Agenda and minutes

Deputy Tom Hoffman was in the Chair.

Apologies for absence were received from Rehana Ameer, Alderman Emma Edhem, Alderman Prem Goyal, Tim Levene and Sylvia Moys.

Apologies for lateness were received from Deputy Philip Woodhouse.

There were no declarations of interest.

Order of the Court of Common Council, 16 July 2020, appointing the Board and setting its Terms of Reference.

RESOLVED - That the Order of the Court of Common Council dated 16 July 2020 appointing the Board of Governors for 2020/21 and setting out its terms of reference be received.

To elect a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No. 29.

Members elected a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 29.

RESOLVED - That being the only Governor indicating his willingness to serve, Nicholas Bensted-Smith was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the City of London School for Girls for the ensuing year.

To elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No. 30.

Members elected a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 30.

RESOLVED - That being the only Governor indicating his willingness to serve, Peter Bennett was elected Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors of the City of London School for Girls for the ensuing year.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 8 June 2020.

RESOLVED - That the minutes of the previous meeting be approved as an accurate record.

To receive the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 8 July 2020.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 8 July 2020 be received.

To receive the draft minutes of the Finance and Estates Sub-Committee held on 16 September 2020.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Finance and Estates Sub-Committee meeting held on 16 September 2020 be received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered a report of the Town Clerk outlining Outstanding Actions.

It had not been possible to arrange visits to the School during the Summer 2020 Term due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a programme of virtual visits was being arranged for the Autumn 2020 term.  Concerns around Tier 2 and Tier 4 visa applications after Brexit had not materialised and it was no longer considered necessary for a new risk to be added to the detailed Risk Register.

RESOLVED – That the Outstanding Actions report be noted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered a report of the Town Clerk regarding the appointment of Sub-Committees and Working Parties, Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools Representative and Governors’ Designated Roles for the 2020/21 academic year and the following points were made:

·         The potential for creating a new Governor Designated Role on Diversity and Inclusion was raised and would be revisited following the completion of the Race Equality Review.

·         Governors discussed whether a Governance Committee should be convened to ensure the Board had the necessary skills to support the future operation and development of the City of London School for Girls and this would be considered at the next meeting of the Board of Governors on 7 December 2020.

RESOLVED - That:

·         Nicholas Bensted-Smith be appointed the School’s representative to the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools for the 2020/21 academic year;

·         Governor’s Designated Roles for the 2020/21 academic year be agreed as follows:

·         The terms of reference of the Committees and Working Party of the Board be approved, with the exception of the 125^th Anniversary Working Party which was disbanded, and the terms of reference and composition of the Teachers’ Pay Panel be noted.

·         The following appointments be made to the Committees and Working Parties of the Board:

Bursary Committee

Nicholas Bensted-Smith (Chairman)

Randall Anderson

Peter Bennett

Shravan Joshi

            Finance and Estates Sub-Committee

Peter Bennett (Chairman)

Randall Anderson

Nicholas Bensted-Smith

Mark Bostock

Report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls.

The Board considered the report of the Headmistress who provided an update on forthcoming events, summer works and 2020 Leavers and the following points were made:

·         Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the Autumn 2020 term events would be held virtually including Prize Day which would be delivered as a virtual package featuring video presentations from the Lord Mayor and Headmistress and letters from the School and the Chairman.

·         A range of creative solutions were being identified to support students to express themselves through music, including rehearing small groups in large spaces.  A Governor noted that the Guildhall School of Music and Drama was using streaming technology to stage integrated music events and suggested the School investigate a potential collaboration with the Guildhall School.

·         The way the School’s ethos was presented would be considered at the next meeting of the Board of Governors on 7 December 2020 to ensure it accurately reflected the School’s welcoming culture to staff and pupils of all backgrounds and beliefs, with specific reference to the wording of the ‘School’s Christian ethos’ in the Admissions policies and others.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls.

Governors considered a report of the Headmistress setting out the findings of a review of the School’s policy schedule and the following points were made:

·         A new cycle had been developed to ensure that the School’s main policy documents were reviewed on an annual basis, with other policies and procedures reviewed every three years.  It was proposed that a small number of existing policies that primarily dealt with guidance on how to implement other policies or contained general information be reclassified as procedures, protocols or guidance and be scheduled for review and sign-off by the Senior Management Team.

·         In response to a question from a Governor, the Headmistress clarified that the Predicted Grades Policy referred to predicated grades for UCAS applications and was not related to the Centre Assessment Grade process which had been managed via robust internal protocols.  The Governor queried whether the Lettings Policy should remain as part of the review cycle by the Board of Governors and the Compliance Manager would confirm whether this was a contractual policy or process following the meeting.

RESOLVED – That the updated schedule for Governor Policy Reviewing and Approving be approved.

Report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls.

The policies for approval (Appendices 1 – 12) can be viewed in the separate appendices pack.

Governors considered a report of the Headmistress setting out a number of school policies for approval and the following points were made:

·         The School had a procedure in place to ensure that key policies were read and understood by staff on an annual basis.  Staff were also expected to read and understand policies relating to their area of work.  A summary of any changes to school policies was circulated to all School staff at the start of each term and school policies were available for staff to access at any time.

·         An addendum had been added to the School’s Admissions Policy to outline how the School would deliver a safe admissions process to potential students during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

·         The Compliance Manager would provide more detail on changes to the Fire Safety Policy and Procedures and the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy to the Deputy Chairman after the meeting. 

RESOLVED – That the following policies be approved:

• Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy;
• Pupil Supervision Policy;
• Predicted Grades Policy;
• Fire Safety Policy and Procedures;
• Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy;
• Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Policy;
• English as an additional Language Policy;
• ICT and eSafety Policy and Annexes;
• Pupils’ Use of ICT;
• Missing Child Policy;
• Anti-bullying Policy; and

·         Admissions Policy.

Report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls.

Governors considered a report of the Headmistress providing an update on compliance matters at the School and the following point was made:

·         The School had reacted swiftly to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic including undertaking a thorough risk assessment process for both the phased and full reopening of the School.  This had caused some delay to other aspects of school operations, such as the completion of actions from audit reports, but this was now in hand.  The Finance and Estates Sub-Committee had considered this at its meeting on 16 September 2020 and had emphasised the need for all outstanding audit actions to be completed as soon as possible.

RESOLVED – That the update be noted.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Governors considered a report of the Chamberlain presenting the draft annual report and financial statements 2019/20 of the City of London School for Girls’ Bursary Fund, incorporating the City of London School for Girls Scholarships and Prizes fund and the following points were made:

·         During 2019/20, 50 bursaries and 24 prizes had been awarded amounting to £820,752 and £1,740 respectively, which was an increase on the previous year.  The overall value of the fund had reduced as a result of the impact of economic uncertainty on investment funds; however, investment income represented only a small proportion of the overall income of the fund.

RESOLVED - That the report be noted.

There were no questions.

There were two items of urgent business.

The City of London Corporation’s Tackling Racism Taskforce would be focusing on a range of key areas including education and there would be opportunities for the School to link in with this work.  The findings of School’s Race Equality Review would be reported to the next meeting of the Board of Governors on 7 December 2020.

A Member advised that work to help tackle climate change was being taken forward across the Barbican Estate.  The Headmistress confirmed that the School would welcome being part of any community initiatives to promote environmental sustainability and would work with the Barbican Association on this matter.

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 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.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2020.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes of the previous meeting be approved as an accurate record.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Bursary Committee held on 8 July 2020.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 8 July 2020 be received.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Academic Working Party held on 21 September 2020.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Academic Working Party meeting held on 21 September 2020 be received.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Finance and Estates Sub-Committee held on 16 September 2020.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Finance and Estates Sub-Committee meeting held on 16 September 2020 be received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered a report of the Town Clerk outlining non-public Outstanding Actions.

Report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls.

The Board approved the report of the Headmistress which provided information on non-public matters in relation to the School.

Report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls.

The Board considered a report of the Headmistress presenting the School’s exam results for the 2019/20 academic year.

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Bursar of the City of London School for Girls.

The Board considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Bursar presenting the Financial Information Dashboard.

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Bursar of the City of London School for Girls.

The Board considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Bursar outlining the revenue outturn 2019/20 for the City of London School for Girls.

The City Surveyor to be heard.

The Board heard an update from the City Surveyor on City of London School for Girls’ Summer Works.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board received a report of the Town Clerk regarding action taken under urgent or delegated authority since the last meeting.

There were no questions.

There was one item of urgent business.

Report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls.

The Board considered a report of the Headmistress on the Finance and Estates Strategy Meeting held on 29 September 2020.

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2020.

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

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered a report of the Town Clerk outlining confidential Outstanding Actions.