the roles of a governor
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THE ROLES OF A
GOVERNOR
David Marriott
David Marriott Limited
[email protected]
www.thegovernor.org.uk
AFTER THIS SESSION
Find this presentation and associated documents and links at
www.thegovernor.org.uk
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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
7 PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE
S e l f l e s s n e s s : h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f fi c e
s h o u l d t a ke d e c i s i o n s s o l e l y i n te r m s o f
t h e p u b l i c i n te r e s t . T h ey s h o u l d n ot d o
s o i n o r d e r to g a i n fi n a n c i a l o r ot h e r
m a te r i a l b e n e fi t s fo r t h e m s e l v e s , t h e i r
family or their friends.
I n t e g r i t y : h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f fi c e s h o u l d
n o t p l a c e t h e m s e l v e s u n d e r a ny
f i n a n c i a l o r ot h e r o b l i g a t i o n to o u t s i d e
individuals or organisations that might
i n f l u e n c e t h e m i n t h e p e r fo r m a n c e o f
their official duties.
Objectivity: in carr ying out public
business, including making public
a p p o i n t m e n t s , awa r d i n g c o n t r a c t s , o r
r e c o m m e n d i n g i n d i v i d u a l s fo r r e wa r d s
a n d b e n e fi t s , h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f fi c e
s h o u l d m a ke c h o i c e s o n m e r i t .
A c c o u n t a b i l i t y : h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f fi c e
a r e a c c o u n t a b l e fo r t h e i r d e c i s i o n s a n d
a c t i o n s to t h e p u b l i c a n d m u s t s u b m i t
t h e m s e l v e s to w h a te v e r s c r u t i ny i s
a p p r o p r i a t e to t h e i r o f fi c e .
Openness: holders of public office
should be as open as possible about all
t h e d e c i s i o n s a n d a c t i o n s t h a t t h ey
t a ke . T h ey s h o u l d g i v e r e a s o n s f o r t h e i r
decisions and restrict information only
w h e n t h e w i d e r p u b l i c i n te r e s t c l e a r l y
demands this.
H o n e s t y : h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f f i c e h av e a
d u t y to d e c l a r e a ny p r i v a te i n te r e s t s
r e l a t i n g to t h e i r p u b l i c d u t i e s a n d to
t a ke s te p s to r e s o l v e a ny c o n f l i c t s
a r i s i n g i n a way t h a t p r o te c t s t h e p u b l i c
i n te r e s t .
Leadership: holders of public office
s h o u l d p r o m ote a n d s u p p o r t t h e s e
p r i n c i p l e s by l e a d e r s h i p a n d e x a m p l e .
HOW DO HEADS AND GOVERNORS
SHARE THE LOAD?
Governors
Head
e n s u r e s c h o o l r u n s e f f e c t iv e l y,
providing best possible education
c h a l l e ng e a n d s u p p o r t s c h o o l to d o
b et te r
t a ke s t r a te g i c v i ew, s et u p p o l i ci e s ,
p l a n s a n d t a r g et s
m o n i to r a n d ev a l u a te r e s u l t s
d e l e g a te e n o u g h p o w e r to h e a d to r u n
s c h o o l e f f e c t i ve l y
a c c o un t a b l e to p a r e n t s a n d L A f o r
how school is run
appoint head and deputy
o r g a n i s e s , m a n a g e s a n d c o n t r o ls t h e
s c h o o l d ay - to - d ay, i n c a l l s t a f f
ex p e c t s G B to c h a l l e n g e a n d s u p p o r t
s c h o o l to d o b et te r
d i s c us s e s m a i n a s p e c t s o f s c h o o l l i fe
with GB
a c c o un t a b l e to G B f o r h o w s c h o o l i s
led and managed and its
p e r fo r m a n c e
THE CHAIR’S ROLE
The strategic role
Managing
relationships with
the head, staff,
governors, parents,
community
Managing the work
and effectiveness of
the GB, inc
succession planning
Ensuring and
providing
accountability
THE GOVERNOR’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?
MANAGING THE WORKLOAD
Scheme of Delegation
skills audit and
deployment
committees and task
groups
specialist governors
associate members
Standing Orders
Code of Conduct
Online 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 leader ship and organisation (including
federations, chains of schools, all -through schools)
parental choice and influence
accountability to a range of bodies and groups
per formance management and professional development
recruitment and retention issues, alternative staf fing patterns,
shor tage of school leader s, alternative leader ship models
the impact of technology – social networking; mobile phones; cloud
computing
lighter touch Ofsted inspections
SWOT
Strengths
Weaknesses
Internal
Opportunities
Threats
External
CRITICAL FRIEND
Support
Challenge
Constructive advice
Sounding board
Second opinion
Help where needed
Ask the right
questions, of the right
person, for the right
reasons, at the right
time, in the right way
Improve proposals
Seek best solution for
all
WHERE DOES YOUR GOVERNING BODY
SIT?
High support
Supporters Club
‘We’re here to support the
head’.
Partners or critical friends
‘We share everything –good or
bad’.
Low challenge
Abdicators
‘We leave it to the
professionals’.
High challenge
Adversaries
‘We keep a very close eye on
the staff!’.
Low support
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 attain
the 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
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Raw data and league
tables
RAISEonline
Ofsted report
School Self-Evaluation
information
Headteacher’s report
Pupil tracking data
(anonymised)
Subject leader report
Link governor report
School Improvement
or Development Plan
(and related progress
reports)
School Profile
School Awards (eg
Investors In People,
Healthy Schools,
Artsmark; Basic
Skills)
Curriculum
Committee minutes
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?
ACCOUNTABILIT Y
Being accountable for
School performance
GB’s actions
Taking account of
Performance data
Feedback from
stakeholders
Self-evaluation
Giving an account
To parents and the
community
To Ofsted
To Diocese
ACCOUNTABLE FOR...
School performance
GB’s actions
Taking account of:
SEF
RAISEonline
PM – headteacher
performance management
Stakeholder feedback eg
complaints and
compliments
Taking account of:
Minutes
GB self-evaluation eg
Governor Mark
Training record
GIVING AN ACCOUNT
To parents and the
community
School profile
Reports?
Regular communication:
Newsletter
Website
Presence at school
To Ofsted
Ensuring the governing body
provides ef fective challenge
and suppor t so that
weaknesses are tackled
decisively and statutor y
responsibilities are met
Fulfil statutor y responsibilities
Shape the direction
Challenge and suppor t leaders
INSPECTING GOVERNANCE
Ensuring the governing body provides ef fective challenge and
support so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and
statutory responsibilities are met
Fulfil statutory responsibilities
Shape the direction
Challenge and support leaders
INADEQUATE
The governing body has too little impact on the direction and
work of the school.
or
The governing body does not challenge the school to address
weaknesses and bring about improvement.
or
The 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 staf f are safe. In
discharging their statutor y responsibilities, they have highly robust
systems for evaluating the ef fectiveness 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,
suppor ting the work of the staf f in improving outcomes for all pupils
They are confident in providing high levels of professional challenge to
hold the school to account
Governors engage ver y ef fectively with parents, pupils and the staf f as
a whole and are well informed about user s’ 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?