Governors' Open Morning

On Thursday this week, we welcomed a selection of our Governors to school: Mr Wells, Mrs Watling, Mrs Brant, Mrs Cowgill, Mrs Budge and Mr Lloyd-Jones. The Open Morning was designed for Governors to witness our ‘Policies in Practice’ with each Governor taking a specific focus on an aspect of interest.

Mr Lloyd-Jones is our Health and Safety Link Governor, so he was looking at all aspects of H&S, how fire drills are conducted, locations of extinguishers etc. as well as the general condition of classrooms, such as lighting, storage, furniture, décor.

Mrs Budge has an interest in Marking and Feedback linked to her role as a Governor and also a teacher at JTHS. She was keen to look at how consistently our Marking Policy is applied; to look at the quality of marking in books; to discuss with children about their understanding of where they are now and what they need to do to improve. She also looked at classroom environments and how these are used to help children engage with marking.

Other Governors looked at other aspects such as: Classroom environments and displays - how these are used to celebrate learning and achievement. Behaviour – looking at Golden Time, Rewards and Consequences Ladders and how consistently the Positive Behaviour Policy is applied both in the classroom and at playtime. Classroom organisation – looking at the impact of different seating arrangements on learning, and how provision for SEN children is managed and organised across the school.

I know all of our Governors were pleased and impressed by what they saw, reflecting incredibly positively on the children’s attitudes to learning, their engagement and behaviour. They were also very complimentary about how the organisation of classes into smaller groups is implemented flexibly to ensure best use of teaching time is made and children are able to access work which is carefully differentiated to suit all abilities. We look forward to welcoming our Governors into school again soon.