In search of great school governance

This week we took part in a pilot inspection for the September 2019 Ofsted Framework.   I asked the inspector if I might share any implications for governance, as I saw them, and he was happy for me to do this. So……. here goes! First, this was a challenging day for the school but a day full of professional conversations where we had the opportunity to really showcase what we do. Safeguarding always comes first and was rigorous.   The inspector tested what we told him – for example, he checked after 9am to see that a gate in our perimeter fencing had indeed been locked after we told him that this was a routine.   He also asked to see evidence that governors checked the single central record – even after Amanda Spielman’s speech saying this was unnecessary.   - Carry on governors! Secondly – the real focus of the day From my discussions and observations this was about the school’s culture, leadership, curriculum and a strong emphasis on reading right f...

“ The nation trusts us to form young people into the best that they can be. The public expects us to know what kind of example we should set them, but do we? How do we know what’s right or wrong?” Carolyn Roberts, Commission Chair, April 2017 (1) Y esterday on Twitter a governor colleague was praised for her actions using the phrase 'ethically means DOING the right thing not just SAYING the right thing'.  I felt myself wanting to shout out loud 'YES!'  In all of our work as governors, creating policy, leading the strategy, establishing the culture and ethos in our schools, it is not just about the words on the documents but about how we put them to use; how we live them.  For our school, being a Pathfinder for the Ethical Leadership Project is right up our street - it will enable us to examine our own rhetoric and see if we measure up to the DOING!(2)  L ast week we held the first meeting of our working party and a wise governor in our team (ex Headteache...

Listening to the latest podcast from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has given me the focus for this third and final blog.(1) (for the time being!) One of the most detrimental situations I see when I meet with boards of governors is where the relationship between the board and the headteacher has broken down.  This can range from a situation where neither side fully understands their role, and cross or duplication of work happens, to the downright destructive where neither side will talk to the other!  Some Headteachers see the governors as meddling; and some governors I meet do spend too much time trying to get into the detail of the operational.  Some boards who, quite correctly, want to get clear strategic work done for the school come up against a controlling headteacher who sees that as usurping their role. So what can be done to get everyone pulling in the same direction whilst respecting their different roles - surely we are on the sa...

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 exa...