Agenda Item 6

Report to:	County Consultative Committee
Date of meeting:	19^th March 2025
By:	Charlotte Johnstone
Title:	Local Authority Governor appointments and Governor and Clerking Service Update for Councillors
Purpose:	To update Councillors on the nomination for appointment of local authority governors and governor training

RECOMMENDATIONS

1) For information

1          Background

1.1       The local authority has a statutory duty to approve nominations for local authority governors. Once nominated, schools then appoint local authority governors onto their governing board. 

1.2       This report provides a summary of local authority governor applications approved for nomination, and information about the level of governor vacancies across the county. 

2          Supporting information

2.1 Since the report sent to Councillors on the 13^th November 2024, 5 local authority governors were nominated for appointment, all were approved for a 4 year term of office. These were formed of 4 reapplications and 1 new application.

Lindsay Pamphilon	Wadhurst CE Primary School	Reapplication
Jennifer Gritten	Danehill CE Primary School	Reapplication
Kevin Millington	Stonegate CE Primary School	Reapplication
Chris Russell-Vick	Chailey Heritage	New Application
Kieran Dray	Netherfield CE Primary School	Reapplication

2.2 When the County Consultative Committee last met, the Governor and Clerking Service discussed that we were in the beginning stages of developing training for East Sussex Headteachers, Governors and Clerks on the Governor Disciplinary Committee process, which takes place when a child has been excluded, or suspended from the school. The intention of the training was to impart knowledge of the GDC process, so that all parties understood what their remit was within the process.  We have now delivered all three of the aforementioned information sessions to Headteachers, Governors and Clerks, and received feedback following these sessions. Some of the feedback included:

- “It was a useful course. I would hope to never need the training that I received, but I definitely feel more informed now”. – East Sussex Headteacher.

- “I found the session very informative and it was useful to have the opportunity to discuss specific scenarios and what questions we might want to ask.” – East Sussex Governor.

- “This was a comprehensive information session; the slide deck is a very useful resource. Presenters were clearly knowledgeable on the subject area and able to provide specific guidance on the areas under discussion.” – East Sussex Clerk to Governors.

- ““It was all very informative and the best training I have been on in a long time.” – East Sussex Governor.

We intend to deliver another round of these sessions in the Spring.

Additionally, due to the positive feedback following our GDC Information Sessions, we are at the initial stages of developing a new Complaints Information Session for Headteachers, which will be similar in its format to the aforementioned training. We intend to make this training focused solely on the Complaints process, including the required stages to and how to follow these, as well as the Headteacher’s role at each of these stages.

2.3 The topics of Belonging and Inclusion have been at the forefront of the Governor and Clerking Services’ networking programme this academic year, and we aim to keep Belonging as a golden thread until Summer. In collaboration with the East Sussex Governors Forum (ESGF), in November ’24, we ran a Governor Forum on the topic of ‘Belonging’. The forum was split into a presentation from Barry Blakelock, Education Director at AQUINAS Trust, and then the ESGF facilitated networking for governors to discuss any questions and how they might be able to practically engage with this topic in their schools. 64 governors across 36 East Sussex schools attended the forums (see Appendix 1). Some of the feedback from the forums included:

- “The best session I've attended in many years. Good presenter but also well managed and facilitated by Clare and Denise [Governor Services and ESGF].”

- “Absolutely inspiring and great”

- “Very happy, thank you for running the course. As someone who has worked in a school, I think members of staff aspire to achieve this, it was good to bring out the benefit of teaching others in this way.”

94% of responding governors were interested in attending a follow up networking on the topic of ‘Belonging’.

In January this year, the ESGF ran a whole-governor networking session called ‘Continuing the Conversation on Belonging’. This session went further into the practical elements of the topic, utilising case studies from schools across East Sussex who are doing work on belonging. In attendance were 20 governors across 19 schools (see Appendix 2). Feedback from this networking session indicated that the governors would like to continue the conversation around Belonging, especially when looking at vulnerable pupils, e.g. pupils with SEN, pupils accessing Pupil Premium, or pupils who have English as an Additional Language (EAL).

The Governor and Clerking Service are currently planning the topics for the remaining terms of the year, which will include Transition between settings, Relationships on the Governing Board inc. effective governance, as well as preparing for results at the end of the year. We will also shortly begin the initial stages of planning the 2025-2026 academic year training, networking and briefing programme.

2.4 Since the County Consultative Committee last met in November 2024, there have been 52 new governor appointments in maintained schools. This is a 30% increase from the 40 new governors who had joined boards as reported in the previous 4-month gap between the meeting of the County Consultative Committee. Due to the way that tenure dates work on governing boards, and the rapid change that can sometimes occur in board membership it is not possible for us to determine how many governors have left their role. However, where schools have particular issues with retention our service is able to support with bespoke recruitment.

2.5 Clerking: Since the County Consultative Committee last met in November 2024, there have been 3 new clerk inductions provided to maintained schools. This ensures that new clerks are aware of the basic expectations of their role, the key tasks they need to complete and the training available to support their knowledge and development. The Governor and Clerking Service also offers support to schools who are recruiting for a Clerk to Governors.

The Locum Clerk Service has also been a beneficial service this term, with our locum clerks supporting 8 meetings across 4 schools since the County Consultative Committee last met in November 2024.

We have just completed the second delivery of our ESCC certified course for Clerks, the Excellence in Clerking Programme. The clerks on this cohort have been extremely supportive of one another and have been utilising the benefits of networking and seeking practical support from one another. We are proud of this group of clerks and how they have engaged so meaningfully with the programme and have shown clear positive development in their role. The next cohort will begin in April 2025.

Charlotte Johnstone
Project Officer

Contact Officer: Charlotte Johnstone
Email: Charlotte.Johnstone@eastsussex.gov.uk

Appendix 1 – GCS Governor Forum ‘Belonging’ Attendees. November 2024.

Governing Board Attendees

All Saints Church of England Primary School, Bexhill

Ashdown Primary School

Beacon Academy

Bourne Primary School

Chyngton School

Claverham Community College

Cross-in-Hand Church of England Primary School

Crowhurst CofE Primary School

Guestling Bradshaw Church of England Primary School

Icklesham Church of England Primary School

King's Academy Ringmer

Maynards Green Community Primary School

Meridian Community Primary School

Polegate Primary School

Priory School

Ringmer Primary School

Roselands & Stafford Federation

Seaford Learning Trust

Seahaven Academy

South Malling CofE Primary and Nursery School

St Mark's Church of England Primary School

Stone Cross School

Stonegate Church of England Primary School

Sussex Spires Federation

The Bluebell Federation

The Genesis Federation

The Oak Tree Federation

Uckfield College

Uplands Academy

Wallands Community Primary School

West Rise Junior School

Western Road Community Primary School

Willingdon Primary School

Wivelsfield Primary School

Woodlands Federation

Seaford Primary

Appendix 2 - GCS ESGF Governor Networking ‘Continuing the Conversation on Belonging’ Attendees. January 2025.

Governing Board

Chyngton School

Seaford Head School

Seaford Learning Trust

Claverham Community College

Cross-in-Hand Church of England Primary School

Heathfield Community College

Maynards Green Community Primary School

Meridian Community Primary School

Priory School

Seahaven Academy

St Mark's Church of England Primary School

St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School

St Thomas a Becket Church of England Federation

Sussex Spires Federation

The Rampion Federation

Woodlands Federation

Ticehurst and Flimwell Church of England Primary School

Wadhurst CofE Primary School

Wallands Community Primary School