Children, Families & Learning Cabinet Member – Minutes – 31 January 2017

25 (25) RECONSTITUTION OF MESSINGHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL BOARD OF GOVERNORS – The Director of Learning, Skills and Culture submitted an urgent report seeking approval for the instrument of government to allow the board of governors of Messingham Primary School to be reconstituted to be effective from 1 February 2017.

At the full board of governors meeting of Messingham Primary School held on 8 November 2016, the governors voted to reconstitute the board of governors in line with the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 and the School Governance (Constitution) (Amendment) Regulations 2014.

The above regulations set out the options available to schools in terms of the overall number of governors, the categories of governor and the guiding principles for the constitution. The regulations gave the board of governors more flexibility with their constitution and stated that boards should be no bigger than they needed to be to carry out their statutory duties.

The constitution of each board of governors was laid down in a document known as the instrument of government. A board of governors could at any time request changes to their constitution, in accordance with the regulations, by varying their instrument of government.

Where changes were proposed, a maintained school’s board of governors must prepare a draft instrument of government and submit it to the local authority for approval.

An urgent decision was requested in order that the deadline for the reconstitution of the new governing body could be met.

Resolved – That the new instrument of government for Messingham Primary School, as set out in the report and accompanying appendix, be approved.

26 (26) SCHOOL GOVERNORS – INSTRUMENT OF GOVERNMENT THE TRENTSIDE FEDERATION – The Director of Learning, Skills and Culture submitted an urgent report seeking approval for the instrument of government for the Trentside Federation to be effective from 1 February 2017.

The governing boards of Haxey Church of England Primary School and The Trentside Federation (St Martin’s & West Butterwick Church of England Primary Schools) agreed at a special meeting on 14 September 2016 to consider forming a hard federation of the three schools.

A formal proposal was subsequently produced by the governing boards confirming the nature of the hard federation. This led to a statutory consultation being undertaken to seek stakeholders’ views regarding the proposal.

On 15 December 2016 Haxey Church of England Primary School and The Trentside Federation (St Martin’s & West Butterwick Church of England Primary Schools) governing boards considered the consultation responses and agreed to form a hard federation of the three schools from 1 February 2017.

In order for the federated governing board to be formed a new instrument of government was required confirming the constitution. A draft instrument of government had been developed by the governing board, in consultation with The Lincoln Diocese of Education and had been submitted to the local authority for approval, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

An urgent decision was requested in order to meet the school governing boards agreed timetable for commencement of the hard federation of the three schools.

Resolved – That the new instrument of for The Trentside Federation, as set out in the report and accompanying appendix, be approved.