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Governing for Real
PaJeSWednesday 21 October 2015
© NGA 2014 1www.nga.org.uk
© NGA 2015 2www.nga.org.uk
NGA is a membership organisation
• Representing the governors and trustees in all state funded schools in
England
• Our aim to improve the effectiveness of governing boards by providing expert
and tailored information and advice, and challenge when appropriate
Standard governing body membership is £75
GOLD governing body membership is £260
and includes an advice line
© NGA 2015 3www.nga.org.uk
Purpose of the session
The purpose of the session is to practice being a governor.
It will cover:
1. Principles and starting points
2. Tips and pointers
3. Example School - introduction
4. A practice governing body meeting
5. Review of the session
© NGA 2015 4www.nga.org.uk
1. Principles and Starting Points
© NGA 2015 5www.nga.org.uk
Governors are holders of public office
The seven principles of public life, also known as the Nolan principles:
1. Selflessness
2. Integrity
3. Objectivity
4. Accountability
5. Openness
6. Honesty
7. Leadership
How governance is conducted says a lot about an organisation
© NGA 2015 6www.nga.org.uk
Starting points
1. Set the vision, ethos and strategic direction for the school
2. Stay strategic and focus on improvement priorities: delegate the
operational to school leaders
3. Don’t get overwhelmed by compliance and reviewing policies: focus on
principles; delegate procedures
4. Recruit great school leaders … and trust them to recruit great staff
5. Ensure school leaders are equipped to do their jobs, with outstanding
HR, procurement, financial and legal advice
6. Make sure the CPD budget is overspent every year – you can’t afford
not to invest in your staff
© NGA 2015 7www.nga.org.uk
The NGA’s Eight Elements of Good Governance
1. The right people round the table
2. Understanding role and responsibilities
3. Good chairing
4. Professional clerking
5. Good relationships based on trust6. 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* “Challenging” does not mean aggressive or threatening. It means searching, rigorous,
thought provoking
© NGA 2015 8www.nga.org.uk
2. Tips and Pointers
© NGA 2015 9www.nga.org.uk
Questions a new governor might ask
• When will I receive papers for a GB meeting?
• Where and when will the meeting be held?
• Will have I have difficulty with the venue such as steps? hearing?
• Will the meeting start and finish on time?
• Will there be refreshments?
• Where should I sit?
• Who else will be at the meeting?
• Will I have to speak?
© NGA 2015 10www.nga.org.uk
Question Suggested answer
When will I receive papers for a GB meeting?
Should be 1 week in advance; should never have tabled papers
Where and when will the meeting be held?
Room should be appropriate for a board meeting, at a reasonable time for most members
Will have I have difficulty with the venue such as steps? hearing?
Should be fully accessible and encourage governors with disabilities
Will the meeting start and finish on time?The chair is in charge of the clock – some GBs have time limits (eg 90 minutes only)
Will there be refreshments? Yes – you should look after your volunteer governors
Where should I sit?Let the chair sit in the middle of the long side in order to facilitate eye-contact
Who else will be at the meeting?Make sure there are proper introductions, and consider name plates
Will I have to speak?Oh yes! So read the papers, and if in doubt ask for a briefing before the meeting
© NGA 2015 11www.nga.org.uk
Chair and Clerk
Chair – elected annually, trained, subject to annual appraisal (if it is good
enough for the staff, it is good enough for the Chair) … and does not hang
around too long (4-6 years is long enough)
Clerk – paid and trained to give proper advice to the GB as well as take the
minutes. A clerk can be put in a difficult position if he/she is asked to serve two
bosses – so try to find a clerk who does not have another job in the school.
© NGA 2015 12www.nga.org.uk
If a GB meeting were an orchestral recital …
Governing Body
Chair
Head teacher
Clerk
Governor
Orchestra
Leader of the Orchestra
Principal Soloist
Conductor
Trombonist
Some other role
© NGA 2015 13www.nga.org.uk
Knowing the school
Try to triangulate from (at least) 3 sources:
•What the head teacher and senior staff tell you
•What you see or hear with your own eyes and ears
•What you are told by trusted third parties
© NGA 2015 14www.nga.org.uk
The headteacher’s report – or is it?
“The headteacher must give the governing body any information asked for to help it carry out its functions.” (Governors’ Handbook)
The HT should report on:
•Progress towards achieving targets
•Reasons for targets not being met as expected - with particular reference to budget allocation and staffing structures and specific initiatives
•Actions taken to address issues raised
•Adjustments to the plans in order for targets to be met
The HT should provide evidence (data) for progress towards and achievement of targets
REMEMBER – the report is by the headteacher, but it is for the governors.
© NGA 2015 15www.nga.org.uk
Visiting the school
• Is the purpose of school visits clear?
– Getting to know the school
and / or
– Monitoring improvement priorities
• Is there a policy and are there protocols which have been agreed and
shared with staff?
• Do all governors visit?
• How do governors report on visits?
© NGA 2015 16www.nga.org.uk
What sort of questions, and why?
Monitor
What is happening? What are the
facts?
Evaluate
Is it good news?
What might the future
hold?
Act
What next for the SLT?
What next for governors?
Holding the headteacher to account
How many teachers on the intensive support
programme?
How many do you expect to exit the support programme
this term?
Do we need to praise the headteacher?
Financial resources well spent
How much was spent on supply teachers?
Is that over budget?
Alter budget, or control costs?
© NGA 2015 17www.nga.org.uk
Do we need a courageous conversation?
S.W.O.T. (Where are we now?)
Our vision (Where do we want to go?)
Our priorities for improvement (How are we going to get there?)
SMART targets for each priority (How will we know when we have arrived?)
Termly milestones (Are we nearly there yet?)
Monitoring arrangements (Are we happy with the progress we are making?)
© NGA 2015 18www.nga.org.uk
NGA training ….
Observe somebody else’s governing body (or similar board) meeting ?“Borrow” an experienced chair or clerk from another GB until you have sufficient experience to fly solo ?Appoint an additional governor with particular skills and experience for a fixed period ?
Ideas to consider
© NGA 2015 19www.nga.org.uk
When is the dress rehearsal?
• If you were putting on the school play, you’d have rehearsals,
including a full dress rehearsal
• If you were coaching the school first team, you’d have training
sessions before the big match
• If you were teaching a GCSE class, you’d have mock examinations
• If you were holding a governing body meeting ….
© NGA 2015 20www.nga.org.uk
A practice governing body meeting
• The rest of our session will be a “walk-through” of a governing body
meeting
• Some of you will take on roles of the governors, principal etc
• The rest of you will observe
• At each stage we will pause, reflect, hear from the observers, take
questions and discuss any learning points
© NGA 2015 21www.nga.org.uk
3. Example School
- introduction
© NGA 2015 22www.nga.org.uk
Example School
• Example School opened as new free school in September 2013.
• The School is a Jewish school, and has a strong and committed
group of trustees and governors who have seen the school through
founding and early growth
• The School will be an all-through school, taking ages 3-19.
• This year there are only year groups R, 1 and 2 in the primary
section and years 7, 8 and 9 in the secondary section
• The current Principal took up post in September 2014 following the
departure of the founding Principal.
© NGA 2015 23www.nga.org.uk
Practice governing body meeting
See handouts: Setting the scene
•In your folders are a governing body agenda and papers
•There is further information and/or instructions for those with active roles and observers in the envelopes
(not in your folders)
• First we will have reading time
• Second we will have preparation time
• Third we will hold a practice governing body meeting, pausing to discuss learning points, and
taking feedback from observers
I will be on hand to keep to time and facilitate
© NGA 2015 24www.nga.org.uk
Reviewing the session
The session has covered …
1.Principles and starting points
2.Tips and pointers
3.Example School - introduction
4.A practice governing body meeting
5.Review of the session
© NGA 2015 25www.nga.org.uk
Remember …
– Set the vision, ethos and strategic direction for the
school
– Recruit great school leaders … and trust them to recruit
great staff
– Triangulate at least 3 views of the school
– Give praise and thanks where it is due OR have the
courage to intervene when necessary