Minutes - 4th March 2009
Minutes of Parents' Forum
4th March 2009
1. Welcome
Mr Catton opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and explaining the Mr Hartley could not be present but that Mr Hutton was attending in his place.
Changing Rooms – Following concerns from parents at the last meeting Mr Catton has met with the PE department about the supervision and locking of the PE changing rooms. It has been agreed to create a work area for staff in the changing rooms and to trial the use of security box’s attached to the wall in the changing rooms.
Use of ‘My Maths’ – Mr Catton has raised the issue of possible over reliance on My Maths for homework with Mr Woodman (Head of Maths) and is currently awaiting a reply
Litter – Mr Catton informed the meeting that the school was no longer employing an Agency litter picker and that this role was being undertaken by the school’s caretaking staff. It was suggested from the floor the creation of an ‘Eco Group’ to lead on this and other environmental issues. Mr Catton agreed to issue an invitation to staff for someone who is interested in this area to start such a group. There was also a suggestion to use litter picking as a punishment.
Transport – Mr Catton apologised but he has not yet invited a member of the Local Authority to a Parents Forum to discuss concerns about poor transport provision. Kate Lindgren agreed to undertake to invite someone to attend the May 13th meeting if Mr Catton supplied the appropriate contact details.
3. Introduction of new Chair of Governors
Diana Harkness was introduced and took a few minutes to talk about her role and philosophy. She stated she was happy to talk with parents at any time if they had issues and that she could be contacted through the school.
Mr Catton updated the Forum about this new national initiative. Gaining Ground applies to schools who are identified by a number of indicators including progression from key stage 2 to 4 and CVA (a measure of performance related to social and contextual indicators) as not making progress as quickly as would be expected. Orton Longueville has been placed in this category.
Mr Catton, the Chair of Governors and a Parent Governor have been invited to attend a launch event in London on April 20th.
The school will gain additional four days of School Improvement Partner time but at this point it is not known what other support will be offered.
The school has been proactive and embraced this initiative and has undertaken the production of a Gaining Ground Plan. This has involved the Leadership Team and all staff in reviewing the current situation and under the Gaining Ground headings to identify key actions for improvement. The plan will be launched on Monday 9th March and reviewed every 2 weeks by SLT to ensure its impact.
5. Update on the Appointment of the new Headteacher
Diana Harkness (Chair of Governors) updated the Forum on the current situation.
- No appointment in January but it was felt not in the best interest of Orton Longueville to appoint any of the candidates
- New appointment process on 10, 11 and 12 March.
- 7 candidates – 2 women and 5 men
- Some local some from father a field including London and Luton
- Professional Support for the process being provided by Local Authority Consultant Advisor, Educational Personnel Management and Truda White (Consultant Head)
A request for the new Headteacher to attend the next Parent Forum was made.
6. Issues from Parents
An update on the new school was requested. Mr Catton stated that the process was continuing to move forward. No start date for building has been given.
The issue of threatening chain emails was raised. A request to support students with dealing with them was made including providing guidance and advice and a school mail box for students to forward them to.
Mr Catton agreed to ask Year Team Leaders to discuss the issue in assemblies and offer advice and support on this issue. It was also agreed to put advice for parents and students into a future edition of ‘Hart’.
A request for the increased use of reward post cards was made. These are being sent in some subjects (History and Geography) and are greatly appreciated. However, none have been received from core subjects. Mr Catton agreed to address this with departments.
Is the school involved in the Peterborough Film Awards this year? Mr Catton was unable to confirm whether or not OLS was taking part but agreed to look into the matter.
Concerns were expressed about the lack of homework being set in years eight and nine. Mr Catton will continue to monitor and staff challenged
A concern about the amount of time some students are spending watching videos and the shortage of written work in books especially in RE was raised. Mr Catton led a discussion about the different teaching methods which staff are encouraged to pursue to engage young people and bring about learning. He felt that the use of videos was acceptable and valuable as one of a range of teaching methods.
When will work experience placements be made known? Mr Hutton agreed to make enquiries and let students know via assemblies.
When will the process take place? Mr Hutton outlined the options process this year and confirmed that there will be a curriculum information evening on Tuesday 17 March where the options process and information on the new Diplomas will be shared with parents.