Reconstitution of Governing Bodies
Damian Cunningham
Director of Schools
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Agenda
9.00 a.m.
Registration & Coffee
9.30 a.m.
Reconstitution of Governing Bodies
10.30 a.m.
Feedback from Recent Ofsted Inspections
11.00 a.m.
Reviews of Governance
11.45 a.m.
Review of session and format, dates and
topics for future sessions
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
The Regulations
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The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 came into force
on 1 September 2012.
If a local authority (LA) maintained school wishes to reconstitute its governing
body it will need to do so under these regulations.
For schools that do not reconstitute, the 2007 Constitution Regulations will still
apply.
All new LA maintained school governing bodies will be constituted under the
2012 Regulations.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
The Regulations
1. What are the main changes in the 2012 regulations?
Minimum of seven members of the governing body;
Community governor category abolished, and co-opted governor category created to be
recruited on basis of skills;
Minimum of two elected parent governors but there is no maximum;
Maximum of one local authority (LA) governor, and governing bodies allowed to set
criteria for LA governors and reject nominees not meeting the specification;
Maximum of one elected staff governor (not including headteacher), but other staff may
be appointed as co-opted governors provided staff (including the headteacher) comprise
no more than one third of total governing body;
Partnership governors must have skills to contribute to effective governance and success
of the school; and
Sponsor governor category abolished.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
The Regulations
2. 2012 changes for a reconstituted voluntary aided school governing body
Foundation governors will still be appointed to voluntary aided schools in the same
proportions as under the 2007 regulations. This means that the foundation body
retains the power to appoint the majority of the governing body in voluntary aided
schools.
The most significant change is that there is no longer any requirement in reconstituted
governing bodies for the foundation body to appoint such number of parents, that
taken together with elected parents, comprise one third of the governing body. This is
because the requirement for one third of the governing body to be elected parents has
been removed in other types of school.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
The Regulations
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Therefore, minimum size:
2 elected parents;
1 LA governor (now appointed by GB after LA nomination);
1 elected staff governor;
Headteacher; and
7 foundation governors (no requirement to appoint parents as fgs).
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Regulations
1. New skills-based eligibility criteria for appointed governors
The first proposal is that all appointed governors (co-opted/community,
partnership, appointed parents, Local Authority and, most notably perhaps,
Foundation Governors) must have ‘in the opinion of the appointing body’
“the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of
the school”.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Regulations
2. Surplus governors
• The current arrangements for GBs reconstituting under the 2012 regs is
that where there are surplus governors (eg the GB reduces from 3 LA
governors to 1) they are removed on the basis of ‘last in, first out’;
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this means, fairly obviously, that the governor that keeps their place is
the one with the longest continuous service on the GB (and where
there is a draw the 2 or more governors draw lots).
• However the longest serving governor isn’t always the one that is
contributing the most, or the one that the GB as a whole wishes to
keep.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Regulations
• The proposal is that the regs will be amended so that the governors who
keep their positions will be “those governors with the most relevant skills
to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school”.
• In the case of Foundation Governors this will be determined by the
appropriate appointing body,(The Diocese) but in all other cases it will be
determined by the GB.
Scenario:
Imagine you currently have four staff governors (including the head), and you
have to go down to 2 (including the head) under the new regulations. The
governing body will need to vote on which of the three existing staff
governors gets the one position in the new structure on the basis of which of
them will contribute the most.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Regulations
3. Transition from the 2007 Regulations
The proposal is that the 2007 regs will be revoked with effect from 31/8/15.
In effect that gives all the GBs that haven’t done so yet four terms (including
what’s left of this one) to reconstitute under the new regs
The next set of proposals all relate not to changes in regulation, but to new
statutory guidance to be published alongside the regs. If you’re not clear on
the difference between the status of regulations and statutory guidance, if
something is statutory guidance:
“This means that governing bodies and local authorities must have regard to
it when carrying out duties relating to the constitution of governing bodies in
maintained schools”.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Statutory Guidance
4.1 Size and Membership
• GBs should be “no bigger than they need to be to have all the skills
necessary to carry out their functions”. This will be highly subjective of
course!
• Also “every member should actively contribute relevant skills and
experience.
• Governing bodies should conduct regular skills audits and use the process
of filling governor vacancies as an opportunity to address any skills gaps”
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Statutory Guidance
4.2 Skills
• The government has tried to define the skills we need.
• “The specific skills that governing bodies need to meet their particular
challenges will vary.
• It is therefore for governing bodies and other appointing persons (Diocese)
to determine in their own opinion what these skills are and be satisfied
that the governors they appoint have them.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Statutory Guidance
Experience has shown, however, that all governors need:
• a strong commitment to the role,
• the inquisitiveness to question and analyse, and the willingness to
learn.
• They need good inter-personal skills, a basic level of literacy in
English (unless a governing body is prepared to make special
arrangements), and
• sufficient numeracy skills to understand basic data.
Amplification of Statutory Guidance
Experience also shows that effective governing bodies seek to secure or
develop within their membership as a whole:
• expertise and experience in analysing performance data,
• in budgeting and driving financial efficiency,
• and in performance management and employment issues, including
grievances.
• They seek to recruit and/or develop governors with the skills to work
constructively in committees, chair meetings and to lead the governing
body.
• They set aside a budget to fund appropriate and necessary continuing
professional development for their members.”
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Statutory Guidance
4.3 Governor Elections
The draft statutory guidance proposes:
Governing bodies and local authorities should make every effort to
conduct informed elections in which the expectations and credentials of
prospective candidates are made clear.
The best governing bodies set out clearly in published recruitment
literature:
• the nature of the role of a governor and the induction and other
training that will be available to the new governor to help them fulfil
it;
• the expectations they have of governors for example in relation to
the term of office, the frequency of meetings, membership of subcommittees and the willingness to undertake training; and
• any specific skills or experience that would be desirable in a new
governor, such as the willingness to learn or skills that would
the
Diocesehelp
of Shrewsbury
governing body improve its effectiveness and address any specific
Department of Education
challenges it may be facing.
Amplification of Statutory Guidance
Well run elections offer candidates for election the opportunity to publish a
statement of sufficient length to set out:
• Evidence of the extent to which they possess the skills and experience the
governing body desires;
• Their commitment to undertake training to acquire or develop the skills to be
an effective governor;
• If seeking re-election, details of their contribution to the work of the
governing body during their previous term of office; and
• How they plan to contribute to the future work of the governing body.”
There will also be a requirement on some LAs to re-write their election
procedures (which they then delegate to schools) which have unrealistic word
limits.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Amplification of Statutory Guidance
Consultation finished on 14th March
Still await outcomes
Draft New Regulations
Draft New Statutory Guidance
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Instrument of Government
If A Governing body reconstitutes it must rewrite the Instrument of Government:
The Diocese can provide a model Instrument of Government but it must be
submitted to the LA for approval.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Possible Size of Governing Body
Foundation
Foundation governors have
overall control of the GB –
the GB must have a majority
of 2 over all other categories
of governor combined
7
8
8
9
10
Parent
Staff
At least 2 Head + 1
2
3
2
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
LA
1
1
1
1
1
1
Co opted
Total
As determined by the GB and no
more than 1/3 can be staff where
they are also eligible to be elected
as staff governors when counted
with the staff governor and
headteacher
1
1
2
12
14
14
16
18
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Ofsted & Governance
Ofsted inspections from September 2012
• A new Ofsted “Inspection Handbook”
• The importance of good governance and the role of
• governors in the strategic drive for school improvement
• has been given even more emphasis than previously
• Copies of the handbook are available at:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/school-inspectionhandbook
• There is a section on the quality of leadership and
• management, including governance (pp 42-47)
• Subsidiary guidance can be found at:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/subsidiary-guidancesupportinginspectionof-maintained-schools-and-academies
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Ofsted & Governance
• Inspectors will increasingly encounter different models of
governance, such as those associated with federated arrangements,
free schools and academy chains. Inspectors should ensure that
they clearly understand the governance arrangements for a school
and that they identify and engage with the right people.
• Inspectors must evaluate the extent to which governors both
challenge and support the school and hold senior staff, including
the headteacher, to account for the achievement of the pupils.
Governors are not expected to be routinely involved in the day-today activity of the school. Governors are not expected to undertake
lesson observations, unless the school has clear protocols for visits
so their purposes are understood by school staff and governors
alike. However, they hold important strategic responsibilities for the
development and improvement of the school.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Ofsted & Governance
Inspectors should meet with as many governors during an inspection as is
possible, and should determine how well governing bodies evaluate the
performance of the school, particularly in terms of: pupil progress; the
leadership of teaching; the management of staff; and the difference made by
initiatives such as the pupil premium, the Year 7 catch-up premium, or the
new primary school sport funding.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Ofsted & Governance
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Inspectors should consider whether governors:
– carry out their statutory duties
– understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school, including the quality of
teaching
– ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
– understand and take sufficient account of pupil data, particularly their understanding
and use of the school data dashboard
– are aware of the impact of teaching on learning and progress in different subjects and
year groups
– are challenging and supporting leadership in equal measure
– are providing support for an effective headteacher, or whether they are hindering school
improvement by failing to tackle key concerns
– are transparent and accountable, including in terms of governance structures,
attendance at meetings, and contact with parents and carers
– understand how the school makes decisions about teachers’ salary progression
– performance manage the headteacher rigorously
– are failing to perform well and contributing to weaknesses in leadership and
management.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Ofsted & Governance
• Inspectors should also satisfy themselves that the governing body is
ensuring that the school’s finances are properly managed, and investigate
governors’ role in deciding how the school is using the pupil premium, the
Year 7 catch-up premium, or the new primary school sport funding.
• If inspection evidence reveals particular weaknesses, these should be
followed up assiduously. For example, if safeguarding arrangements do
not meet required standards, inspectors must establish the cause of the
failing, and what steps have been taken to rectify the shortcoming so that
pupils’ wellbeing is no longer affected. Inspectors must take this into
account when evaluating governance and judging leadership and
management. Similarly, if pupils’ performance is in decline and the
governing body has not pursued this issue effectively with the
headteacher, this should be reflected in inspectors’ evaluation of the
effectiveness of the governing body and may have an impact on the
leadership and management judgement.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Ofsted & Governance
Schools judged as ‘requires improvement’
• Where governance is ineffective in a school judged as ‘requires
improvement’ and is graded three for leadership and management,
inspectors should include an external review of governance in their
recommendations for improvement. The form of words to be used
in the report under ‘What the school should do to improve further’
is, ‘An external review of governance should be undertaken in order
to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be
improved’. It is for the school to decide how this review will take
place, and to commission and pay for it. Such reviews aim to be
developmental, and do not represent a further inspection. Full
details on what might be the form and nature of such reviews can
be found on the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/review-ofgovernance.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Ofsted & Governance
Where the report identifies specific issues regarding the provision for
pupils eligible for the pupil premium, inspectors should also
recommend an external review on the school’s use of the pupil
premium. The form of words to be used is ‘An external review of the
school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to
assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be
improved’. In such instances, in addition to any support that the
governing body may benefit from, inspectors should advise that the
school seeks support from an external system leader with a track
record of accelerating disadvantaged pupils’ achievement and closing
gaps. Full details on what might be the form and nature of such
reviews can be found on the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege/index/support-forschools/pupilpremiumreviews.htm
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Ofsted & Governance
• It is expected that there will be many cases where inspectors will
recommend both an external review of governance and an external
review of the school’s use of the pupil premium. However, there
may be instances where this will not be necessary, for example,
where the proportions of pupils eligible for the pupil premium that
make and exceed expected progress are above national figures and
are similar to those for other pupils in the school, or where the
number of eligible pupils is five or fewer.
• Even where leadership and management is judged to be good,
inspectors should use their professional judgement to determine
whether a recommendation for an external review of the school’s
use of the pupil premium would benefit the school.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Useful Websites
• School governance: Learning from the best
• http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/goodpractice-resource-%E2%80%93-schoolgovernance-learning-best
• http://dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Diocesan Website
Governors’
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Department of Education
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Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Reviews of Governance
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A review of governance looks at how well your school’s governing body is working.
An external system leader works with your chair of governors to improve the
performance of the governing body.
Ofsted will sometimes recommend that a school have a review. The purpose of the
review is to enable schools to move from a rating of ‘requires improvement’ to at
least ‘good’.
The review is offered as support to improve and develop governance, and not as
an additional inspection. It will help the governing body identify priorities for
improvement, and provide support on what steps to take.
It aims to help the governing body to be:
more skilled, focused and effective
more aware of the freedoms that it has to work in different ways
clear in its vision for the school or academy and how, together with the school
leadership team, it can achieve this
confident that it has a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities
staffed with the right number of skilled and committed governors to meet the
needs of the school or academy
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Reviews of Governance – When?
• Schools do not need to wait for an Ofsted inspection
recommendation to seek a review. Any school can arrange a review
of governance at any time to improve the effectiveness of the work
of the governing body.
• You will receive a recommendation for a review of governance if an
Ofsted section 5 inspection finds:
• governance is weak in a school judged to require improvement
• leadership and management is graded 3
• In some cases, where a school has been judged as ‘requires
improvement’, later monitoring visits may also result in a
recommendation for a review of governance.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Common Issues
• The issues that Ofsted has identified in governing bodies
include:
• governors not ambitious about expectations
• lack of a ‘critical friend’ approach
• over reliance on information from the headteacher
• lack of systematic visits to school
• lack of engagement with school development planning
• limited role in monitoring, and none of it ‘independent’
• limited understanding of data and school quality
• If an Ofsted inspection report recommends the review, the
monitoring inspector will expect it to be undertaken in a
timely way.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Finding A Reviewer
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You can choose whoever you want to conduct a review of governance. You
should ensure that the reviewer has:
a good understanding of governance
successful experience of leading governors and school improvement
Trained national leaders of governance (NLGs) and national leaders of
education (NLEs) ran the early reviews of governance. NLEs had to be able to
demonstrate their experience and impact as a governor in a school other than
their own.
You do not have to use NLGs and NLEs. But, we recommend you choose
someone with recent successful experience of leading governance and school
improvement.
Use the system leader directory to find an NLG or NLE in your area.
The NLGs and NLEs on this list have been trained in undertaking reviews and
Diocese of Shrewsbury
have a clear understanding of Ofsted expectations.
Department of Education
Other Options
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Other organisations may also be able to offer reviews, including:
local providers of school improvement and governor services
local authority governor services
the National Governors’ Association
organisations licensed to provide the Chairs of Governors’
Leadership Development Programme
• We have provided the above suggestions, but you may know of
other options. We have not reviewed or endorsed the quality of
services that may be provided.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
What Does The Review Look Like ?
The review process
• The expected steps of the review process are as follows.
1. Initial discussion
• The appointed reviewer and the chair or headteacher have a
preliminary conversation to:
• discuss the context and needs of the school
• explain the principles and process of the review
• discuss the self-review process
• agree dates for receiving information from the school and for
the initial face-to-face meeting
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
What Does The Review Look Like ?
2. First meeting
• The reviewer will meet with the chair and headteacher (and
another governor and/or member of the leadership team as
appropriate) to:
• discuss the self-review process
• identify the key focus areas for the review
• agree how to run the self-review meeting with the governing
body
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
What Does The Review Look Like ?
3. Gather documentation
• During the initial and subsequent meetings, the reviewer and
chair may identify additional elements to help address the
issues and priorities for the governing body. The reviewer will
have access to relevant documentation provided by the
school to prepare for the self-review session. This is likely to
include:
• governing body and committee minutes
• headteacher’s reports
• the school improvement plan
• RAISEonline
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
What Does The Review Look Like ?
4. Meet other governors
• The reviewer is likely to want to have conversations or meet with as
many other governors as possible. This will help the reviewer assess
the capacity of the governing body, its strengths and areas for
development.
5. Self-review session
• The reviewer will conduct a self-review session with the governing
body. The logistics for these meetings and the extent to which the
reviewer supports, facilitates or leads will be agreed with the chair.
The chair may decide that further sessions are needed and can
discuss with the reviewer how these will be handled. During the
self-review process the reviewer will confirm with the governing
body the key areas for development and the action required.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
What Does The Review Look Like ?
6. Agree areas for improvement
• Once the self-review process is complete, the reviewer will
have a discussion with the chair and/or headteacher to
confirm the key areas for improvement and action plan.
• At the end of the review, the reviewer will produce a concise
report. It will outline the governing body’s strengths and areas
for development, and the actions required to address these. A
template for the action plan is available in the review
materials section below.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
What Does The Review Look Like ?
7. Implementation
• Once the review is concluded, it will be up to the governing body to
implement the agreed action plan, drawing on external support as
appropriate. By mutual agreement the review could contain some
further support from the reviewer to support the governing body in
its development. Charges for additional support would be as
negotiated between the school and the reviewer.
• Your reviewer may ask you to put them in contact with your
external adviser/relevant local authority officer and/or the Ofsted
inspector. This can be helpful where the reviewer has concerns
about the capacity within the governing body to make
improvements
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
What Does The Review Look Like ?
• For schools judged to be ‘requiring improvement’, Ofsted
monitoring visits will include:
• discussions about the action plans from your review
• evidence of progress in improving governance
• evidence of progress in improving the leadership and
management of the school
• Reports of monitoring visits will comment on the
effectiveness of the review and the evidence of impact on the
quality of governance.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
What Does The Review Look Like ?
Review materials
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We have some tools that might be useful during the review. They are:
A framework for external reviews of governance (PDF, 241KB, 9 pages)
Review of governance action plan template (MS Word Document, 67.2KB)
Effective governance for good schools: 20 questions for a school governing
body to ask itself (PDF, 545KB, 2 pages)
• GovernorMark: GLM Quality Mark for School Governance
• Other self-audit tools are available. Schools will need to discuss with
reviewers which tools will be most appropriate for their contexts
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Costs
The charge for a review will be agreed between the reviewer and the school. The following is an
indication of the likely costs of different types of reviews.
Model A – core review (default model)
• Guide cost: £900
• This model follows the steps listed above. It does not include any significant work between the
reviewer and the other members of the governing body, besides the chair.
Model B – core review plus any 2 additional elements
• Guide cost: £1,200
• This model includes the core review plus any 2 of the following:
• meeting with other governors – for example, chairs of committees to discuss how the governing
body functions and what might help it to be more effective
• review of a wide range of material – for example, minutes of governing body/committee meetings;
the structure of the governing body and its committees; terms of reference for the committees
• observation of a full governing body meeting or a committee meeting to support the chair in
exploring ways in which the governing body can work more effectively
• support for the chair in analysing and using performance data
Model C – enhanced review
• Guide cost: £1,500
• This model includes the core review plus all the additional elements listed in Model B.
Diocese of Shrewsbury
Department of Education
Contacts
Contact
• Please email governors.mailbox@education.gsi.gov.uk if
you have any further questions, or contact our help desk.
Help desk
• Emailcollege.enquiries@bt.com
• Telephone 0345 609 0009
• International calls +44 1349 882095