SCHOOL GOVERNANCE

Co-Chair of Governors - Mr Paul Goddard

Welcome                                                                                                                   

Welcome from the Oak Cottage Governors.  My name is Paul Goddard and I am pleased to be the current Co-Chair of the Governing Body alongside Tim Baptiste.

The governors are volunteers who are committed to the ethos of our school and ensuring that every child has the best possible experience while they are at Oak Cottage.  Getting this right is really important as it means our children will be fully prepared for when they move on to the challenges of secondary school. It has three core strategic functions:

• ensuring the clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school
• holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance  of the school and its pupils
• overseeing financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

                                                             See Terms of Reference below

How we operate

Our role is often described as one of a “critical friend”, governors support both the headteacher and staff and challenge in a constructive way.

We hold monthly governing body meetings where all issues can be discussed by all governors. Benefits of regular monthly meetings include faster turnaround of actions, no repetition of other committee meetings/minutes and everyone up to speed on everything. Meetings are held on a regular day in the month, with unfinished business carried forward to next month's meeting.

Our Governors - We have fourteen positions for governors on our Governing Body:

1 Local Education Authority Governor – appointed by Solihull MBC - Mr D Price

2 Staff Governors - ex-officio- Mr R Marshall  (Headteacher) and Mrs J Dennis

4 Parent Governors – elected by parents  - Mr Dainty, Dr Henderson, and Mr Boulger

7 Co-opted Governors – appointed by the governing body for skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school - Mr Goddard, Mr Baptiste, Mrs Stone, Mr Clarke and Mrs Trzcinski.

If you would like to contact a school governor please contact the school office on 0121 704 9123.

Interested in becoming a governor?

If you are interested in becoming a governor at Oak Cottage or would like to know more about the role, please contact  the school office.  Please find eligibility/disqualification information below and Governors Code of Conduct.

Appointments are carried out in accordance with the governing body's instrument of governance.

Review of academic year 2023-2024

This year has been one of continued change as we endeavoured to improve every child’s experience at Oak Cottage.

Oak Cottage Acorns, our before and after school club, was successfully taken in-house, with most of the staff staying, enhancing the already close relationship with the Nursery team. Children and parents found the transition seamless, which is a testament to all the hard integration work that took place behind the scenes.

We have continued to work collaboratively with Langley Secondary, Coleshill Heath and Haslucks Green to develop the Solihull Education Trust. Academic and other support between the schools has increased throughout the year. Following consultation with parents and staff our formal application to become a MAT was submitted to the Regional DfE Director in the summer term but the General Election has delayed a response. There is overwhelming support in school as we work towards a January 2025 conversion.

Wellbeing of children and staff has again been a main focus this year. The social impact of the Covid lockdown is still felt within school and it will be some time before it works through. The importance of looking out for each other has always been a core Oak Cottage value, but even more so now. Child and family support work has increased and projects like the renovation of the school’s overrun environmental area has helped enormously. We are grateful to PSFA and staff volunteers for turning the area into a calm quiet space and outside classroom.

The day-to-day business of providing a broad and fulfilling education has continued for our children. The positive feeling in school is often commented on by visitors. There has again been remarkable success in sporting performances for our small school, music continues to thrive and this year’s excellent SATs results were a credit to our children, staff and parents.

All of this happened because every member of our team worked tirelessly and flexibly to help the children and each other. Our experienced and dedicated staff are the school’s most valuable asset, they make Oak Cottage the incredible school that it is with their fantastic adaptability and diverse skills.

Together we look forward to the challenges of next academic year!