Intelligent Accountability

Ann Holt OBE Special Advisor to DfES 13 June 2005

Over the last 60 years, a fundamental recasting of industry employment, technology and society has transformed the requirement for education and training – not only driving the education system, but introducing new ideas about lifelong learning, personalised education, and self-directed learning. And the story has been of taking a system designed to deliver a basic minimum entitlement and elaborating and elaborating it to respond to these increasingly sophisticated (and rapidly changing) demands … we need a new sort of system that is not based on the lowest common denominator.

Diamond of Reform

Leadership Structures

Governors

Teaching and Learning Beyond the Classroom

Essential Governance

3 key themes: • Public accountability • Strategic leadership • Governors as agents for change

“… governing bodies have become the strategic leaders of schools. They are rightly responsible in law and in practice for major decisions about the school and its future.

Governing bodies are equal partners in leadership with the headteacher and senior management team.” Derek Twigg MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools - 2005

“What will not change is the role of the governing body and our commitment to robust and confident governance for all schools.” Governing Schools of the Future DfES 2005

Purpose of governing body remains to:  set the vision and aims; agree plans and policies; make creative use of resources   monitor and evaluate performance ensure that the school is accountable to – – – – children parents community staff

Support and Challenge

Low challenge High support

Supporters club

“We’re here to support the head!”

Partners or critical friends

“We share everything – good or bad!”

Abdicators

“We leave it to the professionals!”

Adversaries

“We keep a very close eye on the staff!” Low support High challenge

Governing the School of the Future

DfES 2005

The Driving Force

  “Effective leadership is the driving force behind every good school” “For a school to succeed it needs a committed governing body and a head with a strong vision and ambition to help staff focus and deliver the best quality teaching and education to pupils” David Bell, Chief Inspector

Change Equation

VISION SKILLS INCENTIVES RESOURCES ACTION PLANS = CHANGE # # # # # SKILLS INCENTIVES RESOURCES ACTION PLANS = CONFUSION VISION # # # # # INCENTIVES RESOURCES ACTION PLANS = ANXIETY VISION SKILLS # # # # # # # RESOURCES ACTION PLANS = GRADUAL CHANGE VISION SKILLS INCENTIVES # # # # # # # # ACTION PLANS = FRUSTRATION VISION SKILLS INCENTIVES RESOURCES # # # # # # # # = FALSE STARTS

VISION

Refers to a PREFERRED FUTURE.

Describes an

IDEAL.

Is seeing the masterpiece while you mix the paints.

A preferred future can set standards for your decisions and action.

The Three Functions of Vision

1. To Inspire

We see what we can achieve

2. To be a cornerstone for decision-making

Will this take us toward our vision or away from it?

3.

To align everyone’s energies within the organisation

We are all pulling in the same direction

LEADERS

Enthusiasm Moral Purpose Coherence making Relationship Knowledge Creation and Sharing Building MEMBERS Commitment External & Internal RESULTS •More good things happen •Fewer bad things happen Michael Fullan

Leaders: Dispositions

• Unwarranted Optimism • Regard crisis as normal and complexity as fun • Endless supply of intellectual curiosity • Complete absence of self-pity and paranoia Tim Brighouse, Commissioner for London Schools

Governing bodies need:  strong and varied membership  energy  Capacity to rise to the challenges

Strategic Overview

•

Thinking Strategically means

• being clear that the key focus of priorities and decisions is in line with the aims and values of the school • considering strengths and weaknesses and suggesting • what to keep doing • what to improve • what to change • what to stop doing

Strategic Levers

• Annual Budget • Improvement Targets • Performance Management Policy • Headteacher Review • Resources - targets - performance

Ambitions from 5-year Strategy

           personalised learning – in school and extra curricular pupils to have a say about their learning schools have more autonomy to drive their own improvement closer collaboration between schools a national conversation about personalised learning driving success flexibility to innovate – guaranteed 3 year budgets from 2006 more specialist schools foundation partnerships inspection burden halved school profile extended schools

Three questions about the future…

• What will people learn?

• How will they learn?

• How will learning be organised?

Rev Dr Michael Moynagh Director of “The Tomorrow Project”

More than literacy and numeracy alone …

A commitment to …

“Learnacy”

Key Messages

“Success through people”

Linking school strategic planning and human resource management

• What is the school trying to do?

• What are the characteristics of the pupil population?

• What is the fit of educational offer to the pupil population?

• What does the school need in terms of staff and staffing structures etc to deliver this?

• What is the context in which this needs to be delivered?

• How does the school get from where it is to where it wants to be?

Flexibilities

• Shaping the workforce in accordance with the workforce agreement • Pay flexibilities related to performance management • Effective use of teaching assistants • Funding federations

The Children’s Bill

“Every Child Matters”         A children’s Commissioner April 2005 Broad local partnerships Local safeguarding Children Board Children’s Trust by 2008 Local Director of Children’s Services by 2006 Lead Council member for Children’s Services Integrated Inspection Framework Improve the sharing of information across the disciplines

The Governing Body has ultimate responsibility for deciding whether the school should offer additional activities and services and what form these should take.

Extended Schools Project

   Adult and family learning Childcare Healthcare and advice  Study support Other support agencies on site:   Connexions Police   Probation service Social services

Points to Consider

1.

2.

3.

4.

How will the voice of the pupil be listened to in the school?

How to build/build on partnerships, e.g. Police, Social Services Your school policy on the ECM Agenda How to inform staff, parents and pupils of changes in services as they happen

Tensions

         Funding issues/unwillingness to make difficult decisions Mixed messages – – – Re-modelling agenda Performance management OFSTED Too many cooks?

Assessing the overall performance for the Head Organisational culture and employee relations Collaboration v competition Challenge and support Leadership v management Time

Challenges

         “The school/teacher effect” variation in performance Better financial management Good human resource management How do you know?

Greater vigour Better alignment of goals Self-evaluation Value for money Well-managed workforce and workload – the remodelling agenda

Creating a Performance Culture

           “No silos” Enabling Motivated/energetic/creative Stimulating pleasant environment Full of possibilities Initiative within boundaries/OK to try Delivery Rewards Fully forming (of staff and pupils) Fun Light touch management

Challenge

All parties should accept that monitoring and evaluating school performance lies at the heart of the governing body’s role.

On behalf of the community they have a moral right and duty to do it.

Don’t wait for OfSTED

The OfSTED Report provides governing bodies with an alternative professional opinion to that of the head, staff and LEA about what is happening in the school.

Inspection provides new insights and analysis of what should already be familiar to the governing body.

They should not be shaking strange worms out of previously sealed cans.

A New Relationship with Schools

 New Inspection Framework 2005  Emphasises the need for self-evaluation  Simplify data gathering and reduce bureaucracy

Self-Evaluation

 Asks questions about pupils’ learning, achievements and developments  Uses a range of evidence  Benchmarks the school against best comparisons  Involves staff, pupils, parents and governors  Is integral to everything else  Leads to action

Why should we monitor?

 To check if plans are being implemented  To provide evidence of success that can be celebrated and built upon  To identify quickly where the school is not performing as well as expected  To identify priorities for future action  Accountability

Key questions for Governors

     What do governors do to help shape the vision and direction of the school?

How involved are governors in the annual planning process?

Do governors have a clear sense of the priorities for development?

Do governors understand the challenges faced by the school?

Is there a good working relationship between the chair and the HT and the GB and the school?

What lessons can we learn from Jigsaws?

• Very difficult if you don’t know what the picture is • Everyone working to the same picture • A simple picture is easier and requires less experience • A few large pieces are easier than many small ones • Pieces need to be well cut and easy to fit together • Pieces must have consistent joining sections • Give the more distinct sections to the less experienced • Set up the “frame” first so that everyone knows where their section fits • Can’t complete the picture if pieces are missing or someone does not finish their section • Extra/duplicate pieces do not make a bigger picture • Learn and organise for repeat activity (e.g. save edge pieces)

Intelligent Accountability

Ann Holt OBE Special Advisor to DfES 13 June 2005