Stockport Governor Association

Stockport Council and partners have undertaken a piece of national research to explore the effectiveness of multi-agency support for families via the Common Assessment Framework. Attached is the report which outlines the findings and recommendations from Stockport’s research, which includes cost benefit analysis to highlight the importance of early help for families.  If you would like further information please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 0161 474 3191 click "read more" for the full published report

The GOVAS Annual General Meeting was held on March 24^thduring Stockport Governors` Conference.   The management committee was elected and annual reports presented.  We also made one or two small changes to our constitution so that governors of any academies and free schools in Stockport can choose to continue to be members of GOVAS.  We`ll be holding the first committee meeting of the new GOVAS year on May 1^st.  This will be the meeting when we make our plans for the next year`s action, so if you have any thoughts or ideas about what YOU would like to see GOVAS doing, please get in touch before May 1^st.

STOCKPORT GOVERNORS CONFERENCE 2012

2012`s Stockport Governors` Conference on March 24^th saw a record attendance.  With its

Jane Owens, Assistant Regional Director of the National Governors` Association, came to Stockport Governors` Conference.  She has sent the following  notes about the conference.

The conference was opened by Andrew Webb, Corporate Directorof SMBC`s Services to People, who welcomed everyone and gave some local information and the challenges that Stockport faces locally.

Speaker : Frank Morris, HMI Divisional Manager, Education ' Raising Standards, improving lives'. An Ofsted perspective on governance for school improvement.

Frank Morris is a local man and had walked to the conference. He referred to an article in the March/April edition of Governing Matters and commented on the four points :

• the likelihood of attending a 'satisfactory' school is affected by where you live,
• more affluent pupils tend to attend better schools; for disadvantaged, the reverse is true,
• young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are over-represented in 'satisfactory' (and 'inadequate') schools,
• the stronger likelihood of attending a poorer-quality school applies to working-class pupils (disadvantaged) as much as to highly disadvantaged pupils.

Frank then commented on the Ofsted consultation with the changes coming from September 2012. He urged governors to engage with the consultation.

From September 2012, Osted proposes that:

• schools cannot be judged ‘outstanding’ unless their teaching is ‘outstanding’,
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Meadowbank Primary School is a large school of approximately 400 pupils within Stockport Local Authority. The school opened in 2005 following the closure and amalgamation of an infant and junior school on the site.

Janine joined the school as Headteacher at the time of amalgamation in 2005; David became parent governor at the same time. He has been the chair since 2008. In the school’s early days following amalgamation Ofsted asked the school to improve and upon inspection 12 months later was reported as being an ‘improving school’. At the next full inspection, three years later, Meadowbank was judged as ‘Good’ with a number of areas considered to be ‘Outstanding’. Governance was considered to be one of the ‘Outstanding’ aspects of the school.

            “The governing body very successfully combines its role of supporting the school with challenging it to get the best outcomes. It is exceptionally well informed about all that goes on in the school and is involved closely with staff in setting and monitoring the progress of the school towards challenging targets. The governing body ensures that all elements of safeguarding are achieved to the highest standard. Excellent procedures for safeguarding and child protection coupled with rigorous systems for monitoring health and safety within the school minimise all reasonable risk.”                                                      Ofsted judgement 4 may 2011

Dave Cowhig, Chair of Governors at Meadowbank, and Janine Appleton, Headteacher, gave a joint presentation at Stockport Governors` Conference about how governance has moved forward in their school.  You can find their presentation here .