Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Rehana Ameer, Mary Durcan, Tim Levene, Sylvia Moys and Deputy Richard Regan.

Apologies for lateness were received from Randall Anderson and Dhruv Patel.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 1 February 2021.

RESOLVED – That the 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 Outstanding Actions and the following points were made.

·         It was anticipated that work to close the outstanding audit recommendations of the City of London School for Girls (Action 2/20/BG) would be completed by December 2021.  An update would be reported to the next meeting of the Board of Governors on 10 June 2021.

·         The School had contacted the Guildhall School of Music and Drama regarding a possible collaboration around its streaming technology to deliver integrated musical events (Action 17/20/BG).  An update would be reported to the next meeting of the Board of Governors on 10 June 2021.

RESOLVED – That the Outstanding Actions report be noted.

To receive the draft minutes and non-public summary of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 24 February 2021.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 24 February 2021 be received.

To receive the draft minutes and non-public summary of the Governance Committee meeting held on 2 March 2021.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Governance Committee meeting held on 2 March 2021 be received.

To receive the draft minutes and non-public summary of the inquorate Finance and Estates Sub-Committee on 11 March 2021.

In considering the minutes, the Chairman noted that as the meeting had been inquorate, it had not been possible to proceed.  The Chairman requested that Governors consider joining the Finance and Estates Sub-Committee.  The Chairman asked Committee Members to notify the Clerk of their apologies as far as possible in advance of future meetings to allow concerns around quoracy to be identified at an early stage.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the inquorate Finance and Estates Sub-Committee meeting held on 11 February 2021 be received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered a report of the Town Clerk regarding the Annual Review of the Board’s Terms of Reference and the following point was made: 

• The Governance Committee had reviewed the Terms of Reference and composition of the Board of Governors at its meeting on 2 March 2021 and had recommended that no changes be made for the 2021/22 municipal year until more was known about the implications of the Tomlinson and Lisvaine Reviews.  Governors noted that this was in line with the approach being taken by the Board of Governors of the City of London School and agreed that no changes be made to the Terms of Reference and composition for the 2021/22 municipal year.

RESOLVED – That:

·         The Terms of Reference be referred to the Policy and Resources Committee and the Court of Common Council for approval;

·         The frequency of meetings of the Board remained appropriate;

·         The current composition of the Board be noted; and,

·         Authority be delegated to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman to consider any further changes to the Terms of Reference for 2021/22.

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

The Board considered the report of the Headmistress which provided updates on forthcoming events, COVID-19, community and partnerships, exams and coaching and the following points were made:

·         The School’s community and partnerships work had continued to thrive during the COVID-19 period and was increasingly focused on collaboration across the City of London Corporation’s family of schools, including King Edward’s School and Christ’s Hospital School.  This work was enabled by a Partnership Forum that had been established by the Education Board to support the schools in building closer links and sharing a range of enrichment activities.  The School also continued to work closely with the City of London School in delivering joint events and activities.  It was planned to further build on the current programme by facilitating additional enrichment opportunities for pupils across the family of Schools, including those related to mentoring, volunteering and careers.  The School was also working with the Royal National Children's SpringBoard Foundation in anticipation of offering places to pupils from disadvantaged circumstances from September 2022. 

·         The Chairman underlined the need to ensure Governors played their part in supporting the community and partnerships work undertaken by the School.  The Deputy Chairman suggested that more be done to promote this work and the Headmistress advised that the School would shortly be meeting with the Department for Education to share and further develop its partnership approach.  In response to a question from a Governor, the Deputy Head (Co-curricular and Partnerships) confirmed that virtual mentoring processes were in place but that some aspects of mentoring worked better face-to-face.  Over the past year, a number of events and activities had been delivered virtually and whilst face-to-face events would resume when possible, it was likely that elements of virtual provision would be retained.  A Governor asked about student assessment for the 2020/21

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

Governors considered a report of the Headmistress setting out three school policies for approval.

RESOLVED – That the following policies be approved:

• Pupil Mental Health Policy;
• Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic Education (PSHCEE) Policy; and,
• Exam Policy.

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

Governors considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Bursar presenting the Risk Register 2020/21 for the City of London School for Girls Bursary Fund incorporating the City of London School for Girls Scholarships and Prizes Fund and the following point was made:

• There were eight risks within the Risk Register, six of which were rated as “Green” and two of which were “Amber”.  Since the Board’s previous consideration of the Risk Register, Risk 1 had been expanded to include the risk of a change in the value invested alongside the risk of a potential reduction in the annual investment income that was generated from funds invested within the charities pool.  The risk rating of Risk 2 remained “Amber” although the risk score had increased from 8 to 12 due to a budget review currently being undertaken by the City of London Corporation.  The risk rating of Risk 7 remained “Green” but the risk score had decreased from 4 to 1 which was largely due to the effect of the pandemic on increasing the potential number of bursary applicants.

RESOLVED - That the risk register be confirmed as setting out the risks facing the charity and having appropriate measures in place to mitigate these risks.

There were no questions.

There was one item of urgent business.

The Chairman led the Board in expressing appreciation for the excellent work of the School throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 1 February 2021.

The non-public minutes of the previous meeting were approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

To receive the draft minutes and non-public summary of the Academic Working Party meeting held on 10 February 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Academic Working Party meeting held on 10 February 2021 be received.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 24 February 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 24 February 2021 be received.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Governance Committee meeting held on 2 March 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Governance Committee meeting held on 2 March 2021 be received.

To receive the note of the inquorate Finance and Estates Sub-Committee meeting held on 11 March 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public note of the inquorate Finance and Estates Sub-Committee meeting held on 11 February 2021 be received.

Joint report of the Chamberlain and the Bursar of the City of London School for Girls

The Board considered a joint report of the Bursar and the Chamberlain presenting the proposed Revenue Budget 2021/22.

Joint report of the Chamberlain, the City Surveyor and the Bursar of the City of London School for Girls.

The Board considered a joint report of the Chamberlain, the City Surveyor and the Bursar presenting the proposed Repairs, Maintenance and Improvement Fund 2021/22 and 20-Year Plan.

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

The Board considered a joint report of the Headmistress and the Head of the City of London School on satellite strategy.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Board considered a report of the City Surveyor on Gateway 2: Preparatory School.

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

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

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

The Board considered a report of the Bursar presenting a regular update of the School’s Risk Register.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered 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 presenting the Return to Work/School Risk Assessment (COVID-19).

Report of the Head of the City of London School.

The Board considered a report of the Head of the City of London School on the Target Operating Model.