Good Governance: Strategy & Accountability. Outline —Accountability —Staying Strategic —Working Effectively

Good Governance: Strategy &

Accountability

Outline

— Accountability

— Staying Strategic

— Working Effectively

Context - Problem or Solution?

If local democracy had worked, if local governing bodies had worked in the most challenging schools and for the most disadvantaged children, we would never have needed academies

Often governing bodies are the problem, actually

Sir Michael Wilshaw

Context - A fine mess….

Messiness in terms of structures will be a natural by-product of radical structural reform as we move from a standardised national system to a system of many small systems

The best performing systems combine high autonomy and high accountability

David Bell – Tribal Annual Education lecture ‘Reflections of Reform’ 2012

The right way to…

You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Rules and Good Practice

DfE Governors Handbook – read it!— Legal duties— Core role and functions— Signposting of further reading— What is needed to be effective – not how to operate!Articles of AssociationScheme of Financial DelegationOfsted HandbookOfsted ‘Learning from the Best’Framework for External Reviews of GovernanceIn a MAT - Scheme of Delegation

http://www.nga.org.uk/getattachment/Events/Event-Presentations/Yorkshire-and-Humber-Conference-Autumn-2014/Ofsted-Presentation-Y-H-Oct-2014.pdf.aspx

Ofsted Presentation – NGA website

Effective Governance




Ofsted (March 2013)

Effective governors focus on the quality of teaching, the progress and achievement of students and the culture that supports this

The best governing boards get the right balance between support and challenge

And they ask the right questions

Asking The Right Questions

How do we intervene in time?

Is it being done?

Do they have appropriate skills, training, experience, time etc.?

Are they competent?

Who will do it?

What needs to be done?

DIF

FICU

LTY

Leadership & ManagementInspection must examine the impact of leaders at all levels, including governors, and evaluate how efficiently and effectively the school is led and managed.

Leadership & Management extracts

Inspectors should consider whether governors…— carry out their statutory duties, such as safeguarding,

and understand the boundaries of their role as governors— ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction — contribute to the school’s self-evaluation and understand

its strengths and weaknesses, including the quality of teaching, and reviewing the impact of their own work

— or whether they hinder school improvement by failing to tackle key concerns or developing their own skills

School Inspection Handbook September 2014

Evidence used by OfstedInspectors should also request that the following information is made available at the start of the inspection:

— A summary of any school self evaluation— documented evidence of the work of governors and their

impact— Any reports of external evaluation of the school including

any review of governance

School Inspection Handbook September 2014

Evidence

There may also be other relevant information that is in the public domain and reported in the press. Inspectors should therefore conduct a brief internet search as part of their pre-inspection planning to see whether there are any safeguarding or other issues ‑for example governance that may need to be ‑followed up during inspection.

Meeting the InspectorsInspectors will always seek to meet with governors….

Meetings should take place without the presence of the headteacher or senior staff

Implications

Some questions:

— Which governors are keeping up to date with the Ofsted framework?

— Which governors will speak to Ofsted – and how well briefed are they?

— What is plan B?— What evidence will you provide to the inspectors?— Does the evidence reflect what Ofsted look for?— What will stakeholders say about the role of governors?— What does your media profile say— Is there an audit trail of decision making?

Evidence File(s)

— Minutes and supporting papers— Terms of reference for any committees/groups— Governor responsibilities & role descriptors— Policy review schedule— Stakeholder engagement— Records of visits

Evidence File(s)

— Training records— Skills analysis— Induction materials for new governors— Governor support agreements - e.g. the LA

governor support service, NGA subscription— Job description/SLA for Clerk— Internal or external reviews of governance

Self or External Evaluation

Schools do not need to wait for an Ofsted inspection recommendation to seek a review. Any school can arrange a review of governance at any time to improve the effectiveness of the work of the governing body

https://www.gov.uk/reviews-of-school-governance



Staying Strategic

Context:

Ofsted provides us with a useful prompt as to what our focus should be:

Inspectors will evaluate how effectively governors challenge and hold senior leaders to account for all aspects of the school's performance

and ensure financial stability.

Ofsted: The Framework for School Inspection

What kind of school will you be a Governor of?

Governors bring a good range of relevant skills and have had training on their roles.

They have high ambitions for the school, hold leaders closely to account for the school’s performance and are kept well informed about students’ achievement compared to the national picture.

They know how pupil premium funding is spent and that achievement for these students is improving, and have looked closely at the impact of each of the different ways in which the funding is used.

What kind of school will you be a Governor of?

There were insufficient checks on the quality of the teaching, learning and results. Governors were too reliant on the school for this information.

Governors know that pupils’ attainment is significantly above average, but they are not fully aware that pupils do not make enough progress and so they have not held senior leaders to account for the dip in progress over the past three years.

They do not, however, hold leaders fully to account. In part this is because they are not provided with enough good quality information about the school’s work to enable them to ask challenging questions.

From Founders to Governors

Whose school is it anyway?

Free school proposers need to make a shift from

leading on everything and often being hands on in every area,

to

knowing about all areas but expecting others to take their share of responsibility and the Principal/HT to manage the school

Making a shift, key aspects

• Allow the HT to manage the school

• Delegate within the GB (Committees etc)

• Ensure there’s an opportunity for regular, focused, and informal, contact with HT – staff – pupils – parents.

“Help – I have never been a school governor before”

• Induction for new governors and buddy system

• Training – Internal and external

• Asking the right questions

Forming the Governing Board

Who should be on the Governing Board?

• Agree what key skills, knowledge and experience are essential

• Audit the proposed governors for these skills

• Ask them to be realistic about their capacity

Who should do what?

• Chairs for Committees chosen from original directors

• Ensure some governors have experience

• Transparency – consultative approach – no surprises

• Appoint a Clerk to the GB

Before opening

• Agree expectations of all governors with a signed governor contract:

• Framework for GB structure • Committees with roles and responsibilities• Terms of Reference• Draft schedule of work - term by term• Induction for new governors• Consider what would happen if?

Holding the school to account

A Strategic Framework

Governors set the “framework” for how they hold the school and its professional leadership to account

Key building blocks:– Training– Mechanisms for knowing the school– Planned cycle of scrutiny to cover statutory duties– Consistent approach to reporting– Clear forward planning – avoid reactiveness

Roles and Responsibilities

• Education and Inspection• Pupil wellbeing• Finance• Teachers and Support Staff• Organisation• Premises• Community Engagement/Partnership

(See separate document)

How can governors get to know the school?

• Understanding the data and key interventions• Knowing how we keep pupils safe• Listening to parents, staff and pupils• Monitoring school targets• Seeking external advice on how things are

going• Asking challenging questions

What tools do you have?

• School Development Plan linked to Ofsted judgements (leadership and management, behaviour and safety, teaching, achievement)

• Self Evaluation• Headteacher’s report to governors • Committees – Set up a work schedule – policies and

monitoring• Governors’ focused visits and informal visits• Surveys

Data Data Data

• Ofsted Data dashboard;

• RAISEonline,

• School and College Performance Tables

• FFT

• External support

• Compliance with statutory duties

• Pupil applications, admissions, attendance and exclusion

• Staff retention, resignations, vacancies, performance

• Quality of teaching

Good Questioning

• Which groups of pupils are the highest and lowest performing? why?

• Do you have credible plans for addressing underperformance or less than

expected progress?

• How will we know that things are improving?

• Which year groups or subjects get the best and worst results and why?

• How does this relate to the quality of teaching across the school?

• What is your strategy for improving the areas of weakest performance?

A Good Chair

• Balanced relationship • K-i-T arrangements • Policy of no surprises – on both sides• Speak with single public voice • Honesty and trust will enable you both to create a strong

partnership

Getting the Basics Right

• Understanding role and responsibilities• The right people around the table • Knowing the school – data, performance, self evaluation,

compliance etc• Good relationships to facilitate trust and confidence• Ability and knowledge to ask challenging questions• Effective meetings

Table Exercise

Relationships - Useful Resource

What governing boards should expect from school leaders and what school leaders should expect from governing boards

ASCL/LGA/NAHT/NGA

Effective Operation

STRUCTURE

OPERATION

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE

Core Governance

Effective governing bodies are driven by a core of key governors such as the chair and chairs of committees. They see themselves as part of a team and build strong relationships with the headteacher, senior leaders and other governors.

School Governance – Learning from the best (Ofsted 2011)

Traditional Structure

Governing Body

Teaching & Learning

Committee

Business Management

Committee

H & S Consultative

Group

Leadership Committee

Working Groups & Ad-Hoc

Committees

Ideal Committee Structure?

Alternative Structure

Board of Directors/Governing Body


Committees Non Executive Directors/Lead Governors

Alternative Structure

Board of Directors/Governing Body


Committees

Non Executive Directors/Lead Governors

Teaching & Learning OR Business Management Committee

Evolution of Governance

Ceremonial MonitorLeader

Through Partnership

Boards That Lead – Harvard Business Review Press

Decision making

SLT Proposals

Governor Consideration

Implementation

SLT Review

Governor Consideration

Publication (and consultation?)

Decision making

Group/Committee Decides

Implementation

Group/Committee Review

Publication (and consultation?)

Are the right people in the right place?

Allocating Time

A detailed timeline of activities, maintained by the clerk and linked to the school development plan, provides a clear structure for the work of governors and ensures that their time is used appropriately


Managing Time

It is essential that governors, working with head teachers, put in place systems that free up governors to consider strategic issues and reflect on the performance of the school.

The chair of governors, the clerk and the head teacher should all work closely to ensure that the governing body’s work is managed in a way that focuses on key strategic issues, with detailed work being carried out by school staff or other professionals or experts.

School Governors A Guide to the Law May 2012

Focus

We all joined the party to change the world and not to change the minutes of the last meeting

Hilary Benn – Environment Minister 2008

Agenda

PrioritisedTimings

Flexible

Key characteristics of effective governing bodies

The role of the clerk to the governors is pivotal to ensuring that statutory duties are met, meetings are well organised and governors receive the information they need in good time.

Consequently, governors come to meetings well prepared and with pertinent questions ready so that they are able to provide constructive challenge


Reporting

• For a purpose linked to expectations on governors

• Explain why governors have the report & what they are being asked to do with it

• Provided in advance of meeting!• Data collected once, used many times• Transparency and accountability – good

and bad

Clerks - Unexploited Potential?

‘The status, skills and independence of clerks to governing bodies should be raised, so that they can provide a more professional service to governing bodies’

Ministerial Working Group on School Governance Report – April 2010

An effective clerk is vital to the success of a governing body. The evidence clearly indicates that this should be a professional role.

Education Select Committee July 2013

Higher Level Clerking – Examples

• Strategic planning for effective operation

• Facilitates self evaluation of governance• Leads recruitment & induction• Manages training of governors• Broker with external agencies• May co-ordinate a team

More than a code….?

Good governing bodies set out clearly what they expect of their governors, particularly when they first join the governing body. The governing body’s code of conduct should set an ethos of professionalism and high expectations of governors’ role, including an expectation that they undertake whatever training or development activity is needed to fill any gaps in the skills they have to contribute to effective governance.

If a governor fails persistently to do this, then they will be in breach of the code of conduct and may bring the governing body or the office of a governor into disrepute – and as such provide grounds for the governing body to consider suspension.

School Governors Handbook May 2014

The Importance of Data in your

Free School

Introduction

— Why is Data Important— Supports duties as:

—Governor—Trustee—Director

— Post Opening period is a critical time – data provides the evidence of your school’s effectiveness at a time when scrutiny is intense!

Governors Handbook

— It is essential that every governing body has at least one governor with the skills to understand and interpret the full detail of the financial and performance data available

— These governors should make sure that the wider governing body has a correct understanding of the school’s performance and finances.

— They should identify from the data the issues that most need to be discussed.

Three Key Questions

— What is the context of our school and how does this compare to other schools?

— What do our pupils attain?

— What progress do our pupils make given their starting points?

Role of Governing Body

— Interpreting — Comparing — Challenging— Ensuring Impact— Supporting Performance Management— Supporting School

Role of Chair of Governors

— National College for Teaching and Leadership (National College) in association with the National Governors' Association:—Ensure the school has effective processes relating to

self-evaluation—Ensure that good quality and relevant information is

available to governors

Ofsted Reports on Free Schools

— The local governing body is highly committed to the success of the school. It does not shy from asking searching questions to hold senior leadership to account. It is fully aware of data relating to students’ achievement and demands results. Governors are fully aware of the quality of teaching and the impact of initiatives to improve it. They understand with pinpoint accuracy the school’s systems for managing the performance of staff and are rigorous in implementing decisions relating to salary increases.


— Ambitious targets have been set by the governing body. However, the information provided to them about students’ progress has been unreliable.


— Governors have accepted the accuracy of information given to them by senior leaders without proper scrutiny;

— Where governors have challenged the leadership on areas of weakness, they have not set clear targets for improvement.

— Governors have not effectively monitored progress towards the school’s targets. In common with other leaders in the school, the governors have an over-generous view of the effectiveness of teaching.

Schools are “data-rich” environments…

…but can be “information-poor”

Admissions

Pupil Attendance

Teacher observations

Health and Safety Monitoring

Pupil Assessment and Tests

Teacher Absences

SEN Review

External moderation

Pupil Premium Interventions

A Complaint

Performance Management

School Improvement Partner Visit

Off site Trip

Grievance/disciplinary

Safeguarding Incident

Accidents

Pupil Council

Parental Survey

School Census Return

Training

Return to Work Interview

The Data Conundrum

Can be…— Overwhelming— Contradictory— Presented poorly— Confusing— Too much— Too little— Inaccurate— Not objective— High effort-low impact

Should be…— Defined— Consistent over time— Timely— Understandable— Robust— Objective— Benchmarked— Comparable

78%

1 2 3 450%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

Time Se-ries

1 2 3 450%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

School Target

1 2 3 450%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

National Average

1 2 3 450%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90% Peer Performance

Sources of Data

— Key Sources of Data to be aware of:— National Data

—Ofsted Data Dash Board—Performance Tables—RAISEonline

— Internally generated data

Data Dash Board - Ofsted

— The Data Dashboard provides a snapshot of performance in a school. It can be used by governors and by members of the public to check performance of the school.

— The Data Dashboard complements the Ofsted inspection report by providing a summary of results data over a three year period and comparisons to other schools.

— The data should be used by governors to generate key questions to support and challenge the leadership team.

Performance Tables - DfE

— Topline performance – Test and Exam Results— Pupil Progress— Disadvantaged Pupils— 3 Year Averages— Cohort Information— Similar Schools

RAISEonline - Ofsted

— Enable schools to analyse performance data in greater depth as part of the self-evaluation process.

— Provide a common set of analyses for schools, local authorities, inspectors, dioceses, academy trusts and governors.

— Better support teaching and learning.

Self Evaluation – Ofsted guidance

— Concise and succinct— Evaluative rather than descriptive — A working document — Developed by, and used to inform, leaders,

including governors and middle leaders as well as senior staff

Self Evaluation – Ofsted guidance

— Demonstrates strengths and weaknesses in relation to —pupils’ achievement, —the quality of teaching, —behaviour and safety, —Leadership and Management—the school’s provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral,

social and cultural development — Together it can then provide a picture of the

school’s assessment of its overall effectiveness

SEF - What to include

— lesson observations — scrutiny of pupils’ work— analyses of the progress and attainment of pupils

on roll, including the performance of different groups of pupils

— analysis of the pupils’ past progress and attainment

SEF – What to Include

— analysis of data and information related to pupils’ behaviour and safety, including exclusions, rewards and sanctions, incident logs and attendance

— analysis of the effectiveness of specific interventions to improve, for example, the achievement and/or behaviour of particular groups of pupils

— the views of parents and carers as shown by Parent View

— any external evaluations such as those carried out by the local authority

— the outcomes of any surveys carried out by Ofsted.

So What Now?

Budgeting & Financial Management

Intended Outcomes

By the end, attendees should understand:• Governor responsibilities when it comes to

operational finance, and how this differs from a maintained school h

• Where they can get additional financial training/support

• What some key challenges that free schools have faced in terms of managing small school finance, and strategies to address these common issues

• How to make effective decisions about strategic finance that will impact positively on teaching and learning

Scandal-hit academy chief who earned £200,000-a-year quits over financial management of schools

This is what can happen when you give schools too much freedom

Hidden scandal of school frauds costing millionsMILLIONS of pounds are being stolen by staff in charge of vast education budgets in Britain’s schools. The fraud is often written off by head teachers and governors embarrassed by a scandal they failed to spot.

Recently, a finance manager stole more than £288,000

A head teacher stole at least £90,000 by claiming false expenses from the special school he ran for five years. He spent the cash on trips to the races and overnight stays at a yacht club.

Flagship free school 'misused funds'

Why is this important?

‘The Department relies on the quality of academies’ financial management and governance to ensure effective and proper use of

public money.’

Managing the expansion of the Academies Programme, NAO 2012

‘I have qualified my opinion on the YPLA’s 2011-12 financial statements because the YPLA’s control framework is not adequately designed to

provide sufficient, appropriate assurance that academies have complied with all aspects of HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money.’Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, The Young People’s

Learning Agency’s financial statements 2011-12

System tensions

Key Elements of Financial Control

Know the rules – Articles of Association, Funding Agreement, & Academies Financial Handbook


Clarify and communicate responsibilities – Chief Finance Officer, scheme(s) of delegation, terms of reference for governance, financial procedures manual

Academies Financial handbook

• Roles & Responsibilities• Financial & Governance

Requirements• Delegated Authorities• Audit requirements

Academies Financial Handbook – ‘The Board’

• Responsible for ensuring that the trust’s funds are used only in accordance with the law, its articles of association, its funding agreement and this handbook.

• Wide discretion over its use of the trust's funds, which it must discharge reasonably and in a way that commands broad public support.

• Proper stewardship of those funds, including regularity and propriety

• Ensuring economy, efficiency and effectiveness in their use – the three key elements of value for money.

Headteacher as Accounting Officer

— Regularity – playing by the rules (AFH, Funding Agreement, spending money for the purposes intended by parliament, taxes etc.)

— Propriety – doing things properly (systems, controls, audits, reporting, decision making etc.)

— Value for money – effective use of resources (the 3e’s+)• Economy = best price• Efficiency = best use of resources • Effectiveness = desired results • Equality - is it maintained? • Ethics - Probity/tendering etc. • Ethos - e.g. buying locally

Academies Financial Handbook – ‘The CFO’

• Should play both a technical and leadership role, including ensuring sound and appropriate financial governance and risk management arrangements are in place, preparing and monitoring of budgets, and ensuring the delivery of annual accounts

• Must be appropriately qualified and/or experienced

• The CFO need not discharge all of their duties personally


Accounting structure - avoiding the accountants running the show! See your auditors as your friends……and (mis)use them accordingly!

Key Elements of Financial ControlInternal and External Auditing


EFFECTIVE SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGER SCHOOL BUSINESS LEADER(S)

Every school should have an effective business manager

PAYROLL PROCESSING

MONITORING & REPORTING

PROCUREMNET & BEST VALUE

STRATEGIC PLANNING

INFLUENCING NATIONAL POLICY

I’m responsible for Finance…..

PROCESSING ORDERS & INVOICES

RISKGOVERNANCEFACILITIES MANAGEMENTFINANCE HUMAN

RESOURCES

LEADERSHIP

SCHOOL CONTEXT

GENERIC

Financial Planning, Monitoring & Reporting

Gather intelligence…• EFA – funding agreements & claw backs• What’s happening in LA funding forums?• Funding consultations – DfE & EFA• Professional Associations – ASCL, NAHT,

NASBM• Your local & virtual networks


Best advice• Promote understanding of context• Credibility and for decision making• Assess risk• Model on standstill, and reductions of 1-5%

with adjustments for pupil numbers• Budget planning based on ‘what if’• What are the key decisions we need to take?


Considerations• Too many schools look for perfection in budget

planning…..• Work on round numbers, averages & assumptions

where necessary• How quickly do you need to make decisions in these

various scenarios?• Early decisions probably needed on fixed term

contracts, shared funding arrangements, redundancy and restructuring

• Restrict focus to current year +1 for detail but look for trends and consider your growth


Incrementalism

‘The largest determining factor of the size & content of this years budget is last years budget’ Wildavsky

• Last years plus (or less) a bit• Easy but repetitive• Appropriate where little changes• Inefficiencies carried forward• Does not challenge existing rationale e.g. pupil:

teacher ratio, ppa, class sizes, contact ratio, departmental capitation formula


Zero Based‘‘The past, as reflected in the budgetary base is explicitly

rejected. There is no yesterday. Nothing is taken for granted, everything at every period is subjected to searching scrutiny’

Wildavsky

Questions basic assumptions e.g. staffing levels & structureTime ConsumingDoes not recognise that some costs are indeed ‘fixed’?Appropriate to apply proportionately considering nature of expenditure


Multi Year Budgets

‘The weakness of (annuality).. is that it fails to view education as an on-going process with long term needs that cannot be packaged into 12 month spending bouts’ Davies 1994


Effective Monitoring & Reporting


EFA EXPECTATIONS FOR FINANCIAL REPORTS It is up to governors to decide on the format that suits them, however we recommend inclusion of the following: • Clear reporting of actual year to date totals against budget for the year

to date, with variances clearly shown;• Projected year end outturn, compared to the original budget;• A rolling monthly cash flow forecast, showing the level of cash held and

how this is expected to fluctuate over the next 12 months;• Key performance indicators such as staff costs to income ratio• Presentation of a narrative commentary alongside the financial report

to highlight and explain key variances and describe what action is being taken to address these variances

Effective Use of Resources

Be open minded – a blank canvas;

Seek out expertise and innovation;

Question (but don’t dismiss) the status quo;

Ground your ideas in the experiences you want the children to have in your school.

Methods of delivery

Teaching staff (inc Leadership team) – teaching periods, non contact time, duties etc.

Support staff.

Agencies and service procurement.

Volunteers – including governors.

Partnerships and shared expertise.

Internal versus ExternalIn House External

Your employees with control, flexibility and loyalty

Responsible to someone else and may be little flexibility in contract

Have to pay staff whether busy or not & when absent. On paternity leave etc. You carry the risk

Pay for what you use?

No need to make profit – cover the costs

Contractor needs to earn a living

Need to meet employer’s responsibilities including providing equipment

Contractor responsibility

Possible groups

Staffing Considerations

• Free periods beyond PPA – what for and for what value?

• SLT are very expensive classroom teachers• Should we staff to create capacity or buy it in

when we can?• Future supply and retention issues• More flexible models?• What can we afford for staffing – ASCL tool?

The Matrix - Teaching

See the Difference

Partnership and Procurement

• Greatest opportunities are in shared staffing

• Purchasing consortia provide good benchmarks, perform due diligence and discharge best value

• Use procurement frameworks

Plenary

Feedback and Questions

Documents

Good Governance: Strategy & Accountability. Outline —Accountability —Staying Strategic —Working Effectively