End of Autumn - Start of A New Year
Dear Colleagues/Governors,It’s that time of year when X-Factor, I’m A Celebrity and Strictly have all finished and we enter into the season of Endless Repeats. At GOVAS, we like repeats however, so you can expect us to keep raising the issue of school funding and schools collaborating more formally. We recently met with one of our local MPs to discuss the fairer funding issue and you can read about this on the web-site, along with details on the debate at Westminster covering this. Our local MPs are certainly standing up for Stockport in this debate and it is important that we do the same, collectively and individually, at every opportunity.
Collaboration with other schools is one way that we can make our resources go further, but it offers so much more than that, not least in raising attainment in our schools. Talking to people nationally, there seems to be a fear of being ‘taken over’ preventing formal groupings, whether through Federations or Multi-Academy Trusts, whereas the discussions should be about what is the best route forward for the children.
Up until two weeks ago, Stockport had not received any inspections under the new Ofsted framework. I suppose that is good, as it gives the opportunity to get feedback from those areas that have, but i think sometimes the wait for Ofsted can be worse than the actual inspection. If you are confident about where your school is and have asked all the right questions (see 20 Questions), then it should be plain sailing!
If you are not sure, however, then make sure you attend the Stockport Governors Conference on Saturday 12th March, where the keynote speaker will be someone who has been closely involved in the new framework. There will also be workshops on the benefits of collaboration and finance/fairer funding. Unlike on the tv, where they use repeats because they are cheap, we will keep repeating these issues because they are among the most important ones facing us at the moment as governors.
Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and
Best Wishes from us all at GOVAS!
Become a GOVAS Management Committee Member - we are a happy and contented bunch, but we could do with a few more friends. We meet three, or four, times a year, usually at the Town Hall. Our main visible event is the conference, but we also meet with council officers once a term and represent governors on a number of committees and we are looking to establish workshops/seminars to complement the LA training programme. To join the management committee, you do not need to have been a governor for over ten years, have a beard, or wear sandals. You do not need to be a Chair of governors, or even aspire to be. We just want governors who are prepared to give up a bit more of their time; to provide a fresh outlook; and to be able to speak up for governors within and outside of Stockport. Please contact us through admin@govas.org.uk
