Transcript Diocesan GB Training - Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough

Autumn 2014
DIOCESAN GB TRAINING
OPENING PRAYER
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All praise to You, Lord Jesus,
Lover of children:
Bless our family of schools ,
And help us to lead our children to You.
Give us light and strength,
And courage when our task is difficult.
Let Your Spirit fill us with love and peace,
So that we may help our children to love You.
All glory and praise are Yours, Lord Jesus,
For ever and ever.
Amen
AGENDA
Continued focus on governance through
inspection – What Ofsted are saying.
 Reconstitution of all maintained schools
Governing Bodies – statutory requirements
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INCREASING FOCUS ON GOVERNANCE
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New inspection framework from Ofsted –
Increased Focus on governance – Why, what
are they worried about or what are we doing
wrong?
OFSTED REGIONAL ADVISOR TRAINING
For governors by far the biggest issue is lack of
challenge and over-reliance on the headteacher,
found in a large number of the schools sampled
OFSTED REGIONAL ADVISOR TRAINING
The characteristics of strong governing bodies
 Understand their role and how it complements head.
 Skills / knowledge – of education, data, statutory
responsibilities and performance management.
 Want to see and hear from middle and senior leaders about
their work - and challenge them on it.
 Have the time to be a visible presence in the school.
 Set challenging targets for performance at all levels,
including in achievement, teaching and senior management
work.
 Can form their own analysis of the school’s performance
without relying on the headteacher.
OFSTED REGIONAL ADVISOR TRAINING
In the best schools inspectors found governors were very well informed
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Regular meetings with the headteacher and presentations from staff
inform governors' understanding of the school and its work.’
‘The governing body seeks the views of parents, carers and pupils
and uses the information obtained to inform the school's selfevaluation and the school development plan.’
‘Governors have a good awareness of the school and a clear view of
the strategic direction of the school through regular visits, including
to lessons and focus groups.’
‘Governors are closely involved in self-evaluation procedures, ask
penetrating questions and expect and receive regular reports and
presentations from staff to inform their strategic decision making.’
OFSTED REGIONAL ADVISOR TRAINING
Common issues with governance -Weaknesses identified
in inspection reports included:
 not ambitious about expectations
 lack of a ‘critical friend’ approach and challenge
 over-reliance on information solely from the headteacher
 do not visit the school
 lack of engagement with school development planning
 limited role in monitoring the impact of actions
 limited understanding of data and school quality
OFSTED REGIONAL ADVISOR TRAINING
Ofsted’s report: Getting to Good identified four key actions
initiated by effective governing bodies
 Headteachers and local authorities ensured that all
governors were fully committed to the role. In some
cases this led to individuals deciding to resign.
 Governors embarked on training programmes, to
strengthen their role.
 Partnerships between governing bodies from different
schools were established to share good practice.
 Governing bodies worked alongside headteachers on
school improvement. Often they were allocated specific
aspects of school improvement to check and report on.
OFSTED REGIONAL ADVISOR TRAINING
More detailed report recommendations provide an agenda
for improving a governing body: The analysis of
recommendations suggest that national priorities for
improving governance should focus on:
 techniques for governors to use in knowing their school
independently of the head teacher
 how to use data to get to their own independent view of
achievement, including of specific groups
 how to work with the head teacher on the performance
management of staff and teaching in particular
 how to plan and deliver performance management of
the head teacher including setting targets
OFSTED REGIONAL ADVISOR TRAINING
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We have simplified the twenty ‘self-evaluation’ questions from the
Parliamentary group:
All Party Parliamentary Group on Education Governance and Leadership
1. Have we completed a skills audit?
2. Do we find and appoint people on the basis of their skills?
3. Do we understand roles and responsibilities?
4. Do we have professional clerking?
5. Is their budgeted training for governor needs?
6. Do we know national concepts of good practice?
7. Is our committee structure effective?
8. Does everyone contribute and do we review effectiveness?
9. Do we have clear planning with monitoring?
10. Does strategic planning drive our activities?
OFSTED REGIONAL ADVISOR TRAINING
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We have simplified the twenty ‘self-evaluation’ questions from the Parliamentary
group:
All Party Parliamentary Group on Education Governance and Leadership
11. Do we understand performance data?
12. How effectively do we performance manage the headteacher?
13. Do we ensure value for money?
14. Do we listen to pupils, parents and staff?
15. Do we report to parents and community?
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6. Do we gain from collaborations?
17. Do we review the chair’s performance?
18. Do we plan for succession?
19. Are chairs re-elected annually?
20. How much have we contributed to school improvement
GOVERNANCE JUDGEMENTS
Outstanding Governance
Governors or those with similar responsibility, stringently,
hold senior leaders to account for all aspects of the
schools performance
 Good Governance
Governors or those in similar positions systematically
challenge senior leaders
 Inadequate Governance
Governors are not sufficiently diligent in holding the school
to account for pupils achievement, the quality of teaching
and the effective and efficient deployment of resources
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GOVERNANCE JUDGEMENTS
Inspectors will judge how well governors evaluate:
 Pupil progress – all and different groups
 The leadership of teaching
 The difference made by initiatives
 The impact of senior leaders on improving the
school’s effectiveness
RECONSTITUTION OF GOVERNING BODIES
REGULATORY CHANGE
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The School Governance (Constitution and Federations)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (as
amended) (“The Amendment Regulations 2014”), came
into force on 1st September 2014, requires that
governing bodies of all maintained schools in England
must be reconstituted under The School Governance
(Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 (“the 2012
Regulations”) by 1st September 2015 As amended by
The School Governance (Constitution and Federations)
(England) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2014, which
were laid before Parliament on 25th July 2014 and come
into force on 31st August 2014.
WHAT DO THE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2014
MEAN FOR GOVERNING BODIES?
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All maintained schools in England not constituted
under the 2012 Regulations must reconstitute by
1st September 2015. As part of the reconstitution
process, governing bodies must review their
membership, in light of the requirements in terms
of size and composition, contained in the 2012
Regulations, but also must ensure that they are no
bigger than they need to be to have all the skills
necessary to carry out their functions in
compliance with the amendments introduced by
virtue of the Amendment Regulations 2014.
WHAT DO THE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2014
MEAN FOR GOVERNING BODIES?
The 2012 Regulations have been amended so as
to require that governors must have, in the opinion
of the person appointing them, the skills required
to contribute to the effective governance and
success of the school.
 Governing bodies are required to identify any skills
gaps which may need to be filled, either by training
of existing governors and/or by recruitment of
governors with the relevant skills and experience
to meet the identified needs of the governing body
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WHAT DO THE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2014
MEAN FOR GOVERNING BODIES?
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In order to fulfil the new requirements for governing
bodies to be no bigger than they need to be to have the
skills necessary to carry out their functions, and the new
emphasis on skills and experience, governing bodies
need to carry out ‘skills audits’ to assess the existence
and standard of skills and experience across the
governing body.
Where vacancies arise on a governing body, a key
consideration in the appointment and election of all new
governors is the skills and experience that the governing
body needs in order to be effective and how any
potential governor can meet those needs.
WHAT DO THE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2014
MEAN FOR GOVERNING BODIES?
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As part of the process of reconstitution, maintained
schools will need to amend their existing Instrument of
Government to reflect the requirements prescribed in
the 2012 Regulation.
The diocese will provide you with an Instrument of
Government which you must check and return to the
diocese, at the same time confirming the approval of the
Instrument both by the governing body and, also, by the
foundation governors separately.
The diocese will then formally approve the Instrument
and submit it to the local authority.
WHAT DO THE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS
2014 MEAN FOR GOVERNING BODIES?
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Statutory guidance requires governing bodies
to review their size and membership regularly
to ensure effectiveness. Re-evaluation is
particularly important at times when things are
not going well at the school e.g. following a
Diocesan or Ofsted inspection or a
recommendation by the Diocesan Education
Service or an external review of the governing
body.
WHAT DO THE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2014
MEAN FOR GOVERNING BODIES?
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Governing bodies are entitled to reconstitute on
any date up to 1st September 2015. It is up to the
governing body, in consultation with the diocese
and the trustees, to determine the most effective
and suitable date for reconstitution as part of this
process. You will need to ensure that, where an
assessment of your governing body needs will
result in a surplus of governors which is not
eliminated by the required number of governors
resigning, you take the following action:
WHAT DO THE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2014
MEAN FOR GOVERNING BODIES?
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You must submit to your diocese the skills audits completed
by all foundation governors in order that the diocese can
decide which, if any, foundation governor(s) should be
removed and will take the necessary action to remove such
foundation governor(s);
b) In respect of all other categories of governor, that the
governing body follow the statutory procedure for removal of
surplus governors (as prescribed by Regulation 15 of the
2012 Regulations (as amended by the Amendment
Regulations 2014)) by holding a vote in respect of each
category in which there are excess governors. Governors
must not vote in respect of their own category and no
governor ceases to hold office until the votes on all
categories are cast.
WHAT DO THE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2014
MEAN FOR GOVERNING BODIES?
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Once the governing body has submitted and
received back the final Instrument of
Government made by order of the local
authority, the governing body must check the
Edubase database to ensure that all the
school’s details recorded on the Edubase
database are correct, and particularly that the
school’s name appears exactly as it does on
the Instrument of Government and that the
religious designation is correct.
MAKE UP OF GB
Must have 2 elected parents separate from the
Foundation Governors (2)
 One Head teacher governor (unless resigns from
office).(1)
 One other staff governor(1)
 Must have one LA appointed governor(1)
 VA Schools must still enjoy a +2 voting majority for
Foundation Governors(7)
 Minimum size therefore is 12
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MAKE UP OF GB – CO OPTED GOVERNORS
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Where a school requires a larger governing
body to maximise their skill-set (which is, of
course, an area upon which the school will be
judged by Ofsted), we strongly recommend that
the additional governors are co-opted
governors rather than any other category of
governor – Remember the +2 rule
MAKE UP OF GB – CO OPTED GOVERNORS
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Appointment of staff as co-opted governors: It
is recommended that the number of staff
appointed as governors is kept to a minimum to
avoid conflicts of interests arising. In any event,
the total number of co-opted governors who are
also eligible to be elected as staff governors,
when counted with staff governors and the
head teacher, must not exceed 1/3 of the total
membership of the governing body
MODELS
Type of
Governor
No of Governors in category
Model A
Model B
Model C
Model D
Model E
Parent
2
2
2
2
2
Head
teacher
1
1
1
1
1
Staff
1
1
1
1
1
Local
Authority
1
1
1
1
1
Co-opted
0
1
2
3
4
Foundation
7
8
9
10
11
TOTAL SIZE
OF GB
12
14
16
18
20
TERM OF OFFICE
Term of Office is 4 years
 Foundation Governors can only be removed by
the person appointing them
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SKILLS AUDIT
All maintained Diocesan schools to use the
skills audit tool
 Responses to be collated
 Report written to analyse skills, gaps and
training needs
 Action Plan created to address gaps or deal
with over capacity
 Reviewed as standing item at each GB
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REMEMBER
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GB’s must be no bigger than they need to be to have all
the skills necessary to carry out their functions
governors must have, in the opinion of the person
appointing them, the skills required to contribute to the
effective governance and success of the school.
You must be able to demonstrate this through a skills
audit and subsequent action plan
You must reconstitute by September 2015 – but
Diocese wishes to have all new Instruments before the
end of the 2015 Spring term