September 2001

This annual report is produced by the School’s Governing body as required by the Department for Education and Employment in its various circulars, particularly Circular no: 7/99 Governors’ Annual Reports in Primary Schools.

The next election for a Parent Governor will take place in September 2003.

The Governing Body meets as a whole group once every half-term. This meeting considers a report from the Head Teacher about current developments in the school, deals with correspondence, looks at particular aspects of the school in more depth, on occasion hears from external advisers, and hears reports from its committees. Due to the speed and breadth of changes to the educational system over recent years, the Governors also undertake frequent training to stay abreast of the requirements of the role.

Committees carry out the detailed work with which the Governing Body is concerned. They cover matters relating to Curriculum including special needs provision, Finance, Human Resources, Premises and Health & Safety and Head Teacher objective setting. In addition, there are statutory committees to deal with disciplinary procedures and appeals.

Governing body meetings are not open to the public by right. The governing body decides if anyone who is not a governor, other than the Head and the Clerk, may attend a meeting. Visitors will be asked to leave the meeting if confidential items are discussed. Parents who would like to attend a Governors’ meeting should contact the Chair of the Governors.

It is now a year since I took the post of Chairman. I have had a steep learning curve to learn about the education system, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

Avril Connelly has completed her first full academic year at Pensford. She is a forward thinking Head who has great visions for our school. We are grateful to her for all her efforts.

We are now in a period of change with several members of staff retiring – Jackie Day and Meryl Hosking have been teaching here for many years. They will be greatly missed. Also the school secretary, Sylvia Baber has retired. We wish them all well.

Finally the SATs were excellent. A special thanks must go to all members of staff for their dedication to the pupils and the school.

We are looking forward to the next academic year with the opening of our new classroom.

We have of course had to say goodbye to John Coe who was Chairman for many years. We would like to acknowledge and thank him for all his hard work, particularly through some difficult times for the school. John’s calm and steadfast nature was a source of stability and strength. We will also miss the experience of Jacky Day who has been a Teaching Staff representative for many years.

Brian Watson

The action plan drawn up after the last OFSTED inspection is now complete. We expect another inspection in Autumn Term 2001.

Details of how the funding provided by the LEA was spent can be obtained from the School Secretary or one of the Governors.

Gifts received by the School: the following donations were made.

These gifts and donations were used to buy Computers, computer desking for the new classroom, a scanner, a whiteboard, a TV and video, books and to provide coach hire for outings. The Governors are very grateful for this valuable additional source of funding which makes a great deal of difference to the life of the school

Governors’ travelling and subsistence expenses: The Governors have not claimed any travelling or subsistence expenses.

6. School Security

The school has been fitted with security entrance doors to all buildings including the new classroom. Access is possible only with the security number or by a member of staff allowing admission. In addition, the main entrance is controlled via a CCTV monitor in the School Secretary’s office. All buildings are linked by telephone. The rear emergency exit of the main building has been replaced with a secure fire door. Windows have been replaced with double-glazed units with restricted opening. Fire exits are clearly marked. Interior glazing is being replaced with safety glass in the near future.

The Governing Body very much regrets that there is no suitable access to the school for either pupils or parents with physical disabilities. Bath and North East Somerset Council are fully aware that the school is unable to meet the current requirements for disabled access but have declined to address the problem at the present time.

For pupils with Special Educational Needs, we acknowledge and welcome the individual talents of our pupils. We appreciate that some pupils will show that they have skills that are outside the average range of most pupils on their age.

Nationally 20% of all school children present special needs at some time during their school life. The changing emphasis on the entitlement of all school age pupils to be included in mainstream education ensures a continuing focus in special needs issues in all schools in the country.

At Pensford School our very experienced Special Needs Co-ordinator Meryl Hosking has supported pupils for 1 day each week. This extra staff provision has ensured that pupils showing any special needs can be offered early assessment or intervention and support. All pupils at levels 1, 2 or 3 of the special needs code of practise have received time with Mrs. Hosking. For the 2001-2002 Academic year, Special Needs support will be provided by the Head Teacher, class teachers and Learning Support Assistants.

If parents or teachers confirm the special needs, an Individual Education Plan is developed by the pupil, parents, teacher and Special Needs Co-ordinator. This targets and monitors the specific needs and progress of the child. Regular involvement and reviews with parents are used to decide if there is a need to move a child through the stages of the special needs process. These regular meetings celebrate a pupil’s success and can move them on to new learning or behaviour targets.

Pupils with a statement of Special Educational Need (Stage 5) receive particular teacher and General Assistant support according to the individual time allocated to the pupil.

These tables show the percentage of year 2 children achieving each level in the school. There were 14 children in Year 2.

* These assessments do not apply at every level, so the figures may not total 100%

The Governing Body agreed the following targets for 2000 – 2001 for the percentage of children reaching Level 4 or above:

These tables show the percentage of Year 6 children achieving each level in the school. There were 10 Year 6 children.

The school has a performance management policy which formally covers staff professional development. Some highlights of the development this year include courses in School self-evaluation, Making Teaching Better, Able pupils policies, ICT in core subjects, courses covering curriculum delivery in all the core subject areas and in Investors In People. In addition we have some new members of staff and expect to learn new ideas and techniques through working with them on a daily basis.

Security locks had been put on the external doors during the holidays which caused a little consternation for everyone, but that was soon resolved.

Within two days of term starting we had a building site meeting regarding the proposed new classroom – it really was going to happen but there are still a lot of sceptics around!

A County engineer came into see how overheated the kitchen was when the doors remained shut. It is unbearably hot. He will make plans.

A Weekly newsletter was begun to aid communication.

October: My first Harvest and a chance to meet more of our families. All the produce was taken by Father Geoff to help St. Joseph’s Home in Bristol.

We all brought our teddies to school on the 13^th in aid of the RUH, Bath. They all had a wonderful time and did not get up to too much mischief.

We needed two new parent Governors - Hilary Cox and Rose Harrison-Wolff were elected.

Discussions started about running Breakfast Club.

Another meeting was held about the overheating kitchen.

The start of the new half-term was heralded by dreadful rains. School had to be closed because of lack of power and phones. Several newspapers rang to see if we had been flooded again – it was very close!

November: There was another meeting about the kitchen.

We held a BEETLE Drive at school and this time there was definitely NO cheating (Mrs Connelly’s rules!)

The relatively new Director of Education, David Williams, visited the school on the 30^th but did not come bearing gifts.

The Governors said a fond ‘Farewell’ to Rev. John Coe who had decided to resign from his position as Chair. He had been with the school through some difficult times. Mr. Brian Watson was elected Chair unanimously in his place.

December: We took part in the County Primary Schools’ Carol Concert held in Bath Abbey. Our school was chosen to perform all the readings – quite an honour but also incredibly daunting. We took the Readers to the Abbey early so that they could practise reading from the pulpit, using a microphone and under the spotlight. It was a wonderful experience for the children and they did us all proud. As we left the church the big back doors were opened and the fine rain falling on the Christmas tree made it quite magical.

We held a Carol Service at Publow church and a Christmas Concert at school, squeezing almost 100 into the audience.

As usual the older children entertained the ‘Evergreens’ at their Christmas lunch and the P.T.A. held their successful Christmas Fair selling seasonal goods.

January: The 12^th brought us a t.v. crew from Anglia Television filming Fr. Geoff – very exciting!

Contracts were put out and tenders invited for the new classroom building – even more exciting!

The Junior children had two hours of Badminton coaching.

February: We had our first new building meeting!!

Pensford Music Festival donated £300 to the school for new computers.

Mrs. Day and Miss Park take children to the ‘Stages’ production at the Forum in Bath. They have been practising for over a term and performed amazingly, which is not easy in front of all those people and the spotlights.

Building work began on the 19^th - Oh Ye of little faith!!- Who said it would never happen?

March: We had several events at school as part of the Bath Literature Festival. The children enjoyed poetry writing and storytelling with visiting artists.

Parents joined Governors and staff to work together in developing a new Vision statement for the school. At the same evening we also discussed possible changes to the uniform. The children had already had an opportunity to give their opinions.

Year 6 organise a charity sale at the end of the afternoon.

5 new computers were bought for Class 4

Most classes had a French ‘taster’ session courtesy of Mrs. Anne-Marie Morris.

We hear that the County has adopted a new system for funding B&NES schools and consequently our Budget is to be reduced by £25,500 for the next financial year.

April: A County official and a contractor come and look at the problem kitchen.

The new building is not going well as a main sewer pipe has been discovered under the proposed foundations.

We hold our Easter Service on the 4^th before beginning our holiday.

Monday 23^rd - St. George’s Day – and what a day! The Breakfast Club opened with Mrs Baber as Leader and 4 children. Then B.B.C. television came to film what we were doing for ‘Points West’. Well done to all the Infants for putting on such a great show!

May: Weekly cricket coaching for the Juniors begins.

We have another successful Book Fair.

The S.A.T.s are administered and everyone is exhausted.

Ron Grew, Pensford tennis club coach, starts his weekly sessions with the junior children.

British Telecom give the school a presentation about ‘Future Talk’ and Class Four stayed for a workshop.

June: Road Safety Training begins. What with tennis, cricket, swimming and cycling some children had a busy week.

The building work was due to finish on the 8^th – it hasn’t – but the brickwork is looking very impressive.

Year Two had a very enjoyable sports afternoon with other Year Two children from cluster Primary schools organised by Chew Valley Comprehensive.

We had a lovely Summer Fair and the weather was perfect.

Mrs Thomas was at last able to return to school on a part-time basis.

July: Year Six visit their new schools but unfortunately, as the weather was poor and ground was wet, the Primary Sports Day had to be abandoned.

The P.T.A. once again did us proud by organising a very successful raffle at the Pensford Music Festival.

Another site meeting in the kitchen – authorisation given for money to be spent. (Do I believe this? Does Mrs Sampson believe this?)

The new Reception Children came into school to meet their teacher, helper and ‘buddies’.

As part of the Bath Music Festival World Music visited and gave the children wonderful experiences.

Class 4 went to the Isle of Wight with Stanton Drew Primary for a long weekend of challenges and activities. They all learnt so much and had an enjoyable time into the bargain. It was also useful for them to get to know other future classmates for their secondary education.

The last sporting event of the year involved some of the Junior children who took part in a tag rugby tournament organised by Bath Rugby Club. They did really well as the schools taking part were of all sizes and came second in their group of five.

Lastly, came the farewells. Sadly we see Mrs Baber retiring after working at the school for 35 years. She has made an amazing contribution to Pensford School. Mrs Day has been here a mere 14(?) years teaching classes of Infant children but also being a mainstay of the organisation as the Senior Teacher. Pensford has been very lucky to have had Mrs Hosking as the Special Needs teacher. She has so much expertise in this field that she has shared with all the community. We wish them all well and good luck in all they do in the future.

And we are looking forward to our future – in September we shall have our new classroom, fitted out we hope with new furniture, computers, carpets and blinds. A new oil tank should also be waiting to be filled in the playground. Then we look to establishing the hall in the main building, purchasing new computers for Class 3 and starting the redecoration of buildings and the restoration of the grounds. (…..and dare I say it – a renovated school kitchen!!!)

Roll on September!

13. Community links

During the year, the school has worked on developing links with the community in many areas. We have had activities with local sports clubs, a local television station, major village events such as the Jazz Festival and Fun Run, performed at Stages and the Music Festival, been involved in seasonal activities such as carol concerts in Bath Abbey and locally for the Evergreens, and are making links with the local Rotary Club. The school fete was well-attended by many members of the local community. We maintain close links to the local church through visits from Father Geoff Calloway and events held in the church building

Finance Committee:

The main business has been monitoring monthly expenditure against the budget.

The Governors are very grateful for the fund-raising activities of the P.T.A. and also for donations received from church morning markets and other donations received.

Due to a change in the formula used to allocate the B&NES budget to schools, smaller schools have received a reduction in funding for the coming academic year. The new formula does not take into account properly the fixed costs associated with having any school in operation and so smaller schools must cover these fixed costs from a smaller fund. We will be making sure the LEA knows our opinion and financial position to try to influence the formula for next year. As a direct result of this we have been forced to reduce some of the learning support in the classrooms to balance the books

Premises and Health and Safety Committee:

The main news this year has of course been the building of the new classroom. This project started with a small committee in 1997 and the Governors have been actively involved in the campaign throughout. This important new development will allow the school to provide a hall for delivery of important curriculum areas such as School Assemblies and P.E. once the relevant facilities have been installed.

Improvements have been made in the kitchen to improve the safety for both staff and children.

The boiler has been replaced and a new oil tank is currently being installed.

There is an exciting range of development plans for the coming year including enlargement of the staffroom and Secretary’s office and improvement of the kitchens to conform to Health and Safety legislation.

A health and safety audit has been carried out by the Committee each term.

We consider that the school is now in a better state of repair than for many years and would like to record our appreciation of the efforts of the local Education Authority in supporting some much-needed work over the last year.

There remains a considerable list of repairs and improvements and we will undertake to push for funding for as many of these as possible over the coming year.

Curriculum Committee:

The following policies have been developed during the year:

Homework Policy – this suggests that the school follows the Government’s guidelines for the timings of set homework.

Drug Education Policy – this is being developed and is in draft form at present. A drug co-ordinator has been identified.

Parents, staff and children were invited to create a new vision for the school, ‘Living and Learning Together.’ The school uniform and logo have also been revised.

There have been many developments to improve the delivery of the curriculum this year. Literacy and Numeracy Consultants have made visits to the school, some lessons have been observed and also demonstration lessons have been given for staff in Numeracy. This help and advice from the County’s Numeracy and Literacy Consultants has been welcomed.

Individual pupil targets have been set to ensure progression for each child. Booster classes were given to pupils in Year 6 to help them prepare for their Maths and English SATs.

Identified pupils were given the opportunity to receive additional literacy support in Year 3 and Year 4.

Progress books have been introduced and each child has a piece of work assessed and moderated by the staff to show progression. An Unaided Writing Assessment Guide was adopted by the school in May this year which gives very detailed steps of progression across the National Curriculum levels and also helps to set specific targets for the children.

All these developments initiated by the head teacher and the staff are helping to raise pupil achievement and this is evident in the excellent SATs results achieved this year in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

A number of exciting opportunities have been added to the curriculum this year including taster lessons in French which are hoped to be developed next year, and in cricket and tennis coaching for the older children. Some children also performed an excellent dance for the ‘Stages’ production in Bath. All these different events continue to provide the children with a broad and varied curriculum.

Objective setting committee:

Due to a change in head teacher since the last Head Teacher objective setting, new objectives were agreed for this year. These are in the areas of ICT, the school vision, planning and assessment. The committee monitors the progress in these areas at regular intervals. Some of these objectives span several years. The next objective setting session will be in the Autumn term 2001.

Human resources committee:

The committee has had another busy year with the recruitment of a new infants teacher, a new school secretary and a teacher to provide maternity cover for Year 3 and Year 4 for the Autumn term 2001

Begins : Tuesday 4 September 2001

Half-Term : Monday 29 October 2001 – Friday 2 November 2001

Ends : Thursday 20 December 2001

Spring Term 2002

Begins : Monday 7 January 2002

Half-Term : Monday 11 February 2002 – Friday 15 February 2002

Ends : Friday 22 March 2002

Summer Term 2002

Begins : Monday 8 April 2002

May-Day Bank Holiday : Monday 6 May 2002

Half-Term : Monday 3 June 2002 – Friday 7 June 2002

Ends : Tuesday 23 July 2002

Wilf Harrison, September 2001