Welcome to the October Monthly Bulletin. Our bulletin has been produced with the aim of keeping governors, clerks and school leaders informed of the latest educational developments as they happen. The most effective way of using this briefing is to have it as a standing agenda item as part of your Governing Board and Committee meetings.

This guidance is for Schools and Governing Boards to enable parental responsibility understanding terms in reference to: who is a parent; parental responsibility; court orders; general principles; information sharing; obtaining consent including for medical attention; safeguarding and parent governors eligibility. How does your Headteacher inform the Board of compliance for parental engagement? Is your Board aware of the eligibility for parent governor elections? Do you use the Kelsi parent governor elections template?

These statistics give the local and national attainment statistics for KS2 including: average scaled score; gender; type and phase of school. KS1 statistics show the year 1 phonics and Year 2 reading, writing and maths national picture of 82% phonics; 75% reading; 70% writing; 76% maths. The Primary Accountability documents informs the definitions for coasting schools and floor standards. 64% of pupils met the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths;75% in reading; 76% in maths; 78% in GPS; and 78% in writing. How does your school compare? Do all governors understand the narrative behind their school results against the national, local and predicted figures? Does your board regularly see the progress and attainment made from their previous starting points?

This guidance helps schools to maintain high levels of school attendance and plan the school day and year. It includes reference for governors in: children missing in education; school day; school year. How does your Board ensure it has met its safeguarding responsibility for children missing in education? Are you asking the right questions? Are you informed of numbers of those missing in education?

This tool helps assure Board’s that they are meeting the standards to achieve a good level of financial health and resource management. The 6 areas of resource management questions for Boards can be used to identify areas for change ensuring resources are used to support high-quality teaching and best education outcomes. Financial benchmarking can then be used a comparison tool following Board’s findings. Has your Board used these tools? What has the comparison shown? Are there any actions from the findings?

Please read the attached appendix guidance. The Governing Board needs to have appointed a pay committee of 3 governors which MUST have their clerked meeting before the 31^st October following the appraisal process having been completed for all teachers. The minutes of this meeting are confidential to the committee, in case of a pay appeal. The latest Pay Policy must be approved by the Full Governing Board. Has your pay committee planned its meeting? Is a mid-year meeting booked to ensure objectives are on track? Is the Pay Policy on the next FGB agenda?

This series of documents includes; Find volunteers to become school governors and trustees;

Get help to recruit board members for large or growing MATs; Academy and school governance: professional development. Their purpose is to help strengthen governance, including recruitment (with links to inspiring governance and academy ambassadors), professional development for governors and clerks to governing boards, and support from national leaders of governance. The training is linked to the DfE licenced programmes for clerks and chairs mentioned later in this bulletin. Has your Board used the free recruitment services? Has your Chair, Vice Chair and Clerk undergone the professional development offered? What has been the impact?

This newsletter focuses on: the reformed 9 to 1 GSCEs; an update on floor standards and coasting schools; guidance on off-rolling in schools; clarification on conducting inspections in schools that are part of multi-academy trusts; guidance on in-school cadet units, and information on Ofsted’s new inspection reports website. Does your Board understand how Ofsted will be looking at all the above aspects? Can you articulate these?

Many resources have been updated, click here for further details. All free to members. Sign up here

Please click here for information on the categories and to see how to nominate governing boards and clerks for their outstanding practice in the NGA’s biennial Outstanding Governance Awards. Closing date 3^rd December 2018.

The new DfE funded development programme for all in a Chairing role or aspiring to be as part of succession planning still have places for cohorts 2 and 3. The course aims to develop leadership skills and confidence attracts DfE funding with full funding of £500 in most circumstances. Programme includes: three face-to-face workshops focusing on leadership development: 360-degree diagnostic evaluating strengths and development needs: interactive e-learning modules and resources; mentor support and support with creating a school-based project and action plan. Please see here for funding and registering requirements and click here to book your place. Two references are required. Governor services can be a referee. As Chair have you signed up? Are you signposting this to your aspirational Vice Chairs?  Does this form part of your Boards succession planning?

This year the EduKent Expo and Conference has rebranded to The Education People Show, a fantastic day of inspirational keynote speakers, informative workshops and plentiful exhibition stands, demonstrating how The Education People can support your schools across Kent and beyond. This year we’re proud to present Super-head Sir William Atkinson and Kent Olympian Lizzie Yarnold OBE as our keynote speakers. In addition, we have a programme of free keynotes and interactive workshops focusing on the big issues within education across all sectors and age ranges, from early years through to post-16. The day is an ideal event to network over free refreshments and lunch.  Register for free at www.theeducationpeopleshow.co.uk. Have you booked your free place

We are pleased to announce the Governor Conference on Tuesday 13 November 2018 from 09:00 - 13:00 at the Mercure Great Danes Hotel, Maidstone, ME17 1RE. Speakers include: Gillian Allcroft, Deputy Chief Executive from the National Governors Association. She is the author of the induction guide for trustees of multi academy trusts and is commissioning editor of NGA’s magazine Governing Matters; Claire Ray, Principal Officer for the Education Safeguarding Team, giving an update the latest Keeping Children Safe in Education updates and giving advice and guidance following recent Ofsted inspection experiences; Michelle Doyle Wildman – Acting Chief Executive at Parentkind will focus on ‘The Importance of communicating and engaging with parents’. One space free for Boards signed up to the training SLA. Book here. Is your Board represented at this conference? Have you booked your place? How will the information and impact from the conference be cascaded to your Board?

Have you registered to receive this bulletin on the website https://www.theeducationpeople.org/. This bulletin will be in the blog section of the website. Governance statutory information and guidance will also remain on KELSI. Have you signed up to the website to receive updates and to book training?

The new development programme for Clerks of all school and academy governance boards has been launched and delivered in Kent. The course attracts DfE support funding which for eligible schools & clerks, could see a cost reduction from the full price of £400 to £50. Please be aware that for the advertised courses, places and support funding are limited; we would suggest booking a place as soon as you are able. Course content, dates, time, venues, support funding and booking information can be found here Is this part of your Clerk’s Performance Management

The deadline dates for receiving the LA governor nominations for the 18-19 academic year are as follows: Friday, 11/01/19; Friday, 15/03/19; Friday, 17/05/19. Please ensure draft approved minutes containing the Board approved nomination are sent to [email protected] along with the signed nomination form. Please ensure the Chair has also signed the nomination form. For more information on the process click here

Suzanne Mayes, Governor Services Manager:  [email protected]

Clerking Lead & Senior Area Governance Officer: Julia Durcan  [email protected]

West Kent (Maidstone, Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells) [email protected]

North Kent (Dartford, Gravesham, Sevenoaks): Jude Johnson [email protected]

South Kent (Ashford, Dover, Folkestone & Hythe): Tina Gimber [email protected]

East Kent (Canterbury, Swale, Thanet): Lorraine Monkhouse [email protected]

The 2018 School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) has now been published by the DfE. This includes confirmation of the new teaching pay range values which will be applicable from 1 September 2018.

The following changes have been applied to the national pay frameworks:

• A 3.5% increase to the minimum and maximum of the main pay range and the unqualified teacher pay range
• A 2% increase to the minimum and maximum of the upper pay range, the leading practitioner pay range and allowances across all pay ranges (TLR / SEN).
• A 1.5% increase to the minimum and maximum of the leadership pay range and headteacher group size

There is no nationally determined prescribed cost of living award for teachers.

Schools should ensure no teacher is receiving an allowance beneath these new minimum values. Schools may determine the increase applied to allowances currently in payment within the ranges.

There have been no other changes to teachers’ pay and conditions this year.

Where schools use reference points for pay progression the SPS Pay Policy Guidance reflects the percentage increases as above. For the avoidance of any doubt the reference points remain lower than the NASUWT rates although the top and bottom of the range are the same. The difference is due to reference points not increasing last year in the SPS Pay Policy Guidance.

In 2018-19 schools in Kent have generally seen a change in their per pupil funding, this ranges from a small decrease per pupil to a substantial increase per pupil. The teachers’ pay grant is a welcome significant contribution to the additional cost of teachers’ salaries, however the 1% school budget contribution to the increase in teachers’ pay will present different affordability challenges on an individual school basis.

Consequently it is important that every School and Academy carefully considers the financial affordability implications of any pay progression decisions. These implications should be on the year any increases take effect as well as future years.

The Local Authority expects that all Community and Voluntary Controlled schools will use the SPS Model policy as the basis for their school pay policy

Where a teacher is paid on the minimum of their pay range, their salary must be uplifted to the new minimum.

Where a teacher is currently paid at the maximum of their range they may also move to the new ceiling value - subject to performance and evidence of meeting the criteria for pay progression within the school.

For all other teachers, schools must determine based on evidence of performance and in accordance with their own pay policy, how to take account of the uplift to the national framework in making individual pay progression decisions.

Schools should ensure all pay decisions are informed by evidence of performance as provided by the appraisal process. Any pay recommendation / decision should only be made after the completion of the appraisal review meeting. This review meeting should take place no later than 31 October for teachers (31 December for the Headteacher) and any pay award should be backdated to 1 September.

The DfE has also published provisional details of the additional funding which will be available to support the implementation of the pay award.

Both schools and academies will be eligible to access funds from the pay grant which will cover the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years.

This has been calculated by applying the average percentage uplift announced for 2018 (less the 1% increase that schools should have budgeted for) to the overall annual pay bill for teachers. This will then be allocated based on the number of pupils in each school or academy, at the following rates:

All mainstream schools will be funded for at least 100 pupils and all high needs institutions for at least 40 places.

Local Authorities will pass the additional funding provided by The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to maintained schools. The ESFA will provide funding directly to Academies.

The ESFA will provide further detailed guidance and information in October. This will include school level allocations for mainstream schools, and local authority level allocations for high needs. The ESFA will then make payments later in the autumn.

It is recommended that schools and academies carefully consider the financial affordability implications of any pay progression decisions. Decisions should also be made with regard to the additional funding which the school / academy is likely to receive via the National Pay Grant. Consideration should be given to the implications for both the current financial year and future years.

The September 2018 Model Pay Policy and guidance for schools and academies can be found on the SPS website. Our pay policy guidance contains a number of alternative approaches to pay progression.

Schools and academies may adopt whichever pay framework is appropriate to the needs of the school so long as the pay range values are compliant with those set out in the STPCD.  Many schools have opted to retain a points-based pay framework, but this is not mandatory.

Meaningful consultation is encouraged with staff and unions at a local level about any revisions to a school’s pay policy.

BPS financial planning tool has been updated to follow the SPS model pay policy. If your school has a different pay policy please contact schools financial services who will amend your financial planning tool accordingly.

Further information can be found on Kelsi