Session 2:

Strategic Guidance

Spring Term 2014

School GovernorInduction

What do I want to know by Week 4?

• What is my role and what are my responsibilities (x4)

• What is the role of the staff governor• How much can I say when the boss is in the

room? Can I be asked to leave the room?• What can I give to the school?• How are accountable are we?• What can I contribute? What are our limitations?

1. General Introductory Module

2. Strategic Governance

3. Governors as Critical Friends

4. Accountability

Outline Of Course

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• Know about the main purposes and three key roles of governing bodies

• Understand their role in school improvement

• Have practised the skills involved in monitoring and evaluating school performance

• Know how to access further information and support

After This Course Governors Will...

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• What is the vision for your school?

• How do you know?

• What information is available to you?

• What do you do with that information?

• Whom do you ask?

Strategic means ‘having a plan’!

Module 2 – Strategic Governance

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• Aims, Ethos, Vision• Targets• School Improvement Plan• Self Evaluation• Budget• Staffing Structure• Policies• Service Level Agreements

Strategic Plans and Issues

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“Governing bodies have formal responsibility for the financial management of their schools, and so the standard is primarily aimed at governors”

• Optional for academies, required for others• Set of 23 statements• Governing body signs off• Review annually

Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS)

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Four sections

• The governing body and school staff (See handout)

• Setting the budget• Value for money• Protecting public money

SFVS

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• Annual framework for financial expenditure• Set early each year for following financial year• Drafted by bursar/finance officer/head• Approved/signed off by governing body or finance

committee• Finance committee must monitor regularly through

year• Should reflect overall school priorities• Most money goes on staff salaries

Budget

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• Governors are involved in overall strategy• Head and staff run the school operationally

Task – Whose Task?

1.Which are tasks for governors?

2.Which are tasks for staff?

3.Which tasks may overlap between both?

Strategic Vs. Operational

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Self Evaluation

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• School should continually self-evaluate• Written document recommended• Brief - 300-500 words• Ofsted offers suggested template• Governors should monitor process

Self Evaluation Document

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• Concise and succinct• Evaluative rather than descriptive or repetitive• Regularly updated to inform governors• Linked to Ofsted inspection focuses, setting out

strengths and weaknesses• Linked to school development planning, and

identifies areas for improvement• An indicator of the success of the school’s

actions in tackling issues identified at the previous inspection

Linked to School Development Plan

1. Achievement:

2. Quality of Teaching

3. Behaviour and safety:

4. Leadership and management:

• Sets out priorities for school improvement• Includes Ofsted recommendations for action• Should be “SMART”• Drafted by head/staff but governors should have

input• Governors should receive regular progress

reports• Not a static document – changes and evolves• Budget should reflect priorities

School Development Plan (SDP)

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• Has clear focus• Is SMART (specific; measurable, achievable)• Includes time scales, costing and people

involved• Identifies success criteria• Is well researched, communicated and “owned”• Is clear how will be monitored and evaluated and

by whom

School Features of good SDPs

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1.Read High Hopes SDP• What good points does it have?• Are there any weak features?• How might it be improved?

2.Repeat task using your own SDP

School Development Plan: Task

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Strategic Governance - Summary

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• Big picture• Whole school issues• Focus on student performance• Focus on school improvement• Committees deal with more detailed issues

Governors And School Improvement

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What is the evidence?SEF

Who do we ask and how?

Where do we get the information?DATA

What kinds of achievement do we value?

How do we know it’s happening?REPORTSVISITS

To whom are we accountable?

How do we contribute to planning for it?SIP + PERF. MGT + RESOURCES

What are our values? POLICIES What is our vision? What are we trying to achieve? PLANS