Woking Schools Confederation Organisation

The Confederation is managed by the Steering Group, which is composed of up to 15 representatives (mainly head teachers) from our member schools.

There are termly meetings of the:-

Steering Group- Attendees are Head teachers and other representatives from some of our member schools, plus the Confederation Administration team. The meetings last for 2 hours. They cover issues such as strategic direction, financial control, staffing and line management, website, interface to county and LEA initiatives. They also include agenda setting for the Head teacher meeting.

The Head Teachers Group - Attended by all Head teachers. The standard format is a 2 hour meeting followed by a further 2 hours which is used for presentations from guest speakers and networking opportunities. The Steering Group and various other forums report back to the group of Head teachers on recent developments. Decisions are made regarding Confederation issues, use of funding and other issues which affect the schools as a whole.

Additionally the following peer networks exist :-

The SENCo network

The Bursar Network

DATES FOR ALL THESE GROUPS MEETINGS CAN BE FOUND IN THE EVENTS CALENDAR WITHIN THIS WEBSITE

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Terms of Reference of Steering Group

Woking Schools Confederation is:
Open to all maintained schools in the Borough of Woking.
Currently a confederation of 33 schools and PRU’s. This includes 4 secondary schools, 1 PRU and 3 Special schools.

Mission Statement/Core Purpose of the Steering Group:
“To provide a lead to co-ordinate the efforts of and consult with all schools in Woking Schools Confederation, to provide a range of services and activities beyond the school day to help meet the needs of our learners, their families and the wider community. As extended schools we will provide more opportunities for learners to take courses and engage in activities that match their strengths and interests”.

Decision Making Structures and organisation
• The Confederation is managed by a Steering Group with overall management responsibility. It will construct and maintain the Action Plan and decide on priorities for action.
• The Steering Group has responsibility for managing the finances of the Confederation.
• The Steering Group will delegate responsibility for various projects to appropriate project groups. These will form as necessary and will request help and support from other Confederation members or other bodies as necessary. Project groups will report to the Steering Group on a regular basis according to the nature of the project.
• The Confederation has appointed an administrator to act on its behalf as directed by the Steering Group.

Membership Principles
• All representatives have equal rights within the Woking Schools Confederation.
• The Steering Group will include representation from each of the sectors eg Primary, Secondary, Special/PRU, usually Head teachers or an empowered delegate. Ideally there should be representation from faith schools.
• Ideally, it will also include representation from governors of each of the sectors eg Primary, Secondary, Special / PRU.
• The Confederation administrator will also be on the Steering Group.
• Other members will be invited by agreement of the Steering Group to ensure a balance between phases and to involve other professional groups and agencies. These members will be associate members, without voting rights.
• The maximum number on the Steering Group will be 20 with the optimum number being 12-15.
• Members of the Steering Group, other than the Administrator, should hold the post for two years unless a change is necessary due to change in job function.
• Once established the membership of the Steering Group will change on a regular basis, with a third of the members being able to stand down after two years on a rolling basis.
• Members of the Steering Group may volunteer to re-stand for an additional period if they wish.
• A Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson will be elected by members of the Steering Group bi-annually (or when a job change necessitates a fresh election). Their appointments will be re-affirmed by Steering Group vote annually.
• Any member of the Steering Group can be removed by a majority vote.
• The Chairperson will act as line manager, in directing the time and resources, of the Confederation Administrator.

Meeting Principles
• Meetings will be held at least once every half term.
• All meetings are open, people wishing to attend should inform the administrator 7 days in advance.
• All members must make it a priority to attend meetings. If a member of the Steering Group is unable to attend a meeting they must endeavour to make every effort to have another Headteacher from the same phase attend or an empowered deputy from their own school attend in their place.
• A quorum of 50% +1 person must be in attendance at a Steering Group meeting for any decision to be agreed. Representatives must be in attendance from Primary and Secondary phases.
• Should a meeting, being poorly attended, be in quorate the meeting will continue with the business in hand and make recommendations to the whole steering group by email for adoption.
• If at any meeting there is not a quorum and a major decision is needed before the next meeting email maybe used.
• The Administrator will be able to make recommendations to the Steering Group, but will not have a vote.
• The Confederation Administrator or admin assistant will act as minute taker. The Steering Group will decide, where appropriate, that minute taking may be delegated.
• The Steering Group will ensure accurate records are made of all decisions and these records will be made available for inspection at any time. They will be distributed to all Schools in the Confederation.

Decision Making
• A majority vote will be taken as a final decision for every action.
• In the event of a 50/50 split in voting the Chairperson’s descision will be final.
• Agendas will be set by the Chair and Confederation Administrator subject to receiving items for inclusion from Steering Group or interested stakeholders.
• Actions requiring immediate decisions, up to and including fund allocation of £500 can be made by the Chair. For all other items consultation will take place by email to all Steering Group members and responses will be requested within 48 hours. In the absence of responses the Chair’s decision will be final.
• All members of the Steering Group are expected to:-
o support the aims and objectives of the Confederation and promote its interests,
o to work co-operatively with other members of the Confederation and Steering Group
o encourage the open expression of views at meetings acknowledging that differences of opinion may arise in discussion and when a majority decision of the Steering Group prevails, support this and accept collective responsibility for all decisions. This means that members will not speak out against decisions, in public or private, outside the meetings of the Steering Group or its project groups. Nor publicly criticise, canvass or reveal how members voted in a Steering Group meeting or views expressed by members in meetings.
o To keep confidential any matters which the Chairperson decides should remain confidential.

General Principles
• The Steering Group will be accountable for a fair, equitable and transparent allocation of resources and all stakeholders are to be given an accurate report of all transactions. All stakeholders will have an equal opportunity to access funding.
• To identify and discuss innovative projects researched by the Confederation Administrator and Confederation members and to agree if appropriate and allocate resources if deemed necessary.
• To identify and secure other sources of funding e.g. bids.
• The Woking Schools Confederation works within the Equal Opportunity guidelines as practiced throughout Surrey.

Financial Policy and Accountability
• The Steering Group will ensure appropriate allocation of the resources available and ensure initiatives and developments are for the benefit of Woking Schools Confederation.
• The Steering Group will produce an annual financial report to be made available to all stakeholders by the Project Manager during the Summer Term.
• The Administrator will coordinate the production of newsletters including updates on activities throughout the Confederation. These will be available to all via email and also through a link on the Confederation web-site, which the Administrator will administer.

Project Funding
• A project request should be submitted to the Steering Group and must conform to the terms and principles of the Confederation and its Funding Protocols
• All Woking Schools Confederation stakeholders’ projects will be considered.
• All projects will be considered and may be undertaken where it can be shown that there will be a benefit to children from Woking Schools. Confederation funds can only be used to support projects benefiting children and young people within the Borough of Woking. Support for Confederation projects may also be sought through public, private, voluntary and charitable funding or a mixture of these.

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Steering Group Meeting Dates

Next meeting - Thursday 2nd February 2012

Steering Group Meeting Dates

Next meeting - Thursday 1st March 2012

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