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SCHOOL GOVERNANCE POLICY

POLICY FOLDER: COMPANY & GENERAL

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Document Type Policy Version Number 2 Page 1 of 18

Policy Owner Head of Service – Greater London Last Review Date August 2018

Date First Issued 01.05.2018 Next Review Date At least annually

CONTENTS Page

1.0 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................... 1

2.0 LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE ................................................................................................................ 1

3.0 THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNANCE .......................................................................................................... 2

4.0 THE KEY FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE ......................................................................... 2

5.0 STRUCTURES OF GOVERNANCE IN OUR SCHOOLS ......................................................................... 3

6.0 OUTCOMES FIRST GROUP SCHOOL GOVERNANCE MODEL........................................................... 5

7.0 CHALLENGE AND SUPPORT VISITS ...................................................................................................... 5

APPENDIX 1 – ACCOUNTABILITY OF SCHOOL LEADERS ............................................................................. 7

APPENDIX 2 – INSPECTION CRITERIA ............................................................................................................... 8

APPENDIX 3 – GOVERNOR SELF-ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................... 10

APPENDIX 4 – POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR GOVERNORS FROM OFSTED ............................................. 13

APPENDIX 5 – GOVERNOR TRAINING OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 18

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The governance of the Outcomes First Group Schools is in place to ensure the over-arching organisation structures in place to underpin the operation and day to day leadership and management of each of our schools. This is to ensure that the schools are fully compliant with legislative and regulatory requirements. All of the Outcomes First Group Schools are registered as independent schools, all of which must fully comply with the Independent School Standards - Section 109 of the Education Act 2008 which comprises of 8 key elements: • Part 1: The quality of the education provided; • Part 2: The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils; • Part 3: The welfare, health and safety of pupils; • Part 4: The suitability of staff, supply staff and Proprietors; • Part 5: The premises and accommodation; • Part 6: The provision of information; and • Part 7: The manner in which complaints are handled. • Part 8: The quality of Leadership and Management (inclusive of Governance) Implementation: It is the responsibility of line managers to ensure that staff members are aware of and understand this policy and any subsequent revisions. Compliance: This policy complies with all relevant regulations and other legislation as detailed in the Compliance with Regulations & Legislation Statement. 2.0 LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE

Independent School Standards - Section 109 of the Education Act 2008

Non-association independent school inspection handbook - Ofsted April 2018



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Governance Handbook - DfE January 2017

A Competency Framework for Governance – DfE January 2017

3.0 THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNANCE

The purpose of governance is to provide confident, strategic leadership and to create robust accountability, oversight and assurance for educational and financial performance. All boards have three core functions: 1.0 Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction; 2.0 Holding the Head Teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils,

and the performance management of staff; and 3.0 Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent. (Governance Handbook – DfE January 2017) 4.0 THE KEY FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE

Effective governance is based on six key features:

Core pillars of the board’s role and purpose

Strategic leadership That sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy

Accountability That drives up educational standards and financial performance

The way in which governance is organised

People With the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity

Structures That reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities

Ensuring and improving the quality of governance

Compliance With statutory and contractual requirements

Evaluation To monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance



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5.0 STRUCTURES OF GOVERNANCE IN OUR SCHOOLS

Accountability is essential in the effective and compliant running of our schools. Our governance structures determine the responsibilities of the individuals who make up the Governing Body and those working directly within each school, all of whom are accountable in terms of legal and regulatory compliance, and also for its overall standards of performance as an educational establishment. For these reasons, governance of each individual school will be determined by the organisation and educational leaders to ensure that it is appropriate and in accordance with the level of need of the school, regulatory compliance, level of risk and patterns and trends identified through reporting tools. Each school will take into account the Competency Framework for Governance – DfE 2017 to ensure that their governors possess the right skills and competences required.

Residential Schools Day Schools Day Schools with Satellite Homes

Head of Service/Regional Manager

Headteacher

Clinical Lead

Head of Care/Operations Manager

Deputy Headteacher

Challenge and Support Governor

Outcomes First Group Governor

Clerk

Head of Service (Chair)

Headteacher

Deputy Headteacher

Clinical Lead



Clerk

Regional Manager

Headteacher

Home Managers

Clinical Lead



Clerk

Head Teacher

Chair

Clerk (Recording of

minutes, actions)

Parent/Pupil View

Outcomes First Group

Governor

Organisational Stakeholders

Challenge and Support

Governor



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Schools may also have an additional Governor who is external to the school/company. Schools will publish details of the members of their Governing body on the school’s website. On all Governing bodies there will be one Governor who has specific responsibility for Safeguarding (including PREVENT). Other Governors will have specific responsibilities for areas such as Headteacher Performance Management, Teaching & Learning, SEND/LAC, Personal development, behaviour and welfare, Health and Safety and Curriculum. The principles and personal attributes that individuals bring to the board are as important as their skills and knowledge. These qualities enable board members to use their skills and knowledge to function well as part of a team and make an active contribution to effective governance. All Governors who sit on the Governing bodies of our Schools should fulfil their duties in line with the seven principles of public life (the Nolan principles). They should also be mindful of their responsibilities under equality legislation, recognising and encouraging diversity and inclusion. They should understand the impact of effective governance on the quality of education and on outcomes for all children and young people. In addition, all those involved in governance should be:

Committed Devoting the required time and energy to the role and ambitious to achieve best possible outcomes for young people. Prepared to give time, skills and knowledge to developing themselves and others in order to create highly effective governance.

Confident Of an independent mind, able to lead and contribute to courageous conversations, to express their opinion and to play an active role on the board.

Curious Possessing an enquiring mind and an analytical approach and understanding the value of meaningful questioning.

Challenging Providing appropriate challenge to the status quo, not taking information or data at face value and always driving for improvement.

Collaborative Prepared to listen to and work in partnership with others and understanding the importance of building strong working relationships within the board and with executive leaders, staff, parents and carers, pupils/students, the local community and employers.

Critical Understanding the value of critical friendship which enables both challenge and support, and self-reflective, pursuing learning and development opportunities to improve their own and whole board effectiveness.

Creative Able to challenge conventional wisdom and be open-minded about new approaches to problem-solving; recognising the value of innovation and creative thinking to organisational development and success.

All governors will be provided with induction and ongoing training which will be facilitated by the SLT of the school they are a governor at (Appendix 5). This will include safeguarding training (including Prevent) for the Governor with this specific responsibility. Governors in all Outcomes First Group Schools are required to attend 3 Governors meetings per year and conduct additional visits to the school throughout the year. They will also be asked to meet with the inspector during any regulatory body inspection and attend the inspection feedback meeting at the end of the inspection.



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6.0 OUTCOMES FIRST GROUP SCHOOL GOVERNANCE MODEL

Frequency Meeting/Report

Weekly Remote monitoring using Info Exchange/Dashboard by Head of Service/Regional Manager

Monthly Monthly Report to Head of Service/Regional Manager sent by Head Teacher to Head of Service/Regional Manager, followed up in SLT meetings (suggested template

Monthly Report to Head of Service/RM)

Termly (3 times/year)

Governance report from Head Teacher (See Termly Governance Report)


Governance meeting (See Governing Body Meeting Agenda) including Safeguarding Review (See Safeguarding Review for Completion by Managers)


Challenge and Support Visit and Report (See Challenge and Support Visit Report)


School Improvement Partner Visit and Report

Ongoing Each site will need to set up a Governance monitoring file in which to keep reports for the current academic year only (archived annually)

7.0 CHALLENGE AND SUPPORT VISITS

The Challenge and Support visit model is an improvement approach for all of the Schools within Outcomes First Group. It is designed to encourage innovation and support the drive for improved standards across all of the schools that are part of the Outcomes First Group. It is intended that it will enhance the existing governance model that is currently in place.

The aims of the visits are to:

establish a distinctive approach to provider-to-provider support;

adopt an approach to improvement that provides external support and challenge to all schools;

embed an ambition of high aspiration and outstanding outcomes for all the children and young

people in the schools in the region.

Organisation Schools from the Options and Hillcrest Divisions of Outcomes First Group are paired together. A member of SMT from each of the paired schools will be identified to become a Challenge and Support Governor for the other school. Each Challenge and Support Governor will visit the school they are paired with termly (3 times per year) to provide external support and challenge and to identify strengths, vulnerabilities and support needs. Each visit results in a short report with a copy sent to the Headteacher, the Head of Services/Regional Manager and the School Improvement Partner (See Challenge and Support Visit Report).



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Additionally each Challenge and Support Governor will attend the Governors Meeting at the other school 3 times per year.

All members of the Governing body should conduct Challenge and Support visits to the school on at least an annual basis. This will enable all governors to see for themselves:

How the school is implementing policies and procedures

The effect that these are having in practice

It also gives governors an opportunity to speak to pupils, staff and parents to gather their views.

Where possible Governors should also complete a Challenge and Support Visit Report following their visit. All schools will have a separate Governor signing in book for Governors to sign on arrival.

- Hillingdon Manor School

- Jubilee School

-Options Higford

-Shifnal School

-Baston House School

-Slinfold School

-Options Barton

-Glebedale School

-Options Kinsale -New Barn School

- Options Trent Acres -Park School



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APPENDIX 1 – ACCOUNTABILITY OF SCHOOL LEADERS

Key Questions for Governors to ask: Teaching and Learning Which groups of pupils are the highest and lowest performing, and why? Do school leaders have credible plans for addressing underperformance or less than expected progress? How will we know that things are improving?

How is the school going to raise standards for all children, including the most and least able, those with special educational needs, those receiving free school meals, boys and girls, those of a particular ethnicity, and any who are currently underachieving?

Which year groups or subjects get the best and worst results and why? How does this relate to the quality of teaching across the school? What is the strategy for improving the areas of weakest performance?

Careers

Is the school adequately engaged with the world of work and preparing their pupils for adult life, including knowing where pupils go when they leave?

How is this measured? How do you know that pupils are well prepared? Data?

Safeguarding

How is the school ensuring that it keeps pupils safe from, and building their resilience to, the risks of extremism and radicalisation? What arrangements are in place to ensure that staff understand and are implementing the Prevent duty?

To what extent is this a happy school with a positive learning culture? What is the school’s record on attendance, behaviour and bullying? Are safeguarding procedures securely in place? What is being done to address any current issues, and how will it know if it is working?

Staffing

Are senior leaders including (where appropriate) the chief executive and finance director getting appropriate continuous professional development?

Does the school have the right staff and the right development and reward arrangements? What is the school’s approach to implementation of pay reform and performance related pay? If appropriate, is it compliant with the most up to date version of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document? How is the school planning to ensure it continues to have the right staff?

How is pupil premium being spent and what is the impact?

Are teachers and support staff being used as effectively and efficiently as possible and in line with evidence and guidance?

How good is the school’s wider offer to pupils? Is the school offering a good range of sports, arts and voluntary activities? Is school food healthy and popular?

Is the school encouraging the development of healthy, active lifestyles by using the PE and sport premium for primary schools to fund additional and sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport?

Parent and Pupil Voice

How effectively does the school listen to the views of pupils and parents?



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APPENDIX 2 – INSPECTION CRITERIA

Inspectors will:

Establish what the governance structure of the school is, and make arrangements for a meeting with

the proprietor, chair of governors and as many governors as possible, and/or representatives of those

responsible for governance, and request that as many governors as possible are also present at the

final feedback meeting

Expect to see documented evidence of the work of the proprietor and/or governors and their impact

Visit lessons to gather evidence about teaching, learning and assessment and will consider this first-

hand evidence alongside documentary evidence about the quality of teaching and views from leaders,

governors, staff, pupils and parents.

Will always seek to meet with proprietors and governors (if the school has them) during the course of

the inspection.

Evaluate the contribution of the proprietor and/or governors to the school’s performance as part of the

judgement on effectiveness of leadership and management. As with the meetings between inspectors

and pupils, parents and staff, meetings with the proprietor and/or governors should take place without

the presence of the Head Teacher or senior staff.

Consider how leaders ensure that the school has a motivated, respected and effective teaching staff

to deliver a high quality education for all pupils, and how effectively governors hold them to account

for this

Sources of Evidence

Inspectors will obtain a range of evidence from meetings with leaders and governors and first-hand

evidence of their work across the school. Inspectors will use documentary evidence provided by the

school, evaluating the impact of leaders’ and governors’ work, both currently and over time, in

conjunction with first-hand evidence. Responses to the staff questionnaire and Parent View will also

provide useful evidence for judging the culture that has been established in the school by leaders and

managers.

Teaching and Learning How well assessment information from leaders provides governors with sufficient and accurate information to ask probing questions about outcomes for pupils. Outstanding Criteria – Leadership and Management (September 2016)

Leaders and governors have created a culture that enables pupils and staff to excel. They are

committed unwaveringly to setting high expectations for the conduct of pupils and staff.

Relationships between staff and pupils are exemplary.

Leaders and governors focus on consistently improving outcomes for all pupils, but especially for

disadvantaged pupils. They are uncompromising in their ambition.

The school’s actions have secured substantial improvement in progress for disadvantaged pupils.

Progress is rising across the curriculum, including in English and mathematics.



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Governors systematically challenge senior leaders so that the effective deployment of staff and

resources, including special educational needs (SEN) funding, secures excellent outcomes for

pupils. Governors do not shy away from challenging leaders about variations in outcomes for pupil

groups, especially between disadvantaged and other pupils.

Leaders and governors have a deep, accurate understanding of the school’s effectiveness informed

by the views of pupils, parents and staff. They use this to keep the school improving by focusing on

the impact of their actions in key areas.

Leaders and governors use incisive performance management that leads to professional

development that encourages, challenges and supports teachers’ improvement. Teaching is highly

effective across the school.



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APPENDIX 3 – GOVERNOR SELF-ASSESSMENT

You should use this understanding of the school to decide which questions you should ask to support and challenge the SLT. For each of the 4 areas, you could consider the following questions:

What are our key priorities in this area, according to Ofsted and according to our own self-evaluation?

What needs to change over the next term/year?

What plans do we have in place to ensure that these changes occur?

Do the plans clearly state the impact we would expect these actions to have, and by when?

Effectiveness of leadership and management Assessment information and analysis

Do we receive the right assessment information to gauge the performance of the school?

How well do we understand the school's assessment information (data)?

How do we use this information to inform strategic priorities?

Curriculum

What information do we receive about the curricular provision in the school?

Does provision meet the full range of needs in the school? How do we find out?

Are we up to date on the policies we need to have in place?

Equality of opportunity

Do we have an equal opportunities policy in place?

How do we check its effectiveness?

Performance management

How is performance managed in the school? What is its impact?

How do we know this is robust?

How do we ensure our performance management of the headteacher is robust and in line with the school’s priorities?

Strategic priorities of the school

What are our strategic priorities?

How have these priorities been set?

How are we involved in the school's self-evaluation? Do we contribute to the school self-evaluation form (SEF)?

Do all stakeholders share our vision for the school? How do we know?

Safeguarding issues



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How do we safeguard our children?

Is what we do effective, and how do we know?

Are we meeting our responsibilities under the Prevent duty?

Vulnerable pupils

How many vulnerable pupils have we identified?

What do we do to ensure the best support and provision is available to vulnerable pupils?

How are vulnerable pupils progressing?

Self-assessment of the governing board

How do we evaluate ourselves as a governing board?

Do we regularly review our own performance?

What are our main priorities for improvement and how will we judge whether we are improving?

Should we consider external support in reviewing our effectiveness?

Self-assessment of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment

What is the quality of teaching in the school at the moment, according to Ofsted and our own self-evaluation?

Are we secure in our judgement? How do we know?

Did senior leaders undertake paired lesson observations with Ofsted? Were the judgements the same?

Did senior leaders undertake book scrutiny with Ofsted? Were the evaluations the same?

Does our external school improvement adviser support the senior leaders’ judgement?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of teaching, learning and assessment in the school, and what is being done to deal with weaknesses?

How would we expect this picture to have changed by next term/the end of year?

Do senior and middle leaders moderate assessments teachers make of pupils' progress and development internally and externally to check the accuracy of assessment information?

Do our teachers get the opportunity to observe teaching, learning and assessment within the school/outside the school?

Personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils: questions Bullying

What is our behaviour policy? How effective is it, and how do we know?

How are bullying, including cyber bullying, incidents reported to governors?

What does the information we have about this tell us about behaviour in the school and the effectiveness of our policies?



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Attendance and punctuality

What is our overall attendance? How punctual are our pupils?

How many persistent absentees (i.e. pupils with under 90% attendance) do we have?

What strategies are in place to support overall levels of attendance and intervention with particular families where there is a specific issue?

Are these strategies effective? How do we know?

Personal development, behaviour and welfare

How good is pupils' personal development? This could refer to their levels of confidence, attitudes to learning, and preparation for their next stages of education, training or employment

How do we know whether pupils feel safe in the school?

How do we gather the views of parents and pupils?

What have we done in response to any concerns raised by pupils and parents about behaviour and safety?

Outcomes for children and learners: questions Pupil progress

How do we know the level of pupils' attainment on joining the school? How secure is this?

What progress would we expect pupils to make during each of the Key Stages?

How do we know whether pupils are making expected progress, or are above/below this?

How do we assess the progress of different groups? Especially disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities?

Are there any groups of pupils who are overperforming/underperforming? What are the reasons for this?

What interventions are we using with underperforming individuals and groups?

Where pupils are doing well, do we know why and are we ensuring that this information is being used by senior leaders to improve areas of underperformance?

What outcomes should we expect to see from the interventions over the next term/year?

Pupil premium funding

How much pupil premium funding do we receive?

How is this funding being spent?

What impact has the pupil premium had on the pupils?

To what extent are gaps between disadvantaged pupils (those attracting the pupil premium) and others closing?

What impact would we expect to see with pupil premium funding over the next term/year?



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APPENDIX 4 – POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FOR GOVERNORS FROM OFSTED

Governors' understanding of their role and the school

What is the governing board’s vision for the school and how is this shared?

Is the overall culture of the school one of high expectations for teaching, learning, pupil behaviour and safety?

Do governors understand the issues the school faces?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the school?

How do governors evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the school?

When was the last review of effectiveness conducted? What strengths and areas for development were identified?

What action was taken to improve where there were weaknesses?

Do governors challenge school leaders well by asking probing questions about pupil outcomes, assessment arrangements, safeguarding procedures, etc.?

What other different sources of information do governors use to find out the views of parents, staff and children?



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Use of funding

Are governors aware of how the school’s finances are being managed or how staff are recruited?

How is the pupil premium funding being spent? How effective is this?

What impact is pupil premium spending having on the achievement and personal development of disadvantaged pupils? How do you know?

How is the additional funding for PE and sports being spent? How effective is this?

What impact is the PE and sports funding having on pupils' fitness and health? How do you know?

Safeguarding

How do you ensure that policies are kept up to date?

How do you ensure that policies are put into practice?

Have you ensured that all staff have read Keeping Children Safe in Education?

How effectively have possible risks to pupil safety, such as female genital mutilation (FGM), radicalisation and sexual exploitation, been addressed in training, policies and procedures?

Pupil achievement

What are the school’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to pupil attainment?



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What are the reasons for these strengths and weaknesses?

What are the school’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to pupil progress?

What are the reasons for these strengths and weaknesses?

Does the governing board address underachievement, and hold the headteacher to account?

Quality of teaching

What do you know about the quality of teaching and how do you know this?

How is good teaching rewarded and underperformance tackled?

How is good and excellent work recognised?

British values

How do governors ensure that pupils are receiving appropriate preparation for life in a diverse and modern Britain?

How well are pupils taught the values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith?

Questions specific to primary schools

How do you know how well early years children are doing?



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How do you use the school’s data on early years pupils?

How is early years pupils' achievement monitored from their baseline attainment on entry?

How has universal free school meals for pupils been implemented?

What has been the impact so far of universal free school meals?

How is the PE and sport premium spent? What is its impact?

How are you involved in decisions about the information on the PE and sport premium spending to go on the school website?

How well is the school doing in the national phonics check for year 1 pupils? Are all groups of pupils achieving equally well? How are disadvantaged pupils being supported?

Questions specific to secondary schools

How is the Key Stage (KS) 4 curriculum being adapted to pupils’ needs?

How does the school manage safeguarding for pupils off-site, such as those on work experience placements?

How is health and safety monitored in workplaces where pupils undertake work experience?



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How well are students in the sixth form performing? What data do you look at to help you monitor sixth-form performance?

What are the retention figures for sixth-form pupils?

Given that there are no national exams or tests at the end of KS3, how do you check on the achievement of pupils in this Key Stage?

How has the school dealt with changes to GCSEs?

Has there been a dip in attainment as a result of the changes to early entries for GCSEs?

How does the school provide careers guidance?

Are there particular subjects in which pupils achieve better or worse than the national averages at KS4?



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APPENDIX 5 – GOVERNOR TRAINING OVERVIEW

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