agree a reserves policy. Minute ref: BFGB150519.1 Governors unanimously approved the school budget for 2019/20. Minute ref: BFGBM150519.2 Governors unanimously approved the Childcare budget for 2019/20. |
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Welcome and Apologies for Absence The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no apologies for absence from SH. As the Clerk had advised she would be late arriving, the Chair took minutes for the first 15 minutes. |
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6.1.1 |
Declaration of Pecuniary Interests There were no changes to any declared interests or new declared interests. |
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6.2 |
Outturn statements 2018-19 School These were reviewed and noted by governors. Childcare These were reviewed and noted by governors. Schedule A – summary of reserves These were reviewed and noted. |
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6.3 |
Approval of Budget 2019/20 |
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Minute ref: BFGBM150519.3 The Chair of Governors would sign both budgets so they could be submitted to the local authority. Minute ref: BFGBM150519.4 |
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6.4 |
It was agreed that governors would advise Clerk if they cancelled a course booking outside the 24-hour period so that any potential charges could be queried and copy in the Business Manager. Minute ref: BFGBM150519.5 |
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6.5 |
The Chair would speak to Natasha Chamberlain for clarification about the protocol about governors attending other governing body meetings and what information governors could provide. Minute ref: BFGBM150519.6 |
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6.6 |
It was agreed the Resources Committee meeting scheduled for 5 June would be rescheduled for Thursday 27 June at 6pm. Minute ref: BFGBM150519.6 |
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School The School Business Manager had prepared a very comprehensive summary which had been made available in advance of the meeting via GovernorHub. Governors noted the impact on the 2019/20 budget of the local government review of changes in staff band grades. The Business Manager reminded governors that following their decision to withdraw from the SMBC relief site manager package, £2k had been held in reserve. The Headteacher advised that the cleaning company had opened and closed the school during the Easter holidays when the Site Manager had taken some holiday. Governors compared the figure to the previous year and noted variances, the largest additional cost was the increase in teachers pensions which would be fully funded. The Headteacher said that she had a concern about how the ongoing cost would be funded but this was the case for every school. The DfE were not able to make a commitment beyond 2019/20 as there would be a new government spending review. It was noted that the school reserves would be reduced to £220k. A governor asked whether too much was held in reserves and whether a policy was required. The Chair of Resources noted that the imminent spending review forced the school to be prudent but agreed that governors should agree an optimum amount for reserves. A governor noted that Schedule A provided details as to how the reserves would be spent. Governors agreed that once the government spending review had confirmed the education budget, they would agree a reserves policy. A governor asked whether the reserves might be taken back by the local authority. The Headteacher said that this had happened in the past but the threat has diminished as schools were now self-funding and generating income from childcare. Investment into childcare and the building of a new porch which would be a project for after the spending review. Governors agreed that it was important to invest money back into the childcare service which was being provided for parents but the outcome of the spending review was required before making decisions. A number of improvements to the school were planned including replacement of carpet with Karndean floor in the corridors and the replacement of toilet block in Pod C. The LA’s Property Services Team would carry out the third phase of the toilet renovations. The premises projects had been outlined in the SDP and depending on the cost involved, some projects would need to be approved by Resources Committee or the Full Governing Board depending on the value. This was noted by governors. ICT improvements had been planned using the Chancellor’s ‘little extras’. Curriculum costings were reviewed. The Headteacher advised that all school staff had been involved in collating and were able to ‘bid’ for their block of funding. Governors unanimously approved the school budget for 2019/20. Childcare The School Business Manager’s notes to the budget were reviewed. From September 2019, nursery pupils would be accepted from the term following their 3rd birthday, and the Headteacher advised that there were children on the waiting list currently. Current numbers indicated that nursery would be full in September. The |
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Headteacher said that the school would also be full from September 2019 with 90 places accepted. A governor asked about offering places for 2-year-old children and the Headteacher outlined the implications of having provision for 2-year olds. Governors agreed that the decision to focus on rising 3-year olds was the right decision for the school at this time. Governors noted that the band changes had had a significant impact for Blossomfield Childcare. Funding for nursery remained unchanged and there was no increase from government. Governors were advised that the gap between the commercial rate and government funding rate continued to grow. Governors further noted the contribution that Blossomfield Childcare made to the school budget. The 2019/20 costs were compared to the 2018/19 costs. A new smart panel had been included for Pine Cones room as the current one was not working effectively. Occupational health and HR and payroll charges had also increased since 2018/19. 2 new PCs would be purchased as the current ones were due to be removed from the network. The Chair of Resources considered that Childcare was now in a ‘steady’ state, with certainty around numbers and financial position. The Headteacher said that the only impact negatively on Childcare would be the opening of a new provision in the local vicinity. There had been the same demand from parents for 30 hours childcare this year as last. It was noted that this was only year 2 of offering 30 hours provision so this might increase as parents became more comfortable with the process. The Headteacher referred to the flexibility of the 3 rooms. The nursery room could accommodate 40 full time children, floor space in other rooms. Integration of staff between childcare and Foundation Stage enabled flexible provision for nursery and Reception children. Governors unanimously approved the Childcare budget for 2019/20. Governors recognised this was the most important meeting of the year and evidenced discharging one of their key roles by overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure that money was well spent. The Business Manager said that the budget approval timescale adopted this year had worked well and it was agreed that this would be adopted in future years. The Chair of Governors would sign both budgets so they could be submitted to the local authority. |
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Reminder of process for cancellation of governor training courses to avoid a fine There would be a fine of £25 if governors cancelled any Governor Services training courses within 24 hours. It was agreed that governors would advise Clerk if they cancelled a course booking outside the 24-hour period so that any potential charges could be queried. The Business manager should be copied into the cancellation as it is her responsibility to pay any invoices. |
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Agree Confidential Items It was agreed that were no confidential items. Governors were reminded about the importance of confidentiality as outlined in the Code of Conduct which all governors had signed. The Chair would speak to Natasha Chamberlain for clarification about the protocol about governors attending other governing body meetings and what information governors could provide. |
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6.6 |
Date of Summer Statutory Meeting Wednesday 3 July 2019 at 6pm – next statutory meeting It was agreed that due to reporting timescales, the Resources Committee meeting scheduled for 5 June would be rescheduled for Thursday 27 June at 6pm. |
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6.7 |
Termination of Meeting The meeting closed at 7.20pm. |