Autumn 2021

At the beginning of a new school year, the Governors set about trying to strengthen and build the

 team, and we are delighted that we have a new co-opted governor joining the Governing Body in Autumn 2021.  Jackie Clayton is a parent at the school, and I feel certain she will bring much to the role.   It would be good if we can persuade more people to join us on the Governing Body.  There are still more places to be filled, including one parent governor and two co-opted governors.  One of our newer governors Mr Jaime Mor

gan Hitchcock, has been voted in to the role of Co-Vice Chair, sharing the duties with Mr Mark Barnett. 

Like everyone else in these times of Covid, our teachers, parents and students have all struggled to keep things on track and together, supported by the Governing Body, we are seeing dramatic improvements, borne out by HMI Visit Reports and regular County Adviser Reports.  Our success comes from the way we work together, which has long been a feature of Carr Hill School.  We are a Community School: serving our community and supported by it too.  I know, as we approach the Christmas Holidays you will want to add your thanks to mine to Mrs Alford and her team for the way they have overcome the stresses and strains that Covid still brings, to ensure our children are well taught and are aiming high.

As Chair of Governors I am here to help you in any way I can, and on the contacts page you can find out how to get in touch.  And don’t forget that your first port of call if you have any concerns, is at the school itself.  I am confident that all members of the Carr Hill Team will want to help.

Barry Upton
Chair of Governors
Carr Hill School.

Summer 2021

I hope you are all well – and staying safe. Before too many more months pass by – and hopefully by the time we start a new School Year – we shall be able to return to a life closer to that which we lived before the pandemic hit us all.

The last term will be most remembered for the way our pupils, parents and staff worked together to help ensure that learning could continue for all of our pupils. That we all did an effective job can be seen in the report written by HMI / OFSTED who, during a two-day special inspection sought to discover how effectively we provided and supported home-based learning alongside provision for pupils who attended throughout the Covid-19 period. They found that:

Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action to provide education in the current circumstances.

All of our pupils are back in their classrooms; I feel confident that they will start to show the sort of progress in their studies that will make up for gaps in their learning that have inevitably occurred. Now that they are back amongst their teachers and friends, we hope that their health and wellbeing will also thrive.

Like so many other organisations, the Carr Hill Governing Body has had to radically change how it meets and conducts its business. We have used Microsoft Teams to hold regular Committee and Full Governing Body meetings and we have continued to work with the Head and staff on the business of school improvement. Perhaps by the beginning of next school year we shall be able to resume our work by visiting the school and talking with teachers as we enjoyed so much before the first lock-down in March 2020.

May I finish, once again, by hoping that somewhere in the parent body there is someone with a passion to help the school and its community. Come and join us on the Governing Body. Make a difference.

Barry Upton
Chair of Governors
Carr Hill School

Spring 2021

I hope you are all well – and staying safe.

It was with great regret that four of our Governors left during the last year. One was a parent governor (Mr Zadrozny) leaving us with a vacancy for a new parent governor; and three were co--opted Governors (Mrs Scott, Mr Wielgus, and Mrs Goodall). All of them have given great service to the school and their contributions will be much missed. On the plus side, we have welcomed two new co-opted governors who have already begun to make an impact: Mr Morgan Hitchcock and Ms Tamblyn-Saville.

Like so many other organisations, the Carr Hill Governing Body has had to radically change how it meets and conducts its business. We have used Zoom and Microsoft Teams to hold our meetings and we have continued to work with the Head and staff on the business of school improvement.

Covid-19 has hit us all hard, but it is our pupils who bear the brunt, and alongside them their parents. Remote learning is difficult: for staff who have to prepare and deliver the materials without getting the all-important face-to-face feedback which shows that their pupils understand what they are learning; for children who miss their classrooms and their friends as well as the support from their teachers; and the parents who have to juggle work with supporting their children’s learning. One year ago, nobody could have predicted what 2020 would bring. Let us all hope that 2021, moves us away from the pains of lockdown and that before too long we shall see our classrooms full and buzzing once again.

May I finish by asking that somewhere in the parent body there is someone with a passion to help the school and its community. Come and join us on the Governing Body. Make a difference.

Barry Upton
Chair of Governors
Carr Hill School

Autumn 2019

It is a great pleasure to welcome Mrs Gwenaelle Moles to the Governing Body. I am certain that her experience and expertise will move us forward over the
coming months so that we are ready for Ofsted and looking “Good”. Mrs Moles is a new Parent Governor and we now have a complement of Parent Governors – Mr Kay, Mrs Moles and Mr Zadrozny.

We still have TWO vacancies for Governors who can be co-opted onto the Governing Body. If you think you can help us in our drive towards improvement
please contact me at the school address or via the email below.

Governors are Critical Friends…
This year Carr Hill, like all schools up and down the country, will focus on Curriculum Issues which have become one of Ofsted’s key areas for school
improvement. The school leaders and staff are well into this process and it is now up to Governors to find out as much as we can so that we are in a position to ask the right questions – challenge and support are our watchwords! (See Briefing
Paper)

The Carr Hill Governing Body is a member of the National Governance Association and I note with interest one of its leading articles this month identifies the
importance of getting the school culture right. Much has been done over the past two or three years to ensure that our children are happy at school, that they are safe and that we acknowledge the importance of their well-being. But we should not ignore the well-being of the staff. One of the INSET days this year was
given over to helping staff feel positive and offered strategies to improve their well-being. But we also need to mindful of their workload. Our teachers work
very hard and we must give them all the support we can so that they can continue to do so.

I am inviting Governors when they visit the school to ask teachers how they are feeling about their work. Of course, our role as Governors is to be critical and
challenging – but first ad foremost we must be supportive. We will only get the best out of our young people when we get the best out of their teachers and
teaching assistants.

It would be remiss of me not to publicly thank the excellent work done by Judith Lockwood who retires this year after 28 years of service. Judith has been
responsible for moving so many of our children forward in their reading skills. We wish her well in her retirement.

As Chair of Governors I am here to help you in any way I can, and on the contacts page you can find out how to get in touch. And don’t forget that your first port
of call if you have any concerns is at the school itself. I am confident that all members of the Carr Hill Team will want to help.

Barry Upton
Chair of Governors (bupton@carrhill.notts.sch.uk)

At the beginning of the new school year the Governors set about trying to strengthen and build the team, and nominations were invited for the post of Parent Governor.  We were disappointed to receive only one nomination, but we welcome to the Governing Body, Mr Shane Zadrozny.  Mr Zadrozny has served on the Governing Body before, and despite the changes in the way we work, I feel certain he will quickly find his feet and contribute to the work the Governors do.

It would be good if we can persuade more people to join us on the Governing Body.  There are two other places to be filled.  These are so-called “Co-opted Governors”, people who live and / or work in our community who have skills and interests that will help us in our role as critical friends of the school – and I know there are talented people in our Community who can add to our set of skills.  Come and join us in making Carr Hill Primary the best we can be.   In the meantime, read our page in the Governors section of the School Website headed: Being A Governor where one of our Governors answers questions about his role.  Many of our Governors do more than just act in their governance role: they run clubs, listen to children read, initiate projects, support PTA functions and attend other events.

The Carr Hill Governing Body is a member of the National Governance Association and I note with interest one of its leading articles this month concerns the functions of Governing Bodies.

“NGA believes there is a fourth core function of governing boards, one of ensuring the voices of the school’s stakeholders are heard: the wider community, parents, pupils, staff and local employers. This is a fundamental part of good governance and it is in real danger of getting lost under the huge workload of compliance and financial constraints.”

— National Governance Association

I am inviting Governors to look again at our Code of Conduct so we can build this function into our everyday work – supporting and challenging in equal measure.  With a changing focus in OFSTED inspections, it seems like a good time to revisit our work.  With the new Inspection framework now in place I have written a summary of the changes as they affect the Governors.  This can be found by using this link. (Governor Briefing: 19.1)

As Chair of Governors I am here to help you in any way I can, and on the contacts page you can find out how to get in touch.  And don’t forget that your first port of call if you have any concerns is at the school itself.  I am confident that all members of the Carr Hill Team will want to help.

Barry Upton
Chair of Governors
Carr Hill School