New Chairs' Presentation
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This document discusses the role and responsibilities of the chair of a governing board. It is divided into three strands: Strand 1 focuses on relationships, including the important relationships between the chair and headteacher, the governing board and headteacher, and between governors. Strand 2 discusses "doing the right things" such as ensuring the governing board is structured properly, focused on strategic priorities, and using objective data to make difficult decisions. It also stresses the importance of skills and preparation. Strand 3 emphasizes the need for boards to be efficient and effective with their limited time, through asking thoughtful questions, properly managing meetings, and periodically evaluating whether any changes are needed.
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New Chairs' Presentation
- 1. The Role of Chair - Strand 1 – Relationships Strand 2 - Doing the right things Strand 3: Efficient & effective First Amongst Equals? Brian Beal
- 2. Let’s hit the ground running!
- 3. The Role of Chair - Strand 1 – Relationships
- 4. Chair & Headteacher – The Axis
- 6. The Chair – Understanding the role
- 8. Governors - Expectations of the role
- 9. Governors & Clerk – a positive relationship
- 11. It is the headteacher’s job (and in maintained schools it is their legal duty) to give their governing body all the informa:on it needs to do its job well.
- 12. They should also provide regularly whatever management informa:on the governing body requires to monitor different aspects of life in the school throughout the year.
- 13. The governing body, not the headteacher, should determine the scope and format of headteacher’s termly reports. This will mean that it receives the informa:on it needs in a format that enables it to stay focused on its core strategic func:ons and not get distracted or overwhelmed by informa:on of secondary importance.
- 15. The Chair’s relationship with other governors
- 16. Honest reflection – making a difference?
- 17. Do all governors engage & make the difference?
- 19. Strand 2 - Doing the right things
- 20. Structural issues – fit for purpose?
- 21. Being focused – or dazed and confused?
- 22. Time out – having a cunning plan
- 23. Having a roadmap.. Is Sat Nav good enough?
- 24. Who’s in the driving seat?
- 25. Objective data – hard decisions
- 26. Be prepared! – Having skills, developing skills…
- 27. Not accepting information at face value
- 28. Four graded judgments across all phases / remits • Leadership and management • Teaching, learning and assessment • Personal development, behaviour and welfare • Outcomes for children and learners … and greater emphasis on safeguarding and curriculum
- 29. What is ‘consultation’, and why should we ‘consult’?
- 30. Strand 3: efficient & effective
- 31. So little time – so much to do!
- 33. Managing the business – doing it right
- 34. So what? Change or consolidate…?
Notes de l'éditeur
- This is a ‘sleeves rolled up’ workshop for Chairs, Vice Chairs, and Chairs apparent. It will explore how you can lead your Governing Board by: Developing and sustaining appropriate relationships with key partners including your Headteacher, professional staff, Governing Body, your Clerk and the LA. Securing the accountability, providing appropriate challenge and to facilitate support that is responsive to need. Managing the business of your Governing Board to ensure that it focuses on its core strategic roles and does not become by distracted by secondary issues. Ensuring that your governing body provides strategic leadership, understanding your school’s strengths and weaknesses without straying into operational matters that are the concerns of your Headteacher and staff. Providing updates of current and those anticipated changes that will impact on your school’s provision in the near future.
- ‘Governors are most effective when they are fully involved in the school’s self-evaluation and use the knowledge gained to challenge the school, understand its strengths and weaknesses and contribute to shaping its strategic direction. In contrast, weak governance is likely to fail to ensure statutory requirements are met, for example those related to safeguarding. In addition, where governance is weak the involvement of governors in monitoring the quality of provision is not well enough defined or sufficiently rigorous and challenging.’ The 21st century school: implications and challenges for governing bodies, Department For Education, April 2010
- Being organised and effective: Has The Governing Board set a calendar of board meetings and an agreed procedure for setting agendas? Have ground rules - working arrangements between the Headteacher and the Governing Board? Is there a record of the Chair attending Chair’s training and briefings? Has the Governing Board has appointed its clerk and agreed a job description?
- The relationship of HT and Chair is the axis because it: Sets the tone of the relationship – degree of professionalism, challenge, support. Sets the culture of the board – the way we do things around here… Being prepared for meetings Expectations of time Feedback from visits, participation in meetings Both of Governors, but also Clerk Formality – setting a business tone to meetings – table / papers, Clerk / Chair / HT arrangement at the table. Mutuality –This requires time to work at the relationship, attendance at training, events etc. Being seen as a ‘team’.
- Understanding where to draw the line – strategic versus operational. Is this clear? The conflicting role of the head teacher as operational leader with the role of governor. The issue of the Chair intervening legitimately (i.e. if there are serious concerns regarding the headt eacher) and where this is interference (i.e. complaints).
- The Chair’s understanding of the role – is this inherited or assumed? Understanding the limitations of the role – first amongst EQUALS The temptation to ‘go it alone’ Training / mentoring The public face – participation at Schools’ Forum etc. Developing and deploying the team Avoiding Cliques
- An effective partnership between the governance and leadership Is there a planned meeting schedule ? School improvement activities that are focused on raising standards that are supported by joint working between governors and the SLT Projects where governors and staff have been leading together? Joint working on policy formulation or review? Understanding that the GB must provide challenge and secure accountability.
- Other governors’ understandings – the internal dynamic Challenging where necessary (Chair on PM panel – ) Willingness to stand for election – ensure that there’s a healthy review of incumbent’s performance Ensuring a succession plan – having a Chair Apparent. 360 degree review & feedback to Chair Expectations – papers & effective / efficient Chairing (Not accepting tabled papers, not overrunning, dominating discussions etc.) Parent / Staff / LA governors – not there to represent their constituents.
- Understanding your Clerk Appointed by, and accountable to the Governing Board Managing governing body meetings Timetabling the work of the governing body Planning the agenda for meetings Producing the minutes: the formal record of governance Keeping the governing body within the law Organisation and administration Maintaining good relationships Governor membership
- What are the symptoms? Failing to provide information Sideling business or swamping the agendas. Tabling information / not having the paperwork but giving verbal reports Failing to act on Governing Board suggestions Not sharing external reports Controlling access - External Adviser, LA Officers, Parents Not making time to meet with governors, or attend meetings
- ‘The Head Teacher must comply with any reasonable direction of the governing body’ (2013 Regulations) Guide to the law ‘To assist the governing body in carrying out its functions the head teacher has a duty to provide the governing body with such reports in connection with the exercise of his or her functions as the governing body requires’ ‘the clerk shall give written notice of the meeting, a copy of the agenda for the meeting and any reports or other papers to be considered at the meeting at least seven days in advance’ (Amended School Governance Regulations 2013)
- Gathering information from the head teacher and other professionals to support the governing board’s evaluations: Can governors identify where Headteacher and other reports have assisted decision-making by the governing board and led to school improvement? Is there evidence of how governors have informed themselves about the quality of teaching and learning?
- Key points: Scope & format ‘termly’ isn’t consistent with the regulations cited earlier Focus on core strategic functions Not being distracted or overwhelmed
- Underlying issues – why is this? The Headteacher sees the Governing Board as a threat Perceives the Governing Body as ‘do-gooders / amateurs’ Schools –An internally focussed sector Not engaging with HT Performance Management process Does not accept the Governing Board’s Authority Quality of Teaching as a ‘no go’ area – professional domain Unwillingness to engage in challenging discussions – Atrophy
- Understanding the role of Chair and governor Chair / head teacher – this should not be allowed to become exclusive relationship – the needs for equity in access to the Headteacher and professional staff Limitations of the Chair’s role The chair or vice chair has the power to carry out functions of the governing body if a delay in exercising a function is likely to be seriously detrimental to the interests of the school, a pupil at the school or their parents, or a person who works at the school. Any action taken under this power must be reported to the governing body. ‘Succession breeds success’ Delegating aspects of the Chair’s role to develop a successor
- How effective is the Chair? - From the Governance Framework / revised 20 questions Do we carry out a regular 360 degree review of the Chair’s performance and re-elect the Chair each year? Do we engage in good succession planning so that no governor serves for longer than two terms of office and the chair is replaced every six years? Does the chair carry out an annual review of each governor’s contribution to the governing board’s performance?
- Implications for training Induction & re-induction – ‘things change – so do ways of working’ Engagement of all governors – how’s this managed? – Signposting questions – strategies – working groups, pass the ball etc. Learning from the best Timings of meetings – frequency. Roles of staff & parent governors Issue of complaints
- Developing skills and knowledge: Are new governors are invited to visit the school and meet the head teacher. Is there a procedure for school based induction and support? Has the governing board delegated responsibility for implementing it? Are key documents identified in the school’s governor induction procedure? Have 100% of new governors completed an Induction Training Programme, face to face or by distance learning? Is there a mechanism to support, mentor or coach new governors?
- Is there evidence that governors have influenced target setting? Has the governing board engaged with external advice to support school improvement? Does the governing board receive reports from school improvement professionals? And acts upon them? Is there evidence of a calendar of governing board meetings where the board oversees compliance with SFVS Standard / meeting the requirements of the academy financial handbook? Is there evidence that school’s self-evaluation is at the core of the governing board’s contribution to the development cycle? Is there evidence of the Govering Boards leadership of 3-year budget planning?
- Committees & Panels Each board has the flexibility to determine its own structure to deal effectively with its business. There is no ‘set’ committee structure. However they will need to identify panels to deal with the specific issues, for example to deal with complaints from parents and others, staff discipline and dismissal, capability, appeals, the head teacher’s performance management, teachers’ pay etc. Having a ‘fit for purpose structure’ – when and how did your GB decide on its current structure?
- So many demands – can’t see the wood for the trees – working smarter not harder Providing ‘pro-bono’ services – confusing the roles Impact statements against each SIP / AfI – what have you done, what’s the impact, where’s the evidence? Annual reflection and statement. Engagement in SIP priorities – approving the plan Is the SDP the focus of all policy and strategy – minutes activity – core roles & questions Research – what are your Ofsted AfIs? What has been your GBs impact on these – do your minutes identify impacts?
- ‘Time out’ to plan – annually Timings of meetings – milestones – links to Teacher Reviews, HT PM reviews, GB monitoring of SDP What are the barriers to being strategic – skills / kudos / understanding What successful strategies have been implemented – (learning from the best)
- Getting the horse before the cart… Who’s in the driving seat? Do you have a 3 to 4 year roadmap? What with the school look like in 5 years time – not the same as the school’s vision or ethos – will need defining SLT to turn the long term picture into a plan (roadmap) – analogy roads etc. Updated annually KPIs – new era – new language – Approval and monitoring in a systematic manor – Governor Action Plan – success criteria What don’t you need to do?
- Leadership role of the Chair HT Proposes The governing board makes the decision – not the chair! However… the Chair helps them make the best decisions SLT should be involved in the decision making process Staff deliver
- Making hard decisions based on objective data The best interests of the children come first Not the Headteacher, staff or governors Independent thought What if you’re unsure about your headt eacher’s performance? Challenge and accountability Using resources to focus discussions / activities FE toolkit? Pupil premium – Objective data activity Key Question – From the review toolkit: How much has the school improved over the last three years, and what has the governing board’s contribution been to this?
- Skill’s audit / external review toolkit / 20 questions / Leading Governors Have we completed a skills audit which informs the governor specification we use as the basis of governor appointment and interview? Do we have the right people round the table? Governing Board self-review: Has the GB used specific self-review tools with outcomes that lead to a resulting action plan? What evidence is there that the governing board can make sharp judgements and provide factual outcomes to support them? Does the GB ensure that outcomes of self-evaluation are been followed up? Is the GB’s self-evaluation scheduled to fit in with the annual planning cycle?
- From NAHT / ASCL: Is it made clear that: We expect all new governors (including staff governors) commit to undertake both school based induction and professional induction training. We expect all governors to commit to specific issue based training as it arises and to ensure that their knowledge and understandings of their roles are up to date We allocate a budget to ensure that our Governing Board is appropriately trained The GB’s training programme is planned strategically to provide a manageable programme combining activities for individual and small groups of governors and occasional activities for the full governing board
- From September 2015 New ‘Common Inspection Framework” Frequent, shorter inspections for good schools – approximately every three years. More proportionate: the right sort of inspections at the right time Designed to check if the quality of provision is being sustained and leaders have the capacity to drive improvement Help support rising standards with greater professional dialogue. Regular reporting to parents, carers, learners and employers Identify decline early and give schools and providers opportunity to demonstrate improvement sooner
- Processes for consultation – e.g. staff and parents – not confusing the roles of Staff & Parent Governors with the need for focus groups How well do we listen to, understand and respond to our pupils, parents and staff? How do we make regular reports on the work of the governing board to our parents and local community
- If governance is good there will be evidence of its impact on school performance and outcomes for pupils. There will also be evidence that the Governing Board is influential in the life of the school. The influence of the Governing Board – reflective questions: What issues has the Governing Board prioritised? Why did the Governing Board identify these? What did the Governing Board do? What was the involvement of the Governing Board in the strategy for improvement? What was the impact? Benchmarking? How did Governing Board monitor and evaluate the strategy?
- Being Effective - Using time efficiently Well planned for meetings No replication, or redundant committees. Purposeful visits – clear focus & feedback Link to SIP / development of role
- Skilful questioning – incisive – not superficial Can you give an example of a time when you have had to challenge the head? Is your SEF discussed at every full governing body meeting?
- Role of Clerk vs Role of Admin – not making unreasonable demands of the school’s staff Planning meeting Chair / HT / Clerk – delegation planning / schedule. SIP boulders first – then compliance pebbles. Managing papers – actions agreed – chasing up Good quality and relevant information – internally Access to data needed to monitor KPIs – including those identified in policies Information available at the right level – not over detailed. RaiseOnline Governor Data Dashboard Papers – includes LA guidance – national expectations – keeping informed.
- Is your governing body’s business focused on the priorities in the school strategic plan? Do governors receive the information and data they need to ask the right questions, and hold the headteacher and senior leaders to account, for improving school performance and raising standards? Is your school’s self-evaluation process robust and is the governing body appropriately engaged at a strategic level in the whole process? Does your clerk have a job description and do you manage the clerk’s performance? Do you receive all papers seven days in advance of meetings? Are meetings effectively run, focusing on key priorities, and allowing everyone to participate and do their job well? Do you spend too much meeting time reviewing policies and checking compliance rather than monitoring the impact on the children? Does the vice-chair share some of the chair’s business? Is your governing body having an impact on school standards?
- Is your governing body’s business focused on the priorities in the school strategic plan? Do governors receive the information and data they need to ask the right questions, and hold the headteacher and senior leaders to account, for improving school performance and raising standards? Is your school’s self-evaluation process robust and is the governing body appropriately engaged at a strategic level in the whole process? Does your clerk have a job description and do you manage the clerk’s performance? Do you receive all papers seven days in advance of meetings? Are meetings effectively run, focusing on key priorities, and allowing everyone to participate and do their job well? Do you spend too much meeting time reviewing policies and checking compliance rather than monitoring the impact on the children? Does the vice-chair share some of the chair’s business? Is your governing body having an impact on school standards?