Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Professor John Betteridge, Dennis Cotgrove, Dr Stephanie Ellington, Stuart Fraser and Alderman Vincent Keaveny.

The Chairman welcomed Ms Elizabeth Phillips to her first meeting of the Board as a co-opted Governor.

Sylvia Moys declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 6 due to the Auditors for the School being Moore Stephens, who also worked closely with Maritime London.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 27 June 2014.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the previous meeting are approved as an accurate record.

Joint report of the Chamberlain and the Headmistress.

The Board considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Headmistress which set out the revenue outturn position for 2013/14.

A Governor queried whether the higher expenses for music teaching were offset by extra fees for teaching being received. The Bursar explained extra income was received, but this was out of sequence with the increase in spending. The Board also briefly discussed the level of fees charged in general and agreed that it would be appropriate to discuss this further in the non-public section of the meeting.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

To appoint a representative to the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools for the ensuing year.

RESOLVED – That Mary Robey be appointed as the AGBIS representative.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Board considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Headmistress which provided Members with a copy of the 2013/14 Report and Financial Statements for The City of London School for Girls Bursary Fund incorporating The City of London School for Girls Scholarships & Prizes Fund.

The Chairman queried the level of return achieved on investments as the return was relatively low. The Deputy Chairman explained that she would raise this issue through her role on the Investment Committee, as the investment arrangements would be common throughout the Corporation.

A Governor asked why the amount of spending on scholarships and prizes had fallen despite the number of prizes and scholarships that were awarded staying the same. The Bursar explained that there was an element of means testing for scholarships and prizes, which would account for the reduction.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Headmistress.

PLEASE NOTE: The report of the Headmistress requests the Board of Governors to approve a range of new and updated Policies (listed within the report as Annexes D to II). These Policies are circulated to Governors under separate cover.

The Board considered the public report of the Headmistress detailing matters including forthcoming events, health and safety, destinations of 2014 leavers and policies for the Board’s approval.

Policies for the Board’s approval

The Headmistress noted that all of the School’s policies had been updated for the Board’s approval prior to the upcoming inspection and in future these would be updated on a rolling three-year basis, rather than all policies being presented at the same time.

Governors agreed a number of amendments to the policies presented for approval, namely:

-       The Policy on Pupils’ use of IT, Mobile Phones and other Electronic Devices should be updated to place the summary of the policy at the beginning of the introduction;

-       The Anti-Bullying Policy to be updated to include hair pulling, eyelash pulling and similar.

In response to questions from Governors, the Headteacher reported that the number of students with of allergies and other ongoing medical conditions was about typical for a school of this type and size.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

a)    notes the report; and

b)    approves the Policies presented to the Board, subject to the amendments to the Policy on Pupils’ Use of IT, Mobile Phones and other Electronic Devices and the Anti-Bullying Policy as set out above.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items 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 I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2014.

The Board approved the non-public minutes of the Board of Governors meeting held on 27 June 2014.

Edwina Collins to be heard to provide the Board with information of her project to be completed during her sabbatical leave.

The Board received a presentation from Edwina Collins which provided the Board with details of the project that she had undertaken during her sabbatical leave.

Neil Codd to be heard with regard to this year’s public examination results.

The Board received a presentation from the Director of Studies which provided information on the School’s 2014 Public Examination Results.

Report of the Headmistress.

The Board considered and approved the non-public report of the Headmistress which provided information about exam results, the School Development Plan, the upcoming inspection, staffing matters and pupil numbers.

Report of the Headmistress.

The Board considered and approved, subject to amendments, a joint report of the Headmistress and the Chamberlain which asked the Board to endorse the Service Based Review proposals for the School.

There were no questions.

A Member explained that he was in contact with Professor Carolin Crawford, the Gresham Professor of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge, and Professor Crawford may be willing to visit the school to make a presentation to the Sixth Form on Natural Sciences. The Headteacher asked the Member to discuss arrangements for this with her.

There were no items of urgent business.