In search of great school governance

Strategic Leadership (Vision, Ethos and Strategy) - Developing your strategic leadership Today is the launch of the Ethical Leadership Commission's final report (1) and this has got me thinking. Whilst ethical leadership should be a given in education, clearly it isn't in every school or Trust as we see from high profile newspaper stories. The ELC report takes us back to the 3 core functions of governance in the DfE Handbook the first of which is - 'Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction', but how many of us are confident that we have truly done this for our school?(2)  Why does this matter? - well in the 2017 report Who Governs our Schools Tony Breslin states 'effective school governance is a driver of educational change: pushing up levels of achievement, participation and inclusion, defining the vision and values that a school or group of schools holds dear...'(3)  So it is something that can really make a difference if we get into the

School Curriculum - what is the role for governors? Happy New Year! January 2019 and we learn from Ofsted that our focus must move to the school curriculum. In the new framework t he quality of teaching, learning and assessment will still be judged, but will be “viewed in the context of the provider’s curriculum”.(1) For many boards this will not be new; some have, over a period of time, had regular discussions and school visits to see aspects of the curriculum at work - but have we had a clear understanding and focus for this activity?  We have the national curriculum to follow (in maintained schools) but how does the board shape the curriculum that the school delivers? As with everything school governance I believe this begins with the board having set a clear vision, values and aims for the school. (More on this is my next blog - if I survive this one!)  Having that clarity of strategic direction enables every other activity of the board to have a focus.  For example the board