THE ROLES OF A
GOVERNOR
David Marriott
David Marriott Limited
davidmarriottltd@gmail.com
www.thegovernor.org.uk
AFTER THIS SESSION
 Find this presentation and associated documents and links at
www.thegovernor.org.uk
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THE PURPOSE OF THE GOVERNING BODY
To make sure the
school provides the
best possible
education for all its
pupils
A CORPORATE BODY
 Individual governors have no power or right to act
on behalf of the GB, except where the whole
governing body has delegated a specific function to
that individual
 Governors should act at all times with honesty and
integrity and be ready to explain their actions and
decisions to staff, pupils, parents and anyone with a
legitimate interest in the school
 Decisions demand collective responsibility: the
majority view must be supported publicly –
otherwise, resign
7 PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE
 S e l f l e s s n e s s : h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f fi c e
s h o u l d t a ke d e c i s i o n s s o l e l y i n te r m s o f
t h e p u b l i c i n te r e s t . T h ey s h o u l d n ot d o
s o i n o r d e r to g a i n fi n a n c i a l o r ot h e r
m a te r i a l b e n e fi t s fo r t h e m s e l v e s , t h e i r
family or their friends.
 I n t e g r i t y : h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f fi c e s h o u l d
n o t p l a c e t h e m s e l v e s u n d e r a ny
f i n a n c i a l o r ot h e r o b l i g a t i o n to o u t s i d e
individuals or organisations that might
i n f l u e n c e t h e m i n t h e p e r fo r m a n c e o f
their official duties.
 Objectivity: in carr ying out public
business, including making public
a p p o i n t m e n t s , awa r d i n g c o n t r a c t s , o r
r e c o m m e n d i n g i n d i v i d u a l s fo r r e wa r d s
a n d b e n e fi t s , h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f fi c e
s h o u l d m a ke c h o i c e s o n m e r i t .
 A c c o u n t a b i l i t y : h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f fi c e
a r e a c c o u n t a b l e fo r t h e i r d e c i s i o n s a n d
a c t i o n s to t h e p u b l i c a n d m u s t s u b m i t
t h e m s e l v e s to w h a te v e r s c r u t i ny i s
a p p r o p r i a t e to t h e i r o f fi c e .
 Openness: holders of public office
should be as open as possible about all
t h e d e c i s i o n s a n d a c t i o n s t h a t t h ey
t a ke . T h ey s h o u l d g i v e r e a s o n s f o r t h e i r
decisions and restrict information only
w h e n t h e w i d e r p u b l i c i n te r e s t c l e a r l y
demands this.
 H o n e s t y : h o l d e r s o f p u b l i c o f f i c e h av e a
d u t y to d e c l a r e a ny p r i v a te i n te r e s t s
r e l a t i n g to t h e i r p u b l i c d u t i e s a n d to
t a ke s te p s to r e s o l v e a ny c o n f l i c t s
a r i s i n g i n a way t h a t p r o te c t s t h e p u b l i c
i n te r e s t .
 Leadership: holders of public office
s h o u l d p r o m ote a n d s u p p o r t t h e s e
p r i n c i p l e s by l e a d e r s h i p a n d e x a m p l e .
HOW DO HEADS AND GOVERNORS
SHARE THE LOAD?
Governors
Head
 e n s u r e s c h o o l r u n s e f f e c t iv e l y,
providing best possible education
 c h a l l e ng e a n d s u p p o r t s c h o o l to d o
b et te r
 t a ke s t r a te g i c v i ew, s et u p p o l i ci e s ,
p l a n s a n d t a r g et s
 m o n i to r a n d ev a l u a te r e s u l t s
 d e l e g a te e n o u g h p o w e r to h e a d to r u n
s c h o o l e f f e c t i ve l y
 a c c o un t a b l e to p a r e n t s a n d L A f o r
how school is run
 appoint head and deputy
 o r g a n i s e s , m a n a g e s a n d c o n t r o ls t h e
s c h o o l d ay - to - d ay, i n c a l l s t a f f
 ex p e c t s G B to c h a l l e n g e a n d s u p p o r t
s c h o o l to d o b et te r
 d i s c us s e s m a i n a s p e c t s o f s c h o o l l i fe
with GB
 a c c o un t a b l e to G B f o r h o w s c h o o l i s
led and managed and its
p e r fo r m a n c e
THE CHAIR’S ROLE
The strategic role
Managing
relationships with
the head, staff,
governors, parents,
community
Managing the work
and effectiveness of
the GB, inc
succession planning
Ensuring and
providing
accountability
THE GOVERNOR’S ROLE
 One morning in the
school playground a
small group of parents
approaches you and
asks you to sort out a
problem for them
 Their children’s teacher
has gone on maternity
leave, replaced by a
newly qualified teacher
 They feel that the new
teacher isn’t doing as
good a job as her
predecessor
 They want you to “do
something about it”
 What do you do next?
MANAGING THE WORKLOAD
 Scheme of Delegation
 skills audit and
deployment
 committees and task
groups
 specialist governors
 associate members
 Standing Orders
 Code of Conduct
 Online participation:
guidance for school
governors
 Guide to the Law
3 KEY ROLES
Provide a strategic
view
Act as a critical
friend
Provide
accountability
STRATEGIC VIEW
 Decide what you want the
school to be like in the
future – vision
 Set suitable aims and
objectives
 Agree priorities, policies
and targets
 Strategic and development
plans
 Evaluate progress towards
the vision
FOOD FOR THOUGHT…
 Top layer: looking into
the future: long term
 Middle layer: strategic
plan: medium term
 Bottom layer: the
school improvement
plan: short term
EDUCATION TRENDS
 less money
 decentralisation of education, curriculum and testing; revision of the
National Curriculum
 increasingly diverse range of schools with significant autonomy Academies and Free Schools; two tier system?
 new forms of school leader ship and organisation (including
federations, chains of schools, all -through schools)
 parental choice and influence
 accountability to a range of bodies and groups
 per formance management and professional development
 recruitment and retention issues, alternative staf fing patterns,
shor tage of school leader s, alternative leader ship models
 the impact of technology – social networking; mobile phones; cloud
computing
 lighter touch Ofsted inspections
SWOT
Strengths
Weaknesses
Internal
Opportunities
Threats
External
CRITICAL FRIEND
Support
Challenge
 Constructive advice
 Sounding board
 Second opinion
 Help where needed
 Ask the right
questions, of the right
person, for the right
reasons, at the right
time, in the right way
 Improve proposals
 Seek best solution for
all
WHERE DOES YOUR GOVERNING BODY
SIT?
High support
Supporters Club
‘We’re here to support the
head’.
Partners or critical friends
‘We share everything –good or
bad’.
Low challenge
Abdicators
‘We leave it to the
professionals’.
High challenge
Adversaries
‘We keep a very close eye on
the staff!’.
Low support
MONITOR AND EVALUATE WHAT?
 school performance data
 policies, plans,
improvement strategies
 resources and the budget
 the school (or learning)
environment
 our own performance as
a governing body
OFSTED - WHAT SHOULD
SCHOOLS EVALUATE?
 How well learners perform in terms of:
 the overall standards they attain
 the standards attained by different groups such as
girls and boys, those from different ethnic groups,
and those with different special needs
 the progress made by different groups of learners
over time
 outcomes from learners’ personal development and
well-being
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
 Raw data and league
tables
 RAISEonline
 Ofsted report
 School Self-Evaluation
information
 Headteacher’s report
 Pupil tracking data
(anonymised)
 Subject leader report
 Link governor report
 School Improvement
or Development Plan
(and related progress
reports)
 School Profile
 School Awards (eg
Investors In People,
Healthy Schools,
Artsmark; Basic
Skills)
 Curriculum
Committee minutes
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DATA
 how do our results compare overall and by subject
with those of previous years?
( are they rising, holding steady, or falling? Have we met our
targets?)
 how do they compare with national standards?
 how do they compare with similar schools?
 how well do different groups of pupils progress? (key
stages, year groups, gender, ethnicity, special educational
needs, high attainers?)
 how do different subjects compare with each other?
ACCOUNTABILIT Y
 Being accountable for
 School performance
 GB’s actions
 Taking account of
 Performance data
 Feedback from
stakeholders
 Self-evaluation
 Giving an account
 To parents and the
community
 To Ofsted
 To Diocese
ACCOUNTABLE FOR...
 School performance
 GB’s actions
Taking account of:
SEF
RAISEonline
PM – headteacher
performance management
 Stakeholder feedback eg
complaints and
compliments
 Taking account of:
 Minutes
 GB self-evaluation eg
Governor Mark
 Training record




GIVING AN ACCOUNT
 To parents and the
community
 School profile
 Reports?




Regular communication:
Newsletter
Website
Presence at school
 To Ofsted
 Ensuring the governing body
provides ef fective challenge
and suppor t so that
weaknesses are tackled
decisively and statutor y
responsibilities are met
 Fulfil statutor y responsibilities
 Shape the direction
 Challenge and suppor t leaders
INSPECTING GOVERNANCE
 Ensuring the governing body provides ef fective challenge and
support so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and
statutory responsibilities are met
 Fulfil statutory responsibilities
 Shape the direction
 Challenge and support leaders
INADEQUATE
 The governing body has too little impact on the direction and
work of the school.
 or
 The governing body does not challenge the school to address
weaknesses and bring about improvement.
 or
 The governing body’s negligence in failing to meet its
statutory requirements places the pupils’ achievement or well being at risk.
SATISFACTORY
 Governors discharge their statutory responsibilities and ensure
that pupils and staff are safe.
 They are well organised, are visible in the school community, and
support staff and pupils.
 Most governors know the strengths and weaknesses of the
school and understand the challenges it faces and are directly
involved in setting appropriate priorities for improvement.
 The governing body holds the school to account for tackling
important weaknesses.
 Governors engage often with parents and pupils and respond
quickly to their views and any significant concerns they may
have.
GOOD
 The governing body has the capacity to meet the school’s needs
and is influential in determining the strategic direction of the
school
 Governors are rigorous in ensuring that pupils and staff are safe
and discharge their statutory duties effectively
 They are fully and systematically involved in evaluating the
school
 Their relationships with staff are constructive and they show
determination in challenging and supporting the school in
tackling weaknesses and so bringing about necessary
improvements
 Governors have clear systems for seeking the views of parents
and pupils and mechanisms for acting on these
OUTSTANDING
 Governors make a highly significant contribution to the work and
direction of the school
 They have high levels of insight, are extremely well organised and
thorough in their approach
 They are vigorous in ensuring that all pupils and staf f are safe. In
discharging their statutor y responsibilities, they have highly robust
systems for evaluating the ef fectiveness of their implementation,
keeping the work of the school under review and acting upon their
findings
 Governors are innovative, flexible and adapt to new ideas quickly,
suppor ting the work of the staf f in improving outcomes for all pupils
 They are confident in providing high levels of professional challenge to
hold the school to account
 Governors engage ver y ef fectively with parents, pupils and the staf f as
a whole and are well informed about user s’ views of the school
 They use these views to inform strategic priorities for development
TASK
 Working with a partner, decide what grade you would be given
if inspected tomorrow
 If it’s hard to decide between two grades, what stops you
giving yourself the higher grade?