In the Autumn Term, one of the most important roles for governors is to agree a school development plan for the academic year. Governors agree the most important areas to focus on and goals to work towards. The head and staff then develop a detailed plan to make the make sure the goals are achieved.

Governors gather information from lots of different sources to make sure we are picking the right priorities. For example, we discuss priorities with the head teacher in governors meetings, we talk to teachers and pupils during visits to the school, we ask for the opinion of parents in the annual survey and we look at government documents that allow us to compare the results of children at Morley with other schools across the country.

Priorities for this year include:

* Pupil outcomes: Improving attainment in writing and maths and further improving outcomes for children receiving pupil premium and who have English as an additional language.

* Leadership and management: Continuing to develop the role of subject and year group leaders and using the Equalities Award and Artsmark framework to further develop provision.

* Teaching, learning and assessment: Reviewing how feedback is given to children, further developing effectiveness of differentiation and developing more outstanding teaching.

* Behaviour, safety and wellbeing: Further reducing low-level disruption, developing the role of pupils in preventing bullying behaviour and improve school procedures for dealing with bullying incidents. Re-designing the school council so pupil voice has greater impact.

More information about the work of the governing body can be found here.

Nicky Odgers, Chair of Governors