The governing board provides strategic leadership and accountability at Franche Primary, working with the leaders of the school. Their purpose is to conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement.
It has 3 key functions:
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Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
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Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
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Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
Franche Community Primary School is overseen by a Governing Body. They work with the Headteacher and the School Leadership Team to ensure the school is well managed, has a clear strategy for improvement and provides a high quality education for all pupils.
The Governing Body has 12 full Governors. Co-chairs are Jelena Merrick and Jason Borlase.
Vice chairman is Matt Whitehouse, who is a parent at the school.
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Other co-opted governors are Jean Green, Jane Bulmer and Jo Mee.
The staff member who is also a co-opted Governor is Jane Bulmer, a Higher Level Teaching Assistant and our nursery manager at Franche.
There are four parent governors, who are drawn from among the parents of children who currently attend the school and the local community. They are: Jenny Monger, a maths teacher from a local secondary school, Matt Whitehouse, a Detective for West Midlands Police; Kirstie Stuart, a Human Resources advisor; and Mark David Hughes, a Financial Crime Investigation Manager., and newly appointed Rachel Cartwright.
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Staff governor is Elizabeth Dixon, Deputy Headteacher and former Early Years Leader at Franche.
Mr Kenyon acts as the ‘Headteacher’ at all Governor meetings.
If you are interested in finding out more about our Governing Body, please contact the School Office.
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Pupil Achievement and Well Being Committee
Chaired by parent Governor Matt Whitehouse, the PAW committee works closely with the leadership team to ensure the school is helping every child to reach their full potential, paying particular attention to the quality of teaching, pupil attainment and progress, safety and well being, including Pupil Premium and safeguarding. Meets every half term. Every other meeting is held during the school day to enable governors to see initiatives in action.
Resources Committee
This committee is responsible for supporting and monitoring all spending and investment decisions made by the school. Meets monthly. This committee also oversees the safety and effectiveness of the school premises, including buildings, classrooms and outdoor spaces. It also oversees safeguarding, and health and safety issues. This committee is also responsible for overseeing appointments, staff well-being, pay structures and all other staffing related issues.
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Contact us
If you wish to contact the governors at any time contact the School Office on 01562 751788 . You can also email the governors via office@francheprimary.worcs.sch.uk
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Governors’ Declarations of Interests
All Governors are required to declare any interests which might indicate a conflict of interest with their role as a Franche governor. On occasion this can mean a governor does not take part in particular discussions or votes, if it is felt their interests might be, or might be seen to be, in conflict with their role as a Franche governor. A full list of declared interests is held by the Clerk to the Governors.
Co-Chair of Governors
Jelena Merrick
Jason Borlase
What is Pupil Premium?
Pupil Premium is the name given to additional funding allocated to schools to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers. It is generally allocated to pupils who are known to be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), to children recently in the looked-after care system and to the children of service families.
During 2017 – 2018 all state primary schools received £1,300 for each pupil eligible for FSM or £1,900 for other pupils eligible for Pupil Premium (LAC). There was also an additional £300 allocation for each child from a service family.
Schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit. This could be for identified purposes within the school but can also include spending related to community facilities, such as services that benefit pupils at the school or their families, or people who live or work in the locality in which the school is situated. The grant does not have to be completely spent by schools in the financial year; some or all of it may be carried forward to future financial years. The school must allocate the funding effectively in order to make most efficient use of the money. This will often include funding joint activities or access to services involving non-Pupil Premium pupils. However, schools will be held accountable for how they have used the additional funding to support pupils from low-income families and are required to show that they are using the funding to “close the gap” between those eligible for Pupil Premium and their peers and the impact of their spending. (DfE Guidance: Pupil Premium Grant 2016-2017; conditions of grant)
How have we used Pupil Premium funding?
We have used Pupil Premium funding in a range of ways, purchasing resources and tailoring interventions to impact on aspiration by raising ambition, as well as supporting and improving progress and attainment for pupils eligible to receive Pupil Premium.
These have included:
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School trips, exciting topic-related visitors
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A wide range of extra-curricular clubs and activities; including skiing, animal keeping, archery, Harriers football and many more
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Book packs to promote love of reading
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Instrumental and other enrichment lessons
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Mentor Link
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Additional individual or small group tuition programmes for those who need a boost to their learning in order to reach their potential; for example small group reading, writing or maths tuition
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Support the cost of specialist teachers
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To support children’s learning in the classroom by ensuring that class and set sizes are as low as possible
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Ensuring that the children have their needs clearly identified and their progress closely monitored through school
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Support the staffing of further specific interventions in learning when this would help a child reach their potential
Sports Premium is allocated to schools to fund additional and sustainable improvements in the provision of PE and sports to encourage the development of healthy, active lifestyles. Schools receive PE and sport premium funding based on the number of pupils in Years 1 to 6.
Schools must use the funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of physical education (PE), physical activity and sport you offer.
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This means that you should use the premium to:
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develop or add to the PE, physical activity and sport activities that your school already offers
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build capacity and capability within the school to ensure that improvements made now will benefit pupils joining the school in future years
For further information please use the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pe-and-sport-premium-for-primary-schools
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Background
The PE curriculum at Franche is broad, balanced and engaging. It is designed to enable our pupils to become physically competent, resilient and inspired to achieve their personal best. Franche has a PE Teaching Assistant who targets and supports specific groups of pupils to raise their physical participation, as well as their self-esteem. They also deliver a structured programme of physical play during break times enabling all pupils to access a range of active games and sports.
Franche has established links with a number of local sports clubs. This enhances Franche’s curriculum through the support of professional coaches including: golf, tennis, cricket, rugby, football, netball and athletics. Pupils also have various opportunities to experience outdoor and adventurous activities, for example, residentials, bell boating, rock climbing, survival skills, den building, abseiling and canoeing.
Throughout the academic year, there are a range of inter-house competitions and festivals. This engages many pupils in a variety of sports and physical activities. In addition, Franche participates in regular intra competitions, including, tag rugby, football, netball, athletics, OAA, tennis, tri-golf, rounders and hockey. Individual and team performances are always shared and celebrated with parents/carers and the wider community. PE and school sport is highly valued and pupils appreciate the opportunities and experiences. The PE curriculum is further enhanced by our successful enrichment programme that allows pupils to participate in non-traditional activities for example, skiing, rocket-ball, archery and Kho Kho.
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Vision
All pupils leaving primary school physically literate and with the knowledge, skills and motivation necessary to equip them for a healthy lifestyle and lifelong participation in physical activity and sport.
Objectives
The engagement of all pupils in regular physical activity – kick-starting healthy active lifestyles.
The profile of PE and sport being raised across the school as a tool for whole school improvement.
Increased confidence, knowledge and skills of all staff in teaching PE and sport.
Broader experience of a range of sports and activities offered to all pupils.
Increased participation in competitive sport.
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School Games Mark
The School Games Mark is a government led awards scheme that was launched in 2012. The aim is to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school.
Participating in this process is a fantastic opportunity for Franche Community Primary School to evaluate our PE provision and assists us in developing an action plan for future progress.
When applying for the School Games Mark application, there are four sets of questions:
Participation – how many young people at your school are engaged in sporting activity?
Competition – how many sports are being played and how many competitions are being entered?
Workforce – how many pupils are involved in leadership activities alongside taking part in competitions?
Clubs – how many local links does your school have with clubs or establishments from the area?
We are looking forward to another fantastic year of engaging, exciting and creative PE provision.
The national schools’ inspectorate Ofsted declared at its most recent inspection (November 2019) that we were a “Good” school. Tots, Nursery and extended care provision is rated “Good”.
Ofsted Data Dashboard & Performance Tables
Our most recent pupil outcomes at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) and Key Stage 2 (Year 6) are posted on the Ofsted Data Dashboard. This is the official data point for our school and includes data on test results, progress and attendance. It also shows how successfully we are closing the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and all pupils.
Data is also published annually in the National Performance Tables.
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If you would like any additional information or an explanation of the data, please don’t hesitate to contact a senior leader via the school office.
GDPR stands for: General Data Protection Regulation. Franche Community Primary School have been working in line with the Data Protection Act from 1998, new regulations in relation to your personal data come into effect from 25th May 2018. By this statement Franche Community Primary School is seeking to inform employees, pupils, parents, business partners and suppliers of its commitment to good data protection practice and its ongoing GDPR compliance. Franche Community Primary School has always sought to ensure compliance with data protection law and these practices have helped us immensely in preparation for the forthcoming GDPR.
In January 2018, we undertook an audit of all our data to ensure its compliance with GDPR. Following this, Franche Primary is in a position to confirm that it has:
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A registered Data Protection Officer
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Embedded GDPR requirements into policies and day-to-day activities.
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Implemented technical measures to ensure GDPR compliance.
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Documented and recorded compliance measures.
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Scheduled comprehensive internal training for GDPR compliance.
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Audited data protection measures with audit results used to implement compliance.
The requirements of the GDPR will be met by Franche Community Primary School as the basis for collecting, storing, accessing, sharing and deleting personal data. Data will be processed fairly lawfully and in a transparent manner. It will be used for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes in a way that is adequate, relevant and limited. It will be accurate and kept up to date and kept no longer than is necessary. Data will be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the data.
Should you have any questions about this statement, please contact our Data Protection Team via the school office.
Franche Community Primary School is a large employer, with some 200 full time and part time staff, including 47 teachers, 6 additional teaching staff, 107 support staff, 29 extended services employees and 8 apprenticeships.
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Current Vacancies
Training & Development
We are a highly respected and sought after location for those considering or taking part in teacher training or who want to develop their teaching career. We offer a number of placements for students and provide them with mentor support throughout their training and early teaching career. We also provide excellent career development opportunities.As a larger primary school we are able to employ specialist subject practitioners and lead teachers in a range of disciplines, including Maths, English, PE and Music. They cascade their experience and skills through the teaching network. We also work in partnership with a national teaching school.
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Working for Franche
Our Governing Body has a Staffing Committee which includes staff representatives and which considers all job applications. We are committed to Safer Recruitment practices and guidance. We follow national employment guidance in all areas of school life.
All staff who work with children undergo Enhanced checks from the Disclosure & Barring Service, including temporary supply teachers.
All of our staff also undergo regular safeguarding and child protection training internally and by authorised external bodies. They also complete on-line training annually in fire safety and health and safety.
If you are interested in working for Franche, please visit this site regularly for notification of current vacancies.
All of our teaching vacancies are advertised here and also on this website:
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We also advertise non teaching positions locally, here and on these sites:
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"I have worked at Franche Community Primary School for more than 27 years and have seen the school evolve considerably during that time. The school has a ‘can do’ culture and seeks to embed new ideas and initiatives rigorously with first class training opportunities, drawing from a wealth of teacher expertise and leaders in a wide range of curriculum areas, to external providers and advisers. Staff work closely in year teams and phases. There is a good support network within year groups from both senior and middle leaders. My years at Franche have been enjoyable and rewarding. There is a high level of respect amongst all staff and I have made many lifelong friends along the way. It is a happy, vibrant, hard working school with high expectations. All in all, it is a great place to work!"
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Gail Evans
Year 4
Teacher