1. Reviewing the effectiveness of your governing board PaJes Clare Collins NGA Lead Consultant 16 th March 2016

2. © NGA 2015 Welcome and introductions

3. © NGA 2015 NGA is a membership organisation NGA is an independent charity representing governors and trustees in all state funded schools in England, both academies and LA maintained schools. Our aim is to improve the effectiveness of governing boards by providing expert and tailored information, guidance and advice, and challenge when appropriate. Standard Governing Body membership is £77 GOLD Governing Body membership is £260 and includes an advice line

4. © NGA 2015 By the end of this workshop you will … Know why strong governance matters Have discussed the challenges Know what are the options for review Be confident to determine your GB’s review schedule

5. © NGA 2015 Governance matters

6. © NGA 2015 The government Lord Nash Governance Handbook 2015 p.5 ‘Governing boards are the strategic decision makers and vision setters in every school and academy. They play a vital role in ensuring the best possible education for every child by creating robust accountability for school leaders. Crucially, that means using and being familiar with objective data on the performance of pupils, teachers and finances to ask the right questions and ensure resources are allocated to school priorities.’

7. © NGA 2015 Governance responsibilities The governing body shall: ‘conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement’ Section 2 of the Education Act, 2002 Some governing bodies of maintained schools, and all academy boards of trustees, have additional functions and responsibilities. Depending on the category of school, they may own land, act as employers, admission authorities, or boards of charitable trustees and company directors.

8. © NGA 2015 Ofsted’s expectations ‘without strong and effective governance, our schools simply won’t be as good as they can be’ HMCI

9. © NGA 2015 Organisations with strong governance do not fail

10. © NGA 2015 Circumstances when reviewing is required

11. © NGA 2015 Evaluating your effectiveness

12. © NGA 2015 Self evaluation as a management tool Schools are expected to self evaluate and this should include governance Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is the starting point for identifying where to begin with developing the governing body The discipline of a review / development / review cycle leads to incremental improvement

13. © NGA 2015 Discussion Does your school self evaluation include evaluating the effectiveness of the governing board? If not, why not?

14. © NGA 2015 Barriers to self review Don’t know how to go about it Lack of confidence Fear of findings Know the issues but also know that facing up to them will be hard Culture of defensiveness Denial of the need for such things Cynicism about effectiveness Can’t afford it Not enough time

15. © NGA 2015 When should a governance review take place?

16. © NGA 2015 In other words … A light touch annual or bi-annual self review to ensure the governing body is fulfilling its roles and responsibilities effectively –Undertaken in house –Led by the chair / another governor / the clerk Every few years a health check which promotes a step change in governance practice –Using an external governance consultant who can bring an outside perspective An external review with detailed recommendations for development –As a result of an Ofsted inspection where governance has been identified as an issue –Where there has been a change of status e.g. becoming an academy –Where the GB has had issues

17. © NGA 2015 Some options

18. © NGA 2015 20 questions

19. © NGA 2015 The online version

20. © NGA 2015 For chairs

21. © NGA 2015 Other self evaluation tools Governor Mark The standards are freely available but the accreditation process has a cost GSET Governance self evaluation tracker from Target Tracker Ofsted Criteria for good and outstanding governance

22. © NGA 2015 External reviews

23. © NGA 2015 An external review of governance

24. © NGA 2015 The eight elements of effective governance 1.Right people round the table 2.Understanding role and responsibilities 3.Good chairing 4.Professional clerking 5.Good relationships based on trust 6.Knowing the school: the staff, the parents, the children, the community 7.Committed to asking challenging questions 8.Confident to have courageous conversations in the interests of the children and young people

25. © NGA 2015 Who should undertake governance reviews? Options include: Going it alone (free) Local authority or academy provider (may be part of your service level agreement) National Leader of Governance (there may be a charge) Independent provider such as NGA Consultancy (there will be a fee)

26. © NGA 2015 Next steps

27. © NGA 2015 Discussion Which option interests you? In what circumstances would you seek an external review of governance? How would you justify the cost?

28. © NGA 2015 Reviewing governing board effectiveness WHY because governance matters and it needs to improve WHEN regularly and according to circumstances HOW systematically proportionately professionally BY WHOM don’t underestimate the value of an external reviewer

29. © NGA 2015 Any questions?

30. Join NGA GOLD For £30 discount use code 00086 www.nga.org.uk training@nga.org.uk 0121 237 3780