GOVERNORS VIEWPOINT


This has been another exceptionally busy year for everyone involved with Matravers. As a Governing Board (GB), we have continued to both challenge and support the school’s Senior Management Team (SMT) as they strive to improve the opportunities for students both during and beyond their time at the school.


A detailed GB Stakeholder Report will be released after the summer break but in the meantime, I thought it would be useful to highlight a few key milestones from this academic year.


OFSTED As most of you will know, the school had an Ofsted inspection back in October and was assessed overall as ‘Requires Improvement’. Whilst we were all deeply frustrated by the number of inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the Ofsted Report, we also acknowledge that there is always room for improvement in any organisation. The GB had already commissioned an External Review of Governance (ERG) as part our own self-assessment well before Ofsted carried out their inspection. The ERG (undertaken by an independent National Leader of School Governance) concluded that it was “difficult to identify any significant areas of underperformance” within the Matravers GB. The report also said that it was “a matter of some bafflement as to how the Governing Board was criticised in such a way”. Despite this independent (and thoroughly welcome) ERG endorsement, we have identified areas for improvement, which we have subsequently developed into action plans. One of these is to improve the way we communicate with our stakeholders, which include students, parents and carers and this is the subject of a separate study being undertaken by the GB, the outcome of which will be available in Term 1: more to follow.


SITE DEVELOPMENT The new block continues to take shape and handover is scheduled for October. This has been a long and tortuous process as the school fought hard to secure funding via the Priority School Building Programme,


www.matravers.wilts.sch.uk


which is a national initiative, aimed at addressing the needs of schools most in need of urgent repair. The GB was delighted to see this significant investment in the school’s ageing infrastructure, as this is nothing less than the students deserve and goes some way to helping us achieve our vision of being a world-class educational facility. The school has also managed to secure funding from the Local Authority to replace the windows in the main block, which will go some way to making this more conducive to learning.


GOVERNOR RECRUITMENT The GB at Matravers currently has two vacancies for Parent Governors and I would very much like to hear from any parent / carer who is interested in joining the GB. No prior experience is required, as training will be provided; all you need is a real interest in improving the opportunities for all students at Matravers and the willingness to get involved. Full details are available on the school website here: Parent Governors, all potential applicants should contact the Clerk to the GB in the first instance at: JYeatman@matravers.wilts.sch.uk


LOOK FORWARD I would like to thank all staff and students for their continued hard work throughout this past year, and I hope this effort is justly rewarded when the exam results are released in August. I also want to wish everyone involved with the school a happy and relaxing summer break and look forward to starting afresh in September.


On a final note, I would like to thank Guy Davies for his amazing work as the Chair of Governors over the past 6 years. Guy has worked tirelessly for the good and benefit of the whole Matravers community and on behalf of everyone involved in the school, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank him publicly. Guy will stay on the GB as a ‘backbencher’ and I will assume the role of sole chair with effect from September, with Linda Hallowell staying on as Vice Chair.


Mr. Brian Ralph Co-Chair of the Board of Governors


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