Chris Caroe, Head of School Governance Unit, DfE. Presentation at Modern Governor's #GovernorLive unconference event for school governors, held on 25th June 2013.
2. High quality governance is crucial
To children’s education and life chances
To holding heads and schools to account
To making the most of dedicated volunteers
To the future of schools
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Yet Ofsted find too many schools have mediocre governance
3. We want all GBs to operate as non-executive boards
focused on three core functions – as reflected in
Ofsted’s inspection criteria
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clarity of vision and ethos
engaging stakeholders
meeting statutory duties
Setting strategic
direction
Creating robust
accountability
Ensuring financial
probity
accountability for teaching, achievement, behaviour and safety
strengthening school leadership
performance managing the headteacher
contributing to school self-evaluation
solvency and effective financial management
use of Pupil Premium and other resources to overcome
barriers to learning
4. A range of policy ambitions underpin this vision of
more ‘professionalised’ school governance
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1. To raise the profile of governance and set a clear policy framework
2. To see GB constitution focused more on skills
3. To liberate and empower GBs
4. To build the capacity and effectiveness of GBs
5. To ensure GBs are held to account for their effectiveness
5. We have aimed to clarify our policy expectations as
governance has continued to rise up the agenda
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Aim 1: Profile and clarity
Higher profile
Governors’ Handbook
Core functions
Policy note on payment
Academies Financial Handbook
Response to Select Committee
inquiry
Clear policy
In Parliament
From HMCI and Ofsted
From the Minister
6. We want GBs to focus on constituting and recruiting
to secure the skills they need to carry out their
demanding functions
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Aim 2: Focus on skills
Categories do not guarantee good stakeholder engagement; can inflate size
and restrict ability to recruit governors with necessary skills
Considerable freedom for academies – transition to academy status key
opportunity to review and refresh GB
From Sept 2012, maintained schools may opt into less prescriptive
regulations and so focus more on appointing governors for their skills
7. We want GBs to feel liberated and empowered to
focus on holding their headteacher to account
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Aim 3: Liberate and empower
New regs on Roles, Procedures and Allowances from Sept 2013
Duties removed or simplified
Less prescriptive model academy Articles
Reducing
bureaucracy
New sources of objective data
Questions for GBs to ask
National College workshops
Empowering
accountability
8. We are committed to continuing, and looking at how
we can increase, our support to GBs
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Aim 4: Build capacity
Support, training and advice Governor recruitment
No plans to mandate governor
training
Aiming to expand role of National
College
GovernorLine contract expires in
December 13
Promoting the importance of clerking
Funding for SGOSS committed to
2015 to enable growth
Lord Nash discussion with employers
in Sept on employee volunteering
No plans to start paying governors
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Explicit focus in every inspection
External review in Category 3 schools
Re-inspection of Category 3 schools within two years
Inspection
Warning notices and IEBs
Termination of academy funding agreements
Help for failing schools to find high quality academy sponsor
Intervention
Volunteer doesn’t mean amateur, GBs need to be held
to account for their effectiveness, under-performance
will be addressed
Aim 5: Sharpen accountability
10. GBs will also want to consider the implications of
some interesting emerging practice
Benefits of MATs, UTs, school sponsors,
federations, diocese, etc
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Is the standalone GB
ideal?
Executive heads / Trust CEOs providing professional
challenge and performance management of school
leaders
Is there a role for some
professional
accountability?
11. For more information please visit
www.education.gov.uk/governance
Questions or comments can be sent to
School.Governance@education.gsi.gov.uk