Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Rehana Ameer, Mark Bostock, Mark James and Shravan Joshi.

Apologies for lateness were received from Alderman Prem Goyal.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 14 October 2021.

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

Report of the Town Clerk.

RESOLVED – That the Outstanding Actions report be noted.

To receive the draft minutes and non-public summary of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 25 November 2021.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 25 November 2021 be received.

To receive the draft minutes and non-public summary of the Finance and Estates Committee meeting held on 10 November 2021.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Finance and Estates Committee meeting held on 10 November 2021 be received.

To receive the draft minutes and non-public summary of the Governance Committee meeting held on 10 November 2021.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Governance Committee meeting held on 10 November 2021 be received.

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

The Board considered the report of the Headmistress which provided updates on COVID-19, the School’s Estates Strategy: Finding Space to Pioneer, and forthcoming events and the following point was made:

• Action had been taken to remove asbestos identified on the Main School site during the Autumn 2021 term.  There continued to be issues with the heating system on the Main School site but work was underway to address this and the School continued to be heated for staff and pupils. 

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

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

The Board considered a report of the Headmistress setting out seven school policies for approval and the following point was made:

• In considering the Online Digital and eSafety Policy, the Chairman noted the requirement for the Board of Governors to coordinate regular meetings with appropriate staff to discuss online safety and monitor online safety logs.  The Chairman proposed this requirement be led by Rehana Ameer, Governor with Designated Responsibility for ICT and this was supported by the Board.

RESOLVED – That:

• The following policies be approved:

·         Online Digital and eSafety policy;

·         Recruitment;

·         Record keeping;

·         Attendance;

·         Behaviour;

·         Exclusions; and,

·         Pupil Equal Opportunities

• The Governor with Designated Responsibility for ICT coordinate regular meetings with appropriate staff to discuss online safety and monitor online safety logs.

Joint 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 of the City of London School for Girls and the Head of the City of London School setting out a proposed governance structure for the City Junior School and the following points were made:

• At present, the City Junior School was governed jointly by the Boards of Governors of the City of London School and City of London School for Girls and informed by the informal Project EDWIN Working Group which comprised representatives of both Boards and schools.  Following consideration of an appropriate governance structure for the City Junior School, it had been proposed that a joint Sub-Committee comprising equal representation of the two Senior Schools be established to act as a Board of Governors for the City Junior School.  It was also proposed that that the terms of reference of the two Senior Schools be amended to include oversight of the City Junior School.

• The Board was advised that in considering the proposed Terms of Reference of the Board of Governors of the City Junior School at its meeting on 8 December 2021, the Board of Governors of the City of London School had resolved the following amendment be made to the Sub-Committee’s constitution to enable the widest possible body of talent and expertise for the Sub-Committee:

The proposed amendment was supported by the Board of Governors of the City of London School for Girls.

·         A Governor suggested that the Terms of Reference further be amended to specify two Deputy Chairmen be appointed to the Sub-Committee, comprising one non-City of London Corporation Governor and one City of London Corporation Governor.  This would support robust succession planning, as only City of London

There were no questions.

There was one item of other business.

The Chairman announced that Dhruv Patel would shortly be stepping down as a Governor and led the Board in thanking him for his excellent service to the Board and the School, particularly as Governor with Designated Responsibility for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

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 14 October 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 non-public minutes of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 25 November 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Bursary Committee meeting held on 25 November 2021 be received.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Finance and Estates Committee meeting held on 10 November 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Finance and Estates Committee meeting held on 10 November 2021 be received.

To receive the draft non-public note of the informal joint meeting of the Finance and Estates Committees of the City of London School and the City of London School for Girls held on 23 November 2021

RESOLVED - That the non-public note of the informal joint meeting of the Finance and Estates Committees of the City of London School and the City of London School for Girls held on 23 November 2021 be received.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Governance Committee meeting held on 10 November 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Governance Committee meeting held on 10 November 2021 be received.

To receive the draft non-public minutes of the Academic Working Party meeting held on 15 November 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the Academic Working Party meeting held on 15 November 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 Chamberlain and the Bursar of the City of London School for Girls presenting the proposed 2022/23 Revenue Budget.

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 of the City of London School for Girls presenting the proposed Repairs, Maintenance and Improvement Fund 2022/23 and 20-Year Plan of Works.

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Bursar of City Junior School.

The Board considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Bursar of the City of London School for Girls presenting the proposed 2022/23 Revenue Budget for City Junior School and proposed tuition fee from its opening in September 2022.

Joint report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls, Head of the City of London School, Headmaster of the City of London Freemen’s School and Town Clerk & Chief Executive.

The Board considered a joint report of the Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls, Head of the City of London School, Headmaster of the City of London Freemen’s School and the Town Clerk & Chief Executive on proposals for the City of London Independent Schools arising from the Target Operating Model and Governance Review.

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

The Board considered a report of Headmistress of the City of London School for Girls presenting an update on estates work across the School.

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

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

Report of the Head of the City Junior School.

The Board approved the report of the Headmistress of the City of London Junior School 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 of the City of London School for Girls presenting the regular update on the School’s Risk Register.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Board considered a report of the Town Clerk presenting  the findings of Skills Audit Autumn 2021 and providing a governance update.

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 were no items of urgent business.

To agree the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 14 October 2021.

The confidential 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 confidential Outstanding Actions.

Report of the Bursar of the City Junior School.

The Board considered a report of the Bursar of the City Junior School presenting an update on the Target Operating Model pilot project. </AI37></AI37>

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