Governance at Corbridge Middle School
I feel very privileged to be the current Chair of Governors at Corbridge Middle School (CMS). Under the leadership of Mrs Kennedy the learning experience for our pupils has been transformed as we continue to strive for each and every child at our school to be successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.
Corbridge Middle School is thriving; well thought of by our parents, partnership schools and local community. At their last visit, in November 2018, Ofsted stated that “the school have secured high standards and significant improvements since the last inspection” as well as stating that we “have built meaningful partnerships with other schools and the local authority to enhance the curriculum and provide external assurance on the quality of your work; and have developed supportive relationships with parents and carers, who are highly appreciative of the quality of education their children receive.”
This excellent reputation for pastoral care, a broad curriculum and high quality, innovative teaching practice; has contributed to CMS having more pupils now than ever before in my eleven years as a governor, with the school full with 361 pupils. I hope you will agree this to be a testament to the hard work, commitment and passion of our staff, here at CMS.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Jo Holmes
Chair Governors and National Leader of Governance
Corbridge Middle School is thriving; well thought of by our parents, partnership schools and local community. At their last visit, in November 2018, Ofsted stated that “the school have secured high standards and significant improvements since the last inspection” as well as stating that we “have built meaningful partnerships with other schools and the local authority to enhance the curriculum and provide external assurance on the quality of your work; and have developed supportive relationships with parents and carers, who are highly appreciative of the quality of education their children receive.”
This excellent reputation for pastoral care, a broad curriculum and high quality, innovative teaching practice; has contributed to CMS having more pupils now than ever before in my eleven years as a governor, with the school full with 361 pupils. I hope you will agree this to be a testament to the hard work, commitment and passion of our staff, here at CMS.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Jo Holmes
Chair Governors and National Leader of Governance
How is our school governed?
All schools are required to have a Governing Body whose role is to have a strong focus on three core strategic functions:
The Governing Body is made up of volunteers who, as a whole group, have the knowledge, skills and time to be able to perform these strategic functions. Here at Corbridge Middle School we have 13 places on our governing body. We meet as a full governing body at least once per term but the majority of our work takes place in committees which also meet at least once per term. As well as being members of committees, our “non- staff” governors also take an interest in the areas of English, maths, careers, special educational needs, looked after children and safeguarding which involves working with various leaders within school.
- ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
- overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
The Governing Body is made up of volunteers who, as a whole group, have the knowledge, skills and time to be able to perform these strategic functions. Here at Corbridge Middle School we have 13 places on our governing body. We meet as a full governing body at least once per term but the majority of our work takes place in committees which also meet at least once per term. As well as being members of committees, our “non- staff” governors also take an interest in the areas of English, maths, careers, special educational needs, looked after children and safeguarding which involves working with various leaders within school.
How are we doing?
All our governors work hard to support, challenge and hold the school to account so that Corbridge Middle School is successful both now and in the future. We have a high attendance record of all governors at both full board and committee meetings.
The leadership team, both staff and governors, continue to drive the school forward towards our vision. Our school improvement advisor has supported our own view that leadership and governance of the school is outstanding with strong support and challenge provided. During our short Ofsted Inspection in November 2018, the Inspector was of the opinion that the school have secured high standards and significant improvements since the last inspection. The report is well worth reading!
With the renewed national focus on what is being taught in schools; this past year has provided opportunities to work even more closely with our partnership schools to agree a common approach to delivering the curriculum and how this is planned across the different phases in our schools.
During 2018/2019 we
During 2019/2020 we shall
The leadership team, both staff and governors, continue to drive the school forward towards our vision. Our school improvement advisor has supported our own view that leadership and governance of the school is outstanding with strong support and challenge provided. During our short Ofsted Inspection in November 2018, the Inspector was of the opinion that the school have secured high standards and significant improvements since the last inspection. The report is well worth reading!
With the renewed national focus on what is being taught in schools; this past year has provided opportunities to work even more closely with our partnership schools to agree a common approach to delivering the curriculum and how this is planned across the different phases in our schools.
During 2018/2019 we
- Continued to focus on enabling a greater proportion of our higher attaining pupils to make better than expected progress whilst also maintaining standards for all. National testing at year 6 and year 8 showed that our pupils achieve significantly higher results in English and Maths than the national average.
- Collaborated closely with other schools in our partnership to better streamline our curriculum across all phases and with some exciting funded projects for computing. Ofsted commented that “Y our team place considerable emphasis on the development of the wider curriculum. Your team ensure that pupils have access to a rich, broad and balanced curriculum at key stage 2 and 3. They benefit from specialist subject teaching across a wide range of subjects.
- Developed a collaborative cross-school culture for our Special Educational Needs and disadvantaged provision, enhanced further by our SENDco Mrs Ricketts becoming a lead SENDco for Northumberland.
- Explored further innovative teaching methods to enhance what we already do whilst reducing the workload for teachers by exploring different ways of marking and providing feedback
- Carried out and reported upon a consultation for a proposed installation of an artificial grass pitch at the school
- Developed a three year plan to ensure our ongoing financial sustainability based upon the new funding for schools
During 2019/2020 we shall
- Prioritise reading to allow all pupils to access the full curriculum now and in the future
- Ensure that there is clear progression of skills and knowledge across the key stages of education with pupils knowing more, remembering more and doing more
- Continue to develop our provision for SEND and disadvantaged pupils so that they can all succeed
- Develop further our communication of our vision and values so that our pupils are actively involved in upholding and developing them.
- Work closely with NCC and the Milkwell housing developers to ensure that pupils and staff are safe whilst accessing the school site as well as minimising any possible disruption. Opportunities to use the development as part of the curriculum will also be sought.
What is our Governance Structure?
Changes may occur at our full governing board meeting in November:
Pupil Discipline, Complaints, Hearing and Appeals committees are formed as and when required.
Teaching & Achievement
This committee is responsible for ensuring that appropriate pupil achievement targets are set each year and for monitoring how the school is doing in achieving these targets including having oversight of those policies associated with teaching and learning. They also have specific responsibility for supporting the schools careers guidance programme.
Over the last year this committee has monitored
Resources Management
This committee is responsible for reviewing HR policies and ensuring they are followed, including those related to pay, appraisal, the review of staffing structures and appointment of senior members of staff. It is also responsible for ensuring the school is achieving good value for money overall and specifically regarding pupil premium and PE sports premium spending along with responsibility for ensuring that Health & Safety policies are followed and that there is a properly funded repairs, maintenance and capital spend programme in place. Over the last year, the committee has ensured that the appraisal policy has been consistently applied and that the wellbeing of staff remained a priority. The school manages its finances well and continues to hold a small surplus. Work has continued to create more teaching space as our pupil numbers have grown and our use of small group teaching has expanded. Investment has continued in our computer systems to simplify parental payments to school. Works planned for the proposed “Milkwell” housing development to the northern boundary of the school have been scrutinised by this group to ensure safety of our pupils, staff and visitors is paramount at all times. Further work has also taken place to secure funding to enhance the educational facilities of the school.
Headteacher Performance Review
This committee is responsible for setting annual objectives for the headteacher and reviewing performance against these objectives.
Safeguarding and SEND responsibilities
Named governors hold a watching brief over these important areas. They are responsible for ensuring the school is meeting all its safeguarding, child protection and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities responsibilities. They also ensure that we have and adhere to our policies for behaviour and discipline. Our SEND provision continues to be considered best practice with our SEND Coordinator Mrs Rickett now appointed as a lead SENDco for Northumberland.
This committee is responsible for ensuring that appropriate pupil achievement targets are set each year and for monitoring how the school is doing in achieving these targets including having oversight of those policies associated with teaching and learning. They also have specific responsibility for supporting the schools careers guidance programme.
Over the last year this committee has monitored
- the progress of the school against its School Impact plan for the development of the curriculum with other middle schools and Queen Elizabeth High School
- SEND and disadvantaged provision
- Behaviour for Learning
- Key Stage 2 SATs
- the development of a new marking and feedback policy in order to reduce teacher workload whilst enhancing learning
Resources Management
This committee is responsible for reviewing HR policies and ensuring they are followed, including those related to pay, appraisal, the review of staffing structures and appointment of senior members of staff. It is also responsible for ensuring the school is achieving good value for money overall and specifically regarding pupil premium and PE sports premium spending along with responsibility for ensuring that Health & Safety policies are followed and that there is a properly funded repairs, maintenance and capital spend programme in place. Over the last year, the committee has ensured that the appraisal policy has been consistently applied and that the wellbeing of staff remained a priority. The school manages its finances well and continues to hold a small surplus. Work has continued to create more teaching space as our pupil numbers have grown and our use of small group teaching has expanded. Investment has continued in our computer systems to simplify parental payments to school. Works planned for the proposed “Milkwell” housing development to the northern boundary of the school have been scrutinised by this group to ensure safety of our pupils, staff and visitors is paramount at all times. Further work has also taken place to secure funding to enhance the educational facilities of the school.
Headteacher Performance Review
This committee is responsible for setting annual objectives for the headteacher and reviewing performance against these objectives.
Safeguarding and SEND responsibilities
Named governors hold a watching brief over these important areas. They are responsible for ensuring the school is meeting all its safeguarding, child protection and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities responsibilities. They also ensure that we have and adhere to our policies for behaviour and discipline. Our SEND provision continues to be considered best practice with our SEND Coordinator Mrs Rickett now appointed as a lead SENDco for Northumberland.
Who are our governors?
Jo Holmes - Co-opted Governor and Chair of Governors and link governor for maths and careers. Also National Leader Governance and qualified in Safer Recruitment.
I have been a governor at CMS for 11 years and previously had been a governor at Whittonstall First School. With three children who have all attended the school, one still at Queen Elizabeth High School, much of my experience comes from being a parent. As a graduate Chemical Engineer and having managed manufacturing operations for Procter & Gamble Ltd, I have extensive experience in target setting, performance monitoring, human resources and project management. In my role as Chair, I ensure that the full Governing Body operates effectively. I am also a National Leader of Governance; in this role I provide support to the chairs of other governing bodies and carry our external reviews of governance and health checks as required in order to aid school improvement.
Jane Kennedy Headteacher.
I have been a member of the governing body since I joined the school as Headteacher in September 2014. I enjoy working with the governors who, with their wide range of skills and experience, continue to challenge and drive the school forwards as we strive to provide the best education we possibly can for our students. We are clear about our vision for the school, our ethos and our values and we believe that enriching every child’s education will help to ensure their future success.
Ann Harvey Co-opted Governor, Resources Management Committee.
I have been a governor for just over four years but have regularly been co-opted onto committees in the past in my role as Office Manager for the school. I am a long standing resident of Corbridge and am able to use my community links to build community cohesion.
Peter Jewitt Co-opted Governor, Chair Resources Management Committee, Headteacher Performance Management.
I live in Corbridge and have been a governor for almost four years now, having retired as a solicitor specialising in property law and civil litigation. Some years ago I was Chair of Governors of a school in Newcastle upon Tyne. Through my involvement with the business community and my voluntary work in the Tyne Valley I bring to the Governing Board an understanding of the needs of business and the community. My legal knowledge proves useful in our dealings with NCC and developers regarding the housing development and in regard to health and safety issues at the school.
Philip Latham Co-opted Governor, Teaching & Achievement committee.
A former chair of Governors, I have been teaching in secondary schools since the 1960’s and have had experience of the impact of rapid change in education on pupils and teachers. I first became a governor when our two daughters attended CMS in the 1980’s. Currently I work as a volunteer ESOL teacher for a North East refugee charity. As a practitioner I have found the 3 tier school system meets the widest range of pupil development needs.
Katie Skinner Parent Governor, Vice-Chair, Chair Teaching and Achievement Committee, Enlgsih link governor and Designated Safeguarding Governor.
I have been a governor since December 2015. I have two daughters, one at QEHS and one in her final year at CMS. Being a teacher myself at a large Primary School in Newcastle, I am able to share knowledge of best practices in teaching and learning. Much of my own work involves supporting Pupil Premium initiatives and raising attainment for these pupils. I have taken on several roles within the governing body as I have gained more experience. I am currently Vice Chair, Chair of the Teaching & Achievement Committee, English Link governor and designated safeguarding lead. Life is busy as I am heavily involved at the dry ski slope in Sunderland and am currently training to be a level 3 official as well as being a leader for Jog on the Tyne.
Mark Swinney Staff Governor, Resources Management committee.
I have been a governor for three years during a time of potential change for the school. As a fairly new member of the teaching staff, I am able to provide an important staff perspective during the work to reduce workload on staff whilst improving learning. My previous corporate background helps immensely with my involvement in the Resources Management Committee.
Mark Warland Co-opted Governor, Teaching and Achievement Committee, Headteacher Performance Management.
I have been a governor at CMS for the past six years. As a resident of Corbridge and Assistant Headteacher at Ponteland High School, I am able to bring both knowledge of the local community and the next stage in students’ education to the governing body. As a recent head of faculty for a large department I have experience of school appraisal systems and performance related pay along with curriculum development and assessment all of which support me as a governor on two committees. I have two young children who will be attending Corbridge Middle School in the future.
Chris Bruce Co-opted Governor, Teaching & Achievement committee, designated SEND/LAC governor.
My own children came to Corbridge Middle School over 16 years ago. Now as a retired secondary school teacher I want to give something back, especially as I am passionate about the opportunities available in a middle school setting.
Jayne Adey, Co-opted Governor, Resources Management committee.
I was invited to become a governor at CMS three years ago, to help fill a financial skills gap on the governing body. As a resident of Corbridge and qualified accountant with recent experience of working at Egger UK; I was pleased to become a governor. I take a lead role in both supporting and challenging the school in relation to the financial systems used as part of the Resources Management committee. With a young daughter, I am keen to ensure that our schools are as successful as they can be.
Tom Weston Parent Governor, Resources Management committee.
I have joined the governing body as a Parent Governor over a year ago now, with three children currently enjoying their time at CMS. In my professional life I am Director and Board member of a mid-sized business, with particular responsibility for personnel, training and development, so look forward to sharing my experience and providing an additional viewpoint in the Resources Management group, as well as the Governing Body as a whole. In addition to having children passing through the system my connection to the world of education has been broadened by two years spent teaching English in middle schools in rural Japan at the start of my working life. An interesting point of comparison from a cultural and educational perspective!
I have been a governor at CMS for 11 years and previously had been a governor at Whittonstall First School. With three children who have all attended the school, one still at Queen Elizabeth High School, much of my experience comes from being a parent. As a graduate Chemical Engineer and having managed manufacturing operations for Procter & Gamble Ltd, I have extensive experience in target setting, performance monitoring, human resources and project management. In my role as Chair, I ensure that the full Governing Body operates effectively. I am also a National Leader of Governance; in this role I provide support to the chairs of other governing bodies and carry our external reviews of governance and health checks as required in order to aid school improvement.
Jane Kennedy Headteacher.
I have been a member of the governing body since I joined the school as Headteacher in September 2014. I enjoy working with the governors who, with their wide range of skills and experience, continue to challenge and drive the school forwards as we strive to provide the best education we possibly can for our students. We are clear about our vision for the school, our ethos and our values and we believe that enriching every child’s education will help to ensure their future success.
Ann Harvey Co-opted Governor, Resources Management Committee.
I have been a governor for just over four years but have regularly been co-opted onto committees in the past in my role as Office Manager for the school. I am a long standing resident of Corbridge and am able to use my community links to build community cohesion.
Peter Jewitt Co-opted Governor, Chair Resources Management Committee, Headteacher Performance Management.
I live in Corbridge and have been a governor for almost four years now, having retired as a solicitor specialising in property law and civil litigation. Some years ago I was Chair of Governors of a school in Newcastle upon Tyne. Through my involvement with the business community and my voluntary work in the Tyne Valley I bring to the Governing Board an understanding of the needs of business and the community. My legal knowledge proves useful in our dealings with NCC and developers regarding the housing development and in regard to health and safety issues at the school.
Philip Latham Co-opted Governor, Teaching & Achievement committee.
A former chair of Governors, I have been teaching in secondary schools since the 1960’s and have had experience of the impact of rapid change in education on pupils and teachers. I first became a governor when our two daughters attended CMS in the 1980’s. Currently I work as a volunteer ESOL teacher for a North East refugee charity. As a practitioner I have found the 3 tier school system meets the widest range of pupil development needs.
Katie Skinner Parent Governor, Vice-Chair, Chair Teaching and Achievement Committee, Enlgsih link governor and Designated Safeguarding Governor.
I have been a governor since December 2015. I have two daughters, one at QEHS and one in her final year at CMS. Being a teacher myself at a large Primary School in Newcastle, I am able to share knowledge of best practices in teaching and learning. Much of my own work involves supporting Pupil Premium initiatives and raising attainment for these pupils. I have taken on several roles within the governing body as I have gained more experience. I am currently Vice Chair, Chair of the Teaching & Achievement Committee, English Link governor and designated safeguarding lead. Life is busy as I am heavily involved at the dry ski slope in Sunderland and am currently training to be a level 3 official as well as being a leader for Jog on the Tyne.
Mark Swinney Staff Governor, Resources Management committee.
I have been a governor for three years during a time of potential change for the school. As a fairly new member of the teaching staff, I am able to provide an important staff perspective during the work to reduce workload on staff whilst improving learning. My previous corporate background helps immensely with my involvement in the Resources Management Committee.
Mark Warland Co-opted Governor, Teaching and Achievement Committee, Headteacher Performance Management.
I have been a governor at CMS for the past six years. As a resident of Corbridge and Assistant Headteacher at Ponteland High School, I am able to bring both knowledge of the local community and the next stage in students’ education to the governing body. As a recent head of faculty for a large department I have experience of school appraisal systems and performance related pay along with curriculum development and assessment all of which support me as a governor on two committees. I have two young children who will be attending Corbridge Middle School in the future.
Chris Bruce Co-opted Governor, Teaching & Achievement committee, designated SEND/LAC governor.
My own children came to Corbridge Middle School over 16 years ago. Now as a retired secondary school teacher I want to give something back, especially as I am passionate about the opportunities available in a middle school setting.
Jayne Adey, Co-opted Governor, Resources Management committee.
I was invited to become a governor at CMS three years ago, to help fill a financial skills gap on the governing body. As a resident of Corbridge and qualified accountant with recent experience of working at Egger UK; I was pleased to become a governor. I take a lead role in both supporting and challenging the school in relation to the financial systems used as part of the Resources Management committee. With a young daughter, I am keen to ensure that our schools are as successful as they can be.
Tom Weston Parent Governor, Resources Management committee.
I have joined the governing body as a Parent Governor over a year ago now, with three children currently enjoying their time at CMS. In my professional life I am Director and Board member of a mid-sized business, with particular responsibility for personnel, training and development, so look forward to sharing my experience and providing an additional viewpoint in the Resources Management group, as well as the Governing Body as a whole. In addition to having children passing through the system my connection to the world of education has been broadened by two years spent teaching English in middle schools in rural Japan at the start of my working life. An interesting point of comparison from a cultural and educational perspective!
How can you become involved?
We advertise any full governor vacancy whenever they arise. We also occasionally need people who are prepared to work with us on specific projects; for these roles we are able to recruit “associate members” onto our Governing Body. If you feel you have skills that we could use on our governing body we would love to hear from you. Please contact either Mrs Kennedy (Headteacher) or myself (Mrs Holmes) via the school office.
