title="Baldons Parish Council in Oxfordshire">

A letter from the Chair of Governors, Feb 2016

22nd February 2016 

 

Dear Parents, Carers and members of the Community, 

 

The Interim Executive Board was established in September 2015, and, as the name indicates, this was only ever an interim arrangement. The Department for Education was explicit in our appointment letter that our maximum term of office was one year. 

 

Some of you may remember that as an IEB, we have three Key Priorities for our term of office: 

 

  1. Rapid improvement in Learning and Teaching across the school. 

  1. Solid and impactful Community Engagement. 

  1. Sustainable, professional, robust and effective Governance. 

 

I hope that you would agree that we have made significant progress so far on priorities one and two – of course there is always more to do and we will deliver much more on this until our term ends. Under priority three, however, we now need to start the planning process to create sustainable, professional, robust and effective Governance for the future. 

I understand that this communication may cause anxiety for some in our school community and a real concern that issues of the past will reappear. So please let me reassure you on a number of points: 

 

  • This will be a very gradual process between now and September 2016. The IEB is working on timings for this at the moment. It will involve a full, open and transparent recruitment process, with interviews for potential Governors, each newly appointed governor being mentored by a member of the IEB and receiving specific training, and all new governors shadowing the IEB for a fixed period before the Governing Body becomes live and the IEB shadows it. 

  • All Governors will sign a morally binding Code of Conduct and Confidentiality Agreement. 

  • Only once the IEB is satisfied that professional, robust and effective Governance is in place (against set indicators) will the IEB be disbanded. 

  • Following due process, it is my intention to apply to join the Governing Body on the usual voluntary basis and ideally (if appointed by the new Governing Body) to remain as the Chair. This will ensure that there is continuity in governance and that the school can continue in the direction both the IEB and Mrs. Herring have set. 

As part of this process there will also be an open evening for those interested in joining the Governing Body, as well as those who want only to find out more about governance and our plans to reinstate a governing body by September 2016. Please do come along on 1st March 2016 either at 3.30pm or to the second session at 6.00pm. There will be an area for children to play in should you wish to bring them along with you. 

 

Since joining the IEB at Marsh Baldon, I have grown extremely fond of our school and this has informed my decision to stay for the longer term. As always everything I and the IEB do is for the best interests of the pupils alone. In this I hope you will trust us to manage the process carefully and understand that reinstating a normal Governing Body will be a positive thing and will contribute to the success and sustainability of our school. 

 

If you have any questions, comments of concerns to share then please do e-mail me directly: kprm1982@hotmail.com or contact the school office to arrange a meeting with me. 

 

Best wishes, 

 

 

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Kevin Moyes 

Chair of Governors