Agenda item

Report of the Head of the City of London School.

Governors considered a report of the Head that proposed the creation of a number of Committees to consider areas of business within the remit of the Board. In response to a suggestion from the Chairman, Members agreed to delegate authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, to advertise vacancies to the various Committees of the Board outside of meeting, and appoint members to them according to their skills and experience.

Governors then considered a summary of the outreach work undertaken by the school, and the following comments were made.

·         The Head noted that the school had been cited as an example of best practice during Ofsted inspections at other schools.

·         A Governor welcomed the partnership working between the school and the Institute of Education.

·         The Head confirmed that risk assessments were carried out prior to boys undertaking volunteering opportunities.

Governors then considered a proposal outlined within the report for the school to conduct exploratory discussions with the City of London Corporation around the potential for franchising abroad and the following comments were made.

·         The Head noted that the number of international schools abroad was a growing market with a lot of potential. A number of legal frameworks for operating franchised schools had been developed, which reduced the risk to school brands.

·         A Governor noted that despite the developing market, franchising retained elements of risk and therefore any proposal should be approached with caution. Should it be pursued, it would likely require the creation of a dedicated post within the school.

·         A Governor noted that franchising had been considered by the school a number of years previously, but the proposal had not been pursued at that time given the reputational risk to the City of London Corporation.

·         A Governor noted that criteria to assess reputational risk should be defined, and that the school should examine case studies of peer schools that had adopted franchising abroad so that lessons could be learned.

·         A Governor expressed opposition to the proposal, noting that he felt it risked diluting the support offered to the pupils at the present school.

·         A Governor expressed support, but noted that the proposal should be expanded to involve a wider franchising offer involving the family of City Schools.

·         The Chairman noted that there was broad support among Governors for the Head to pursue exploratory discussions with the City of London Corporation, subject to the comments made by the Board.

RESOLVED, that Governors

·         Appoint Committees for Finance and Estates; Academic and Education; and Governance, for the ensuing year, in line with the terms of references outlined within the report.

·         Appoint and note the terms of reference of the Teachers Pay Panel.

·         Delegate authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, to advertise vacancies on the various Committees of the Board outside of the meeting, and to appoint Governors to those Committees in line with their skills and experience.

·         Provide a mandate to the Head to pursue exploratory discussions with the City of London Corporation around franchising abroad.