BOARD NOTES FROM
THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
6 October 2008 at 5.00pm
Present: Mr Terry Sayce – Chair (TS)
Mr Keith West - Vice Chair (KW)
Mr Neal Carlin (NC)
Mr Daniel Tomlinson (DT)
Mr Irshad Akhtar (IA)
In Attendance : Mr Alan Aitken – Acting Principal (AA)
Mr David Whitfield - Bursar (DW)
Mrs Sam Newbon – Chair of SRC (SN)
Mrs Sarah Conant (SC)
Mr Chris Green (CG)
Mrs Yvonne Stoddart – Secretary
Apologies: Mr Rizwan Haq (RH)
Mr Wassim Bou-Ghanem (WB)
1. Welcome
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting especially Mr Chris Green. He spoke of new challenges the school faced and congratulated the school on its exam results. He informed the meeting that the search for a new Principal was ongoing. He also made reference to the Ofsted inspection scheduled to take place in February 2009.
2. Approval of Previous Minutes & Matters Arising
The minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2008 were approved by the Board and signed by the Chairman.
3. Policies
Child Protection Policy - A draft of a new Child Protection Policy prepared by SC was circulated prior to the meeting. SC went through the Policy outlining various requirements and highlighted the importance of the role of the BOG. It was noted that a representative from the BOG should be part of the nominated Child Protection Team. All staff will receive training before the Policy is introduced. SC also informed the meeting that at the end of 2009, anybody working with children must be registered with the Independent Safeguard Authority (ISA).
School Uniform Policy - AA informed the Board that, in general, the introduction of the new school uniform has been successful. He pointed out that there are still concerns regarding quality and cost but he is continually liaising with our suppliers to ensure standards are met. The Board suggested looking at other suppliers in the region to ensure competitiveness. It was noted that the PTA are looking into the possibility of opening a uniform shop here at the main site.
[The Board requested that an itemised price list be posted on the Intranet]
Admissions Policy - A draft of the revised Admissions Policy was circulated prior to the meeting. In line with the increased demand for places, the Board agreed that the principal objective of the school would remain unchanged, i.e. the preferential testing and entry into the school of British and Dutch passport holders. The Board asked AA to make some minor changes to the Policy prior to Board approval.
Given the ongoing problems of pupils not returning to school till very late in the 1st term, it was suggested that the Board should once again consider the introduction of seat deposits for next year. The Board felt that the guidelines for absences should be more in line with those of the UK where parents take responsibility for absent children and long term absences must be approved by the Principal.
[The Board asked the SLG to put forward proposals to combat this problem]
The Board agreed that class sizes should remain at 20 where possible and asked the SLG to look at various options available to the school which would allow for further expansion as the demand for places increases.
4. Financial Report
Provisional figures on revenue & expenditure for the year end 31/08/2008 were circulated prior to the meeting. The Board asked AA to look at stationary supplies within the school to ensure staff has adequate supplies.
DW informed the Board that the current insurance policy of the school will need to be modified given various changes within the school.
KW pointed out that Salwa registration and assessment fees will decrease next year now that it is established.
It was noted that the English Department have requested additional IT facilities.
5. Principal’s Report
Pupil Enrolment -AA reported that pupil numbers for the main site and Salwa currently stands at 1,105.
Recruitment - AA reported that additional local staff had been hired over the last few weeks. He also informed the Board that recruitment in the UK went well and he is confident of meeting the staffing needs for September.
Housing Proposal - Given the increasing problems regarding a shortage of staff accommodation, AA informed that Board that he had tentatively approached various staff members with the idea of sharing and some staff had showed interest. The Board asked SLG to move forward on this idea.
New Build - DW informed the meeting that Health & Safety experts have visited the site and compiled a snagging list. This work is now underway. He noted that the SLG now need to look at exactly how the building will be used.
6. School Calendar 2009-2010
The proposed calendar for 2009-2010 was circulated for comments prior to the meeting.
[The Board asked the SLG to make some amendments to the Calendar before sending to the Board for approval]
7. School Inspection [report by Chris Green]
CG circulated documentation relating to the inspection to Board members. He pointed out that he is currently drafting instructions for staff to give them an idea of what will be expected from them during the inspection. It was suggested that the SLG review all our current policies to ensure they are up-to-date.
[The Board asked CG to draft a Policy on Succession & Planning for their review]
8. Any Other Business
School Council – DT requested that a meeting be arranged with the school councils.
Social Agenda - It was agreed that a social gathering for staff and the Board would be arranged for this term.
Staff Representative Committee - SN informed the Board that she was asked to highlight the issue of Leave of Absence following a memo sent by AA. She pointed out that some staff members requested greater flexibility regarding leave as they feel their personal situations justify taking leave outside school holidays. AA informed the Board that each leave request would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis but he could not continue to run the school effectively if he approved all leave requests. The Board agreed with the decision made by AA and reiterated that the school’s policy regarding leave should be adhered to.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8:30pm.
Board of Governors – British International School Riyadh
(9th June 2008)
Mr Terry Sayce
Chairman
Mr Keith West
Vice Chairman & Chairman of Finance Committee
Mr Neal Carlin
Member
Mr Daniel Tomlinson
Chairman of the Audit Committee
Mr Irshad Akhtar
Member
Mr Rizwan Haq
Chairman of IT Committee
Mr Wassim Bou-Ghanem
IT Committee