1. Induction Module 1 Governor Support Service The National Training Programme for New Governors

2. After completing this module, participants should be able to: 1.understand the main purpose of governance and the role of the governing board 2.define the powers and duties of governing boards 3.identify the key elements of the strategic role including the importance of the school development plan 4.understand the governing board’s role in overseeing the financial performance of the school 5.participate more confidently in governing board meetings and become more effective governors Objectives for module 1

3. The three key roles of governing boards Strategic Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction Hold the Headteacher to account Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils and the performance management of staff. Oversee the financial performance of the school Overseeing financial performance of and making sure money is well spent Module 1 Module 2 2 Module 1

4. The three key roles of governing boards The Schools Causing Concern statutory guidance issued in January 2015 is clear about the importance of these roles: Local authorities should provide tailored support or consider issuing a warning notice, depending on the severity of the case, to maintained schools where the governing board is failing to deliver one or more of its three core strategic roles resulting in a serious breakdown in the way the school is managed or governed. Local authorities should flag up any concerns with regards to Academies with the Regional Commissioner

5. Name Size and category of school Type of governor How long you have been a governor What you want from the session Any concerns about the role Introducing ourselves

6. Categories of governors Parent Staff Co-opted Local authority Foundation Associate member (not a governor!)

7.  Staff and parent governors do not represent the views of staff and parents  They are on the governing board to give a parental /staff perspective to discussions and decisions  They should communicate with staff and parents about issues that arise, but only in so far as is reasonable and proper  When decisions have to be made by the governing board, each staff member and parent governor is free to vote in accordance with his/her own views Representation

8. The core features of effective governance apply at any scale and in any context. They include the importance of the board having: The right people An effective Chair Explicit Code of Conduct Active succession planning Clear governance structures with tightly defined remits Understanding of the strategic role Positive relationships Support and advice of an independent and professional Clerk (and in the case of Academies a Company Secretary) Robust processes for financial and business planning Processes for regular self-evaluation, review and improvement Governance Handbook, November 2015 Effective Governance

9. The purpose of governance is the same for any category of school: The governing board has a general responsibility for the conduct of the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement 1 However the responsibilities are slightly different depending on the category of school 1 DfE: Roles and responsibilities of school governors April 2012 http://www.education.gov.uk/a0056694/categories-and-roles-of-school-governors The main purpose of governance and the role of the governing board

10. Categories of schools Community Voluntary controlled (Church of England) Voluntary aided (VA) Foundation with a foundation (Trust) Foundation (without a foundation) Academy/Free school (Through school is a school with a certain age range e.g. 0 to 19)

11. ᵃ While the LA employs the staff, the governing board undertakes employer responsibility ᵇ In most cases the charitable foundation owns some or all of the land ᶜ Usually a charitable foundation owns the land and buildings ᵈ With a foundation – land and buildings are usually owned by a charitable foundation. Without a foundation – the governing body owns the land and buildings ᵉ An exempt charity is one that is not regulated by, and cannot be registered with, the Charity Commission Additional functions and responsibilities according to category Voluntary- controlled Voluntary- aided CommunityFoundation Academy/ Free School Trust Admissions Authority NoYesNoYes Employer of staff No ᵃYesNo ᵃYes Owner of land and buildings No ᵇNo ᶜNo Yes (usually) ᵈ No ᶜ In certain cases Revenue funding Local Authority Secretary of State Charitable status Exempt Charity ᵉ Exempt Charity ᵉ NoExempt Charity ᵉ NoExempt Charity ᵉ

12. n Authority rests with the whole governing board n Collective responsibility should be taken for the outcomes n How individual governors vote is confidential n The chair can act in an emergency, but must inform the whole governing board at the earliest opportunity Corporate responsibility

13. Boards are legally responsible for the conduct of the school. However, individual governors are generally protected from personal liability. Provided they act honestly, reasonably and in good faith, any liability will fall on the board even if it exceeds its powers, rather than on individual members. Governance Handbook, November 2015 Personal Liability

14. Card sort activity 2 2. Powers and duties of governing boards Powers and duties of the governing body

15. Is responsible for the educational performance of the school Is responsible for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, which includes performance management of staff Senior leaders are accountable for the operational day to day running of the school. Should welcome strong governance and actively support their board to understand its role and deliver its core functions effectively Should welcome and enable appropriately robust challenge by providing any data the board requests and responding positively to searching questions. The headteacher

16. These include: Policies - deciding how, in broad strategic terms the school should be run Targets Although there are no longer any statutory targets, governors may wish to consider setting appropriate targets for pupil achievement, attendance and behaviour. Curriculum Governing boards in maintained schools should reassure themselves that enough teaching time is provided to cover the national curriculum and other statutory requirements Academies do not have to follow the national curriculum. They are bound by their funding agreement to teach a broad and balanced curriculum to the age of 16. This must include English, mathematics and science in mainstream academies. Governing board’s powers and duties

17. Finance - In Academies how the budget is spent is determined by the Financial Handbook and their funding agreement. In other schools the governing boards determine how to spend the budget allocated to the school and will need to ensure that the School Financial Value Standard is met by 31 March each year Staffing - deciding the number of staff, the pay policy and making decisions on staff pay, performance management. The Executive Board would usually have responsibility for this in an Academy Appointments - appointing the headteacher and deputy headteacher (and other staff unless this is delegated). The Executive Board would usually have responsibility for this in an Academy Discipline - agreeing procedures for staff conduct and discipline Parents - The governing board has a duty to have regards to the views of parents and should reassure themselves that mechanisms are in place for parents to put forward their views Raising Aspirations – governors should seek to assist their school to build relationships with businesses and other employers, in order to enhance the education and raise the aspirations of pupils. Powers and duties

18. ‘Safeguarding’ is: Protecting children from maltreatment Preventing impairment of health or development Ensuring children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care Taking action to enable all children to have the best possible outcomes ‘ Child Protection’ is: A part of safeguarding and promoting welfare Refers to the activity that is undertaken to protect specific children who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm Powers and duties - safeguarding

19. Keeping children safe in education – July 2015 Part one: Safeguarding information for all staff Part two: The management of safeguarding □ The responsibility of governing bodies and proprietors Part three: Safer Recruitment Part four: Allegations of abuse made against teachers and other staff Powers and duties - safeguarding

20. The governing board does not: Have a role in dealing with individual cases Have a right to know the details of individual cases (unless it is in relation to an allegation against the Headteacher, in which case the Chair of Governors should lead on this matter) Powers and duties - safeguarding

21. Confidentiality Use of any other business (AOB) Academies – notice of meetings individually set out in Articles of Association/ Scheme of delegation Other schools at least 7 days notice of a meeting with a minimum of 3 meetings a year Agendas, minutes and papers sent in advance Same rules for committees Quorum Academies (see Articles), others 50% rounded up Quorum committees – 3 governors or associate members, but governors must outnumber associate members Working parties Associate Members Meetings: Organisation and procedure

22. n A governing board/Academy Trust can delegate the majority of its functions to a committee, a governor or to the head teacher, see Terms of Reference or Scheme of Delegation n The governing board/Academy Trust must review the delegation of functions annually n Each governing board remains accountable for any decisions taken including those delegated to a committee or an individual n Committees or panels can be established for purposes such as exclusions, disciplinary matters or complaints to which non- board members can be appointed, and /or a committee may be established as a joint committee with another school Delegation

23. Committees Most governing boards have a committee structure. The governing board makes its own decisions about how best to conduct its business and there are no rules about what committees there should be. Activity 3 Further training: Effective committees

24. professional leadership and management shared vision and goals explicit high expectations pupil rights and responsibilities positive reinforcement home - school partnership concentration on teaching and learning purposeful teaching with awareness of differentiation, different learning styles and targeting different groups of children a learning environment in which pupils are able and willing to learn Monitoring and evaluating progress A learning organisation Governing bodies and effective schools – Michael Barber for DfE Features of effective schools

25. Each year all maintained schools must complete the Schools Financial Values Standard (SFVS). The purpose of this is to support schools in achieving value for money and to give assurances that secure financial management is in place. Maintained schools can benchmark their spending through the DfE performance tables. http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance DfE performance tables http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance Academies: Must comply with the Financial Handbook for Academies and their funding agreement. The EFA’s toolkit for schools provides information for Academy Trusts about the support available to improve efficiency including a new financial benchmarking website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools- financial-health-and-efficiencyhttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools- financial-health-and-efficiency Overseeing the financial performance of the school

26. Governing boards are responsible for making sure their school’s money is well spent. The funding system for maintained schools is based on the dedicated schools grant (DSG), based on pupil numbers and the pupil premium. The local authority determines, in consultation with the schools they maintain, how the DSG is allocated. A small amount of the funding is retained for local authority functions. Each local authority must elect a Schools Forum which advises on the operation of the local schools budget. Academies – funding does not go through the local authority but direct from the Department for Education. Overseeing the financial performance of the school

27. Governing boards need to demonstrate that they are applying the four principles of best value in their management and allocation of resources: Compare – how a school’s performance compares with that of other schools Challenge – whether the school’s performance is high enough and why and how a service is being provided Compete – how the school secures economic, efficient and effective services Consult – seeking the views of stakeholders about the services provided Overseeing the financial performance of the school

28. The strategic role The board should ensure that the school has a clear vision which it may be helpful to articulate in a specific vision statement which should include: – Ambitions for current and future pupils -Ambitions for the school’s relationship with other schools The vision for the school will feed into the school’s priorities and the details of all the actions which will drive school improvement should be contained within a School Improvement Plan/School Development Plan For Multi-Academy Trusts the vision should set out the level of ambition they have for future growth

29. Governors help shape the vision for the school through setting an ethos of: – high expectations for behaviour, progress and attainment of all pupils and the conduct and professionalism of both staff and governors - promoting fundamental British Values The ethos should be embedded in school policy and practice and ensure there are effective risk assessments in place to safeguard and promote students’ welfare The strategic role

30. Questions to ask n How are we doing? n How do we know? n Are we meeting statutory requirements? n How can we do better? n How can we get from where we are to where we want to be? n What are the key priorities? n Have we got the resources to do it? n Who is responsible for doing what and by when? n How will we know if we have achieved our goals? Planning for improvement

31. n State the agreed values, aims and objectives for the school n Focus on raising standards of educational achievement n Are shared and understood by all concerned with the school n Take into account local and national trends and initiatives that might impact on the school e.g. Partnership work n Are derived from rigorous self evaluation and drive the governing body agenda and performance management Effective school development plans

32. n Have Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and Time limited (SMART) targets n Have named people responsible for action n Have explicit links to the school budget n Identify training and support needs n State the evidence that will demonstrate success n Milestones to monitor impact are clearly identified n Make clear how, when and by whom progress will be monitored and evaluated Effective school development plans

34. The governors’ role in monitoring School performance data School visits Accountability including Ofsted The Headteacher’s report Next module