Governors' News & Events

Autumn Term news from the Governing body at Handsworth.
 
New parent governor elected
Thank you for voting in the parent governor election this term.  We are delighted to welcome Anna Devereux-Murray to the Governing Body. Anna has two children at Handsworth, is a former Barrister and is now a primary school teacher and music specialist who is actively involved in education throughout Waltham Forest.
 
In addition to parent governors, we need a new co-opted member who must be someone from the community who is not a parent or staff member. In order to get the best person for this role we attended a Governors’ Recruitment event at the Town Hall and spoke to a number of prospective candidates who have expressed an interest. We will update you again when we have appointed someone to this role.
 
More information about the Governors, who we are and the work we do can be found here.
 
How we keep up to date to deliver the best for Handsworth
Governors at Handsworth are committed to reflecting on our practice and, in striving for excellence, we undertake relevant training in order to carry out our role strategically and confidently through increasingly difficult financial times.  More information about training undertaken can be found here. 
 
Being open about the way we work and the decisions we make
Meetings of the full Governing Body, the Resources, Teaching and Learning and Pay Committees have been key this term in ensuring robust strategic leadership. If you would like to know more about the outcomes of the Governing Body meetings please refer to the minutes, which are published on the website.
 
We have also renamed the Academy Working Party the 'Future Options Working Party' as this name more accurately reflects all of the options this group is looking at to secure the long term funding for Handsworth. The minutes are also published here
 
Future students (and a reminder if you have a child on the waiting list)
Governors spent the evening, along with the year 6 pupils and Staff, speaking with visitors to Handsworth at the open evening for prospective parents in November.  The event was extremely well attended and Governors are proud of Handsworth’s popularity and the fact that it continues to be one of the most heavily oversubscribed schools with first choice applications in the Borough.  We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that the Local Authority Admissions Department renew their in-year waiting lists annually.  If you currently have a child at Handsworth and a sibling on the waiting list, keep in contact with the Local Authority to ensure the sibling’s name does not come off the waiting list at the end of the year.
 
Can you help us secure grant funding?
The funding situation for schools is increasingly difficult and the school has been proactive in placing bids for extra funding and has been successful with a number of these. Any funding received in this way supports the budget and the teaching and learning of our children.  If there are any parents with skills or experience in writing funding bids and the time to help, we would be really pleased to hear from you.
 
School-to-school support
Governors remain committed to shared school improvement and are delighted that Jill will continue to support a primary school out of borough two days a week (Wednesdays and Thursdays) until the end of the academic year. Miss Addai and Mr Tromans, along with the Senior Leadership Team, will continue to provide leadership at Handsworth whilst Jill is offsite. This arrangement provides excellent opportunities for our staff’s continual professional development and, in light of ever-increasing constraints on school finances, it will contribute to our school budget.
 
Friends of Handsworth – a huge thank you!
Many of you will have attended the fantastic events put on by Friends of Handsworth this term.  Governors attended the Annual Quiz night and Christmas Fayre and were delighted to see the school open its doors to the community and raise funds for the school.  We are grateful to Friends of Handsworth for their hard work and their spectacular events and to parents and the wider community for showing their support.  Learn more about Friends of Handsworth here and read more about the exciting events that have taken place in school in the Head Teacher’s Christmas newsletter.
 
At the beginning of the school year, we made a commitment to you that we would improve how we’re keeping you up to date with our work as the governing body of Handsworth School. We hope this has been a useful update. Parents can continue to use the governors@handsworth.waltham.sch.uk email to make contact and we welcome your input.
 
Wishing you all a safe and Merry Christmas!
 
The Governing Body
Alina Harris
Donna Carby
Gabriel Gottlieb
Jenny Smith
Jill Augustin
Katherine Bromley
Liz Winder
Mary Wilson
Rob Tromans
Simon Jarvis
Anna Devereux-Murray