Cornwall Governor Conference
School governance - What inspection tells us
and learning from the best
Kevin Jane, Senior Her Majesty's Inspector
Overview
An opportunity to:

identify what school inspection tells us about governing
bodies


understand governance in the inspection framework

consider the implications for your work as governors
reflect on what we know about the most effective
governing bodies
A context for governance
Effective school governance has never been more
important for two reasons:

The performance agenda has never been stronger.
Schools are subject to sharper accountability for how
well all their pupils achieve.

We have an increasingly autonomous and complex
school system requiring highly effective governance
which is able to hold leaders to account robustly.
Strong governance
NGA conference in June 2012 HMCI stated:
Strong governance is increasingly transforming
schools and building effective partnerships.
The role of governors is fundamental and they should
never forget that. Without strong and effective
governance, our schools simply won’t be as good as
they can be.
Since September 2012, Ofsted has significantly
increased the focus on school governance
Proportion of all inspected schools receiving
recommendations regarding governance
Sept-Nov 12
Yes
Sept-Dec 11
No
Sept 10-July 11
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
What inspection tells us

What inspection tells us

Wherever we find success, good leadership is
behind it.

In the best schools, strong leaders and governors
routinely challenge low expectations and
mediocre teaching.

Effective governance is an intrinsic part of good
leadership.

Good governance is not universal.
What inspection tells us

Unacceptable variations in performance in
schools across different local authority areas.


Inequality of access to a good school.

White children from low income families are
falling behind

The most able are not doing well enough.
Attainment gap unacceptable, particularly for
pupils eligible for free school meals.
What inspection tells us
The Annual report of Her Majesty’s Chief
Inspector of Education, Children’s Services
and Skills 2012/13

Last year’s annual report emphasised the importance of
leadership in schools.

This year, 70% of schools were judged as good or
outstanding for their leadership and management, which is
a higher proportion than seen in last year’s inspections.

A key element of this is good governance.
What inspection tells us
The Annual report of Her Majesty’s Chief
Inspector of Education, Children’s Services
and Skills 2012/13
 Good governance is crucial to tackling underperformance and
supporting improvement.

Governance that is weak does not challenge the school about its
performance or press the school to increase its aspirations.

Over the past year, inspectors judged governance to be weak and
recommended an external review of governance in around 400
schools.

Some reviews have now taken place and, in others, action has
been taken to replace the governing body with an interim
executive board.
Common issues with governance
Issues identified in inspection reports included:



not ambitious about expectations




do not visit the school
lack of a ‘critical friend’ approach and challenge
over-reliance on information solely from the
headteacher
lack of engagement with school development planning
limited role in monitoring the impact of actions
limited understanding of data and school quality.
In the most effective schools there is robust
challenge to senior leaders by governors who
know the school well, but who also have a
secure grasp of their role
Main governance strengths identified in reports on
outstanding schools
Vision/strategy
High expectations
Focus on achievement
Direct involvement in performance management of teaching
Makes the right appointments
Has appropriate range of skills
Financial management
Exemplary management of statutory duties
Provides high level of expert support
Challenges senior leaders
Improvement planning
Regularly monitors school directly
Knows school very well
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Inspecting governance

Inspecting governance
Inspectors consider how well governors:
 ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
 contribute to the school’s evaluation and understand
its strengths and weaknesses of the school,
including the impact of their own work
 support and strengthen leadership, including by
developing their own skills
 provide challenge and hold the leaders to account
for improving teaching, achievement, behaviour and
safety, including by using the data dashboard, other
data and examination and test results
Inspecting governance
 use performance management systems to
improve teaching, leadership and management –
salary progression
 ensure financial resources are managed
effectively
 operate in such a way that statutory duties are
met and priorities are approved
 engage with key stakeholders
 use the pupil premium and other resources to
overcome barriers to learning – performance of
groups of pupils
 recommend an external review of governance
School governance:
learning from the best
Learning from the best
Knowing their schools
To shape the strategic direction of the school and hold
leaders to account through the school development plan:




high-quality information
pupils’ progress data
quality of teaching
visits – focused, purposeful, protocols.
Learning from the best
Knowing their school

A range of good-quality, regular information from a variety of
sources to ensure an accurate understanding of the school’s
strengths and areas for development.

Did not shy away from asking questions and sought further
information, explanation or clarification as part of their monitoring
and decision-making processes.

Two key factors underpinned confident and productive
questioning:
 a positive relationship with senior leaders
 absolutely clear understanding of their different roles and
responsibilities.
Learning from the best
Providing support and challenge


Acted as advocates for the pupils.


Understood the quality of teaching.

Used the skills they brought, and the information they had about the
school, to ask challenging questions focused on improvement
and hold leaders to account for pupils’ achievement.
Systematically monitored the school’s progress towards meeting
targets in the school development plan.
Supported the leaders in taking robust action to improve teaching
when necessary.
Learning from the best
Providing support and challenge

All of the outstanding governing bodies visited struck the right
balance between supporting leaders and providing constructive
challenge.

Three key elements to getting the balance of support and
constructive challenge right:
1. understanding roles and responsibilities
2. using knowledge, skills and experience
3. asking pertinent questions based on knowledge, information
and understanding of the school.
Learning from the best
Working efficiently




Role of the clerk and the chair of governors
Strong team working between the chair, clerk and headteacher
Delegation of work – for example to committees
Systematic monitoring and evaluation of progress towards
meeting targets
Engaging others



Parents
Pupils
Wider community
Learning from the best
Making a difference
Strengthened leadership by:





providing an external view

supporting the appointment and retention of staff.
having high aspirations
approving and monitoring priorities
supporting the development of leadership potential
using skills and expertise to complement those of the leadership
team
Learning from the best
Governing body self-review
‘Why are we doing this?
What are we trying to achieve?
What difference have we made?




Challenged own performance
Reviewed systems, structures and terms of reference
Considered committee membership
Seeking and sharing best practice
Governor recruitment, induction and training
Learning from the best
Questions governors might want to consider:

Do we understand our roles and responsibilities and how they
differ from those of the headteacher and senior staff?

What do we know about the achievement of pupils and the quality
of teaching in our school?

How do we know that the information we have about our school is
robust and accurate?

How do we provide the right balance of professional support and
challenge for leaders to help them improve the school’s
effectiveness?

How efficiently do we use our time?
Learning from the best

Do we make the best use of the skills and expertise of all
members of the governing body?

How do we know that the governing body is as effective as
possible and could we do things better?



How do we review our own performance regularly?

How do we ensure that member of our governing body are
prepared to step into important roles such as the chair of the
governing body and chair of committees?
How do we plan our training and development?
Do we consider what might be needed when governors leave?
How do we ensure we still continue to have the necessary skills
and knowledge?
Supporting improvement and
further reading
Even outstanding schools do not openly provide
information about their governors and what they
do in the school
Sample of outstanding schools’ websites governor
information
Can I read the HT's reports to the governors?
Can I read the governors' minuters?
How do I become a governor?
What is the background of the governors?
Who is the Chair?
What are the names of the governors?
0
Information available
5
10
15
20
Information not available
A very small number of schools provide detailed information about the governors,
including biographies; the headteacher’s termly reports to them; and lists of which
faculties each is attached to. Governor biographies are more common for
independent schools.
Supporting improvement
 regional structure – focused projects
 HMI working with schools requiring improvement
 ‘Getting to Good’ seminars
 training materials for SEN governors in development
 Better English, mathematics and governance
conferences
 data dashboard
 Raiseonline developments
Further reading – keep up to date
Unseen children: access and achievement 20 years on, Ofsted
(130155), 2013; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/130155 .
The most able students: are they doing as well as they should in our
non-selective secondary schools?, Ofsted (130118), 2013;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/130118.
The Pupil Premium: how schools are spending the funding successfully
to maximise achievement, Ofsted (130016), 2013;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/130016.
Getting to good: how headteachers achieve success, Ofsted (120167),
2012; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/120167.
Schools that stay satisfactory, Ofsted (110151), 2011;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/110151.
School governance: learning from the best, Ofsted (100238), 2011;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/100238.