Each of the Areas above lists the Governing Bodies which are members of the LASGB. Click on the school name to visit their website.

Please contact LASGB if your website is not here.

lasgb.contact@virgin.net

THE LANCASHIRE ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL
GOVERNING BODIES

NGA News Briefing 18 September 2009
 
The NGA weekly news briefing is an essential document for any governor, clerk or governor support officer
The briefing gives details of new research, government consultation papers, policy announcements and legislation, together with a summary of recent education stories in the media.
 
Vetting and Barring
All change on Vetting and Barring, with a review announced by the secretary of state after last week’s furore in the press. Do not however expect great changes; the review is being carried out by the Independent Safeguarding Authority, which has not taken a great deal of notice of the concern expressed so far.
 
NGA GUIDES
The NGA GUIDES are rolling off the presses. We hit some delays in August with design but we are still confident that the Guides will be available as promised by the end of September. To offer a taster in this newsletter we offer a briefing on new requirements for staffing policy, together with an extract from the NGA Guide ‘Support and Challenge’ on the issue.
*  Employment law
The Employment Act 2008 introduced new procedures for disciplinary matters and grievances which took effect in April this year.
These new procedures are less rigid that the previous model and based on a new ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. Whilst it will not be mandatory for employers to follow this Code, the tribunals will want to see a very good reason if the Code is not followed. The new Act will give tribunals the power to adjust awards by up to 25% for unreasonable failure by either the employer or the employee to comply with the Code.  Schools should therefore review their employee handbooks to ensure that their disciplinary procedures fall in line with the new ACAS code. 
Most school governing bodies adopt both a disciplinary and grievance policy so it is important that they are reviewed. It is expected that a greater emphasis on resolving disputes early on, particularly with regard to problems such as poor performance and attendance, will be addressed more robustly as a part of a disciplinary process with the hope that the matter will not finish up at the employment tribunal. It is important when the policies are being reviewed to expand on exactly how poor performance, attendance and conduct will be handled. Where an employee is unhappy employers will be encouraged to deal with the causes at an earlier stage than currently and to use a third party mediator if necessary.
Governing bodies should not rely on their local authority to do this work for them. The law and guidance on these issues is very clear as the NGA Guide Support and challenge shows:
*  Extract from ‘Support and Challenge’ - Staff Discipline and Capability
The governing body must establish procedures for the regulation of the conduct and discipline of staff at the school.
Regulation 6 & 7 of the School Staffing England Regulations 2003 to be replaced by the Regulation 7 & 8 of the School Staffing (England) (Consolidation) Regulations 2009  The governing body must also have regard to the staffing guidance under sections 35(8) and 36(8) of the Education Act 2002 issued by the DCSF
*  Delegation
The governing body can delegate this task to a committee, an individual governor or the Headteacher. It would not be good practice to delegate such an important responsibility to an individual governor.
*  Challenge
Q  Does your governing body have a discipline and grievance procedure in place?
Q If you have adopted the local authority or diocesan procedures, are you sure that these are fit for purpose in your school? Do they, for example, cite the governing body as the authority that would hear an appeal, or deal with a grievance or disciplinary matter involving the Head?
Q  Have you consulted with your staff about the procedures you have in place?
Q  How do your procedures compare with the DCSF guidance and the model procedures on the ACAS website?
*  Notes:
The School Staffing Regulations place a responsibility on governing bodies to adopt relevant employment policies and it is a decision for the governing body how they approach this duty.  Most local authorities (and sometimes the other bodies) draw up model policies, rules and procedures and these are incredibly valuable to governors and prevent each governing body from having to start from scratch. 
 
Local authority (LA) procedures have the advantage of being drawn up with the benefit of the professional expertise and experience of the LA and in consultation with representatives of staff unions and associations
But governing bodies should not simply adopt any model policy as drafted each governing body needs to ensure that the model policy is properly tailored to its particular circumstances. Governing bodies need to make sure that such policies refer explicitly to the governing body’s staffing responsibilities, particularly in relation to any disciplinary/grievance matters relating to the Headteacher.
Specifically, the Staffing Guidance states that:
‘In adopting or reviewing any such models the governing body should ensure that its ultimate responsibility for the regulation of staff conduct and discipline is not overridden by another body or authority’.
Para. 6.4 Staffing Guidance cited above.
 
Governing bodies are not required to adopt the model policy drawn up by any particular body.
Governing bodies are allowed to draw up their own procedures. Any governing body that follows this route must consult with employees before implementing the new procedures.  Such consultation is good practice even if the governing body is adopting model procedures.
(extract from the NGA Guide ‘Support and Challenge’)
Science in Schools
 
The NGA CEO met with the education charity Sense about Science this week to discuss the thorny issue of science in schools. This was not about the content of science lessons, but about the concern expressed by some observers that schools are being used by charlatans and commercial companies who misrepresent their product or ‘research study’ as scientific.   The best known of these approaches is Brain Gym, which makes a number of claims which have no scientific basis. Brain Gym presenters, for example, have claimed that it is important to drink water because water is an excellent conductor of the electrical energy needed by the brain. This is tosh. Water is a poor conductor of electricity and the brain does not source its electrical energy from outside the body.
 
Governors should be concerned about these matters, firstly because schools should be places where children receive an education not a bag of gimmicks and potions, but also because there is the potential for real harm in some of the approaches that have been made.
 
So the NGA is appealing for examples of approaches that may have been made by organisations or commercial companies purporting to be based on science or as part of an allegedly ‘scientific’ research study. We are particularly interested in the actual leaflets or letters that may have been received. Copies and correspondence to Phil Revell.  phil.revell@nga.org.uk Information about Sense about Science can be found here

NGA Email Forum
The new email forum will open as soon as a 'critiocal mass' of 50 people have signed up. We will operate the emaiol forum on the same basis as the discontinued web forum, in that anonymous posts will not be permitted. We will also have a code of practice that forum members will be asked to agree. Forum posts WILL NOT be directed to the full NGA email list; only NGA members who have requested Forum access will be added to the round robin.
If you would like to take advantage of this facility please email Gillian Allcroft in the NGA Office.
gillian.allcroft@nga.org.uk
 
Autumn and Winter Events and Conferences
Two national conferences this winter; the first is our Annual Conference and AGM in Birmingham, where the focus is accountability and the keynote speaker is Ofsted chief Inspector Christine Gilbert.
The second event is a departure from normal practice for the NGA. This will not be an event aimed solely at governors; we would also like to see professionals who work with governing bodies, such as governor services managers, school improvement partners and others whose professional role brings them into contact with governors. The conference will celebrate good practice and allow people to peek over the walls of the professional silos and acquire a comprehensive understanding of the various groups who work with governors and governing bodies.
Information about both events can be found on the Events section of the NGA website.
 
NGA Regional Meetings
A reminder that the NGA regional meetings will take place during October. The first meeting, for the London Region, will take place on Saturday 3rd October at the NCVO, closely followed on 5th October by the South East meeting also at the NCVO and the North East meeting on Tuesday 6th October at Durham County Hall. Details of the other meetings can be found on the Events Section of the NGA website.
Clare’s Blog
The Chair's blog can be downloaded via the attached link - Chair's blog
Contact NGA by e-mail governorhq@nga.org.uk
or by phone 0121 643 5787
 
This newsletter is distributed as a benefit of NGA membership.
If you are receiving a copy forwarded by a governor colleague, local authority or local association you will find that some of the links will not work.
If you think this newsletter is a valuable resource you should consider becoming a NGA member - more information on membership can be found on the NGA website, or by following this link

NGA members can find previous newsletters here  Or by cutting and pasting this link into their browser window  http://www.nga.org.uk/Newsletterarchive.aspx
NGA News Briefing 11 September 2009
 
The NGA weekly news briefing is an essential document for any governor, clerk or governor support officer. The briefing gives details of new research, government consultation papers, policy announcements and legislation, together with a summary of recent education stories in the media.
 
Vetting and Barring Scheme
The Scheme hit the news today with most press outlets making some comment. Comments were largely around the impact on parents who regularly volunteer to drive children to sporting/other events and will, therefore, need to be registered on the scheme. Some people have criticised this aspect of the scheme as ‘overkill’-
 
School governors are of course specifically named in the legislation under-pinning this scheme and will be to be registered.  The Scheme is being implemented in phases and in the first instance will apply to new school governors or those starting a new term of office. Registrations under the new scheme will not start until 2010. The cost a registration will be free for volunteers.
 
The NGA will issue a more detailed briefing when more aspects of the Scheme become clear.
In the meantime a sample of some of today’s stories can be viewed via the attached links
 
BBC Online 
Daily Mail
The Guardian
 
Safer Recruitment Training - Changes to the on-line host
The new Staffing Regulations which were consulted on before the summer holidays are still on track to come into effect by the end of this year.  This means that from 1 January 2010 it will be a requirement for all interview panels to contain at least one member who has undertaken the Safer Recruitment Training. This is can be done on-line or via face to face training.
 
From 1 November 2009 the hosting for the Safer Recruitment Training will be moving from its current site at NCSL to the Children's Workforce Development Agency. From that date the registration process will also change and governors will in effect ‘self-registerer’ rather than as know having to go through the headteacher. It will also be possible for all the members of the governing body who wish to, to undertake the training.
 
If you are currently registered on the training on the NCSL Safer Recruitment Training, but have not yet completed that training then you will have until 15 October to complete the training, otherwise you will need to register with the new host.
 
The content and format of the training is not changing, only the hosting arrangements. The NGA will remind members when the training becomes live on the CWDC’s website.
 
Teachers’ Workload Diary Survey
DCSF published results of the 10th Annual Teacher Workload Snapshot Survey. The headlines of the survey was a fall in the working hours of secondary heads of departments and special classroom teachers, but a small rise in the working hours of primary school heads.
 
The survey is from a relatively small sample of teachers (1,572). The full survey can be found on the DCSF’s dedicated research pages via the attached link - DCSF Published Research Papers
Extended Services
 
Two recent surveys have been published on two different aspects of extended services provision.
The first of these is an interim report looking at the pilot projects for the Extended Services Disadvantage Subsidy.  This subsidy is designed to subsidise access to extended services activities for economically disadvantaged children and young people and children in care.  It was first introduced in 2008 in 18 authorities and was rolled out to all local authorities in 2009.
 
The broad aim of the report was to look at how best to target funding in order to engage disadvantaged children and young people in extended services and it focused particularly on the implementation and management of the subsidy in the pilot authorities.  
 
The report noted that the following were key factors in the effective use of the subsidy:
effective consultation mechanisms and methods to promote and target pupils,
Parent Support Advisers and dedicated staff to support implementation
A committed senior management team and the full support of the management team.
 
The short report can be downloaded via the attached link - Disadvantage Subsidy Short Report. The full report can be viewed on via the attached link on DCSF Published Research Papers.
To find out more about the subsidy in general visit the TDA website via the attached link - TDA - Extended Services Disadvantage Subsidy.
 
The second covers the evaluation of the pilot Parental Support Advisers (PSA) was published on 27 August 2009.  The report noted that although PSAs were still relatively new the evidence of their effectiveness was encouraging.  The shorter research brief can be downloaded via the attached link. The full report can be accessed via the attached link - DSCF Published Research Papers.
NGA Regional Meetings
 
A reminder that the NGA regional meetings will take place during October. The first meeting, for the London Region, will take place on Saturday 3rd October at the NCVO, closely followed on 5th October by the South East meeting also at the NCVO and the North East meeting on Tuesday 6th October at Durham County Hall. Details of the other meetings can be found on the Events Section of the NGA website.
 
Clare’s Blog
The Chair's blog can be downloaded via the attached link - Chair's Blog.
 
Contact NGA
by e-mail governorhq@nga.org.uk or by phone 0121 643 5787
 
This newsletter is distributed as a benefit of NGA membership. If you are receiving a copy forwarded by a governor colleague, local authority or local association you will find that some of the links will not work.
 
If you think this newsletter is a valuable resource you should consider becoming a NGA member - more information on membership can be found on the NGA website, or by following this link
NGA members can find previous newsletters here.
 
Or by cutting and pasting this link into their browser window
http://www.nga.org.uk/Newsletterarchive.aspx