Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Sophie Fernandes.

The Chairman gave his sincere thanks to the Headmaster for his years of service to the Board as this would be his final meeting, and the Headmaster expressed his gratitude to the Board for their support.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 3 October 2013.

The public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 3 October 2013 were considered and approved as a correct record.

MATTERS ARISING

The City of London School Bursary Fund incorporating the City of London School Scholarship and Prizes Fund - 2012/13 Report and Financial Statements (page 2) - The Chairman informed Governors that the City’s Education Strategy had been agreed at the Court of Common Council and the Board would be providing comment where possible.

The Chairman highlighted that the School would be producing a report on predictive data for the Board to receive at a future meeting.

Health and Safety Public Report October 2013 (page 5) – Governors would be provided with an update on concerns raised over the MITIE Cleaning contract and cleaning standards at this meeting.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered a report of the Town Clerk which sought approval for the terms of reference of the Board of Governors of the City of London School and the frequency of meetings.

RESOLVED – That,

a)    The terms of reference be approved for submission to the Court.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Board received a report which updated Governors on the actions taken by the City Surveyor’s Department in collaboration with officers from the School to ensure that cleaning services met the required standard and were commensurate to the scope of the contract specification.

The City Surveyor informed Governors that they had been working with the Town Clerk’s Department to provide updates to the Board and the Chairman had spoken with the Chairman of Policy and Resources on the matter.

Since the last meeting of the Board, MITIE had now performed a deep clean of the School and had temporarily seconded a supervisor from another site. The City Surveyor advised a reasonable standard would be maintained going forward, and legal advice had been sought.

The Chairman remarked that the City’s cleaning contract was broader than the School and felt the issues experienced had been due to supervisory problems, which had now been resolved and were being monitored closely. The Second Master informed Governors that standards of cleanliness at the School had increased and cleaning staff absences had decreased. The Deputy Town Clerk had also conducted a site visit and provided feedback.

A Governor commented that MITIE’s contract was due for renewal in a year’s time and this was why cleaning standards had improved. The City Surveyor replied that MITIE held contracts with other City organisations, which had not experienced any significant issues. The City Surveyor was now very attuned to monitoring the contract and re-tendering would be agreed and assessed with the School.

Governors queried if in-house cleaning was possible, and the City Surveyor advised that in the past, this had not been deemed the most efficient. The City had also taken action to reduce the number of contracts it held with external providers. Governors stated in future, matters such as

Report of the Headmaster of the City of London School (copy attached).

The Board received a report of the Headmaster of the City of London School relative to various School issues such as the recruitment progress for September 2013 during Autumn Term and health and safety.

Recruitment Progress for September 2013 during Autumn Term

Due to the number of applications received, the Headmaster informed the Board that selection would be very difficult. There had been 755 applications received to date and an increase of 75 applicants for means tested scholarships.

Governors commented on the large number of applicants, and discussed that it may be useful to try and lower the number of prospective applications. The Headmaster noted that there were pre-screening tests, before applications were received, and the admissions process included panel interviews. Governors suggested a satellite school could be established if the demand to attend the school remained high and the Headmaster noted that there were opportunities for expansion with interested parties. A Governor felt a satellite school would not be the best strategy and could negatively affect the excellent reputation of the existing School. It was important the School continued to attract the best pupils and also those who could most benefit from attending.

The Headmaster and Governors felt the School would only continue to attract more applications as it was a top ranking school in Central London, and demand for schools in the area was increasing.

The Chairman noted it was important the School was not oversubscribed. Governors discussed that it may be best to increase the physical size of the School and it was noted that this was a discussion that could be had as part of the Education Strategy.

Health and Safety

It was noted that the School had undertaken a recent Security Alert Practice which had revealed some deficiencies in the Public Address system and a

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Item No.                             Exemption Paragraph(s)

10                                            3

11                                            1,3,4

12                                            3

13                                            1

15                                            2,3,4

17                                            2,3,4

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2013.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held 3 October 2013 were approved as a correct record.

Joint report of the Chamberlain, the Headmaster and the City Surveyor.

The Board considered and approved a joint report of the Chamberlain, Headmaster and City Surveyor which provided an update on the projected cost of works to be met from the Repairs, Maintenance, Improvements and Major Works Fund.

Joint report of the Chamberlain and the Headmaster.

The Board received a joint report of the Chamberlain and Headmaster which presented the proposed 2014/15 revenue budget for review.

Report of the Headmaster of the City of London School.

The Board received a non-public report of the Headmaster.

There were no questions.

The following urgent items of business were raised –

Allowances for Bentworth Academy outreach work.

To agree the confidential, Governor only, minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2013.

**ALL OFFICERS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE TOWN CLERK, THE CHAMBERLAIN AND THE HEADMASTER OF THE CITY OF LONDON SCHOOL WITHDREW FROM THE MEETING WHILST ITEMS 17 AND 18 WERE CONSIDERED**

The confidential minutes of the meeting held 3 October 2013 were considered and approved as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Corporate HR.

The Board received a report of the Director of Human Resources.