Governing Board Impact Statement 2025–2026

The Governing Board of Brownlow Fold Primary School is fully committed to ensuring that every child reaches their full potential through high-quality education, care, and opportunity. Governors have continued to provide strategic leadership, robust accountability, and strong support to the Headteacher and senior leadership team (SLT), ensuring that the school continues to thrive as an inclusive, community-focused setting. Our vision of Together We Fly means that we want our pupils to leave Brownlow Fold equipped with resilience, curiosity, confidence, and kindness to succeed in modern Britain.

Governance Overview

The Governing Board comprises a range of professionals with expertise in education, finance, safeguarding, and community engagement. Each governor has a designated link role (e.g., Safeguarding, SEND, Curriculum etc). The Governing Board operates through full governing board and committee meetings, Governor Development Days, which triangulate evidence from data, pupil voice, and classroom practice. Governors are trained through the LA Governor Service, internal briefings, and skills audits, ensuring a strong capacity for challenge and support. All meetings are clerked and minuted, providing a transparent record of governance impact.

Impact on Key Strategic Areas

Brownlow Curriculum/ Developing Teaching/ Assessment and Achievement across the curriculum    

Governors have:

• Monitored the impact of inclusive, high-quality teaching with a focus on SEND, phonics, and early literacy.
• Reviewed curriculum development documentation and attended subject leader presentations to verify coherence and progression across subjects.
• Scrutinised data through termly assessment cycles, ensuring attainment gaps are identified and addressed.
• Oversaw the successful implementation of a new assessment system (June 2025) and ensured governors received detailed training on its use.
• Supported the curriculum’s emphasis on oracy, digital skills, and early reading, aligning with the revised national frameworks and Ofsted expectations.
• Impact: Pupil progress data demonstrates continued improvement across all groups, with strengthened early reading outcomes and improved consistency in formative assessment practice.

Behaviour and Attitudes/ Attendance

Governors:

• Participated in monitoring during the Governor Development Day focused on SEND and Behaviour provision.
• Reviewed termly attendance, exclusions, and behaviour data, challenging leaders on trends and pupil sub-groups.
• Observed consistency of practice during visits, particularly around the Zones of Regulation and behaviour expectations.
• Impact: Behaviour is positive, attendance is monitored robustly, and governors have observed that expectations are embedded across the school.

Personal Development

Governors have monitored the school’s holistic provision through:

• Oversight of PSHE and Empowered Learners programmes, promoting wellbeing, resilience, and British Values.
• Engagement with community and parental feedback, ensuring the school’s approach to wellbeing and equity aligns with local needs.
• Reviewing wellbeing initiatives for both staff and pupils, including the Wellness Action Plans (WAPs), mental health training, and support systems.
• Impact: Pupil voice and parent surveys indicate high levels of wellbeing and belonging. Staff surveys (Summer 2025) evidence strong wellbeing support, underpinned by the leadership’s mental health expertise.

Leadership and Governance

Governors:

• Regularly reviewed progress against the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and Self-Evaluation Summary (SES), ensuring priorities remain evidence-based.
• Engaged in Performance Management processes for the Headteacher and staff, ensuring objectives align with school priorities.
• Scrutinised professional development pathways including NPQs, instructional coaching, and participation in Maths and English Hubs.
• Ensured robust GDPR, finance, and safeguarding systems are in place.
• Impact: Leadership demonstrates clarity, accountability, and a strong culture of continuous improvement. Staff report that professional development has improved teaching quality and leadership capacity at all levels.

Safeguarding

Governors have:

• Verified compliance through SCR checks conducted by the Chair, SBM, Headteacher, and HR partner.
• Ensured all staff are Prevent trained, with DSLs attending local training led by the Prevent Police Team.
• Monitored the impact of safeguarding updates, audits, and incident tracking systems.
• Confirmed that all staff have read and signed the latest KCSIE (2025).
• Impact: Safeguarding is robust, proactive, and responsive to local contextual issues. The school continues to embed a strong culture of vigilance and care.
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SEND and Inclusion

Governors have:

• Oversight of SEND provision through SEND updates and termly Headteacher reports.
• Participated in SEND-focused Governor Days.
• Ensured the SEND Information Report and Accessibility Plan meet statutory requirements.
• Monitored the use of SEND funding to ensure that targeted interventions are effective.
• Impact: Pupils with SEND make good progress from their starting points, and inclusion is a strength of the school community.

Finance and Resources

Governors:

• Monitored school finances through detailed termly reports and benchmarking exercises.
• Ensured spending of Pupil Premium, Sports Premium, and SEND funds delivers clear impact on pupil outcomes.
• Oversaw site maintenance, risk management, GDPR compliance, and procurement practices.
• Impact: The school remains financially stable with resources effectively allocated to curriculum priorities and pupil support.

Early Years Foundation Stage

Governors:

• Reviewed EYFS curriculum plans and data to ensure high-quality provision.
• Monitored progress in communication, language, and oracy development.
• Observed evidence of effective transition to KS1.
• Impact: EYFS children demonstrate increasing independence and confidence.

Governor Development and Training

Governors have engaged in training on safeguarding, data analysis, SEND, finance, and curriculum leadership. The Governor Expectation Booklet has been implemented to clarify roles, expectations, and standards. The board continues to build capacity and succession planning through active recruitment and mentoring.

Future Strategic Priorities 2025–2026

• Continue to embed the new assessment system, ensuring consistency and reliability of data.
• Maintain a strong focus on attendance and persistent absence reduction.
• Deepen impact monitoring of curriculum development, including digital learning and oracy.
• Sustain wellbeing and workload initiatives to ensure staff retention and resilience.
• Strengthen community partnerships and family engagement to raise aspirations further.

The Governing Board is proud of the continued progress at Brownlow Fold Primary School. Through rigorous monitoring, informed challenge, and collaborative partnership with leaders, governors have ensured that the school remains a reflective, forward-looking, and nurturing community. Together, we are fulfilling our mission to raise aspirations, strengthen community, and ensure that every pupil keeps on learning new things.