The National College, with its partners, will be developing a leadership development provision
that will be available for all chairs of governors and organisations to use.They will also be
providing opportunities for outstanding chairs to support other chairs by asking them to play an
important system leadership role.
The leadership development provision for chairs will be available from April 2012 and will draw on what really effective chairs of governors do, including: ensuring the governing
-- body makes a difference and improves the school
-- putting the accountability role of the governing body into practice
-- leading the team of governors and managing the business of the governing body
The leadership development provision will also include a self-assessment tool to identify your
areas for development as a current or future chair of governors.
We will be looking for groups of chairs to help shape and trial the materials.
Building on the success of the College’s National and Local Leaders of Education (NLEs/LLEs) and National Support School (NSS) programmes, we will work with governor associations, local
authorities and dioceses to identify and develop outstanding chairs of governors to play a system leadership role. This role will be targeted on school improvement and will involve working with chairs of governors who are working in schools in challenging circumstances, and
supporting those new to the role.
If you are interested in getting involved in either of these areas, please email
chairofgovernors@nationalcollege.org.uk or go to www.nationalcollege.org.uk/
chairsofgovernors for more information.
More help and resources
Membership of the National College is free and gives you access to a range of services, benefits and networking opportunities, including:
-- monthly e-newsletter
-- comprehensive library of leadership resources and research
-- training events
-- online seminars, discussions and networking opportunities exploring current issues,
good practice, school improvement and leadership development
For more information and to sign up go to www.nationalcollege.org.uk/national-collegemembership
Showing posts with label Chair of Governors National College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chair of Governors National College. Show all posts
Monday, 17 October 2011
Saturday, 15 October 2011
National College: Chair of Governors: Leading the Business
Working closely with the clerk to the governors,it is the chair’s responsibility to ensure that the governing body fulfils its statutory obligations and responsibilities. Governors are accountable
for the responsible and effective use of the school’s resources. The governing body will also want to ensure that sound financial management practices are in place. To this end, the Schools
Financial Value Standard (SFVS), which replaces the Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS), is available from September 2011 (DfE, 2011).
With the emergence of different models of school – federations, academies and chains, for
example – these responsibilities are changing and new ones are emerging. There will also be
specific pieces of work that the governing body may need to undertake, for example recruiting a
headteacher, providing direction for changing a school’s status, or related to major building work. The timing of the schedule of governing body and committee meetings should reflect statutory requirements, such as approving the school’s budget. In addition, the committee structure of the governing body should be reviewed annually to make sure it matches the school’s needs.
All meetings should have a formal agenda.
Minutes of the previous meeting and additional papers must be sent out at least seven days
before a meeting so that governors have a chance to prepare.
Chairing a meeting is a key skill and people will operate in different ways with varying
degrees of formality. The essential elements are to ensure that all members have the opportunity
to contribute and are listened to, discussions are open and honest, and decisions are fair and
transparent.
Governing bodies should adopt a code of practice setting out the roles and expectations so that
governors understand their responsibilities and the way in which the governing body conducts its
business. The National Governors’ Association has a model version you can adapt (NGA, 2010).
Checklist
−− I s your governing body’s business focused on the priorities in the school development plan?
−− I s your school’s self-evaluation process robust and is the governing body appropriately
engaged at a strategic level in the whole process?
−− Does your clerk have a job description and do you manage the clerk’s performance?
−− I s your clerk accredited? If not, consider this route (for further details, see www.nga.org.uk).
−− Do you receive all papers seven days in advance of meetings?
−− Do you spend too much meeting time reviewing policies and checking compliance
rather than monitoring the impact on the children?
−− Does the vice-chair share some of the chair’s business?
−− I s your governing body delegating as much as it can to the headteacher and the senior
leadership team?
−− I s your governing body having an impact?
Have you carried out an impact assessment?
See for example the Governor Mark framework (GLM Partnership, 2009) or the
Governor Self-Evaluation Tracker at www.nga.org.uk.
for the responsible and effective use of the school’s resources. The governing body will also want to ensure that sound financial management practices are in place. To this end, the Schools
Financial Value Standard (SFVS), which replaces the Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS), is available from September 2011 (DfE, 2011).
With the emergence of different models of school – federations, academies and chains, for
example – these responsibilities are changing and new ones are emerging. There will also be
specific pieces of work that the governing body may need to undertake, for example recruiting a
headteacher, providing direction for changing a school’s status, or related to major building work. The timing of the schedule of governing body and committee meetings should reflect statutory requirements, such as approving the school’s budget. In addition, the committee structure of the governing body should be reviewed annually to make sure it matches the school’s needs.
All meetings should have a formal agenda.
Minutes of the previous meeting and additional papers must be sent out at least seven days
before a meeting so that governors have a chance to prepare.
Chairing a meeting is a key skill and people will operate in different ways with varying
degrees of formality. The essential elements are to ensure that all members have the opportunity
to contribute and are listened to, discussions are open and honest, and decisions are fair and
transparent.
Governing bodies should adopt a code of practice setting out the roles and expectations so that
governors understand their responsibilities and the way in which the governing body conducts its
business. The National Governors’ Association has a model version you can adapt (NGA, 2010).
Checklist
−− I s your governing body’s business focused on the priorities in the school development plan?
−− I s your school’s self-evaluation process robust and is the governing body appropriately
engaged at a strategic level in the whole process?
−− Does your clerk have a job description and do you manage the clerk’s performance?
−− I s your clerk accredited? If not, consider this route (for further details, see www.nga.org.uk).
−− Do you receive all papers seven days in advance of meetings?
−− Do you spend too much meeting time reviewing policies and checking compliance
rather than monitoring the impact on the children?
−− Does the vice-chair share some of the chair’s business?
−− I s your governing body delegating as much as it can to the headteacher and the senior
leadership team?
−− I s your governing body having an impact?
Have you carried out an impact assessment?
See for example the Governor Mark framework (GLM Partnership, 2009) or the
Governor Self-Evaluation Tracker at www.nga.org.uk.
Friday, 14 October 2011
National College: Improving Your School Case Study
Siddique Hussain, a business owner and adult lecturer, has been a governor of five
schools in Sandwell in the West Midlands, including three years as chair of governors
at St Paul’s Church of England School in Tipton.
Siddique said: “I was asked to work with St Paul’s by the local authority. The school’s 2008 Ofsted inspection had raised some concerns about the governing body and its ability to hold the school leadership team to account, particularly over standards and achievement. The school was rated satisfactory overall.
“With a new headteacher on board, there were several key changes we needed to make. First, we needed to sort out governors’ roles and responsibilities. People’s understanding of them was either muddled or non-existent and there was very little committee structure. Everything
tended to be done in a group, if at all.
Finance and staffing, for example, were handled by the same committee with the same members, presenting a potential conflict of interest.
“We set up separate committees and also created a new one for curriculum, enabling us to monitor how each subject area was performing, and any resource issues or particular successes as well as concerns.
“Delegating responsibility was important. One thing I was adamant about was that each committee should have its own chair – and it shouldn’t be me. It reinforced the notion of our collective responsibility, and meant the knowledge about the school was widely shared and would also help with succession planning.
“Another key move was getting to grips with data. The school improvement partner (SIP) at the local authority was critical here in helping the governors to analyse data so that we were in a position to ask incisive questions, rather than superficial ones, about the issues in the school.
Literacy was one area we needed to improve and theSIP was very good at pinpointing where the data revealed a weakness in a particular group. He would put options to us; we’d examine them and then discuss them with the headteacher. It enabled us to have an informed conversation with the senior leadership team.
“In November 2010, the school was rated ‘good with outstanding features’ by Ofsted.
Inspectors said it had ‘improved strongly’.The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school was also rated ‘good’.”
schools in Sandwell in the West Midlands, including three years as chair of governors
at St Paul’s Church of England School in Tipton.
Siddique said: “I was asked to work with St Paul’s by the local authority. The school’s 2008 Ofsted inspection had raised some concerns about the governing body and its ability to hold the school leadership team to account, particularly over standards and achievement. The school was rated satisfactory overall.
“With a new headteacher on board, there were several key changes we needed to make. First, we needed to sort out governors’ roles and responsibilities. People’s understanding of them was either muddled or non-existent and there was very little committee structure. Everything
tended to be done in a group, if at all.
Finance and staffing, for example, were handled by the same committee with the same members, presenting a potential conflict of interest.
“We set up separate committees and also created a new one for curriculum, enabling us to monitor how each subject area was performing, and any resource issues or particular successes as well as concerns.
“Delegating responsibility was important. One thing I was adamant about was that each committee should have its own chair – and it shouldn’t be me. It reinforced the notion of our collective responsibility, and meant the knowledge about the school was widely shared and would also help with succession planning.
“Another key move was getting to grips with data. The school improvement partner (SIP) at the local authority was critical here in helping the governors to analyse data so that we were in a position to ask incisive questions, rather than superficial ones, about the issues in the school.
Literacy was one area we needed to improve and theSIP was very good at pinpointing where the data revealed a weakness in a particular group. He would put options to us; we’d examine them and then discuss them with the headteacher. It enabled us to have an informed conversation with the senior leadership team.
“In November 2010, the school was rated ‘good with outstanding features’ by Ofsted.
Inspectors said it had ‘improved strongly’.The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school was also rated ‘good’.”
Thursday, 13 October 2011
National College: Improving Your School
As chair, you need to have a thorough understanding and knowledge of your school: its context, the characteristics of the area it serves and the children and families who make up the school’s intake.
The governing body sets the direction for the school and needs to know what the school does
well, where its strengths lie and where there is room for improvement. Important questions are:
-- How do we secure sustained improvement?
-- What are the main barriers to high performance and how do we overcome them?
-- How do we secure outstanding learning and teaching for every pupil?
-- What sort of academy or school do we need to become?
Effective monitoring and evaluation of the school’s performance is an essential part of school
improvement. As chair, you and your governor colleagues will want to ensure that the school
has a positive culture and effective processes relating to self-evaluation. You should ensure that
good quality and relevant information is available to governors. You all need a good understanding of the data and other sources of evidence that are available to you. These include:
-- exam results (SATs, GCSEs and A-levels)
-- the school self-evaluation form (SEF), which is no longer compulsory but still used in schools
for compiling performance information
-- results of lesson observations, work scrutiny and pupil interviews; the chair has an important role here in supporting the headteacher to establish a culture and process of self-evaluation
-- school development plan, which governors should have been involved in developing
-- Ofsted reports
-- Data on RAISEonline (the DfE data analysis tool) and school-level data
-- Headteacher reports to the governing body
-- Parent, student and staff surveys
-- School visits by governors
Checklist
-- Is the headteacher’s report to your governing body structured around the priorities of the
school development plan?
-- Is your governing body involved in monitoring progress against the key objectives in the
school development plan?
-- Does your governing body have the skills to understand and question the data being
presented?
-- Does your governing body have access to independent advice on what the data means?
-- Did the governors speak to the Ofsted inspectors and receive a report from them?
-- Does your governing body receive RAISEonline reports, and do some governors have access
to the RAISEonline full report?
-- Does your governing body have progress data reported to it as well as attainment?
-- Does your governing body know which groups of children in the school are not doing as well
as they should, and why that might be?
-- How does your governing body seek views from parents?
-- How does your governing body seek views from students?
-- Do you have a protocol for school visits and does it make clear that the purpose of the
visit is linked to the priorities set by your governing body?
More information on using data effectively is available from www.nga.org.uk.
The governing body sets the direction for the school and needs to know what the school does
well, where its strengths lie and where there is room for improvement. Important questions are:
-- How do we secure sustained improvement?
-- What are the main barriers to high performance and how do we overcome them?
-- How do we secure outstanding learning and teaching for every pupil?
-- What sort of academy or school do we need to become?
Effective monitoring and evaluation of the school’s performance is an essential part of school
improvement. As chair, you and your governor colleagues will want to ensure that the school
has a positive culture and effective processes relating to self-evaluation. You should ensure that
good quality and relevant information is available to governors. You all need a good understanding of the data and other sources of evidence that are available to you. These include:
-- exam results (SATs, GCSEs and A-levels)
-- the school self-evaluation form (SEF), which is no longer compulsory but still used in schools
for compiling performance information
-- results of lesson observations, work scrutiny and pupil interviews; the chair has an important role here in supporting the headteacher to establish a culture and process of self-evaluation
-- school development plan, which governors should have been involved in developing
-- Ofsted reports
-- Data on RAISEonline (the DfE data analysis tool) and school-level data
-- Headteacher reports to the governing body
-- Parent, student and staff surveys
-- School visits by governors
Checklist
-- Is the headteacher’s report to your governing body structured around the priorities of the
school development plan?
-- Is your governing body involved in monitoring progress against the key objectives in the
school development plan?
-- Does your governing body have the skills to understand and question the data being
presented?
-- Does your governing body have access to independent advice on what the data means?
-- Did the governors speak to the Ofsted inspectors and receive a report from them?
-- Does your governing body receive RAISEonline reports, and do some governors have access
to the RAISEonline full report?
-- Does your governing body have progress data reported to it as well as attainment?
-- Does your governing body know which groups of children in the school are not doing as well
as they should, and why that might be?
-- How does your governing body seek views from parents?
-- How does your governing body seek views from students?
-- Do you have a protocol for school visits and does it make clear that the purpose of the
visit is linked to the priorities set by your governing body?
More information on using data effectively is available from www.nga.org.uk.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
National College: Relationship with the headteacher Case Study
Sarah Adkins, an environmental and planning lawyer, has been chair of governors for Bishop
Cornish Primary School, a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Saltash,
Cornwall, for three years. The headteacher is Jenny Thomas.
Sarah says: “I have a very strong relationship with Jenny, built on trust, respect and shared values. From the beginning, we have shared the same vision for the school: to value and educate every child. It may sound obvious but it manifests itself in every aspect of our work. We start all decision processes by considering what is best for the children.
“We meet at least weekly to go through our respective actions and discuss school life. Jenny will also call me if she wants my opinion. We ask each other’s views all the time – it is absolutely a relationship of equals, even though we are in different roles.
“It helps that we have complementary skills. My commercial and legal knowhow helps with strategies and evaluating evidence. Jenny is great at getting people on board and generally making things happen. For example, very early in my role as chair, we worked with the governing body to commit £100,000 (six years’devolved capital with a loan) to a new
eco-education centre. A VAT complication meant we might not immediately have enough money to fit it out but we felt the building was too important to the children’s future not to proceed. We worked together to make the educational and the business case to the governing body and the project went ahead. The centre is now being very well used.
“The chair of governors must be capable of independent thought; decisions must not be made just to please other people, even the headteacher! You need to be objective while caring deeply, to be trustworthy and to maintain confidentiality.
You need to remember that it is the governing body that makes the decisions and that it is your job to help it come to the best possible outcome.
“You could say that we balance each other but I don’t see my role as being on the opposite side of a divide to the headteacher. I see us as part of the same team, with our own functions. Our
relationship is critical for school excellence. Working together we will be vastly stronger and the whole school will benefit.”
Cornish Primary School, a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Saltash,
Cornwall, for three years. The headteacher is Jenny Thomas.
Sarah says: “I have a very strong relationship with Jenny, built on trust, respect and shared values. From the beginning, we have shared the same vision for the school: to value and educate every child. It may sound obvious but it manifests itself in every aspect of our work. We start all decision processes by considering what is best for the children.
“We meet at least weekly to go through our respective actions and discuss school life. Jenny will also call me if she wants my opinion. We ask each other’s views all the time – it is absolutely a relationship of equals, even though we are in different roles.
“It helps that we have complementary skills. My commercial and legal knowhow helps with strategies and evaluating evidence. Jenny is great at getting people on board and generally making things happen. For example, very early in my role as chair, we worked with the governing body to commit £100,000 (six years’devolved capital with a loan) to a new
eco-education centre. A VAT complication meant we might not immediately have enough money to fit it out but we felt the building was too important to the children’s future not to proceed. We worked together to make the educational and the business case to the governing body and the project went ahead. The centre is now being very well used.
“The chair of governors must be capable of independent thought; decisions must not be made just to please other people, even the headteacher! You need to be objective while caring deeply, to be trustworthy and to maintain confidentiality.
You need to remember that it is the governing body that makes the decisions and that it is your job to help it come to the best possible outcome.
“You could say that we balance each other but I don’t see my role as being on the opposite side of a divide to the headteacher. I see us as part of the same team, with our own functions. Our
relationship is critical for school excellence. Working together we will be vastly stronger and the whole school will benefit.”
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
National College: Relationship with the headteacher
The relationship between the chair and the headteacher is one of the most important working relationships in the school. The chair of governors and the headteacher are both school
leaders and their overall purpose is essentially the same – it is their way of working that differs.
An effective working relationship with the headteacher allows the chair to act as a critical
friend, offering challenge, support, advice and encouragement as required. A strong partnership
will enable the school to achieve the highest standards of teaching and learning for the benefit of all pupils and staff. As chair, it is your responsibility to ensure that there is rigorous and robust performance management of the headteacher, including setting relevant targets that contribute towards school improvement.
Meeting regularly is important, particularly when either the chair or the headteacher is new, but weekly face-to-face meetings are not obligatory and meetings can be supplemented by telephone conversations or email. It is up to you to devise a system that works for you both, given all your other commitments. You also need to ensure that all the governors know and have some links with the headteacher, otherwise the relationship between headteacher and chair can appear exclusive.
Strategic decision-making is carried out by the governing body, drawing on proposals from the
headteacher. Unless given a very specific role by the governing body, chairs do not have decision making powers as individuals. Operational decisions (other than very specific ones) should be left to the headteacher and her or his staff
.
School leaders should not be micromanaged and it is part of the chair’s role to ensure that the governing body understands the difference between strategic and operational decision making.
It is useful to share with your governing body the publication What governing bodies can
expect from their school leaders and what school leaders can expect from their governing bodies (NGA, ASCL and NAHT).
Some key points to consider
-- Explore your expectations of the relationship with the headteacher. Are they the same or
are you each making (different) assumptions?
-- Do the arrangements for keeping in touch suit both parties?
-- How effective is your critical friendship?
Could it be improved?
-- In which areas of work would you and the headteacher benefit from joint training?
Taken from http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors Leading Governors Booklet
leaders and their overall purpose is essentially the same – it is their way of working that differs.
An effective working relationship with the headteacher allows the chair to act as a critical
friend, offering challenge, support, advice and encouragement as required. A strong partnership
will enable the school to achieve the highest standards of teaching and learning for the benefit of all pupils and staff. As chair, it is your responsibility to ensure that there is rigorous and robust performance management of the headteacher, including setting relevant targets that contribute towards school improvement.
Meeting regularly is important, particularly when either the chair or the headteacher is new, but weekly face-to-face meetings are not obligatory and meetings can be supplemented by telephone conversations or email. It is up to you to devise a system that works for you both, given all your other commitments. You also need to ensure that all the governors know and have some links with the headteacher, otherwise the relationship between headteacher and chair can appear exclusive.
Strategic decision-making is carried out by the governing body, drawing on proposals from the
headteacher. Unless given a very specific role by the governing body, chairs do not have decision making powers as individuals. Operational decisions (other than very specific ones) should be left to the headteacher and her or his staff
.
School leaders should not be micromanaged and it is part of the chair’s role to ensure that the governing body understands the difference between strategic and operational decision making.
It is useful to share with your governing body the publication What governing bodies can
expect from their school leaders and what school leaders can expect from their governing bodies (NGA, ASCL and NAHT).
Some key points to consider
-- Explore your expectations of the relationship with the headteacher. Are they the same or
are you each making (different) assumptions?
-- Do the arrangements for keeping in touch suit both parties?
-- How effective is your critical friendship?
Could it be improved?
-- In which areas of work would you and the headteacher benefit from joint training?
Taken from http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors Leading Governors Booklet
Monday, 10 October 2011
National College: Chair of Governors Building the Team Surrey Case Study
Doris Neville-Davies has been chair of the governing body of Sayes Court School in Surrey for five years, having joined the school when it was in challenging circumstances. In 2008 the school
added a foundation class and changed from a junior to a primary school. Governance has recently been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
A highly experienced chair, Doris has been a governor at six other schools and is an ‘additional skills governor’ for the county.
Doris said: “It is the chair’s responsibility to enable a group of individual governors to develop into a team of governors who can work together effectively. When I joined Sayes Court, they had some real problems. There was a huge budget deficit, results were poor, people were taking their children away and a lot of the governors were leaving too.
“One of the first tasks was to bring in new governors, people who could contribute to taking the school forward. I wasn’t the best person to find new parent governors,existing parent governors were, so they approached people to stand for election while I looked to bring on board people
via other channels – the local authority, the local volunteer bureau and School Governors’ One-Stop Shop. Not only was it about sharing the workload but it was important as an expression of our corporate responsibility.
“There’s a temptation in these circumstances to go it alone as chair but part of your responsibility as a leader is to know how to delegate. Building a team is about looking at where you have strengths and how you can use them. One of our governor’s business experience is invaluable to the resources committee, while another, who works in education, is equally crucial
to our children and learning committee. The rest of us can also learn from their skills.
“The chair is also the person who ensures that governors understand the split between their strategic role and the operational one played by the headteacher and senior leaders in school. The need to hold the headteacher to account can be difficult for some. Some parent governors
in particular find it very easy to support the school but more difficult to ask that challenging question about, say, why the SATs results are disappointing. It’s up to the chair to instil in the governing body the understanding that it is there to offer challenge as well as support.”
added a foundation class and changed from a junior to a primary school. Governance has recently been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
A highly experienced chair, Doris has been a governor at six other schools and is an ‘additional skills governor’ for the county.
Doris said: “It is the chair’s responsibility to enable a group of individual governors to develop into a team of governors who can work together effectively. When I joined Sayes Court, they had some real problems. There was a huge budget deficit, results were poor, people were taking their children away and a lot of the governors were leaving too.
“One of the first tasks was to bring in new governors, people who could contribute to taking the school forward. I wasn’t the best person to find new parent governors,existing parent governors were, so they approached people to stand for election while I looked to bring on board people
via other channels – the local authority, the local volunteer bureau and School Governors’ One-Stop Shop. Not only was it about sharing the workload but it was important as an expression of our corporate responsibility.
“There’s a temptation in these circumstances to go it alone as chair but part of your responsibility as a leader is to know how to delegate. Building a team is about looking at where you have strengths and how you can use them. One of our governor’s business experience is invaluable to the resources committee, while another, who works in education, is equally crucial
to our children and learning committee. The rest of us can also learn from their skills.
“The chair is also the person who ensures that governors understand the split between their strategic role and the operational one played by the headteacher and senior leaders in school. The need to hold the headteacher to account can be difficult for some. Some parent governors
in particular find it very easy to support the school but more difficult to ask that challenging question about, say, why the SATs results are disappointing. It’s up to the chair to instil in the governing body the understanding that it is there to offer challenge as well as support.”
Doris
Taken from http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors Leading Governors Booklet
Sunday, 9 October 2011
National College: Chair of Governors Building the Team
A key part of your role as chair is to build a cohesive team of governors, delegating tasks across the governing body so that all members contribute, share responsibility for the overall workload and feel that their individual skills,knowledge and experience are well used.
You need to identify the skills, knowledge and experience of your governors, ensuring that any gaps are filled with training and recruitment.
It is important to ensure that the governing body continues to attract and retain good governors including governors with specialist experience as necessary. By delegating some responsibilities – for example, ensuring that your fellow governors take the chair of other committees – you are also helping to grow new leadership talent.
In line with good practice in corporate governance in other sectors, you will also need to take into account the importance of promoting equality and diversity when recruiting, and consider the extent to which the governing body represents the community it serves. Support for building the team and securing diversity is available from a range of organisations.
There should be clear, open and honest communication between governors at all times.
Effective chairs of governing bodies are approachable, readily accessible to other governors and take the issues they raise and the ideas they have seriously.
Finally, a governing body needs a code of practice that outlines its role and responsibilities. The NGA has developed a Code of Practice for School Governors (NGA, 2011) that can be adapted to suit the circumstances of your school.
Checklist
Have all new governors been properly inducted? See Welcome to Governance (NGA, 2011).
How recently have you audited the skills of your governing body? See the model skills
audit available through NGA
Which of your governors has accountancy or financial management experience?
Do you need to recruit someone?
Have you considered using the School Governors’ One-Stop Shop (www.sgoss.org.uk) to recruit governors?
Is there a training link governor and have all governors attended recent, appropriate training?
Has the governing body allocated funds from the school budget for governor development?
How are these funds being used?
How often do all governors attend meetings?
Has attendance been discussed?
Are there exit interviews with governors who leave?
What plans are there for developing other members of the team? How are you planning
for your successor? See Succession Breeds Success (NCOGS, 2007).
How familiar are governors with sources of support that are available?
Have governors considered undertaking performance reviews of members of the governing body?
Taken from http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors Leading Governors Booklet
You need to identify the skills, knowledge and experience of your governors, ensuring that any gaps are filled with training and recruitment.
It is important to ensure that the governing body continues to attract and retain good governors including governors with specialist experience as necessary. By delegating some responsibilities – for example, ensuring that your fellow governors take the chair of other committees – you are also helping to grow new leadership talent.
In line with good practice in corporate governance in other sectors, you will also need to take into account the importance of promoting equality and diversity when recruiting, and consider the extent to which the governing body represents the community it serves. Support for building the team and securing diversity is available from a range of organisations.
There should be clear, open and honest communication between governors at all times.
Effective chairs of governing bodies are approachable, readily accessible to other governors and take the issues they raise and the ideas they have seriously.
Finally, a governing body needs a code of practice that outlines its role and responsibilities. The NGA has developed a Code of Practice for School Governors (NGA, 2011) that can be adapted to suit the circumstances of your school.
Checklist
Have all new governors been properly inducted? See Welcome to Governance (NGA, 2011).
How recently have you audited the skills of your governing body? See the model skills
audit available through NGA
Which of your governors has accountancy or financial management experience?
Do you need to recruit someone?
Have you considered using the School Governors’ One-Stop Shop (www.sgoss.org.uk) to recruit governors?
Is there a training link governor and have all governors attended recent, appropriate training?
Has the governing body allocated funds from the school budget for governor development?
How are these funds being used?
How often do all governors attend meetings?
Has attendance been discussed?
Are there exit interviews with governors who leave?
What plans are there for developing other members of the team? How are you planning
for your successor? See Succession Breeds Success (NCOGS, 2007).
How familiar are governors with sources of support that are available?
Have governors considered undertaking performance reviews of members of the governing body?
Taken from http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors Leading Governors Booklet
Saturday, 8 October 2011
National College: Leading Effective Governance
As chair of governors, leading the governing body and working in partnership with the headteacher, you are responsible for driving school improvement and ensuring that the school achieves the aims and ambitions it has for its pupils. The work that you do has the ability to transform a school and the lives of the children in it. A thorough understanding of the school is crucial. You need to know its context, what it does well and where
it needs to improve.
A key element of your role is to ensure that governors understand the part they play in this and regularly assess whether they are doing their job effectively.
The Department for Education (DfE) has set out 10 key questions that it recommends governors ask to better understand and challenge their school’s performance:
1. What are the school’s values? Are they reflected in our long-term development plans?
2. How are we going to raise standards for all children, including the most and least able, those with special educational needs,boys and girls, and any who are currently underachieving?
3. Have we got the right staff and the right development and reward arrangements?
4. Do we have a sound financial strategy, get good value for money and have robust procurement and financial systems?
5. Do we keep our buildings and other assets in good condition and are they well used?
6. How well does the curriculum provide for and stretch all pupils?
7. How well do we keep parents informed and take account of their views?
8. Do we keep children safe and meet statutory health and safety requirements?
9. How is pupil behaviour? Do we tackle the root causes of poor behaviour?
10. Do we offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities which engage all pupils?
Effective governance also requires:
Governors with a good mix of skills,
Knowledge and experience, and with a strong commitment to the school and its pupils,
who are able to work together in a way that reflects the vision and ethos of the school
Governors with a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and in particular their accountability and the difference between the role in strategic rather than operational decision-making
Good communications and meetings that are well organised and where everyone can contribute and be heard
A shared workload so that the governing body acts as a corporate body
A good relationship between governors and the headteacher and school leadership team;
The chair and headteacher should model this effective relationship
A chair of a governing body of a maintained school needs to be familiar with A Guide to the Law for School Governors (DfE, updated 2011).
Chairs of academies must be familiar with the corresponding law for academies, and the academy’s own funding agreement and articles of association.
Taken from http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors Chairs of Governors Booklet
it needs to improve.
A key element of your role is to ensure that governors understand the part they play in this and regularly assess whether they are doing their job effectively.
The Department for Education (DfE) has set out 10 key questions that it recommends governors ask to better understand and challenge their school’s performance:
1. What are the school’s values? Are they reflected in our long-term development plans?
2. How are we going to raise standards for all children, including the most and least able, those with special educational needs,boys and girls, and any who are currently underachieving?
3. Have we got the right staff and the right development and reward arrangements?
4. Do we have a sound financial strategy, get good value for money and have robust procurement and financial systems?
5. Do we keep our buildings and other assets in good condition and are they well used?
6. How well does the curriculum provide for and stretch all pupils?
7. How well do we keep parents informed and take account of their views?
8. Do we keep children safe and meet statutory health and safety requirements?
9. How is pupil behaviour? Do we tackle the root causes of poor behaviour?
10. Do we offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities which engage all pupils?
Effective governance also requires:
Governors with a good mix of skills,
Knowledge and experience, and with a strong commitment to the school and its pupils,
who are able to work together in a way that reflects the vision and ethos of the school
Governors with a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and in particular their accountability and the difference between the role in strategic rather than operational decision-making
Good communications and meetings that are well organised and where everyone can contribute and be heard
A shared workload so that the governing body acts as a corporate body
A good relationship between governors and the headteacher and school leadership team;
The chair and headteacher should model this effective relationship
A chair of a governing body of a maintained school needs to be familiar with A Guide to the Law for School Governors (DfE, updated 2011).
Chairs of academies must be familiar with the corresponding law for academies, and the academy’s own funding agreement and articles of association.
Taken from http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors Chairs of Governors Booklet
Friday, 7 October 2011
National College: The Role of Chair
Being a chair of governors is an extremely worthwhile role, yet at times it can be very demanding. To be effective, you need a good understanding of the role and its responsibilities so that your school gains maximum benefit from the work that you do. You also need to ensure that all governors understand the role and responsibilities of the governing body, which can vary slightly depending on the type of school such as voluntary aided, foundation, academy, multi-academy or federation.
The key roles of the chair outlined below which I will explore in more details over the next week on this blog.
Leading effective governance
Giving the governing body a clear lead and direction, ensuring that the governors work as an effective team and understand their accountability and the part they play in the strategic leadership of the school and in driving school improvement.
Building the team
Attracting governors with the necessary skills and ensuring that tasks are delegated across the governing body so that all members contribute, feel that their individual skills, knowledge and experience are well used and that the overall workload is shared.
Relationship with the Headteacher
Being a critical friend by offering support, challenge and encouragement, and ensuring the headteacher’s performance management is rigorous and robust; a good comparison is with the role of the chair of a board of trustees who works with the chief executive of an organisation but does not run day-to-day operations.
Taken from the National College Booklet http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors
The key roles of the chair outlined below which I will explore in more details over the next week on this blog.
Leading effective governance
Giving the governing body a clear lead and direction, ensuring that the governors work as an effective team and understand their accountability and the part they play in the strategic leadership of the school and in driving school improvement.
Building the team
Attracting governors with the necessary skills and ensuring that tasks are delegated across the governing body so that all members contribute, feel that their individual skills, knowledge and experience are well used and that the overall workload is shared.
Relationship with the Headteacher
Being a critical friend by offering support, challenge and encouragement, and ensuring the headteacher’s performance management is rigorous and robust; a good comparison is with the role of the chair of a board of trustees who works with the chief executive of an organisation but does not run day-to-day operations.
Taken from the National College Booklet http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/chairsofgovernors
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