1. Governor Support and Challenge
Welcome

2. Context - NGA
The eight elements of effective governance: 1. The right people around the table 2. Understanding role & responsibilities 3. Good chairing 4. Professional clerking 5. Good relationships based on trust 6. Knowing the school – the data, 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

3. Working Relationships
If you want the school to go from good to outstanding there has to be a good relationship between governors and staff and all need to be aspirational and have high expectations.
We all want children to do well
Challenge is not a competition – it’s about ensuring validation and justification, through asking appropriate questions. Key Priority Focus.

4. Support and Challenge cycle
Recognising and celebrating the achievements of the school.
Recognising where the school is not achieving as it should.
Encouraging strategies to bring about school improvement in these areas of weakness.
Monitoring the effectiveness and impact of these strategies - OVER TIME

5. Know your school
A key part of being both supportive and challenging is to know your school well. This means doing more than just speaking to the headteacher: you need to speak to staff and pupils and to visit the school.
You need to be involved in the evaluation and school improvement planning process and be clear about what your school’s priorities are.

6. Know your school
Develop good working relationships with the headteacher and senior leadership team
Developing a good working relationship with the headteacher and senior leadership team (SLT) helps governors to be supportive, as they are able to ask challenging questions without these being received defensively.

7. What is a ‘challenge’ question?
Challenging questions drill down to the impact of the school’s actions. You need to be able to evaluate the difference that the school’s actions are making. Ultimately, if something is not making a positive difference, you should be challenging why the school is doing it.

8. What is a ‘challenge’ question?
Questions will also be linked to the school’s priorities. For example, if the headteacher tells the governing body about a continuing professional development (CPD) session they attended and one of the school’s priorities is to tackle boys' attainment at Key Stage (KS) 2, a challenging question might be how this CPD session is having an impact on boys' attainment.

9. Possibilities Having skilled governors to support and challenge
Evidence-based questions
Progress against objectives
Monitoring progress as a standing item
What other possibilities are there?

10. Looking at the Key Priorities….
Is the progress at this stage in the year where you expected it to be? If not why not? Is a change in strategy required?
How is the success / impact being evaluated?
How do we know that this milestone is met? What evidence supports that?
What are the next steps? And when and how will these be reported back to the governing board?

11. Target for Challenge and Support
Having skilled governors to support and challenge for:
Performance management
Ofsted areas for improvement
Pupil data
National Expectations

12. What we need to know - Challenge
Where do you take it next:
Find out
Previous learning in past years
Previous learning of that year
Weaknesses/strengths/groups/patterns
How does this compare to national?
Comparisons for more able and for SEN
Comparisons for PP (Disadvantaged) vs non PP

13. What we need to know - Challenge
Where do you take it next:
The future to extend learning
What are you doing to ensure aspirational targets?
Predictions for the coming year
Are you challenging the status quo?

14. What would you ask?
Headteacher’s Report says
75% of the teaching across the school this term is good or better
What would you ask?

15. What would you ask?
Headteacher’s Report says
All our Pupil Premium children are doing well compared to national
What would you ask?

16. What would you ask?
Headteacher’s Report says
Mid-year staff appraisal has taken place
What would you ask?

17. What would you ask?
Headteacher’s Report says
We will be interviewing for a KS2 teacher/MFL teacher to start in September
What would you ask?

18. Know your school Measuring progress and using it to improve outcomes
“From KS1 to KS2: The pupils made better than expected progress”
How many children made the expected progress? Did some groups make more than others?
Teacher assessment – moderation?
Tracking progress – commercial products
Secondary – Progress 8 from end of primary (KS2) until the end of Key Stage 4

19. Balancing Support and Challenge
Remember also to be supportive as we need a balance for good working relationships.

20. Balancing Support and Challenge
Use data to inform
Resist listening to gossip
Compare and benchmark
Face difficult staffing issues
Do not be bamboozled
Be receptive to ‘blue skies’ ideas
Focus on the key priorities

21. Recap: know your school
Prepare
Monitoring of school data
Focused school visits/preparation
Performance management meetings and updates
Standing item on HT’s report
School development plan
Terms of reference/year planner
Any other areas we need to consider?

22. Getting it right
‘We cannot accomplish all that we need to do without working together.’
Bill Richardson

23. ? Any questions? Clive.Haines@achievingforchildren.org.uk