Welcome Year 7 / new parents and students

Firstly to all new FPSS parents, whichever year group, thank you for choosing Furze Platt and entrusting us with your son or daughter’s education.

We never forget you have a choice or take it for granted, every student matters and by joining the school they and you have become part of a great community. A community which is committed to helping them; learn, develop, grow, try new things and leave the school well equipped to seize life’s opportunities and make the most of their potential.

For Year 7 students and parents the change from a Junior/Primary school environment to a Senior school one is huge. Moving from a smaller school where you know everyone to a much larger campus and knowing probably only a handful of people from the previous school is daunting for the whole family. Parents in particular please do take the opportunity to get involved when you can.

PTFA

Our fantastic team of parent volunteers on the PTFA (click here for details) always need more help and support and do an excellent job of raising much needed funds and would love to hear from you.  

If you are interested at any stage in becoming a governor do get in touch with me through the school (click here for details) and we can talk further about the role and what is involved.

New staff

A warm welcome to you all from Governors, we hope you really enjoy your time here and make a real difference to our students and your careers.

 

Hugh Steed, Chair of Governors

 

Governors’ Statement to Parents 2022-23 Academic Year

This academic year, as indeed the previous two, has been a mixed one for our Furze Platt Community. Despite the ongoing coronavirus challenges it has remained one in which both the school and the governance surrounding it have been able to move forward successfully.  

We have been particularly impressed with how well the School has managed the return to some form of normality including the sitting of exams at both A Level and GCSE. The ongoing provision of education to our students has been challenging but the School staff have done everything possible to ensure the continuation of a meaningful and worthwhile education.

Our Strategic Plan continues to influence the direction of the School and has been recently reviewed and updated to ensure the agreed priorities are firmly embedded in the latest School Development Plan.  

The strategic working groups (that were set up in the previous academic year) in the areas of; IT, Marketing, Site Development and Staff Welfare have been very effective and the outcomes continue to influence the school on a day to day basis and have a positive impact.

A Governance Development Plan is also in place and regularly reviewed to monitor our progress and effectiveness as a Governing Body.  

We have a strong and developing team of Governors in place with a wide range of skillsets who are able to hold the school to account and ask challenging questions when needed. However, it is vital that we continue to strengthen these skills by ongoing training and effective succession planning.  

Our current Chair of Governors Gavin Tisshaw stepped down from the role in September after 7 years and Hugh Steed, previous Vice-Chair, became the new Chair. Katie Donnison will be the new Vice Chair.

Our main committees meet regularly throughout the year.

Pupils & Parents  

A major focus this year has been on behaviour within the school.  The Committee agreed extensive amendments to the Behaviour for Learning Policy. The Committee will continue to monitor behaviour across the School and exclusions during the forthcoming academic year. Safeguarding in terms of pupil safety, staff training and safer recruitment has remained a focus, as has the monitoring of pastoral and mental health support for all pupils. This has been particularly relevant this year given the effects of Covid on pupil well-being. One of the key areas of focus for Pupils & Parents next year will be to monitor the impact of the changes made to the School house and pastoral system which are being introduced from September.

Teaching & Learning  

Monitoring students' academic attainment and progress against pre-pandemic levels has been a key focus together with understanding the effectiveness of extra school support for vulnerable student groups, such as students from poorer backgrounds and those with special educational needs.

The Committee has also been heavily involved in supporting the School in considering the educational advantages of the new laptop scheme.

Other work has involved holding the School to account on progress against its own goals for improving teaching and learning this year and planning how Governors might better support the School to achieve longer term teaching and learning goals relating to future years.

Staffing  

The start of the year saw the continuation of the turbulence caused by COVID-19, but as in the previous year, staff have continued to develop their knowledge and skills through training and sharing best practice. Having faced the pandemic for approximately two years, and having adapted to changed circumstances, just like the students, the staff have had to subsequently readapt back to on-site teaching. 

The Governors have been impressed with the commitment and adaptability of the staff during this difficult, and not previously seen, period. 

One of the Committee’s tasks of the year has been to continue building upon the work that has already been done to support staff wellbeing and to ensure that this remains at the fore of the Committee’s agenda for this year.  

Governance  

This Committee’s purpose is to drive cohesion and best practice between committees, encourage best use of Governor skillsets, enable monitoring and review of processes and their effectiveness, develop succession planning and maintain the distinction between strategic and operational objectives.  

The Committee has continued to ensure every aspect of best practice governance is maintained, encouraging greater levels of collaborative working between Governors and Staff (in particular through the Raising Standards process) and continuing the evolution of the mid and longer term strategy for the School.  

Resources  

The Resources Committee had a full agenda including ongoing budget monitoring and policy reviews, as well as agreeing bids for funding to update the School infrastructure. It was fantastic to see the new theatre being used for School events as well as being let externally for revenue generation and the encouragement of arts in the community.

 

The School’s IT strategy has been an integral part of the work of the Resources Committee, including much monitoring and challenging of the new Laptops for Learning scheme being phased in from September 2022.

The Committee incorporates the School’s Audit Committee that agrees a programme of work annually to deliver internal scrutiny. 

 

Hugh Steed

Chair of Governors