CWA Academy Trust Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of ... · DH/SPR1 -2016/Minute Book-Page 26 /Pages – 12 For Action: CWA Academy Trust Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of

DH/SPR1 -2016/Minute Book-Page 26 /Pages – 12 For Action:

CWA Academy Trust

Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors

Thursday 11th February 2016 at 8.45am, held in the Boardroom, CWA

Present: Derek Stringer (Chair), David Pomfret (Chief Executive), Debbie Gates, Julie Perry, Paul Harrison, Mark Reavell, Stephen Jones, Craig Morrison (Executive Principal, KLA & KESA), Jon Ford (Principal, DMA), Louise Ward (Principal, Nelson Academy).

In Attendance: Alan Evans (Company Secretary/Finance Director), Alan Fletcher (Achievement Director), Duncan Ramsey (Director of Education), Deborah Hinks (Clerk). In Part Attendance: Linda Hothersall (Principal, Eastgate Academy). The meeting was quorate.

1. Apologies for Absence Apologies from Arlene Clark and Michael Moore were received and accepted.

2. Declarations of Interest David Pomfret declared that, by virtue of him being the Chief Executive, he was interested in the business proposed to be discussed under Agenda item 9 Update on CEO Contract. It was noted that he would therefore not vote or count as part of the quorum for this matter and that, nevertheless, there would be a quorum for all items of business to be transacted.

3. Minutes of the meeting held on 17th December 2015 and Matters arising

The Minutes of the 17th December 2015 were agreed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

Matters Arising

P5: David Pomfret informed the Board that Accessibility Plans were now in place at KLA and KESA.

P6: David Pomfret reported that he had met with the LGB Chairs to discuss the Trust Strategic Plan and to communicate the actions taken in relation to matters brought to the attention of the Board of Directors.

P7: The Annual Report and Financial Statements had been delivered to the EFA.

P8: The Apprenticeship Levy was to be discussed under agenda item 7.

4. Review of Progress towards Academy Performance Targets Achievement Director, Alan Fletcher, presented his report reviewing the progress made towards academy performance targets. Full details of the report are attached to the Minute Book.

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He highlighted a number of points in relation to each secondary academy, including the following: King’s Lynn Academy

There had been no improvement in English between CAG1 and CAG2 – English remained below floor standard;

Attainment in Maths had increased though remained below where it needed to be at this stage;

Ebacc subject outcomes were slightly stronger than previously; coverage was much higher though average subject attainment was almost a grade below targets;

There was significant concern over the Open ‘pillar’, much of it generated by the 101 ‘U’ grades in the tracking dataset for ECDL, BTEC PE and DT.

Downham Market Academy

English outcomes were improving, with Literature being lower than Language;

The weakness in the dataset was Maths, where no improvement had been made and it remained below floor standard;

Ebacc subject outcomes were improving – many results had been banked in Year 10;

Progress in the Open pillar was the strongest with progress scores bolstered by ECDL and strong outcomes in Art, Child Development, HSC, some PE and some Media.

King Edward VII Academy

English outcomes were showing no improvement in spite of Language gains, largely because the Literature mock had poor results;

Maths remained below floor standard, mainly the result of a number of ‘U’ grades in the mock exams;

Ebacc outcomes had improved, in part due to the high coverage rate;

The Open pillar was the weakest but this was due to the way in which certain Level 2 courses were tracked (e.g. ECDL was Pass (5 points) / Fail (0 points). BTEC PE outcomes were of particular concern, as were Business Studies, Travel & Tourism and DT.

The Achievement Director outlined some of the actions being taken to address the situation at the secondary academies, including improved tracking of the ECDL course, redeploying resources in English and Maths, engaging Rose Keating as a Maths Adviser primarily at DMA, reviewing Science provision and considering iGCSE Maths for the lower groups at KESA. He proffered that overall his concerns cross-Trust were the attainment and progress of Disadvantaged Students, Boys’ performance especially in English, the preponderance of ‘U’ grades and the fact that the Basics Indicator was low (with many pupils on an average of C3 or D1).

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In relation to post-16 outcomes, he indicated that both KESA and DMA were heading for an ALPS score of 5, which was average nationally.

Referring to the Primary Academies Report, attached to the Minute Book, the Achievement Director stated that progress across the Trust primary academies continued to be strong and moving in the right direction. Director of Education, Duncan Ramsey, added that Eastgate Academy had excellent results except in Writing, with a strong curriculum and good behaviour. The academy was on track to be graded Outstanding. He stated that Nelson Academy was well on the way to Good, with hopes that imminent restructuring would move them on to Outstanding. It was reported that Rosemary Prince of the Regional Schools Commissioner’s office had been invited to review the Trust’s primary practice.

Reviewing the data and commentary, directors wanted to know how familiar staff at the secondary academies were with the data. Executive Principal at KLA & KESA, Craig Morrison, stated that staff at KLA were absolutely aware of the data and focussed on the actions planned, whereas a lack of staff cohesion at KESA hindered proceedings. DMA Principal, Jon Ford, stated that staff focused on the data which would be the most helpful to them so, for example, teaching staff would understand the data at pupil/subject level and middle leaders would have less emphasis on the whole picture than the Senior Leadership Team. He added that all levels of staff were aware of the actions they needed to take to improve outcomes. Both Principals stated that whilst staff may be ‘on board’ with the data, the degree of skill to produce the necessary results varied.

Directors acknowledged the focus on Year 11 but expressed the need to balance the investment with Years 7 – 10. Executive Principal, Craig Morrison, stated that much of his time at KLA was focused on other Year Groups, particularly Year 9. He stated that senior colleagues were focusing on the lower years at KESA and that they were currently looking into whether the vertical tutoring system was working for the academy. Directors discussed the need to audit the skills and capabilities of staff in order to leverage teaching excellence. The Achievement Director pointed out the ‘additionality’ the Trust offered academies by, for example, allocating more of his own time to KLA for a given period and by securing the services of Rose Keating as Maths Adviser at DMA. The Trust’s wider work in ensuring quality staff were recruited and retained was acknowledged. Directors wanted to know what was being done cross-Trust for Pupil Premium students. The Achievement Director stated that each academy had its own Pupil Premium plans and were working hard to improve results but there was nothing in place at central Trust level in relation to Pupil Premium. The Chief Executive pointed out the wider commitment to extending the school day at (for example) DMA in order to provide interventions for Pupil Premium students and the intention for this to be increasingly subtle in its targeted

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approach. Principal, Jon Ford, underlined the difficulty the academy faced in recruiting teachers, pointing out that 20% of the school’s vacancies had never been filled in the past 5 years of his headship. He outlined the problems resulting from cover and supply teaching, particularly in Years 8 and 9, and the amount of SLT time taken up with recruitment-related issues. He pointed out that without high quality teaching in Maths and Science, the academy could not easily produce the outcomes it strived to achieve. He stressed the importance of the Trust’s strategic approach to recruitment and retention. The reports were noted.

5. Principals’ Reports Eastgate Academy Principal, Linda Hothersall, drew directors’ attention to her Report on Progress towards Eastgate Academy’s Development Plan, as attached to the Minute Book. She highlighted the following points:

The academy had forged links with Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) in Lincoln with a view to becoming a Teaching School in due course; this had proved beneficial for staff;

All teaching was ‘Good’ or better; Teacher recruitment was of concern; Marking was done really well and the benefits of it acknowledged; The work ethic of pupils was good as was progress; the school was

closing gaps in relation to vulnerable groups (currently c. 0.01%); Boys were performing better in Maths; Girls in English; Attendance was on an upward trajectory; The Distributed Leadership model was working well; the academy’s

staff had been invited to give presentations to other schools on how it worked;

Working Parties had been set up, which included governors, to support specific development opportunities e.g. Health & Safety Committee, Mental Health;

The Inclusion and Safeguarding Manager had previously also been the SENCo but the SENCo element of the role had now been separated off to allow her to focus solely on inclusion and safeguarding;

Year 6 were taking part in Life Skills sessions including gardening, DIY and cooking on a budget;

The academy was working together with Nelson Academy in a mutually beneficial manner e.g. in moderation of work.

Directors noted the report. They acknowledged the usefulness of introducing vocational skills at an early age, which, together with the Future Fairs and CWA Taster Days that pupils attended, raised the profile of possible future vocational career choices. The Principal was congratulated on the work she

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was doing at the academy and directors asked for the sentiment to be passed on to the staff.

Linda Hothersall left the meeting at this juncture (9.36am).

Nelson Academy

Principal, Louise Ward, presented her Report on Progress towards Nelson Academy’s Development Plan, as attached to the Minute Book, highlighting the following points:

She was confident that pupils were making the progress expected of them; as national expectations had increased, so had the academy’s;

The importance of presentation was emphasised to the pupils whether this was in the manner in which they spoke, wore their uniform or wrote;

Teaching was solidly ‘Good’ but the academy carried vacancies and experienced recruitment problems;

Restructuring was afoot to maximise Year 6 outcomes; The academy had recently joined the PixL scheme which was

beneficial; Qualities such as resilience, leadership skills and initiative were

encouraged and were taught activities; evidence of these qualities had been built into the academy’s version of the Trust Diploma;

The shift to having no mixed age classes had proved a real plus point; standards had increased and moderation was more effective;

The leadership structure was working well.

Directors noted the report. Director, Julie Perry, offered to forward the Principal details of useful resources on the quality of resilience. The Principal was thanked for her valuable contribution to the on-going progress of the academy.

Downham Market Academy

Principal, Jon Ford, presented details of the progress towards Downham Market Academy’s Development Plan, as attached to the Minute Book. He highlighted the following additional points:

Results were based on current assessment not predicted performance; more would be known once Saturday Schools had been better established – 49 out of 50 students had attended last Saturday;

Under challenge from the LGB, the SLT had introduced a new system of monitoring the effectiveness of teaching and learning. The new Student Progress Reviews focused more on the students, rather than the teachers and recorded levels of student engagement, quality of discussion in relation to marking etc. This new approach had proved a more accurate measure of teaching than the previous lesson observations, and better reflected actual outcomes;

The academy now had a baseline measure of student response to marking (45%) upon which to improve going forward;

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JP to forward ‘resilience resources’ to LW.


The quality of each subject was being monitored, with Heads of Department defining the level required. Areas of challenge were tackled;

The academy had responded to the LGB request (post Ofsted) for milestones to be added to the Development Plan;

The academy appreciated the Trust’s support in Maths in the form of Rose Keating’s secondment; the Maths department had welcomed the additional resource;

The academy was the first school in Norfolk to achieve the Silver level of the Healthy Schools Award; a Prince’s Trust award for leadership was on the horizon;

The academy was currently staging a very professional drama production of “Bugsy”, to which directors were invited.

Directors noted the report. They congratulated the Principal on embracing change in relation to the new approach to monitoring teaching and learning and seeing performance from a student’s perspective.

Kings Lynn Academy

Executive Principal, Craig Morrison, drew attention to his report on progress towards the King’s Lynn Academy’s Development Plan, as attached to the Minute Book, making the following points:

Much work was being done to improve outcomes at the academy with a strong focus on achievement; there was strong input from the new Head of School and the dedicated focus of the Achievement Director; specific pupils benefitted from the mentoring of e.g. the Chair of the Trust and others; a series of improvement actions had been introduced by the Principal on an ‘Implement>Sample>Remedy’ basis in support of Year 11, Year 9 and Disadvantaged Students;

Behaviour and attendance was Good; Leadership and management was good in many areas, though it was

acknowledged that this needed to be reflected in the outcomes; Maths had improved, as had Languages; There was a Year 11 Raising Achievement Plan, as detailed in the

Minute Book; There was a ‘Big Shift Improvement Plan’ which focused on improving

all the Year Groups with a particular focus on Year 9 as this was the group furthest behind.

King Edward VII Academy

Executive Principal, Craig Morrison, presented his report on progress towards the King Edward VII Academy’s Development Plan, as attached to the Minute Book. He highlighted the following:

The academy needed to change its ethos and approach to inclusion;

The focus on attainment was hindered by behavioural issues Page 6 of 12


between November and January but was now back on track; Three students had had to be permanently excluded; more

exclusions may be necessary; the academy had previously not had good support from external agencies;

The academy currently rated 50% of all teaching consistently Good or better but Key Stage 3 had suffered from temporary staffing;

There had been revisions to the leadership structure with the loss of the Director of Sixth Form, maternity cover and the need for savings; Rob McClean was newly focused on Achievement only, rather than combining this with responsibility for Sixth Form;

There was a strategic and developmental campus 3-year plan incorporating staff recruitment, finance and savings, curriculum and staffing models to promote further integration between KLA and KESA.

The Achievement Director, Alan Fletcher, informed directors that the Director of English had helped improve outcomes in English at KESA. The Executive Principal added that focus had been placed on upskilling staff in view of the difficulties the academy had had in recruiting staff in the past.

Directors enquired about A Level study at KESA and whether retention between Years 12 and 13 was of concern. The Executive Principal stated that only 5 students had left the Sixth Form after Year 12 last year and he expected similar this year. He indicated that there was an imminent review of the Sixth Form scheduled, at which point more would be known.

The Chair, Derek Stringer, reported that his colleagues involved in mentoring pupils at KLA had specifically commented on the good behaviour of the pupils and the calm atmosphere at the academy.

The reports were noted. The Executive Principal was thanked and wished well in his efforts.

6. Strategy Report The Chief Executive, David Pomfret, talked Directors through his Strategy Report, as circulated to Directors prior to the meeting. This report was deemed confidential and as such is noted separately. Directors discussed the imminent opening of the new Trust academy, opportunities for expansion of the Trust, the role of the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) in this and the current stance taken by the RSC in relation to the Trust. Directors expressed the importance of developing relationships with the RSC, the Headteachers’ Board and schools that may potentially join the Trust. They acknowledged that outcomes at secondary level needed to improve in a timely manner and that close Trust-level scrutiny was in place to address issues at KLA and DMA in the form of the Rapid Improvement Steering Groups.

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The Chief Executive informed Directors that a revised job title and job description had been agreed with Duncan Ramsey. His job title had now changed from Consultant Principal to Director of Education to better reflect the work he did across both education phases – primary and secondary. Directors noted the report.

7. The Apprenticeship Levy The Finance Director, Alan Evans, presented the HR Manager, Rosy Lord’s paper on the Apprenticeship Levy 2017, as attached to the Minute Book. He explained the basis of the government’s proposals and the likely impact they would have on the Trust. Directors agreed that the Trust would embrace the proposals as an opportunity to complement its recruitment strategy, to promote lifelong learning and showcase the best aspects of being linked with a college sponsor. There was some discussion as to whether the additional budgeting cost imposed by the scheme should sit at Trust or academy level. The Chief Executive suggested it should be within the staffing budgets at academy level. Directors noted the report and agreed to remit development of the Trust policy and procedure in relation to the Apprenticeship Levy to the HR and Performance Management Committee, as more details emerged.

8. Financial Update/ Management Accounts 2015/16 Finance Director, Alan Evans, presented his Financial Update 2015/16 Report, as attached to the Minute Book. He explained that the Management Accounts to December 2015 had been considered in detail at the Finance & Resources Committee meeting on 29th January. His key points were as follows:

The year-end forecast for KLA had stabilised but at a position worse than the original budget. A focus on savings for 2016/17 was in development;

KESA’s position had improved but action was necessary to address financial difficulties in 2016/17;

Nelson Academy’s financial position was recovering and the deficit may be cleared by year-end;

The middle four-month period in the financial year was critical, where additional funds were needed for intervention measures and unanticipated costs may arise;

The Trust had borne the cost of the temporary Director of Maths (Rose Keating), which had come out of reserves as it was not budgeted for.

Directors discussed the need to support intervention measures which

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demonstrated impact on achievement. They debated the need to balance the Trust’s financial security with the right amount of investment to secure necessary outcomes. The Chief Executive suggested there was some scope to attract external funds to support capacity e.g. capacity grants. Directors acknowledged that the challenge lay in ‘additionality’ to improve results at secondary level. The Achievement Director cautioned Directors that it would be vital that resources were specifically targeted.

The Finance Director reminded Directors that any decisions which might be of a novel or contentious nature should be brought to the attention of himself or the Chief Executive in order to ensure correct procedures were followed.

Moving on to discuss the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF), the Finance Director drew attention to the updated list of approved projects and the progress made towards them. He emphasised the benefit to schools of being part of a Multi-Academy Trust with access to such funding.

The Finance Director informed Directors that work towards setting budgets for 2016/17 had begun though formal notification of funding levels was unlikely before the end of February. He outlined that the Average Weighted Pupil Unit (AWPU) was expected to remain the same though there was uncertainty about the balance between AWPU and deprivation funding, which may affect each Trust academy differently. He stated that the Education Services Grant (ESG) was to fall by £10 per student and the ESG protection funding may be reduced.

The Finance Director reported that detailed financial projections over the next five years for KLA and KESA had been prepared. They had indicated that KLA’s position for 2016/17 was difficult but should ease after that if target pupil numbers were achieved. However, the position at KESA was worse following two years of low pupil numbers. The need to make savings to reduce deficits was stressed. Directors acknowledged that the Finance & Resources Committee had agreed a strategy for delivering the immediate savings required with a view to evaluating further action in due course.

Directors noted the report.

9. Update on CEO Contract Chief Executive, David Pomfret, left the meeting at this point (11.23am). The Chair, Derek Stringer, updated Directors on the progress made towards establishing a contract between the Trust and the College of West Anglia (CWA) for the services of the Chief Executive. He stated that a draft commercial contract had been drawn up, which would be circulated to Directors in due course. Finance Director, Alan Evans, reminded Directors that this was a personal arrangement whilst David Pomfret was in post as the CWA Principal.

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DS to circulate to Directors the draft contract for the services of the CEO.


Directors sought assurance that the Trust was following good practice and performing due diligence in relation to the role of Accounting Officer, also undertaken by the CEO. The Finance Director explained that a separate side letter relating to the role of Accounting Officer had been signed by David Pomfret and that the arrangement had been approved by the Trust’s auditors. Directors queried the time allocation of the CWA Principal to the CEO role at the Trust, given as one day a week. They wanted assurance that this could be reviewed in the light of the growth objectives of the Trust. Stephen Jones left the meeting at this juncture (11.30am). The Chair, Derek Stringer, stated that the Trust would have to address this in due course but that a balance had currently been achieved. David Pomfret re-joined the meeting at this stage (11.31am).

10. Presentation on sharing best practice across the Trust academies The Director of Education, Duncan Ramsey, presented a summary of the different types of collaboration taking place between the Trust’s academies in the primary and secondary sectors and welcomed debate and discussion over further actions to be taken. This was in response to the Chair’s drive to ensure good practice was shared across the Trust. Full details of the presentation are attached to the Minute Book. Directors asked the Nelson Academy Principal, Louise Ward, about the benefits of the primary peer reviews and visits to high quality schools. In response, the Principal indicated that there was a sense of staff empowerment in the support offered by peers at Eastgate Academy and that the high-quality school visits provided valuable CPD for her staff as well as proffering additional opportunities for curricular development. Directors agreed that the proposed primary expansion to the Trust would provide even more opportunities for sharing good practice. It was acknowledged that more could be done to share good practice across the Trust secondary academies, particularly via greater curricular consistency at this level. There was some discussion about the benefits of common exam specifications for English and Maths and the likelihood of common agreement over vocational courses. Executive Principal, Craig Morrison, pointed out the obvious nature of the collaboration between KLA and KESA and admitted that more could be done to link up with DMA. However, he sounded a note of caution over a teacher’s loyalty to their own academy and their desire to be an innovator in terms of courses and delivery methods chosen. DMA Principal, Jon Ford, strongly advocated cross Trust collaboration, emphasising the opportunities to avoid unnecessary duplication of a teacher’s time and effort, in for example creating Schemes of Work.

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The Chair thanked the Director of Education for stimulating debate on the subject of sharing good practice across the Trust, which would be further discussed in due course.

11. Committee Chair Briefing The Chairs of the Finance & Resources Committee and the HR & Performance Management Committee reported that there had been both a joint and an individual meeting of their respective committees on 29th January 2016 but that the matters discussed thereat had already been covered by the various agenda items in the Board meeting.

12. Feedback from Local Governing Bodies

The Clerk, Deborah Hinks, reported that the following items had been raised by the Local Governing Bodies as specific matters to be brought to the attention of Directors:

DMA

Recruitment and retention of staff Concern over the longer term investment on the DMA campus; Request for Exit Interview data from the Trust HR department for both

management and governance purposes; Governors welcomed and appreciated the appointment of Rose

Keating as Maths Adviser at the academy.

KESA

In relation to safeguarding, the academy had received poor service from Children’s Services and wanted the Trust to take action.

KLA

There was improved leadership in the Maths and Science departments.

The DMA Principal, Jon Ford, confirmed that Exit Interview data would be useful for management to determine why teachers choose to leave the academy.

Executive Principal, Craig Morrison, confirmed that there had been problems with the MASH Team (Children’s Services). Principals Jon Ford and Louise Ward concurred. It was agreed that the Chief Executive, David Pomfret, would take up the issue.

Directors acknowledged that it was good to have the LGBs’ positive reinforcement of actions taken at Trust level e.g. appointment of Maths Adviser, as well as the opportunity to learn of the other matters raised.

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DP to follow up on the poor service offered KESA by the MASH Team (Childrens’ Services)


13. Any other business There was no other business.

14. Date and time of next meeting The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday 12th May 2016 at 8.30am. The meeting closed at 12.09pm.

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Documents

CWA Academy Trust Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of ... · DH/SPR1 -2016/Minute Book-Page 26 /Pages – 12 For Action: CWA Academy Trust Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of