david marriott david marriott limited the roles of a governor [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
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AFTER THIS SESSION
THE PURPOSE OF THE GOVERNING BODY
To make sure the school provides the best possible education for all its pupils
A CORPORATE BODY
Individual governors have no power or right to act on behalf of the GB, except where the whole governing body has delegated a specific function to that individual
Governors should act at all times with honesty and integrity and be ready to explain their actions and decisions to staff, pupils, parents and anyone with a legitimate interest in the school
Decisions demand collective responsibility: the majority view must be supported publicly – otherwise, resign
Selflessness: holders of public office should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family or their friends.
Integrity: holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties.
Objectivity: in carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.
Accountability: holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.
Openness: holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands this.
Honesty: holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.
Leadership: holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.
7 PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE
HOW DO HEADS AND GOVERNORS SHARE THE LOAD?
Governors ensure school runs effectively,
providing best possible education challenge and support school to do
better take strategic view, set up policies,
plans and targets monitor and evaluate results delegate enough power to head to run
school effectively accountable to parents and LA for how
school is run appoint head and deputy
Head organises, manages and controls the
school day-to-day, inc all staff expects GB to challenge and support
school to do better discusses main aspects of school life
with GB accountable to GB for how school is led
and managed and its performance
The strategic roleManaging
relationships with the head, staff, governors, parents, community
Managing the work and effectiveness of the GB, inc succession planning
Ensuring and providing accountability
THE CHAIR’S ROLE
One morning in the school playground a small group of parents approaches you and asks you to sort out a problem for them
Their children’s teacher has gone on maternity leave, replaced by a newly qualified teacher
They feel that the new teacher isn’t doing as good a job as her predecessor
They want you to “do something about it”
What do you do next?
THE GOVERNOR’S ROLE
MANAGING THE WORKLOAD
Scheme of Delegationskills audit and
deploymentcommittees and task
groupsspecialist governorsassociate membersStanding OrdersCode of ConductOnline participation:
guidance for school governors
Guide to the Law
3 KEY ROLES
Provide a strategic view
Act as a critical friend
Provide accountability
STRATEGIC VIEW
Decide what you want the school to be like in the future – vision
Set suitable aims and objectives
Agree priorities, policies and targets
Strategic and development plans
Evaluate progress towards the vision
FOOD FOR THOUGHT…
Top layer: looking into the future: long term
Middle layer: strategic plan: medium term
Bottom layer: the school improvement plan: short term
EDUCATION TRENDS
less money decentralisation of education, curriculum and testing; revision of the
National Curriculum increasingly diverse range of schools with significant autonomy -
Academies and Free Schools; two tier system? new forms of school leadership and organisation (including
federations, chains of schools, all-through schools) parental choice and influence accountability to a range of bodies and groups performance management and professional development recruitment and retention issues, alternative staffing patterns,
shortage of school leaders, alternative leadership models the impact of technology – social networking; mobile phones; cloud
computing lighter touch Ofsted inspections
SWOT
StrengthsWeaknesses
OpportunitiesThreats
Internal
External
CRITICAL FRIEND
Support
Constructive adviceSounding boardSecond opinionHelp where needed
Challenge
Ask the right questions, of the right person, for the right reasons, at the right time, in the right way
Improve proposalsSeek best solution for
all
WHERE DOES YOUR GOVERNING BODY SIT?
High support
Low support
High challengeLow challenge
Partners or critical friends
‘We share everything –good or bad’.
Supporters Club
‘We’re here to support the head’.
Abdicators
‘We leave it to the professionals’.
Adversaries
‘We keep a very close eye on the staff!’.
MONITOR AND EVALUATE WHAT?
school performance data
policies, plans, improvement strategies
resources and the budget
the school (or learning) environment
our own performance as a governing body
OFSTED - WHAT SHOULD SCHOOLS EVALUATE?
How well learners perform in terms of: the overall standards they attainthe standards attained by different groups such
as girls and boys, those from different ethnic groups, and those with different special needs
the progress made by different groups of learners over time
outcomes from learners’ personal development and well-being
Raw data and league tables
RAISEonlineOfsted reportSchool Self-
Evaluation information
Headteacher’s reportPupil tracking data
(anonymised)
Subject leader reportLink governor reportSchool Improvement
or Development Plan (and related progress reports)
School ProfileSchool Awards (eg
Investors In People, Healthy Schools, Artsmark; Basic Skills)
Curriculum Committee minutes
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DATA
how do our results compare overall and by subject with those of previous years? (are they rising, holding steady, or falling? Have we met our targets?)
how do they compare with national standards?how do they compare with similar schools?how well do different groups of pupils progress?
(key stages, year groups, gender, ethnicity, special educational needs, high attainers?)
how do different subjects compare with each other?
ACCOUNTABILITY
Being accountable forSchool performanceGB’s actions
Taking account ofPerformance dataFeedback from
stakeholdersSelf-evaluation
Giving an accountTo parents and the
communityTo OfstedTo Diocese
ACCOUNTABLE FOR...
School performance
Taking account of:SEFRAISEonlinePM – headteacher
performance managementStakeholder feedback eg
complaints and compliments
GB’s actions
Taking account of:MinutesGB self-evaluation eg
Governor MarkTraining record
GIVING AN ACCOUNT
To parents and the community
School profileReports?
Regular communication:NewsletterWebsitePresence at school
To Ofsted Ensuring the governing body
provides effective challenge and support so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities are met
Fulfil statutory responsibilities Shape the direction Challenge and support leaders
INSPECTING GOVERNANCE
Ensuring the governing body provides effective challenge and support so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities are met
Fulfil statutory responsibilitiesShape the directionChallenge and support leaders
INADEQUATE
The governing body has too little impact on the direction and work of the school.
orThe governing body does not challenge the school to address
weaknesses and bring about improvement.orThe governing body’s negligence in failing to meet its
statutory requirements places the pupils’ achievement or well-being at risk.
SATISFACTORY
Governors discharge their statutory responsibilities and ensure that pupils and staff are safe.
They are well organised, are visible in the school community, and support staff and pupils.
Most governors know the strengths and weaknesses of the school and understand the challenges it faces and are directly involved in setting appropriate priorities for improvement.
The governing body holds the school to account for tackling important weaknesses.
Governors engage often with parents and pupils and respond quickly to their views and any significant concerns they may have.
GOOD
The governing body has the capacity to meet the school’s needs and is influential in determining the strategic direction of the school
Governors are rigorous in ensuring that pupils and staff are safe and discharge their statutory duties effectively
They are fully and systematically involved in evaluating the school
Their relationships with staff are constructive and they show determination in challenging and supporting the school in tackling weaknesses and so bringing about necessary improvements
Governors have clear systems for seeking the views of parents and pupils and mechanisms for acting on these
OUTSTANDING
Governors make a highly significant contribution to the work and direction of the school
They have high levels of insight, are extremely well organised and thorough in their approach
They are vigorous in ensuring that all pupils and staff are safe. In discharging their statutory responsibilities, they have highly robust systems for evaluating the effectiveness of their implementation, keeping the work of the school under review and acting upon their findings
Governors are innovative, flexible and adapt to new ideas quickly, supporting the work of the staff in improving outcomes for all pupils
They are confident in providing high levels of professional challenge to hold the school to account
Governors engage very effectively with parents, pupils and the staff as a whole and are well informed about users’ views of the school
They use these views to inform strategic priorities for development
TASK
Working with a partner, decide what grade you would be given if inspected tomorrow
If it’s hard to decide between two grades, what stops you giving yourself the higher grade?