Shropshire Headteacher Conference - Monday 9th March 2015

Albrighton Hall Hotel – Shrewsbury SY4 3AG

The Practicalities of ‘Outstanding’ Governance

John Hemmings - Education Consultant

A Workshop for a vision of Outstanding Governance!

Ideas for schools to customise or congratulate themselves if they already have them in place!

  1. Is the organisation and structure of your Governing Body fit for purpose?

Maintained Schools: Faith:Independent: Academy: Free School: Multi Academy Trust (MAT): Federation ?

  1. Size of the governing body – its ethos – its leadership - commitment – committees – research culture? Restructuring?
  1. Effectiveness – meetings with time for professional discussion – not rubber stamping! Statutory responsibilities - the school web site.
  1. Calendar of meetings – attendance – governor visits to school for monitoring / attendance at events – location for meetings.
  1. Governor Continuing Professional Development – CPD – Qualifications (in and out of education specific) – training records.

GOVERNANCE - ORGANISATION AND STRUCTURE – OUTLINE

  • To be amended according to your school structure and organisation
  • Is our structure fit for purpose considering the current school situation, major issues and climate in our school?
  • Governors – strategic vision and decisions, accountability, challenge and finance – deployment of resources.

Head and SLT – day to day operations and management

Full Board Chair : Vice Chair: Minimum of one meeting per term – Business
Main functions:
The strategic direction of the school – Monitoring school standards of performance and improvements - Pupil progress- Use of Pupil Premium Grant. Allocated finance (budget / (SFVS), Quality of Leadership, Management and Governance - Effectiveness of whole school leadership – Accountability – SEF and SDP - Resources & Delegations – Quality of teaching, Staffing appointments. Succession planning, Safeguarding and health and safety. Pupil behaviour and safety – Equality – Well-being - Care and maintenance of the school assets – Site. Buildings, facilities and leaning environments. Statutory requirements. Policies and protocols.
Strategic Leadership Group: Chair, Chairs of Committees, Headteacher, School SLT: Vision, Long term plans, Emergencies
Meetings: once per term or every six months
Standards and curriculum – Pupil progress and their outcomes – Quality of Teaching and Learning - School improvement – SEF and SDP
Chair: Vice Chair: All governors or a committee? Meetings: (1 per term)
Main functions: School standards – Quality of Teaching - target setting – attendance and behaviour
Monitoring progress in School Development Plan key priorities – Fully involved in drafting school key priorities - Drafting the SEF
Curriculum polices and schemes of work. Safeguarding, Extended Schools activities. Equality statement. Effectiveness of Inclusion systems and routines.
PPMG – Pupil Premium Monitoring Group and Use of PE funding – (1 or 2 Governors and SLT meeting termly) – Link governor reports.
Finance and general purposes - each half term
Chair: Members:
Main functions: Setting the budget
Monthly monitoring of the budget
Financial management (SFVS)
Health and Safety – site security – safeguarding
Pupil Premium Grant / PE funding.
The school premises and facilities – maintenance and development - Accessibility Plan – School assets / Personnel – Staffing and pay- once per term or as necessary.
Chair: Members: Main functions:
Quality of teaching and other staffing issues. Appraisal protocols for teachers and TA’s., Admin and other support staff.
Appointment of staff – recruitment - safeguarding
Appraisal of HT policy and process.
Induction of new governors & staff - students
Personnel / staffing policies – especially pay & progression
School Teachers Pay and Conditions - STPCD
Monitoring staffing issues - school CPD/INSET / Admissions Panel – 3Gov. +HT.
For those schools with that delegated responsibility
Appeals - 3 members
To be the final arbiter for matters referred to the committee.
Members elected depending on the nature of the content of the appeal to ensure no tainting.
Premises (if not included in F & GP.) Chair: Members:
Health and Safety – site security
The school premises and facilities – rolling programmes for maintenance - development projects - Accessibility Plan – School assets / Extended Services(If required – could be included in Standards and Curriculum) Chair: Members:
Children’s Centre and/ or Extended Schools activities Community Cohesion
Equality Scheme – Gender – Race – Disability – Pastoral and care

This page could become an annex to the school summary SEF

ANNUAL CALENDAR FOR GOVERNANCE – Draft suggestions

Sep / Oct / Nov / Dec / Jan / Feb / Mar / Apr / May / Jun / Jul
Full Governing Board Meeting (FGB)
Business - Statutory requirement
Some schools hold a second Full Board in the other half of term / FGB / FGB / FGB
Full GB for Curriculum (GBC) and some business in the other half term) Or a separate Curriculum Committee / GBC / GBC / GBC
Finance and General Purposes Committee (F&GPC)
Budget setting, monitoring, Health & Safety. Premises management. ( Each half term) (Could be two committees – Finance /Premises) / F&GPC / F&GPC / F&GPC / F&GPC / F&GPC / F&GPC
Personnel Committee (PC)
Personnel issues, Pay policy, Staffing review, Performance Management -Termly (Confidentiality for staffing)
Could have a small Pay and Remuneration committee. / PC / PC / PC
Extended Services Committee (ESC)
(Termly) – Activities – Children’s centre - Community cohesion
Sustainable schools. / ESC / ESC / ESC
Strategic Leadership Group (SLG) / Senior Leadership / Management Team – Extended (SLT / ELT)- Vision (Termly / half yearly) / SLG / SLG
Appeals (As necessary) Governors appointed have no prior knowledge of the situation under appeal.
Parents Evenings (PE)- Educational, Reporting on pupil progress
Open Days, (OD)
Special educational focus / themes / days or weeks (Link Govs.) / PE
OD / PE / OD / PE

Governors should also have copies of the :

School Leadership roles and responsibilities, All Staff responsibilities, Class organisation and structure – numbers of pupils B/G, Disabled,

SEN, G&T, Pupil Premium Grant pupils (Numbers) – Curriculum maps for each age group and a plan of the school. (Confidentiality)

DRAFT SCHOOL SELF EVALUATION CYCLE AND CALENDAR OVERVIEW – THE BIG PICTURE

Plan the Governor meetings first as these become the deadlines for other actions to gather information and drafting of reports.

The organisation of governor committees is important for clear terms of reference to show which report goes to which committee.

In this model Curriculum and standards includes monitoring improvements, pupil progress reports, target setting - SDP and SEF.

Staff should consider the time needed to gather information, consult and draft, edit, type up reports well before publishing dates!

The monitoring programme for Senior Leadership Group (SLG) or Senior Leadership Team (SLT – TLR’s and subject leaders) can be added with sub deadlines for reports. The Headteacher SLT should become the school resident improvement team! Accountable to the Governors!

This cycle can be planned for the year –half term by half term – revised in week 5 by SLT, consultation in week 6, published for next half term in week 7.

Autumn Term 1. September and October

Half term / Week 1. / Week 2. / Week 3. / Week 4. / Week 5. / Week 6. / Week 7.
Governor Meetings / Standards and Curriculum Committee / Finance & GP
Personnel / Full Board – Business - elections / Governor training
Induction, monitoring, reporting. / Staffing Committee
Self evaluation programme / SDP agreed and in place / Review CRB –all staff - Central list / Monthly Finance monitoring September / Year group characteristics summary
Assessment
Programme – Pupil progress / Target setting /predictions interventions etc.
For individuals /groups /cohorts tracker data / EYFS Profile started / Pupil progress meetings / Pupil progress meetings
School monitoring programme.
Weekly in larger schools / SLT ‘drop ins’ as agreed / Phase / Year Leaders ‘Drop ins’ / SLT Subject lesson observations / Teachers questionnaire
Headteacher, Leadership and Management Team SLG / SLT / Inclusion intervention programmes in place / Induction programme for new staff and governors / Reception Parents Educational Workshops / HT report to Governors / SLT Subject lesson observations
Review pupil progress and draft targets / SLT Subject lesson observations
Review pupil progress and draft targets
Administration
Census / Finance/ Data returns / New admissions details on School Learning register for all pupils / Census / Half year budget review / Review Governors handbook
Performance Management programme / Teachers Review and individual plans / HLTA, TA’s review and individual plans / Teachers Review and individual plans / HLTA, TA’s review and individual plans / Teachers Review and individual plans / Collegiate coaching programme
CPD / INSET / Staff training day/s
Assembly theme / CE/SMSC/PHSEC

1.Are the governors clear about their roles, responsibilities and ways of working in a code of practice and protocols?

  1. Organisation - Part of the leadership of the school – clear expectations – vision.
  2. The Chair of Governors – Chairs of committees – Link governors –clerking– minutes.
  3. Governors professional conduct - visiting school and classrooms – reports and records – working with the staff – not getting into the detail but knowing it! –Achieving the balance – Regular reflection / review / training - Dealing with concerns and complaints.

Inspection grade descriptors 2015 Outstanding (1)

  • The pursuit of excellence in all of the school’s activities is demonstrated by an uncompromising and highly successful drive to strongly improve, or maintain, the highest levels of achievement and personal development for all pupils over a sustained period of time.
  • All leaders and managers, including those responsible for governance, are highly ambitious for the pupils and lead by example. They base their actions on a deep and accurate understanding of the school’s performance and of staff and pupils’ skills and attributes.
  • Governors, or those with a similar responsibility, stringently hold senior leaders to account for all aspects of the school’s performance.
  • Excellent policies underpin practice that ensures that pupils have high levels of literacy, or pupils are making excellent progress in literacy.
  • Leaders focus relentlessly on improving teaching and learning and provide focused professional development for all staff, especially those that are newly qualified and at an early stage of their careers. This is underpinned by searching performance management that encourages, challenges and supports teachers’ improvement. As a result, the overall quality of teaching is at least consistently good and improving.
  • The school’s curriculum promotes and sustains a thirst for knowledge and understanding and a love of learning. It covers a wide range of subjects and provides opportunities for academic, technical and sporting excellence. It has a very positive impact on all pupils’ behaviour and safety, and contributes very well to pupils’ academic achievement, their physical well-being, and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
  • The school’s actions have secured improvement in achievement for disadvantaged pupils, which is rising rapidly, including in English and mathematics.
  • The school has highly successful strategies for engaging with parents to the benefit of pupils, including those who find working with the school difficult.
  • Senior leaders in the school work to promote improvement across the wider system including, where applicable, with early years providers to raise the proportion of children who are well prepared to start school.
  • The school is adept at identifying any child at risk of harm and engaging with partners to respond appropriately. Staff model professional standards in all of their work and demonstrate high levels of respect and courtesy for pupils and others.
  • Through highly effective, rigorous planning and controls, governors ensure financial stability, including the effective and efficient management of financial resources such as the pupil premium funding. This leads to the excellent deployment of staff and resources to the benefit of all groups of pupils.
  • Leaders have ensured that early years and/or sixth form provision is highly effective.

Protocol of Governor Visits into School

Governor visits into the school are the most effective way of getting to know school and developing understanding of day to day working of it. To ensure these visits are done well, the following protocol has been drawn up to clarify understanding for both governors and staff.

All governors should visit the school during its normal working hours on at least one occasion during each term.

Don’t lose sight of why Governors visit the school:-

To see the learning and behaviour taking place in school and to see how priorities in the School Development Plan are visible in the learning.

Please bring with you your copy of the current SDP / SEF and last Headteachers Termly report.

Before You Visit:

  1. Contact the Head Teacher and relevant member of staff to arrange a mutually convenient date for the visit and agree how long you will be in school.
  2. Notify Chair of Governors of your visit arrangements.
  3. Agree with the Head Teacher and staff the purpose for the visit (governor visits ideally should have a direct link to the School Improvement Plan and with identified member of staff for your link responsibility).
  4. Think about what you might expect to see, hear and what you might say or question, especially in respect of your link responsibility.
  5. Agree with the member of staff a classroom protocol: where would they like you to sit, how involved with the class should you be, what do they want you to do if you see inappropriate pupil behaviour, are you allowed to help the children, what do they want you to do if a pupil asks you for help, etc

2.Is there an ethos of two way, transparent,communication with all?

  1. School web site - Statutory responsibilities -policies - Strategic decisions. (1)
  1. Carrying out their role – Relationships - letting the headteacher continue with the day to day running of the school.
  1. A corporate understanding - holding the headteacher and senior staff to account. – sensitive challenge. (2)
  1. Responsible for school Finance and resources– asking relevant questions. (3)

Taken from DfE: The School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 – published January 2014.

  1. Role of the Governing Body
  1. The governing body provides non-executive leadership, akin to the board of trustees of a charity or the board of directors of a company. They should operate at a strategic level.
  2. The headteacher is responsible for the educational performance of the school and for the internal organisation, management and control of the school. The board’s role is to hold the headteacher to account for exercising their professional judgement in these matters and for the performance of all other duties.
  3. The regulations define three core functions:
  • Set the vision and strategic direction of the school
  • Hold the headteacher to account for its educational performance
  • Ensure financial resources are well spent
  1. Governors need a robust process and framework for setting priorities, creating accountability and monitoring progress. (process for a calendar for self-evaluation (SEF) and determining key priorities for improvement (SDP) and interim monitoring)
  1. Governors need to ask challenging questions on the basis of robust objective data, they should scrutinise objective national data at least once a year and use visits, during the school day, to verify what they are told. (Clerks might consider putting (CH or by agreement the initials of the governor) in the minutes to demonstrate where discussions or questions have challenged their strategic thinking / decisions, and / or the headteacher and Senior staff)
  1. It is good practice for the board of governors to review its own performance in the light of its core functions ( the 20 questions from All Parliamentary Group ) and to publish an annual governance statement to explain how it has fulfilled its responsibilities in relations to its core functions and:
  • The governance arrangements that are in place, including any remit of any committees
  • The attendance record of individual governors at board and committee meetings
  • An assessment of the effectiveness and impact of the board and any committees with details of any challenges that have arisen.
  1. The regulations allow the board, should it so wish, to delegate most of its functions to committees or individuals – committee and individuals must report back to the full board on any activities they have carried out on its behalf.
  1. Boards should develop and maintain a scheme of delegation to define explicitly at which level each of its functions will be exercised (Terms of reference for committees and individualsreviewed annually)
  1. Important decisions relating to the core functions should be made by the full board. Every governor needs to have at least a basic understanding of school performance and financial data to be able to engage in debate.
  1. Role of the chair /vice chair
  1. The chair, with support from the vice chair, is responsible for ensuring the effective functioning of the board. It is the chair’s role to give the board clear leadership and direction, keeping it focussed on the core functions. Governors should work as a team, building their skills, knowledge and experience. The chair needs to ensure that all governors are actively contributing and playing their part in the work of any committees. It is the Chair’s role to make sure every governor knows what is expected of them and receives appropriate induction and training, having honest conversations if governors are not pulling their weight.
  1. The chair must not exercise as an individual any of the functions of the board except where this has been sanctioned. The chair is permitted to act in cases of urgency where delay would be seriously detrimental to the interests of the school, a pupil, parent or member of staff.
  1. The focus on appointing a chair and vice chair should be someone with skills for the role from among the existing board members. The board can advertise and recruit a highly skilled chair from outside its current membership, but the successful candidate would need to be appointed to a vacant position on the board prior to being elected the chair. (schools could set a person specification for the role of the chair)
  1. Succession planning arrangements should be in place so that any change does not impede the board’s effectiveness.
  1. The Role of the Clerk
  1. Clerking is crucial in helping the board to exercise its functions expediently and confidently, so that it can stay focused on its core functions.
  1. Demanding standards should be set for the service boards expect from their clerk – suitable skills and training with appropriate pay. (schools should set a person specification for the role of the clerk – see NGA model job description)
  1. Procedures
  1. Good governance procedures for decision making and the discipline of sending out the agenda and papers for board and committee meetings seven days in advance should be set out. ( Schools could consider providing governors with a file for their own hand book, setting out their practice and procedures, Delegations, Terms of reference for Committees and individuals, Minutes and papers, The latest school and national data for performance in pupil progress, pupil progress for Pupil Premium children and use of the Grant, PE Funding use, Data for pupil attendance and punctuality, Staff absence data, The current school budget, The current SEF and SDP, Conduct an annual audit of their effectiveness – corporate and individual skills leading to a governance development action plan including training needs)
  1. Governors must declare pecuniary interests and the board should decide whether this represents a conflict such that the governors should with draw from discussion and or decision making.
  1. Proxy voting or voting in advance of the meeting is not permitted. It is important that governors are present to hear and engage in the debate before casting their vote. Boards now have the power to make arrangements for their members to be present at board and committee meetings’ virtually’
  1. Governing boards are increasingly drawing up and signing ‘codes of practice’ with objectives to improve their own skills and to contribute to improving school governance on an annual basis – these can then be reviewed at the end of the school year by the chair and vice chair.
  1. Governors’ allowances
  1. School governors provide a voluntary service, and cannot be paid for their role as a governor. But they can receive out of pocket expenses.

3.How are you developing good relationships via link governors with staff and parents?