Governors’ Guide to School Policies

General principles – what are policies?

The School Governance(Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations, 2013, clarify the respective roles of governors and headteachers. One of the key elements of the governors' strategic role is to agree statutory school policies, whilstasignificant aspect of their monitoring role is to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of those policies.

School policies are concerned with key processes within the school and they address the practical implications of how to achieve the school’s vision as expressed in its strategic plan. They are about ensuring highly effective teaching and learning, about safety, aboutinteractions between pupils, staff and the wider community and about basic human rights. They should be used to guide the work of the headteacher and staff and to provide a framework for the smooth running of the school.

Policies should be based on a shared understanding of:

  • Why the school exists (its mission)
  • What it believes to be right (its values)
  • What it is trying to achieve (its vision)
  • What it is going to do to make this a reality (its aims)
  • The underpinning rules that will guide action (principles)
  • The practicalities of implementation (policies and procedures)

Policy development

Governing bodies are required, by law, to have written policies on a number of areas for which they have responsibility. Additionally, there are many other areas where it is desirable to have written policies in place to guide the work of the school. In some instances, it may be appropriate for the Governing Body to adopt the corporate policy of the Local Authority. Periodically it will be necessary for governing bodies to develop new policies to deal with new responsibilities.

Headteachers are responsible for the internal organisation, management and control of the school and for implementing the governing body’s strategic framework. Headteachers need to formulate aims and objectives, policies and targets for the governing body to consider adopting. Generally the headteacher and staff will do much of the detailed work on producing policies and will then present their ideas to the governing body for discussion, amendment and approval. Nevertheless, governors can contribute ideas in the early stages of drafting and help to refine the proposals. In particular, governors with specific expertise in an area such as health and safety or personnel might join up with one or two members of staff to form a working party to draw up a policy. Oversight of the production of policies is often delegated to the committees.

There is no single correct format for a policy. It can range from a brief statement of principles to including extensive detail about procedures to be followed. To be effective, policies should reflect the unique context of the school. There are no statutory rules on how a policy should be presented but good practice suggests that a common format, style and font will unify a school’s policies.

All policies should incorporate the following sections:

  • Status – statutory, expected or recommended
  • Purpose – a brief statement referring to relevant local guidelines, national regulations and the school’s own values, vision and aims.
  • Consultation – list which groups, individuals and documents were consulted. This is useful when the policy needs revising
  • Cross-references to other documents – a more coherent approach can be achieved by linking with other policies
  • Roles and responsibilities of headteacher, staff and governors – the core and most detailed part of the policy
  • Arrangements for monitoring and evaluation – what evidence would demonstrate success and how and when will it be brought to the attention of the governing body.
  • Date established by governing body
  • Date for review
  • Signature of Chair of Governors (or Chair of Committee)

Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of Policies

The cycle of policy development, implementation and impact measurement clearly relates to the governing body’s three key roles.

Working strategically - governing bodies help to define the school’s values, vision and aims and to establish the policies that provide a framework for the day to day work of the headteacher and staff. They should also contribute to the debate about which additional policies the school needs, beyond the statutory ones, to ensure coherence and clarity in the management process.

Critical friend - governors monitor and evaluate the implementation and impact of the school’s plans and policies. In order to do this effectively they should have a list of what should be in place, when each policy was ratified and a rolling programme for reviewing the state of those policies over time. Governors should receive evidence from the headteacher and staff so that they understand how policies are being implemented and the impact they are having.

Accountability - reports from the headteacher should enable governors to answer to the school’s stakeholders for the school’s performance. This accountability will be discharged through the school profile and the prospectus. Governors’ responsibilities are exercised further when governing bodies run pupil disciplinary hearings, make decisions on the budget and staff salaries and are involved in staff recruitment and dismissal proceedings. How such issues are addressed on a day to day basis is guided by the school’s policies and procedures.

Monitoring is about gathering evidence to show that plans and policies are being implemented, and to check that progress is being made.

  • What evidence will demonstrate success?
  • Who will collect it?
  • How and when will it be collected?
  • How and when will it be presented to governors?

Evaluationuses that evidence to make a judgement about the impact of the plans and policies on the school’s performance. Rigorous evaluation of the implementation and impact of a policy may lead to changes in practice.

Reviewing and Updating Policies

Once written, policies need to be revisited regularly because schools, local authorities and national government are dynamic institutions subject to constant change. Governors should have mechanisms in place to regularly review and evaluate existing policies to ensure that they are still relevant in achieving their stated aims and objectives. This review process will often lead to a need to amend existing policies or - in some cases to significantly re-write or produce new policies.

Some policies will need to be reviewed annually, others may be left for longer. Where governing bodies plan their meetings in advance for the full year ahead it is a straightforward task to ensure that policy reviews are added to agendas for governing body meetings. The governing body may decide to delegate responsibility for particular policies to committees or individuals. In such cases,providingthis is clearly stated in the committee terms of reference, it is not necessary for policies to be approved by a committee and then discussed a second time and ratified by the full governing body.

When reviewing policies, the following factors should be considered:

  • Are policies linked to a clear statement of values?
  • Is there a consistent approach to the format?
  • Are all the statutory policies in place?
  • Where can policies be found?
  • Would staff, governors and parents know how to access the policies?
  • Do the policies provide a clear basis for the implementation of rules and procedures?
  • Do the policies provide positive direction for staff?
  • When were the policies last reviewed?
  • How does the governing body know whether the policies are being implemented?
  • Are the policies having the desired effect?

Step-by-step guide to managing your policies

  • Compile a checklist of all your policies, statutory and non-statutory
  • Assign responsibility for each policy to the full governing body, a committee or an individual
  • Ensure that, where responsibility for policies is delegated to a committee, the terms of reference for that committee state clearly that this is the case
  • Establish the required interval between policy reviews. Be flexible in response to changes in legislation.
  • Extract and sequence all the review dates and put into place a rolling programme of policy reviews
  • Assign each policy review to a scheduled meeting of the governing body or one of its committees
  • Ensure that Governing Body minutes state which policies have been reviewed and show evidence of any discussion regarding policies
  • Once a policy has been approved, one copy of it must be dated and signed off by the appropriate Chair and a new review date inserted
  • A Policies Folder containing the checklist plus signed copies of the most up-to-date version of every policy should be kept in the school office for easy access by staff, parents and Ofsted.
  • The list of statutory policies should be updated each time a new version of the Guide to the Law is published
  • New policies should be developed in line with school’s needs and local and national requirements and regulations

Updated 22/10/2018

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Policies and Documents / Status / Review Interval / Responsibility / Last Review / Next Review
Accessibility Plan / Statutory / Every 3 years / Finance Committee
Admission Arrangements (Aided & Foundation Schools only) / Statutory / At least every 7 years / Management Committee
Capability of Staff Policy & Procedures / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 / Management Committee
Central Record of Recruitment & Vetting Checks / Statutory / Ongoing / Headteacher
Charging & Remissions Policy / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / Finance Committee
Complaints Procedure / Statutory / Every 3 or 4 years / Management Committee
Data Protection Policy / Statutory / At least every 2 years / Finance Committee
Equality Information and Objectives – Statement for Publication / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / SI Committee
Freedom of Information Publication Scheme / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / Management Committee
Governors’ Allowances (scheme for paying) / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / Finance Committee
Health and Safety Policy (including risk assessments) / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / Finance Committee
HomeSchool Agreement / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / SI Committee
Instrument of Government / Statutory / When GB wants to change its size or name / Management Committee
Premises Management Documents ie fire safety, asbestos etc. / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / Finance Committee
Register of Business Interests of Head and Governors / Statutory / Annually / Clerk
School Behaviour Policy / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / SI Committee
Sex Education Policy / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / SI Committee
Special Educational Needs Policy / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / SI Committee
Staff Discipline, Conduct and Grievance / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / Management Committee
Teacher Appraisal Policy / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / Management Committee
Teacher’s Pay Policy / Statutory / Every 2 or 3 years / Management Committee
Allegations of Abuse Against Staff – Statement of Procedures / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / Staffing Committee
Assessment Policy and Guidelines / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / SI Committee
Attendance Policy / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / Headteacher
Child Protection Policy & Procedures / Expected / Annually / Management Committee
Collective Worship Policy / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / Management Committee
Community Cohesion Policy / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / Management Committee
Early Years Foundation Stage Policies & Procedures / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / SI Committee
Equal Opportunities Policy / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / Management Committee
Finance Policy / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / Finance Committee
Health Education including Drug Education / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / SI Committee
Professional Development / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / Staffing Committee
Review of Staffing Structure Document / Expected / Annually / Staffing Committee
Safeguarding Policy / Expected / Annually / Management Committee
School Development/Improvement Plan / Expected / Termly / Management Committee
Self Evaluation Document / Expected / Termly / Management Committee
Whistle Blowing Policy / Expected / Every 3 or 4 years / Staffing Committee
Additional Health Needs Policy / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / SI Committee
Curriculum Policy / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / Headteacher
Governors’ Induction, Training & Support / Recommended / Every 2 or 3 years / Management Committee
Governors’ Visits to School Guidance / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / Management Committee
Homework Policy / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / SI Committee
ICT Policy (including e-safety and acceptable use) / Recommended / Every 2 or 3 years / SI Committee
Pastoral Care Policy / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / SI Committee
School Uniform Policy / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / SI Committee
School Visits/Journeys / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / SI Committee
Staff Induction Policy / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / Staffing Committee
Staff Leave of Absence Policy / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / Staffing Committee
Staff Recruitment and Selection / Recommended / Every 3 or 4 years / Staffing Committee

Updated 22/10/2018

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