Clare Collins

Chair

National Governors’ Association

Gloucestershire Governors’ Association

Open Meeting

7th March 2011

GB Responsibilities(2002 Education Act)

The Governing Body is the school’s accountable body

Core responsibilities for GB’s have not changed

The GB is responsible for the conduct of the school

The GB must work to promote high standards

White Paper The importance of teaching

• School governors are the unsung heroes of our education system .... To date, governors have not received the recognition, support or attention that they deserve. We will put that right.

• The time and expertise of governors needs to be better respected and deployed.

• Sometimes GBs lack the information or training to challenge effectively and support the senior leadership of a school to improve.

• We will work with the NGA and others to clarify GB accountabilities and responsibilities to focus more strongly on strategic direction.

• Encourage schools to appoint trained clerks.

• Give governors easier access to data about how their school compares to others.

• GBs benefit from having people with business or management experience as members......we will encourage business people and professionals to volunteer as governors. 

• National College will offer high-quality training for chairs of governors.

• Many successful schools have smaller GBs with individuals drawn from the community, such as parents, businesses, local government and the voluntary sector.

• We will legislate … so that from early 2012 all schools can establish smaller governing bodies with appointments primarily focused on skills.

• Ensure a minimum of two parent governors.

Lord Hill at NGA’s Annual Conference

‘the most important decision-making group in any school is the governing body’.

‘governing bodies should set the overall strategic direction of a school, hold the headteacher to account and have a relentless focus on driving up standards – but not get dragged into micro-managing the school or the minutiae of its day-to-day activities’.

‘we need to ensure that governing bodies have the best possible people, with the right mix of skills and expertise, rather than just because they are there wearing a particular hat’

‘all schools are different and need different things at different stages of their development – so school governance needs to be more flexible’.

‘an energetic and sustained attack on the culture of guidance and paperwork … if you are serious about trusting people, you have to start trusting them’.

‘we need – even in these straitened times – to find ways of supporting governors, especially chairs of governors, including by providing access to high-quality training and also making it easier to see a wide range of information and data about the performance of local schools’.

Government Position to date

• More local decision making, less prescription

• Academies Act 2010:– no maximum size for GBs– more flexibility on numbers for difference categories– elections for at least two parent governors

• Education Bill sets the framework for maintained schools to have the same flexibility:– Regulations will follow and changes to composition of governing bodies

will be possible from Sept 2012

• Reducing bureaucracy: less guidance

• DfE wants to communicate with governors but ...

Current Challenges 1

Changing Landscape of Provision

• Fractured marketplace:Community schools / foundation schools / VA and VC schoolsAcademies

Type 1 - replacing failing schoolsType 2 - new convertersType 3 - free schools

Chains (Ark, ULT, Grace), federations, collaborations, partnerships

• The role of the local authority – scope, commissioner/provider models of working, funding pressures

• Competition from alternative providers

• Deregulation – reduction in bureaucracy

Current Challenges 2

Focus on Accountability

• Standards:Globalisation – international comparisons, workforce requirements

Expectations and entitlement – pupil, parent, employers, government

Evidence – multiple data sources including CVA

• Resources:Declining budgets and focus on value for money Increased SEN and behavioural issues

• Compliance:Employer responsibilities – employment, equalities and H&S lawsSafeguarding and child protection legislationSchool specific legislation - SEN, EYFS, community cohesion

• Autonomous schools:Intelligent accountability – role of self evaluation, LAs, Ofsted

Current Challenges 3

Time and Skills, Status and Recognition • Complexity of role means that more governors with specific skills (e.g.

finance, HR, data analysis, relationships) are required

• Those with skills are likely to be highly sought after and therefore have less time to offer

• Volunteering can lack of status (there is a duty for employers to allow time off, but not paid time off) and large numbers of GBs do not have professional clerks or policies for paying expenses

• There is limited recognition of GB responsibilities from schools, LAs, National College, government

• Insurance – LA vs. bespoke

NGA’s View

• Governance is not ‘broken’

• Ofsted

• Draw on the best features of so-called ‘business’ model and ‘stakeholder’ model

• Good clerking is crucial

• Need to ensure strategic focus

• Need to relinquish things we might like doing but which are not strategic

• Need to ensure school leaders are equipped to do their jobs, including HR

A good GB understands the importance of:

• A good chair: NGA’s ‘Chair’s Handbook’

• A good clerk: NGA’s ‘Welcome to Clerking’

• A Code of Practice (adopted and signed annually), role descriptions, constitution, protocols

• A mix of skills to tackle the complexity of the role – finance, data, HR, H&S, compliance: undertake a skills audit and recruit

• Appropriate delegation and committee structure

• Relationships based on trust and respect, collective responsibility and confidentiality

• Setting the agenda and finding the information

• Understanding of the role – the strategic focus

• High aspirations – standards and expectations, national and international comparators

• Commitment to their own development and training (and maybe allocating some resources?)

• Collaboration and working in partnership

• Listening to parents and carers

• Accountability: reporting to the community

• Reviews its own effectiveness

– e.g. GovernorMark, Target Tracker, ‘a’ SEF

• Succession planning

• A membership organisation representing the voice of school governors in England at national and regional level

• We aim to improve the effectiveness of governing bodies by providing expert and tailored information and advice

• We represent governors from all state funded schools, including Academies

Aims:

To improve the well-being of children and young people by promoting high standards in all our schools,

and improving the effectiveness of their governing bodies.

We do this by:

1. Providing information, advice and training to Governors – EXPERT

2. Ensuring the voices of Governors are heard – REPRESENTATIVE

3. Being recognised as the leading organisation on school governance, exercising influence through high quality policy publications and communications, and through appropriate partnerships – INFLUENTIAL

Join us Standard GB membership £60

GOLD GB membership £250

www.nga.org.uk

governorhq@nga.org.uk

0121 237 3780