What makes a governing body excellent? Gillian Allcroft Deputy Chief Executive National Governance Association

NGA is a membership organisation NGA is an independent charity representing and supporting governors and trustees in maintained schools and academies in England Our charitable aim is to improve outcomes for pupils by the promotion of high standards in schools and improving the effectiveness of governing boards We do this by providing expert and tailored information, guidance and advice, training, consultancy, and challenge STANDARD governing board £85 GOLD governing board £260 www.nga.org.uk/join © NGA 2017

Why is governance so important? Governance determines who has the power, who makes the decisions, how other players make their voice heard and how account is rendered Institute on Governance, Canada And of course school governance is all about achieving the purpose i.e. making a difference for pupils

Effective governance – the basics The three core functions The eight elements of effective governance Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction The right people round the table Holding the executive to account Understanding role and responsibilities for the educational performance Good chairing of the trust and its pupils, and the performance management of staff Professional clerking Overseeing the financial Good relationships based on trust performance of the trust Knowing your schools and making sure its money is well spent Committed to asking challenging questions Confident to have courageous conversations in the interests of the children and young people

DfE’s Competency Framework for Governance 16 competencies grouped under the ‘six features of effective governance’ some skills or knowledge that the DfE thinks everyone on the board needs to have, and others that the chair or ‘at least someone’ on the board will need to have. In all there are 200 aspects to the framework More emphasis on risk assessment But don’t be daunted

Don’t panic: it’s not a checklist Sir David Carter‏ agreed with us: @Carter6D Jan 12 “Governance Competency Framework is a guide & tool for evaluation to build stronger governance. Not a checklist!” Keep doing what you should have been doing: a skills audit of the board and recruit to the gaps identified NGA has two updated model skills audits, the second for MATs Do not give this to potential recruits: much better to give the role description and expectations

What do you need to do to make a difference? The right people: commitment & competence The right culture - Ethical governance & leadership: values & ethos The right strategy The right structures & processes The right measures Understanding of what good looks like

Governance in the public sector Boards are the guardians of the organisation’s vision, ethos and values: ‘No crooks; no cronies; no cowards’ The Tyson report, 2003

Understanding your role and responsibilities Role description Induction Expenses Code of conduct Training Access to independent advice Performance reviews for governors 360 degree review for the chair Regular reviews of the work of the board 9

Induction guides Members: £6 Non-members: £12 GOLD members receive a complimentary pack Members can also take advantage of discounts of up to 50% Additional discounts are available on bulk orders

Current Challenges Identified in the NGA/TES annual survey 2017 - over 5300 respondents Funding The amount of change, including assessment Structures; academisation & groups of schools Staff welfare and retention Retaining a broad & balanced curriculum Recruiting & retaining governors

Discuss What are the governance challenges in your mission to improve education in your school/trust?

Being strategic

Being strategic The board determines the vision and ethos … and a strategy for achieving this The vision describe the sort of school we want to be in three to five years time Boards do this by: Setting goals and agreeing the school’s development priorities For each priority setting targets or key performance indicators (KPIs) for the short and longer term Structuring most of the board's business towards monitoring progress against these At the end of the year, formally reviewing and evaluating the strategy

Discussion 1. Does your school / trust have a strategy containing its vision and strategic priorities to get there? 2. Who was involved in formulating the strategy? Were all staff? Were pupils & parents? Does everyone know and own it? 3. If you are governing at Local governing body/Academy committee level in a MAT how is the vision communicated to you?

Turning vision into reality Core function of the Governing Board: Setting vision, values, ethos and strategic direction, and ensuring a culture which will deliver that strategy But are we good at it? How do we do that? Do we measure what we value? This guide published in January 2015 Being updated in 2017

Framework for strategy development Senior staff Board Strategy origination Strategy approval Monitoring Review and amendment Framework for strategy development Source: Caroline Copeman, 2011 Strategy implementation

Balancing being strategic with ensuring compliance Consider which compliance matters can be reported (and the use of pro-forma reporting to ensure all information is captured each term in a consistent format) Build compliance into the board annual meeting plan and delegate e.g. financial matters being dealt with by the Finance Committee Plan some governor/trustee visits for monitoring e.g. understanding how safeguarding policies are implemented Remember that checking compliance is considered to be ‘easier’ than being strategic

What you need to know

Ensuring robust accountability In order to be able to hold the school(s) to account the governing board needs to know its school(s) … Brainstorm How do you get to know your school(s)? Can you list 10 information sources?

Knowing your organisation Visits to school(s) School / organisation policies Learning walks Quality of teaching, staff training and CPD Website In year tracking data Subject leaders / heads of year presentations Senior executive leader reports Attendance at events Answers to questions at board meetings Pupil, staff and parent surveys Newsletters Reports from external advisors and consultants ASP DfE performance tables Fischer Family Trust Self evaluation documentation Improvement plans Reports from board members on training and networking School’s vision and strategy document with key priorities Information on staff pay progression/ performance management Ofsted inspection reports

The concept of triangulation Reports from senior executive leaders What you see with your own eyes Reports from trusted third parties

What sort of board are you? Support Headteacher’s fan club Partners Abdicators Adversaries Partners Challenge Challenge Support

Governance making an impact

outcomes for pupils are positive Effective governance Distinguish when you are governing and when you are volunteering in another capacity Use your time to best effect – focus on the key school priorities, not just compliance Ensure the school improvement plan’s priorities are the same as those in the strategy with high level targets / KPIs and measurable milestones against which the board can monitor progress Check that school leaders are equipped to do their jobs (including HR, procurement, H&S) to avoid operational support from the board Do not do someone else’s job: see the joint statement “What governing bodies should expect from school leaders and what school leaders should expect from governing bodies” Targets are met and outcomes for pupils are positive

Reviewing governance Development of clerking, including CPD Reduce the paperwork: streamline agendas Maximum: two committee structure for a single school All-party parliamentary group on education governance & leadership: 20 questions for a Governing Board to ask itself 21 questions for a MAT board of trustees to ask itself NGA has an on-line self evaluation tool with Evalu8 “This is how we do it here”: just because you have always done it this way does not make it the best way Visit other governing boards in action, and consider peer reviews: facilitation Free support from National Leaders of Governance External reviews of governance: is your consultant quality assured? More information: Clare.Collins@nga.org.uk

Reflection Understanding roles and responsibilities … are there any areas for development for your governing board? One thing you are confident about One thing you’d like to know more about