Governance Impact Statement 2023-24
It is best practice for the Shaftesbury Park Primary School board of governors to publish an annual governance impact statement, providing details of the school’s governance and its work over the year.
Like any state school, Shaftesbury Park faces several challenges.
Foremost is the financial challenge. School funding has fallen significantly since 2010. Although increases have been announced in recent years, they still leave overall funding below pre-austerity levels. This has been compounded by the cost-of-living crisis and falling roll numbers in Wandsworth and London more generally.
Governors have continued to set balanced budgets and are cautiously optimistic about the school’s position but continue to monitor the finances closely.
Another significant challenge, not unique to Shaftesbury Park, is the increase in the level of educational need of the children. This creates additional demands on the school’s resources, especially teachers. We are incredibly grateful for the work done by staff, especially the school’s SENCO, in ensuring every child gets the best education possible at the school.
Possibly related are the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic. The effect of lost learning or socialisation for many children is still being felt. A decrease in attendance, has further compounded this problem, meaning more time and resource has to be targeted at helping children catch up on what they have missed.
Finally, we should note the Ofsted inspection that took place at the beginning of the year. The report contained a lot that was incredibly positive about the school. Sadly, to our disappointment, the inspector appeared not to have understood the school’s model and therefore the unique benefits it brings.
However, we were incredibly proud of all the staff — some of whom were literally days into their first teaching role — and children for showing the school at its very best.
As always, we would like to formally record our thanks to everyone in the school community. Through both our visits to the school, and evidence from external visitors and assessors, we know that the school continues to provide an exceptional education, through its unique curriculum, to every child. Everyone at the school deserves recognition for achieving so much, despite the challenges and pressures they face every day, as they develop children who think about their world, enlarge their world, and change their world.
The core duties of governance
The government requires governing boards to fulfil three core duties:
- Ensure clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction
- Hold the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
- Oversee the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
The board
The board comprises thirteen members: the headteacher, one elected staff governor, two elected parent governors, one local authority governor (appointment by the board and approved by the local authority), and eight co-opted governors. All non-staff board members are unpaid volunteers.
The board maintains a skills audit, and the local authority and co-opted governors are appointed based on the skills, knowledge, and experience they can bring to the board. Vacancies are filled through a competitive process using two national organisations that specialise in governor recruitment.
The deputy heads and assistant head attend all meetings as observers. The board uses the local authority’s clerking service.
The board saw an unusual number of changes this year. Sara Alessandrini and Emily Cornish left at the end of their term of office as co-opted governors, Brigitte Eugster resigned as a staff governor and Nicole Walker resigned as a parent governor. All four made significant contributions to the school as governors, and we are grateful everything they contributed while serving.
The school is an attractive opportunity for potential governors, and following the recruitment process we are pleased to have welcomed Jamie Heinrich and Rachel Fleming to the board as co-opted governors. We also had a contested parent and staff governor elections and from two fields of excellent candidates we have Linnea Samuelsson and Rebecca Caldecott, who were elected to fill the vacant staff and parent governor positions.
Board structure
The full board meets once per term. It has three committees: Resources; Curriculum and Achievement; and Children, Families and Communities.
Attendance details are listed at the end of the governance impact statement.
Governor training
The board recognises the importance of training and development. Over the course of the year, governors undertook training in the following areas:
- Safeguarding
- Cybersecurity
- Marketing
- Governance visits
- Inclusion
The board’s work
During the academic year, the board reviewed all aspects of the school’s operation and running, including:
- School Improvement Plan
- Marketing
- Long-term strategy
- Attendance
- Premises management
- Budget setting and monitoring
- Health and safety
- Quality of teaching
- Pupil progress
- Premises plans
- Staffing structures
Governor visits
Governor visits include both those by a single governor with a focus on a single topic, and governors’ days when several governors will focus on a theme.
Areas that have been a focus for governors’ day visits this year include SEND, the school vision, science, and bilingual and enterprise education.
We have also benefited from the advice and guidance of our external school advisor, an independent expert, with whom we can compare and calibrate our observations.
The board’s impact
The board believes it has had a positive impact on its core objectives.
The school’s vision
The board is proud of the school’s dynamic mission, which strives to develop children to succeed throughout their life. We have been particularly impressed to see that vision in action, with children taking ownership and leadership for aspects of school life and applying the skills they learn to their lessons and work.
Holding the headteacher to account
We continue to find the school is well led. While we are not complacent, and always push for more improvement, the headteacher and SLT have created a positive culture in which staff and students can thrive.
The school has faced some particularly difficult challenges this year. On top of those already mentioned, a combination of maternity leave and staff progression meant the school had an unusually high number of new staff, with some key members of the team away.
Despite this, the school has continued to provide an exceptional experience, not just for the children, but everyone in the community.
Part of that culture is that the head and the SLT always defer credit to others, but as governors we are always pleased to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate them for all they do.
Financial performance
The school continues to set a prudent, balanced budget. Much of this is down to the exceptional work of the school business manager and her team in both monitoring the budget and ensuring the school gets value for every penny it spends.
We must, however, reflect, that maintaining that budget does require difficult decisions by the headteacher. While a change in national policy may relieve some pressure, as a board we are keen that the school does all it can to maximise revenue over the coming years.
The board’s future work
The board’s work for the next year will be focused on addressing the challenges faced by the school.
- Improving the school’s marketing. The school has not been affected as much as some other schools because its offer has increased its popularity. But it has become clear that the school’s marketing is well overdue a refresh, so it reflects the school’s ambition.
- Raising attainment. The effects of Covid and lost learning will be with us for several years, combined with the increased need within the school population, we are keen to ensure every child reaches their full potential. We are also concerned that attendance at school has declined, which has obvious impacts on outcomes.
- Maximising the use of the buildings. As well as being a potential source of revenue, the school wants to be at the heart of the community it serves. We want to increase the use of the school buildings in a way that generates revenue, but also maximises opportunities for children, families, and neighbours.
Contacting the governors
The governors are always happy to hear from parents and carers. You can contact them via the school office or contact the chair of governors directly at james.cousins@shaftesburypark.wandsworth.sch.uk.
Meeting attendance
Full governing board meetings
| Governor | Autumn 2023 | Spring 2024 | Summer 2024 |
| Sara Alessandrini | Y | N/A | N/A |
| Rebecca Caldecott | N/A | N/A | Y |
| Emily Cornish | Apologies | Y | N/A |
| James Cousins | Y | Y | Y |
| Andrew Dawes | Y | Y | Y |
| Rachel Fleming | N/A | N/A | Y |
| Jamie Heinrich | Y | Y | Apologies |
| Nicole James | Y | N/A | N/A |
| Philippe Mior | Y | Y | Y |
| Patrick Montgomery | Y | Y | Y |
| Jon Moore | Y | Y | Y |
| Bunmi Richards | Y | Y | Y |
| Linnea Samuelsson | Y | Y | Y |
| Vita Shapland-Howes | Apologies | Y | Apologies |
| Pat Taylor | Apologies | Y | Y |
| Moya Wilkie | Y | Y | Apologies |
Children, Families, and Commmunities Committee
| Governor | Autumn 2023 | Spring 2024 | Summer 2024 |
| Emily Cornish | Apologies | Y | N/A |
| James Cousins | Y | Y | Y |
| Andrew Dawes | Y | Apologies | Y |
| Rachel Fleming | N/A | N/A | Y |
| Nicole James | Apologies | Apologies | N/A |
| Jon Moore | Y | Y | Y |
| Bunmi Richards | Y | Y | Y |
| Vita Shapland-Howes | Y | Y | Y |
| Moya Wilkie | Y | Apologies | Y |
Curriculum and Achievement Committee
| Governor | Autumn 2023 | Spring 2024 | Summer 2024 |
| Emily Cornish | Apologies | Y | N/A |
| James Cousins | Y | Y | Y |
| Philippe Mior | Y | Y | Y |
| Patrick Montgomery | Y | Y | Y |
| Bunmi Richards | Y | Y | Y |
| Linnea Samuelsson | N/A | Y | Y |
| Vita Shapland-Howes | Y | Y | Y |
| Pat Taylor | Y | Y | Apologies |
Resources Committee
| Governor | Autumn 2023 | Spring 2024 | Summer 2024 |
| Sara Alessandrini | Y | Y | N/A |
| James Cousins | Y | Y | Y |
| Andrew Dawes | Y | Y | Y |
| Jamie Heinrich | N/A | N/A | Y |
| Philippe Mior | Y | Y | Apologies |
| Patrick Montgomery | Y | Y | Y |
| Bunmi Richards | Y | Y | Y |
| Moya Wilkie | Y | Apologies | Y |