Chair's welcome

September 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the Governing Board at Millbrook Junior School and tell you a little about what we do.

The main role of the Governing Board is to ensure the future of the school through a continuous journey of improvement, based upon all our children achieving their potential in a safe and happy environment, and ensuring the school makes the best use of its budget.

Our ‘vision’ is central to what we do. The vision is articulated through the document called ‘The Five Hands of Millbrook Junior School’. The vision has been developed principally through consultation with our children, as well as with parents and staff. The ‘School Council’ consulted with their class members to identify what sort of school they want Millbrook Junior School to be. This vision informs our curriculum which provides both breadth and balance and enriches the learning experiences of all our children. We believe it is an excellent preparation for when our children move to their secondary school and beyond as young adults. Whenever governors make a monitoring visit to the school, we talk to the children about the ‘Five Hands’ and how they help them as learners and future adults. In our last Ofsted Inspection Report (June 2023), the inspector commented upon the importance of the ‘Five Hands’ to our school and that it was evident as she walked around the school as well as in talking to our children and staff.

Last year (2022/23), we continued to deal with some of the challenges still evident from the Covid pandemic. The senior leadership and all the staff showed enormous commitment in ensuring we continued to moved forward as a school. This was reflected in our Ofsted Inspection Report, of which we are very proud. The report is as a testimony to the dedication and hard work of all our staff and a tribute to our wonderful children.

When visiting school, governors undertake a variety of activities to gather evidence of how well the school is doing. We mainly do this through Governor Impact Visits (or GIVs). Each GIV will look at a specific aspects of school life. This is often determined by the school’s priorities for that year – as documented in the School Development Plan, which governors agree at the beginning of each school year. For each GIV, we gather evidence of the progress being made. We do this by talking to senior staff, year leaders, subject leaders and staff. We also talk to groups of children across each year group to find out  their views. Governors, during the visit, will also look at the children’s books as well as teacher planning. Following each visit, the governors will produce a report for the Governing Board and the senior leadership team. The report includes findings and recommended actions to be taken.

In addition to monitoring the curriculum, we will continue to monitor and review other aspects of the school. This is undertaken by ‘lead governors’ responsible for such areas as finance, safeguarding, health and safety and the provision for vulnerable groups of children.

In 2023/24, the governors will continue to meet formally through two committees - the Governing Board and the Pay and Performance committee. The Governing Board meets at least seven times a year and the Pay and Performance normally four times a year.

Finally, working in partnership with our parents and carers is very important. We will continue to consult with our parents and carers as well as other stakeholders (children and staff) in 2023/24 to help us make Millbrook Junior School the best school it can be for all our children.

Yours sincerely

Paul Davies
(Chair of Governors, Millbrook Junior School)