Roselyn House School / The RHISE Service

Governance Policy

This Policy aims to set out the Board system, structure and process outline for governance at Roselyn House School.

Since the School’s last Ofsted in 2019 when it was thought that the Leadership and Management would improve by ‘seeking external advice to support senior leaders in improving the quality of provision and moving the School forward into its next stage of development’, there have been lots of changes in terms of structure which has been driven from the pandemic recovery and consultation with staff, students and families alike. This has led to a more cohesive approach to whole school and the need for seeking external advice.

However there has been considerable restructure in the Local authority and we have had at times no SENDO’s or they have change. Due to their case loads it is difficult for our current SENDO to attend meetings but is kept up to date throughout Annual Reviews and is available externally for advice when required.

Previously, during the Pandemic the school was split into Bubbles but is now split across two sites with a A1, A2, B1 and B2 groups at The RHISE Centre and Year Class groups at RHS, the main site. This has helped to develop greater communication both internally and externally and the need to report back to establish accountability across the whole School.

Miss Damerall, Headteacher reports annually in a School Improvement and Evaluation document (SIEF). This includes summaries of Termly reports, consultation from staff, students, Parents/ Carers and SLT Monthly reports for both sites. The System of Improvement and Evaluation is added as an appendix at the end of this Policy.

The School is split across two sites, the main School building and The RHISE Centre, which is home to Roselyn House Sixth Form and also specific individualised, support programmes for students who are not able to access the main school site. There are Outreach and Individual Intervention Timetables across both sites.

The School is owned by KS Education Limited, which has two Directors, who are also the Headteacher, Miss S Damerall and Deputy Headteacher, Miss K Willacy of the School. The Headteacher being based at the main School and the Deputy Head at The RHISE Centre.

Mr J Birkenhead is Deputy Head and based at RHS with Mr Dickinson who is RHS Co-ordinator. Mrs Higgins is the RHISE Co-ordinator

Mr Birkenhead oversees, along with the Headteacher, the Curriculum, Timetable Planning and communication with Parents/ Carers across whole school.

Mrs R Smith, the School Business Manager works alongside the Headteacher and all SLT in the day to day running and Policy implementation of the school. They work with external agencies and arrange quality assurance reviews and visits with external professionals.

We are supported externally by:-

Peninsula for Health and Safety and HR

Judicium for GDPR

Markel Liability Insurance

Essere Therapy

Shine Therapy

SENDOs from various local authorities:-

Lancashire:

Susan Hurst

Kelly Hayes

Blackburn with Darwen:

Helen Cookson-Chadwick

Blackpool:

Rebecca Sandford-Jones      

Rochdale

Sarah Tonge

Manchester

Mark Burgess

Hartlepool

Samantha Donovan

Trafford

Chris Locke

NASEN

NAHT (Lancashire Club Secretary - Karen Stephens) .

Despite being spread over two sites SLT ensure that there is a ‘whole school’ approach and consistency across the sites which is communicated to staff daily through group emails and briefings, Monthly twilight training and other trainings/ meetings.

This Policy takes into account guidance set out in DfE Governance Handbook 2020 and Governance: Structures and Role Descriptors October 2020. It also takes into consideration the specific needs of the structure of Roselyn House School and The RHISE Service and how we encourage everyone who is part of the School to have a voice in its development. The School has been and continues to be shaped by the specific needs of our students and is flexible in managing those needs as they may change over time. We include everyone in consultation around changes that are to be brought about and also how our future may be shaped. Our governing board has staff, students, Parents/ carers, LA representative (when possible) and interested others as part of its members. It is a form of self-governance which gives ownership to our students and their families to be part of what is theirs.

These consultations along with improvement planning form the basis of the school’s evaluation planning and actions for moving forwards.

At Roselyn House School and The RHISE Service we believe that effective Governance should:

• Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
• Hold leaders to account for the educational performance, safety and welfare of the school and its students, and the effective and efficient performance management and wellbeing of staff; and
• Despite the school being a Limited Company should be accountable that money is well spent on the resource’s students need

We believe that our Governing Board should be

• Ambitious for all children and young people and infused with a passion for education and a commitment to continuous school improvement that enables the best possible outcomes. Governance must be grounded in reality as defined by both high-quality objective data and a full understanding of the views and needs of students, staff, parents, carers, multi-agencies and local communities. It should be driven by inquisitive, independent minds and through conversations focussed on the key strategic issues which are conducted with humility, good judgement, resilience and determination.

The DfE defines effective governance on six key features:

• Strategic leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy.
• Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance.
• People with the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity.
• Structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
• Compliance with statutory and contractual requirements.
• Evaluation to monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance.

At Roselyn House School and The RHISE Service we have strategic leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy through:

• A clear and explicit vision for the future which has been achieved through collaboration and consultation. This has student progress and achievement at its heart and is communicated to the whole School
• Strong and clear values and ethos which are defined and modelled by everyone and embedded across the School and adhered to by all that work in it, or on behalf of it
• Strategic planning that defines medium to long-term strategic goals, and development and improvement priorities which are understood by all in the School
• Processes to monitor and review progress against agreed strategic goals and to refresh the vision and goals periodically and as necessary including at key growth stages or if performance of the organisation drops
• Mechanisms for enabling the governing board to listen, understand and respond to the voices of parents/carers, students, staff and local communities
• Determination to initiate and lead strategic change when this is in the best interests of young people and the school, and to champion the reasons for, and benefits of, change to all stakeholders
• Procedures for the board to set and manage risk appetite and tolerance; ensuring that risks are aligned with strategic priorities and improvement plans and that appropriate intervention strategies are in place and risk management is embedded at every level of

The SLT meet with the Headteacher fortnightly with an agenda which covers actions from previous meetings, Action Planning, Group reports, Quality of education report, Wellbeing of students and staff, Safeguarding and Health and Safety, Quality Assurance, Headteachers report, Focus reports and AOB.

We expect everyone at Roselyn House School and The RHISE Service to be accountable to drive up educational standards which is led by the Deputy Head, Mr Birkenhead. Financial Health is monitored by the Directors and School Business Manager. Staff and Student Council are able to request budgets for approved resources; using the correct procedures to justify the expenditure. This is achieved by:

• Rigorous analysis of pupil progress, attainment and financial information with comparison against local and national benchmarks and over time- information can be found on the website, Student Learning Support Plans.
• Clear processes for overseeing and monitoring School improvement and financial health, and the board being able to provide constructive challenge to the Directors.
• Effective oversight of the performance of all other employees and the framework for their pay and conditions of service
• A regular cycle of meetings and appropriate processes to support business and financial planning- The Directors and School Business Manager work closely with Whittles Accountants and Appletree Financial Services in order to manage accounts effectively for the school/ business.
• Effective controls for managing within available resources and ensuring regularity, propriety and value for money- our resources are needs lead and can be requested via students EHCP/staff.

Our Governing Board is made up of SLT, School Staff, Students from School Council, Parents/ Carers, Local Authority and interested people who we believe should have the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity who:

• Understand the purpose of governance and the role of non-executive leadership and have all the necessary skills, as outlined in the department’s Competency frameworks: for governance and professional clerking, to deliver it well.
• Include an effective Chair with the ability to provide visionary strategic non-executive leadership.
• Provide sufficient diversity of perspectives to enable robust decision making
• Are recruited through robust and transparent processes against a clear articulation of required skills, which are set out in a role specification.
• Use active succession planning to ensure the governing board, and the whole school, continues to have the people and leadership it needs to remain effective and provide support for the Directors.

Our Governing Board Chair is also the school Business Manager, Mrs Smith who ensures that there are structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities:

• There are appropriate committee structures that reflect the scale and structure of the school and ensure sufficient and robust oversight of key priorities.
• There is clear separation between strategic non-executive oversight and operational executive leadership, which is supported by positive relationships that encourage a professional culture and ethos across the school.
• Processes for ensuring appropriate communication between all levels and structures of governance and to students, parents/carers, staff and communities – particularly to ensure transparency of decision-making.
• Published details of governance arrangements including the structure and remit of the board and any committees, which are understood at all levels of governance and leadership and are reviewed regularly.

Our Governing Board shows compliance with statutory and contractual requirements, through:

• Awareness of, and adherence to, responsibilities under education and employment legislation.
• Regard to Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 (statutory guidance) (KCSIE currently 2022 but adapting to the changes which will be implemented in the KCSIE document September 2023) to ensure that key safeguarding and safer recruitment duties are undertaken effectively.
• Plans to ensure that other key duties such as inclusion, special education needs and disability (SEND) are undertaken effectively across the organisation.
• Understanding of, and adherence to, responsibilities under the Equalities Act, promoting equality and diversity throughout the organisation including in relation to its own operation.

We evaluate and monitor to improve the quality and impact of governance through:

• Processes for regular self-evaluation and review of individuals’ contribution to the Board as well of the Board’s overall operation and effectiveness.
• Documentation which accurately captures evidence of the board’s discussion.

Roselyn House School and The RHISE Service Governing Board Structure

• The Headteacher- Miss Damerall
• Chair/ School Business Manager- Mrs Smith
• At least one SLT member- Mr Birkenhead
• One Teaching Assistant-Mr Dickinson
• One Teacher- Miss N Smith
• Two students from school council (elected from RHS and RHISE)
• One or Two Parents/ Carers- Mrs Ashton
• One Local Authority (SENDO) – Kelly Hayes
•  
• One external interested other (if necessary)- Mr A King

Decision Making

The Governing Board should play a strategic role and avoid routine involvement in operational matters.

Role of Governor

Each individual Governor is responsible for contributing to the Board’s discussions and in meeting its three core functions. Boards may choose to, and in some cases should, appoint specific governors to link to specific areas e.g. safeguarding, special educational needs and disability (SEND).

It may be necessary to discuss agenda issues with student Governors first and then ask them to leave the meeting depending on the content being discussed.

Parent/ Carer Governors

The role of a Parent Governor is not as a spokesperson for the views of parents. They are the same as any other Governor on the Board, providing a ‘parental viewpoint i.e. representative parents rather than representatives of parents.

Headteacher

It is the Headteacher, not the Governing Board, who is responsible for the operational and day-today running of the school. One of the Headteacher’s responsibilities is to provide information to the Board so that the Board can meet its three core objectives.

Staff Governors

The role of a Staff Governor is the same as any other Governor, strategic leadership, but also includes providing a ‘staff viewpoint’. It is important for prospective Staff Governors to fully understand the nature of the role prior to appointment. Staff Governors are not a spokesperson for the views of all staff, nor will they be held to account in relation to their staff role by the governing board.

Local Authority Governor

A LA Governor is a representative of the Local Authority. The role of a LA Governor is the same as any other Governor, including providing a ‘LA viewpoint’, and they should participate in the same way as other Governors. They are not required to be affiliated to a political party, although they should be aware of local issues. It may not always be possible for LA Governor to attend but an external interested other (possibly Therapist) may attend in their place.

The Chair

The Chair, is responsible for ensuring the effective functioning of the Board and has a vital role in setting the highest of expectations for professional standards of governance. It is the chair’s responsibility to give the Board clear leadership and direction, keeping it focused on its core functions.

The chair should encourage the board to work together as an effective team, building its skills, knowledge and experience. The Chair should ensure that everyone is actively contributing relevant skills and experience, participating constructively in meetings, and is actively involved in the work of committees.

The following processes of governance are in place:

• Informal SLT Meetings.
• Bi-weekly SLT Meetings.
• Quality Assurance Reviews/ Visits/ Meetings for:

Teaching and Learning Assessment, Safeguarding, Pastoral/ Welfare, Safety, Health and Environment, School Improvement

• SENDO Meetings and student review- LA Monitoring Visits.
• Social Care Meetings- and monitoring visits.
• Headteachers/ SBM Meetings

Human resources, Clinical/ Therapy services, Information Technology, Commercial and Finance, Buildings and Property

• Directors Meetings.
• Student Council Meetings.
• Group staff meetings.
• Whole school monthly INSET.
• Full Day INSET.

S. Damerall

June 2023

Appendix 1

System for school improvement and evaluation

At Roselyn House School and The RHISE Service we are constantly developing our practices and procedures in order to meet the individual needs of the students which change along with adapting to new legislation, guidance and frameworks. 

• At the end of each school year, Miss Damerall, Headteacher prepares a SIEF (School improvement and evaluation form) which summarises the academic year and prepares targets/ focus for the next. 
• This is done following on from a staff, student, Parent/ Carer consultation which asks questions around the Ofsted Framework.  
• Throughout the year, the SLT Team at RHISE and RHS prepare monthly reports which assess against the annual targets set and show development in the areas outlined in the Ofsted framework. The progress against the annual targets are then summarised by the Headteacher in a Termly progress report. These are all then fed into the SIEF at the end of the Year. 
• The SLT meet fortnightly alternating between The RHISE Centre and the main school site. Information is then passed to the staff group at each site through weekly meetings. In addition, there are monthly twilight trainings and two full day INSET trainings per year. This allows for training to be implemented across the whole school based on the SIEF annual targets. 
• There is a cycle of appraisals which takes place annually in the Summer Term. 
• Teachers are observed termly, through focused observations and shared practice is encouraged. 
• The SENCO provides information regarding interventions, SEND support, assessment timetable and works across both sites. Interventions are recorded. There are meetings held to discuss individual student’s needs and updates provided to staff. 
• There is a 1-4 tracking subjects across the curriculum which is fed into End of Term Reports and Annual Reviews. Termly Parents evenings are held and this information is passed on along with the Annual Review where the SENDO and additional agencies will be invited to attend. 
• We have an information access on Office 365 for all staff which provides information around individual students including EHCP, IEBP, Learning Support Plan, Personal Learning Plan and individual risk assessment. The whole school curriculum and schemes of work are found here. 
• There is an onsite Therapist who students access through an appointment system for a prescribed time as agreed with the therapist, Parents/ Carers and outside agencies. There is also intervention provided by SALT Therapist. There are regular therapy review meetings held. 
• We have an Attendance Officer who works across both sites and attends Home Visits; putting attendance interventions in place. 
• There is a system of Outreach Intervention which provides individual timetables for a prescribed period of time. 
• We have a strong vocational offering, which includes colleges, training centres, Alternative Provisions, work experience, volunteer work, Adulthood Pathway. Each student produces Learning Goals, All About Me and a Vocational Profile/ Summary. These form part of the Annual Review process and End of Term reports. 
• Placements in principle are managed on a weekly basis along with the management of student placements.
• There are weekly DSL meetings to discuss Safeguarding and Early Help intervention. A safeguarding audit is completed. 
• The school works with Peninsula on Health and Safety and HR matters and an audit is completed. In addition, Markel insurance complete an audit of Health and Safety. There is an annual Fire Safety risk assessment completed.
• For GDPR an audit is completed by Judicium and up to date training is provided. 
• Student Council meets monthly across both sites where minutes are sent to Miss Damerall and responded upon. Student members attend Governance meetings where appropriate. 
• A Governance meeting is held Termly.