Annual Statement for the Governing Body of Stanhope Primary School
September 2025
The Governing Body of Stanhope Primary School works with the Head Teacher to promote and maintain high standards of educational achievement. This annual statement outlines how the Governing Body has fulfilled its responsibilities and how it has met the core strategic functions of the school’s Governing Body set out by the Government and The Department for Education:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
- Holding the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils.
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
As a dynamic Governing Body, we continue to adapt the relationship between our capacity and our educational objectives in the increasingly complex world of education. We are committed to increasing our collective ability to make informed choices in response to whatever challenges arise in our operating environment.
Key Issues and Strategic Focus: Academic Year 2024-2025 Review
During the 2024-2025 academic year, the Governing Board successfully supported the Head Teacher, Senior Leadership Team, and the staff in advancing the School Improvement Plan (SIP). This plan was predicted on the priorities identified from school data and self-evaluation and served as our working document, reviewed on a regular basis.
The areas identified and addressed during the 2024-2025 academic year were:
- Pupil Reading Practice: The focus was on ensuring the school’s approaches to checking that pupils practice reading regularly were consistently applied. Leaders have now embedded systems to ensure a consistent and manageable approach, which has improved the identification of pupils’ reading needs and expectations being met.
- Curriculum Refinement: Work continued to refine the curriculum across all subjects to clearly map out the different types of knowledge, with a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ understanding of subject-specific ideas, or disciplinary knowledge. This refinement is now being embedded in all curriculum planning.
- Early Years Outdoor Environment: Leaders continued with their successful plans for further developing the outdoor learning environment, which now better supports and enhances learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, bringing it up to the standard of the indoor provision.
- Career Aspirations: Outcomes in supporting pupils to focus on their Career Aspirations have improved through dedicated curriculum time and enhanced enrichment activities, which will continue to be built upon.
Pupil Outcomes: Academic Year 2024-2025 Performance
The targeted interventions, particularly for Pupil Premium children and those who had fallen behind, ensured all pupils continued to achieve well and make good progress. The Governing Body monitored these outcomes closely.
Key Stage 2 Attainment (Year 6 Data 2024-2025)
Our pupils at the end of Key Stage 2 continued to perform exceptionally well, achieving outcomes significantly better than the most recent national and local data.
| Subject | Expected Standard | Greater Depth | National Expected Standard (2025 Est.) |
| Reading | 97% | 31% | 75% |
| Writing | 86% | 24% | 72% |
| Mathematics | 97% | 41% | 74% |
| RWM Combined | 86% | 10% | 62% |
| EGPS | 86% | 24% | 73% |
| Science | 90% | 17% | 82% |
Pupil Premium Attainment (Year 6 Data 2024-2025)
Our Pupil Premium children performed particularly well at the end of Year 6, with their attainment figures being at or above those of all other children nationally, demonstrating the excellent and effective utilisation of the Pupil Premium Grant:
- Reading Pupil Premium: 96%
- Maths Pupil Premium: 96%
- GPS Pupil Premium: 83%
- Writing Pupil Premium: 83%
Assessment of Governing Body Impact (2024-2025)
The Governing Body’s rigorous monitoring and support during the 2024-2025 academic year resulted in clear improvements:
- There was a continued improvement in the amount of Reception children gaining a Good Level of Development to 80%.
- There was a sustained improvement in the amount of Year 1 children passing the Phonics Screen to 87%.
- Attainment in Key Stage 1 remained strong: Reading 71%, Writing 68%, Maths 75% and Science 75%.
- At Key Stage 2, those pupils identified as Pupil Premium performed as well as, or better than all other children, with attainment figures above national averages, clearly demonstrating the school’s excellent use of Pupil Premium funding.
Safeguarding and Welfare (Focus for 2025-2026)
Safeguarding continues to be of paramount importance. Our policies were reviewed and approved by the Board of Governors, ensuring full compliance with the updated Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2025 statutory guidance.
As Safeguarding Governor, I continue to meet with the Head Teacher regularly to offer support, advice, and challenge. Governors attended updated safeguarding training delivered by the Local Authority and the Head Teacher, with ALL staff and Governors receiving Part 1 of the new KCSIE guidance and a link to the full version. The Single Central Record remains subject to checks by the Head Teacher every half term and by the Chair of Governors / Safeguarding Governor termly.
The school is fully committed to addressing the evolving risks of the digital age, including new guidance on online safety, misinformation, disinformation, and the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). CPOMS is fully embedded and continues to enable efficient management of child protection and incidents.
Finance and Resources
The Governors’ Resources Committee specialises in school finances and meets with the Head Teacher to ensure best value, a critical function in the current economic climate. The Governors are committed to ensuring that the school budget is spent wisely and for the benefit of the pupils.
- Targeted Funding: Governors are responsible for the monitoring and the impact and use of the Pupil Premium Grant and the Sports Grant. Full reports on spending and impact are available on the school website.
- Sports Provision: We are extremely proud that the school has achieved the Platinum Award for P.E. and sports provision. The school’s provision for Sports and P.E. is outstanding, with pupils competing successfully at Regional and National levels. This is a testament to the effective use of the Sports Grant.
Forward Focus: Academic Year 2025-2026
The Governing Body at Stanhope Primary School continually seeks improvement. Working closely with the Head Teacher, Senior Leadership Team, and all members of staff, we are constantly striving to improve and develop the school in all areas.
The relationship between the Governing Body, the Senior Leadership Team, and all the staff is based on trust, respect, and support, the result of which is a high-quality education with many aspects of the school being outstanding.
We are a multi-skilled, dynamic Governing Body, with a wide range of experience in all walks of life and the business environment. We utilise these skills to enable us to meet and overcome any challenges we have faced and those which will no doubt come our way in the years ahead. We look forward to a productive year ahead and will continue to work with the Head Teacher and all the staff for the benefit of all the pupils, staff, and the school community of Stanhope Primary School.
Mrs Anne Hetherington
Chair of Governors
September 2025
