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EVIDENCE PACK School Governance Scrutiny Inquiry
The School Governance Scrutiny Inquiry Panel City and County of Swansea - Dinas a Sir Abertawe
November 2015
SUMMARY: This is the evidence pack for the scrutiny inquiry into school governance. It includes all of the evidence collected by the scrutiny councillors at meetings, through research and from submissions. The scrutiny councillors will present their conclusions and recommendations in a separate report based on this evidence.
Contents a. Introduction ....................................................................................................... i
b. Timetable of Work ............................................................................................ ii
c. List of Appendices ........................................................................................... iv
1. Service Briefing from the Education Department (February 15) ...................... 1
2. Letter to the Cabinet Member for Education Following the Pre Inquiry Working Group (March 15) .......................................................................................... 15
3. Notes from the Inquiry Planning Meeting (May 15) ........................................ 17
4. Previous School Governance Reports and Research (May 15) .................... 18
5. Notes from the Meeting with the Clerks Forum (June 15) ............................. 37
6. Governors Perspective (July 2015) ............................................................... 40
7. Corporate Perspective (July 15) .................................................................... 48
8. ESTYN Perspective (July 15) ........................................................................ 53
9. Regional Perspective (September 15) ........................................................... 59
10. Good Practice Schools Session (October 15) ............................................... 68
11. New Governors Perspective (October 15) ..................................................... 77
12. Cabinet Member Perspective (November 2015)............................................ 80
13. School Governor Survey Results (November 15) .......................................... 88
14. Research Comparing Swansea to Cardiff and Newport Using ESTYN Reports (November 15) ............................................................................................... 99
15. Good Practice Points from School Observations (October / November 15) 105
A. INTRODUCTION
This pack draws together, in one document, all of the published evidence for the Scrutiny Inquiry into school governance.
Over the last 6 months a panel of scrutiny councillors and co-opted members have been looking into many aspects of the work of school governors. Specifically they have been looking to answer the question:
How can the Council ensure that school governors provide effective challenge for their schools?
Scrutiny councillors chose to look at this subject because of the vital role that school governors play in ensuring that schools perform well. They are people who want to make a difference to children’s education and they come from many walks of life. Governors are usually not education professionals and need the right support if they are going provide the right type of challenge in their schools.
The Council plays an important role in supporting school governors and the panel wanted to see if this support could be improved. They heard a range of views to help them propose practical changes to improve education in Swansea schools.
In gathering its evidence the panel looked at the following lines of inquiry:
1. Role: There seems to be a lack of clarity about the role of school governors. How can this be addressed?
2. Skills: If governors are to challenge effectively they need confidence and the right skills. Do they have these skills? How can training and development be improved?
3. The Right Mix: Many schools lack different types of governor for example parent governors, or people with business experience. What is the mix that governing bodies should be aiming for? How can the Council help governing bodies fill the gaps?
4. School culture: If governors are to be effective then schools must have a culture that supports challenge. The relationship between governors and head teachers is particularly important in this respect. How can we make sure that this culture is right?
5. Challenge advisors: The relationship between school governors and challenge advisors is important. Can this be improved?
6. Information: To be effective governors need the right information provided in the right way. Is this being provided? How could it be improved?
7. Recruitment: A shortage of governors has been identified as a problem. How can the numbers of school governors be increased?
All of the papers for the inquiry have been published on the Scrutiny pages on the Council Website at www.swansea.gov.uk/scrutiny .
Please direct any enquiries to [email protected]
The final report for the inquiry, including conclusions and recommendations, is expected to be published in January 2016.
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B. TIMETABLE OF WORK
When / Where What / Who Pre Inquiry Working Group 18 February 2015 Guildhall
• Overview of support service by School, Governor and Student Services Manager
• Input from Cabinet Member for Education • Discuss whether to hold inquiry
Planning the Inquiry 26 May
• Discussion of key question, lines of inquiry and evidence gathering • Examples of Research into School Governance • Welsh Government Schools Governance Task and Finish Group
Clerks’ Forum 24 June
Informal visit by panel members hear views of clerks to governing body.
Meeting 1 9 July, 4pm, Committee Room 6, Guildhall
Governors’ Perspective • Jeff Bowen (Chair), Swansea Association of Governing Bodies • Dereck Roberts, Swansea Association of Governing Bodies • Jane Morris (Director), Governors Wales (or representative)
Meeting 2 15 July, 4pm, Purple Room, 1.2.1, Civic Centre
Corporate Perspective Feedback from the recent governors’ conference, good practice examples, good practice schools. • Helen Morgan-Rees, Head of Education Improvement • Kathryn Thomas, School, Governor and Student Services Manager
Meeting 3 30 July, 4pm, Committee Room 6, Guildhall
ESTYN Perspective • Maldwyn Pryse, HMI, Estyn
Meeting 4 8 Sep, 4pm, Committee Room 6, Guildhall
Regional Perspective • Betsan O’Connor, Managing Director, ERW • Helen Morgan-Rees, Head of Education Improvement • Huw Roberts, School Improvement Service (tbc) • Kathryn Thomas, School, Governor and Student Services Manager
Meeting 5 5 October, 4pm Purple Room 1.2.1, Civic Centre
Good Practice Schools The aim is to hear from head teachers and chairs of governors at the good practice schools identified at meeting 2 and 3. An opportunity to feedback and discuss finding from observation visits.
New Governors 21 October 4.00-6.00, venue tbc
Informal Session with governors who have completed their training between one and two years ago to hear about their experiences.
Visits to Good Practice Schools
To observe governing bodies of good practice schools – (Hafod 19/10, Bishopston 10/11 and Bryn Tawe 11/11). Also an opportunity to meet informally with governors
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Meeting 6 2 November, 4pm, Committee Room 5, Guildhall
Cabinet Member Perspective Question and Answer with the Cabinet Member for Education. • Councillor Jennifer Raynor Survey of Governors To hear the findings from the survey Comparing Swansea with Cardiff and Newport Research report
Meeting 7 19 November, 4pm, Purple Room, 1.2.1, Civic Centre
Feedback from Observations of Governors Meetings Evidence Summary from Meeting with New Governors Review of Findings
• Findings from evidence gathering • Written contributions
Meeting 8 30 November, 4pm, Committee Room 3c, Guildhall
Draft Final Report To consider the final report prior to it being presented to the Scrutiny Programme Committee and Cabinet
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C. LIST OF APPENDICES
These can be found at the back of this pack.
a) Relevant Recommendations for Cabinet from the Wellbeing in Schools Scrutiny Inquiry
b) Audit Committee Written Statement
c) Welsh Government School Governance Task and Finish Group: Executive Summary
d) Presentation from Governors Wales
e) Handout from Governors Wales
f) Governor Voice on Effective Practice and Barriers to Effectiveness: Notes from the Joint Governing Body Conference April 2015
g) Presentation from ESTYN (1)
h) Presentation from ESTYN (2)
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1. SERVICE BRIEFING FROM THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT (FEBRUARY 15)
Purpose To provide a briefing requested by the working group about School Governance
Content This report provides information on the Governance of Schools
Councillors are being asked to
Give their views and make recommendations to Cabinet Member via a letter from the Convener.
Lead Councillor(s)
Cllr J Raynor
Lead Officer(s) Kathryn Thomas (Manager School, Governor and Student Services)
Helen Morgan-Rees (Head of Education Improvement Swansea and Neath Port Talbot)
1. General Description
The Governor Support Section:
Staffing
The Governor Support Section within the Swansea Education Department provides advice, guidance and support for governors, headteachers, parents and education staff on matters relating to school governance. The small Governor Support Team – comprising one Manager who covers school governance as part of her overall role plus one Governor Support Officer (GSO) and an Administrative Assistant whose role covers administrative and database support for school governors for part of her time only.
Governor Training
The Governor Team are responsible for putting together an annual Governor Training programme which includes all aspects of mandatory governor training as well as supplementary governor training. The training guide is available as a booklet and on the website at: http://www.swansea.gov.uk/schoolgovernors where governors can book training places on-line. New governors are required to attend new governor training within one year of being appointed as a governor and chairs of governors are required to attend chairs training within six months of being appointed chair since the introduction of mandatory governor training in September 2013. Similarly, clerks to governing bodies are required to attend clerks training within six months of becoming a clerk to a governing body. All governors are required to attend mandatory data training within twelve months of being appointed as a
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governor. The GSO monitors attendance at all mandatory elements of governor training and since September 2013 a total of 121 new governors have been trained and all chairs and clerks have attended respective mandatory training.
All mandatory elements of governor training are delivered by the Manager School and Governor Support and the Governor Support Officer with input from the Manager School, Governor and Student Services. Mandatory governor training complies fully with Welsh Government requirements for the training and each session is planned as a two hour delivery session. The majority of the training takes place at the Civic Centre in order to keep costs of delivery to a minimum.
Local Authority Governor Appointments
The GSO prepares papers for monthly LA Governor Appointment Panel which oversees appointment of all Local Authority Governors to Swansea school governing bodies.
Website for Swansea Governors
A webpage on support for governors is available at: http://www.swansea.gov.uk/schoolgovernors and is updated as required. The Team produce a governors newsletter which is issued to schools and governors twice annually.
Governing Body Bronze Award
In Swansea Governing Bodies are encouraged to obtain the Bronze Governing Body Award status from Governors Wales and the Manager and GSO assess submitted governor files for accreditation to achieve this Award. To date a total of 8 governing bodies of Swansea schools have achieved this Award and a further 23 Swansea schools are currently in the process of compiling evidence to be assessed. It is the intention that all Swansea schools will achieve this Award by August 2020.
Introduction of this achievement has resulted in a considerable amount of additional work for the Governor Support Team. The work entails support for governing bodies to compile the necessary file/s for assessment and undertaking an initial assessment of each submitted file before it is forwarded to Governors Wales for the final outcome. The Team pride themselves upon the rate of success for submitted governing body files which is evident of the high standard of initial assessment. To date 5 files have been returned to provide additional evidence which in turn will require a re-assessment process to be undertaken.
Targeted Support for Governing Bodies
The Governor Support Section works closely with Education colleagues in School Improvement. Targeted support is put in place for governing bodies where Estyn Inspection has identified a weakness with a governing body or where the strategic planning of a school is considered to be performing below expectation.
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The Role of the Challenge Adviser in Governor Support
Every school is allocated a challenge adviser to monitor and evaluate standards and leadership, including the role of the governing body, within the school. Challenge advisers have a key role to play in supporting governors in the following three areas:
• supporting the governing body in the performance management review, appraisal and objective setting for the headteacher;
• supporting the governing body in the appointment of a headteacher or deputy headteacher; and
• supporting the governing body to develop its role as a critical friend so that it can hold the school to account for the standards it achieves.
Challenge advisers support performance management during the autumn term but may also provide training to governing bodies as part of the annual support programme scheduled by the local authority.
Support in the successful recruitment of headteachers and deputy headteachers is based on advice giving in accordance with the local authority’s recruitment policy as well as the evaluation of candidate knowledge on standards and leadership and management.
The autumn core visit process includes an invitation to the chair/ and or the vice-chair of each governing body to be part of the monitoring activity conducted by the Challenge Adviser. The challenge adviser provides a written report to the chair of governors on the evidence produced by the school in relation to performance data and its own self-evaluation and improvement plan.
The questions asked by challenge advisers during the autumn visit provide good models of how governors can challenge their own school. In addition, challenge advisers attend whole governing body meeting of schools that require more (and in a few cases, intense) support to ensure that the areas for development are understood.
Minutes of Governing Body Meetings
Governing Bodies can be requested to submit copies of the Minutes of the termly governing body meetings to the Chief Education Officer. Copy minutes are submitted to the Governor Unit for scrutiny. Recently agreement has been reached for copies of individual school audit reports to be submitted to the Governor Support Team. Minutes of governing body meetings are now being checked to ensure that the relevant audit report has been brought to the attention of the governing body. Where an audit report has not been brought forward as an agenda item the Governor Support Officer challenges the headteacher, chair of governors and clerk to the governing body and requests that the report is brought to the attention of the governing body at the next meeting.
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Clerking Service
With effect from September 2012 Local Authorities are required to offer a Clerking Service for governing bodies within 16 weeks of receiving a request from a governing body. Currently in Swansea, the Local Authority provides a Clerking Service for only two governing bodies: Dunvant and Pennard. All other school governing bodies engage their own clerk to governing body. All clerks to governing bodies were subject to the job evaluation process recently implemented by the Local Authority.
Service Users
The Service is provided for governors, headteachers, parents and education personnel. A database is maintained of governors on each separate governing body. Governors are e-mailed updated advice, guidance documents and information as new and updated information is made available.
A telephone helpline is in place and an e-mail contact for questions and queries from governors, headteachers, parents and anybody who may wish to obtain information in relation to governance of schools.
An annual Governors Training Guide is produced and a copy is distributed to all governors in September each year (see above) – in line with the start of each new academic year. In future, and in order to reduce costs, this document will be available on-line only from September 2015 with paper copies of the document only being provided upon specific request.
Recent Changes
Information on the Governors Training Programme is shared with Neath Port Talbot, Powys and Carmarthen governors and also ERW via respective websites and in working with the Governor Support Sections since September 2013. Governors from other Local Authority areas who may live and/or work in Swansea can access mandatory elements of governor training at Swansea if the option is easier for them. Similarly any Swansea governor can attend mandatory training in another Local Authority area. To date, the take up of governors from other LA areas accessing Swansea governor training has been very successful. There have been less uptake for Swansea governors accessing mandatory training at another LA area. The reason is presumed to be working demographics ie more people working in Swansea who live in neighbouring authority areas who find it easier to attend training in Swansea.
In addition, the introduction of the Bronze Award (see above) for Swansea school governing bodies which has proven to be extremely positive. This has, however had impact upon the workload for the Team who to date have accommodated the additional workload within existing staffing resources.
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Service Plans
Attached at Appendix 1 is a copy of the Level 3 Governor Business Plan which outlines all objectives and targets for the immediate and medium term future planning for the Section.
Also attached Appendix 2 Level 1 Business Plan section relating to support for Governors.
2. Why We Do This
Mandatory Governor Training
All new governors are required to attend mandatory new governor training (implemented in September 2013) within 12 months of becoming a governor. Also new chairs of governing bodies are required to attend chair training within 6 months of being appointed as chair. All new governors – appointed since September 2013, are required to attend mandatory data training. All new clerks to governing bodies are required to attend clerks training within 6 months of being appointed as clerk.
Monitoring Governor Training
The Governor Support Team maintains a database of all governors and records attendance at mandatory and supplementary training. Where a new governor, chair or clerk fails to attend an element of mandatory governor training the Team contacts the Headteacher/chair/clerk as relevant to explain the consequences and procedures that the governing body must take to suspend the governor until he/she has attended the relevant training.
The Swansea the Governor Support Team is proud of the fact that a strict monitoring system is in place to record governor attendance at mandatory governor training. To date no governor has had to be suspended as a result of non attendance. As part of this monitoring process reminders are sent to all new governors to attend mandatory governor training. All new governors are assigned to the next governor training session when they receive their induction pack as a new governor. Where they are unable to attend the session an alternative date is provided.
Consequences of Non-attendance of Mandatory Governor Training
Where a governor has failed to attend an element of mandatory governor training they are ineligible to participate in governor activities. This can prove to be problematic if a governor is a member of a staff discipline and dismissal committee or other personnel committee eg grievance, bullying.
Should a governor participate in any personnel function on behalf of the governing body when he/she has failed to attend a mandatory governor training session the procedure could be considered flawed requiring the governing body to review the decision making process and/or any hearing/s that may have taken place. This is a situation that every governing body must avoid. Careful monitoring of attendance at mandatory governor training is crucial in order to ensure that such a situation does not occur.
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If this monitoring did not take place there would be potential risk where a governor has participated in an appointment, disciplinary and/or dismissal procedure where a challenge is brought against the process due to non attendance of a governor on mandatory training. Thereby rendering the procedure inappropriate and requiring the governing body to commence the process again. These procedures are often long and drawn out costing both time and funding to complete. Therefore, risk of finding the process is flawed due to governor non attendance at mandatory training must be avoided.
3. Management and Support
The Governor Unit sits within the Education Inclusion Department and the person with overall responsibility for managing the Unit is the Manager School, Governor and Student Services. The Manager School and Governor Support has direct line management for the full time Governor Support Officer and also the Administrative Assistant whose time is split between this role and other administrative duties within the small School and Governor Support Section.
4. Stakeholders
Governors, headteachers, staff are amongst the stakeholders. Questionnaires are issued at governor training sessions. Feedback is very positive with only minor issues being raised by a small minority of governors – mainly in relation to venue, time of training etc.
5. Finance
The Section is funded from core education budget. Costs relate to staffing/salary and on-costs with an element of funding to support paperwork issued at governor training sessions and also hospitality eg tea/coffee as sessions last for 2 hours. As governors give their time in a volunteer capacity, it is felt appropriate to provide light refreshments at governor training sessions.
Up until September 2014 an annual training programme has been produced at a cost of around £6,000 per annum. Due to budget cutbacks this is the last year that a glossy programme will be provided. In future, paper copies will only be provided upon request. All training information including application forms are available on-line and via e-mail.
The total cost of the Governor Support Unit is £61,040
Current Performance and Trends
Within the Local Authority Education Department Estyn Inspection in June 2013 the following statements were included in relation to governor support:
The Inspection Report included: ‘Officers provide good training opportunities for governors’.
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As part of the Self Evaluation Review in preparation for the Estyn Inspection the following was included in reference to support for governing bodies:
A range of support and training has assisted Governors and Clerks to carry out their roles effectively. This has contributed to the work of schools to produce the continued improvement in learner outcomes.
7. Future Challenges & Opportunities
As the number of school governing bodies who wish to achieve the Bronze Award increases, so the amount of work in relation to initial assessment of submitted files will increase. This will undoubtedly result in an increase in workload for the small governor support team. Even though staff will become more fully versed in the initial assessment process and will become quicker at the initial assessment stage, it is anticipated that the workload will increase.
In keeping with Welsh Government and Governors Wales requirements, files should be assessed at the earliest opportunity. The Team will need to be focussed in prioritising workload in order to keep abreast of the additional work that it will be necessary to complete.
8. Risks
Currently the Local Authority is experiencing a time of concern in relation to future funding with cutbacks forecast over the next 4-5 years. The Local Authority has protected school delegated budgets in past years. However, school budgets will also be affected in the coming financial year 2015-2016. This is a time of uncertainty and school governors may well find themselves in positions of having to make staff redundant. This will require a specific training programme for governors in order that they can respond to potential cuts and manage staff redundancies, terminations in accordance with staffing requirements and regulations.
9. Assessment
Although a small team, currently the workload is manageable. The Team provide excellent advice, guidance and support for governors, parents, school staff, education staff and headteachers on matters relating to governance of schools.
What has worked well
Careful work planning is essential in this small Team. The Governor Training Guide is planned for the academic year ahead and this has proven to be very effective. Costs are kept to a minimum for both mandatory and additional elements of governor training as Local Authority Officers deliver all the training sessions and thus no costs are incurred to engage external trainers.
The most significant challenge lies in the on-going budget cuts. In order to continue to maintain the level of service delivery in relation to mandatory training elements and initial assessment of submitted files for the Bronze Award it will not be possible to absorb any budget or staffing cuts in the future.
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Challenges and Opportunities
It is intended that all Swansea school governing bodies will achieve the Bronze Award by September 2020. By this time, many governing bodies will be interested in pursuing the Silver Award and this will also require an initial assessment of submitted files. Staff will need to continue to develop understanding and knowledge in order to initially assess these files which will again in turn be submitted to Governors Wales for final assessment to achieve the Award.
Long Term Planning – Silver Award
Staff take pride in their ability to accurately assess submitted files and endeavour to improve their ability in order to further support school governing bodies to achieve the higher status Silver Award in the future.
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Governor Support Appendix 1
Team Plan 2014-15
Disgrifiad o’r tim / Team description Enw’r Tim: Team Name:
Governor Support
Aelodau’r Tim: Team Members:
Kate Phillips Allison Gough Rebecca Jones
Gweledigaeth: Our vision :
Gwasanaethau rydym ni’n ei ddarparu: Services that we provide:
Annual Training programme for governors including mandatory training elements LA Governor appointments Support for governing bodies pursuing National Bronze Award Monitoring of governing body minutes prioritising schools where there are concerns Helpline for schools, governors, parents etc Clerking service for school governing bodies upon request
Beth mae defnyddwyr gwasanaethau / disgyblion / ysgolion yn ei feddwl amdanom ni? What do service users / pupils / schools / think about us?
Governor training feedback forms largely positive Other services not assessed currently although anecdotal evidence of satisfaction exists
Dewis Blaenoriaethau / Choosing Priorities
Beth yw ein prif lwyddiannau? What are our main successes?
All statutory deadlines for mandatory training met Mandatory training programme provided and non-attendance pursued LA Governors sought for consideration by monthly LA Panel Support for school governing bodies to achieve Governors Wales Bronze Award Helpline for school, governors, parents on procedures and regulations relating to
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governing bodies and school issues Governing body Clerking Service provided upon request
Oes yna unrhyw elfennau sydd angen eu datblygu ymhellach yn ystod 2014-15? Are there any aspects that need to be developed during 2014 2015?
Improve analysis of governor training feedback data Extend links for governor training on regional/hub basis Re-issue guidance on what governing bodies must consider during an academic year Check governing bodies are coverning required items Develop matrix of concern for governing bodies and respond accordingly Consistency of clerking service delivery provided to governing bodies Monitoring of governing body minutes
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Governor Support
Ein prif ddangosyddion / Our headline indicators 2013 -14 2014 -15 2015 -
16 2016-2017
Mesuriadau perfformiad Performance Measures
1 Annual governor training programme delivered
Yes Green
2. Satisfaction of level of support for governors
Rate TBD
N/A to be undertaken 2014-15
3 Schools completing Bronze Award
11 15 Green
4 LA Appointments 80% LA Places filled
80% LA Places filled
Amber – drive to improve in 2014-15
5 Clerking Service provided within required timescale
100% 100% Green
6 Matrix of support developed
Matrix in place
Improved criteria for assessment developed
Amber – in process of putting matrix together
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Cynllun Gweithredu / Operational Plan Cynllun Gweithredol Newydd 2014-15 Cyfeirnod
Cynllun Gweithredu
Targed perfformiad / Allbwn
Swyddog Cyfrifol
Dyddiad Targed
Ffynhonnell gyllid
Reference
Action description
Performance Target / Expected Output
Responsible Officer
Target Date
Finance Source
L1 Amber to be implemented in 2015-15
PE37 Develop hub governor training for mandatory and other other required areas
100% of all eligible governors attendance for mandatory training 80% of governors selecting a course attend
KP/RR/AG Per annum
Core
L1 Green PE37 Support governing bodies to obtain Bronze Award
15 schools per annum
KP/RR/AG Per annum
Core
L1 Amber PE37 LA governor appointments
80% filled places KP/RR/AG Core
P6 Amber to be completed in 2014-15
PE37 Develop RAG status for all school governing bodies
Consider: achieved Bronze Award, effective committee structure in place, effective Clerk to GB, all governors attended relevant training, gb raised in Inspection etc
KP/AG/RJ July 2014
Core
P12 Amber SLA to be drawn up in 2014-15
PE37 Consider SLA for Clerking Service for governing bodies as per Welsh Government requirements
Clerking Service provided within 16 weeks of receiving request as per Welsh Government requirements
KT/KP On-going
Develop SLA
L2 Amber – work started for further development in 2014-15
PE37 Develop links with governors across hub/region
Governors identified to link with governors in neighbouring authorities
KP/AG/RJ 2014-17
Core/regional
PE13 N/A to be introduced
Governing bodies
Target school governing bodies not
KP/AG/RJ 2014-17
Core
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in 2014-15 encouraged to have UNCRC link governor
having sent a governor on UNCRC governor training
PE13 Amber – on-going programme in place
Schools encouraged to participate in Rights Respecting Schools programme
As identified in Corporate Planning
Elected Members/ LA Officers/KP/AG/Challenge Advisers
2014-17
Core
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Service Business Plan: School, Governor and Student Services Appendix 2
Service / Business Unit: School, Governor and Student Services
Service / Business Unit Objectives:
1. To offer support to schools, Governors and students
2. To deliver mandatory training for new governors and chairs of governors as required by WG legislation.
Link to Strategic & Improvement Objectives: Corporate Improvement Plan Aim 2 and 2 Chapter 4 Children & Young Persons Priority 1.
Desired Outcomes:
• Provide advice, guidance and support for governors, parents, staff and pupils • Ensure that governors attend all elements of mandatory governor training as
required by Welsh Government since September 2013
Remaining Actions
Ref Action Lead Officer Staff / Resource dependencies.
Target / Milestones (Month & Year)
2.1 Further extend targeted system to engage new governors, chairs of governors and new clerks to attend mandatory training.
Kathryn Thomas/Kate Phillips
Staff Time 65% new governors trained within a year of becoming a new governor
100% new clerks to governing bodies attend training within 3 months of becoming a new clerk
75% new chairs of governors attend training within a year of taking up the role.
2.2
Further extend evaluation of impact of new governors attending training.
Kathryn Thomas/Kate Phillips
Staff Time Feedback obtained from Headteachers regarding governors who have attended training
Implement system to follow up with governors in order to assess the impact of training on ability to become ‘critical friend’.
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2. LETTER TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR EDUCATION FOLLOWING THE PRE INQUIRY WORKING GROUP (MARCH 15)
To/ Councillor Jennifer Raynor, Cabinet Member for Education BY EMAIL CC. Alan Thomas, Chair of the Audit Committee
PLEASE ASK FOR: GOFYNNWCH AM: Scrutiny
DIRECT LINE: LLINELL UNIONGYROCHOL: 01792 637257
E-MAIL E-BOST:
OUR REF EIN CYF: SG/2014-15/1
YOUR REF EICH CYF:
DATE DYDDIAD: 19 March 2015
Summary: This is a letter from the School Governance Pre Inquiry Scrutiny Working Group to the Cabinet Member for Education following the meeting of the Group on the 18 February 2015. It is about a proposed in depth inquiry into school governance.
Dear Councillor Raynor,
Re: School Governance Pre Inquiry Working Group - 18 February
Thank you for attending the School Governance Pre Inquiry Working Group on the 18th February 2015. I am also grateful for the report presented by Kathryn Thomas from the Education Department. Both of your contributions were extremely useful for us as a working group.
I am writing to let you know that we intend to proceed with an in depth inquiry into this topic and will be sharing terms of reference with the Scrutiny Programme Committee shortly. In developing these terms of reference we will be taking account of some of the points that you made at the meeting. Specifically:
• The need to consider the recommendations of ‘The future delivery of education services in Wales’ Review undertaken by Robert Hill Consulting 2013
• That there is a shortage of governors
• There is confusion about the general role of the governor and also confusion about the differences between different types (parent, LA etc)
• That some governor panels are too ‘cosy’ – the same people have been doing the same thing for years and may not be challenging enough
• Skills analysis should be looked at to ensure that panels have the skills they need as a group
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• Closer integration between challenge advisors and governing bodies could be valuable
• The important role of audit in identifying areas of weakness
You will recall at the meeting we discussed the need to ensure that the Autumn Core Visits with challenge advisors should include more than the chair and vice chair of governors. This is a point that the School Performance Panel has previously raised with you and I understand that this advice will be given to schools. This is a positive step.
I would welcome any further comments you may have on the content of this letter however a formal response is not required.
Please also note that I have copied this letter to Alan Thomas, Chair of the Audit Committee both for awareness and to ensure that we avoid any duplication in this work.
Yours sincerely,
COUNCILLOR FIONA GORDON
CONVENOR, SCHOOL GOVERNANCE PRE INQUIRY SCRUTINY WORKING GROUP
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3. NOTES FROM THE INQUIRY PLANNING MEETING (MAY 15)
1. Examples of Research into School Governance
The report by the Scrutiny Research Officer was shared with the Panel as a source of evidence for the inquiry.
NOTED:
• Need to recognise the clear differences between the Welsh and English systems
• Idea of a central pool of governors with specialisms • Idea of a parent governor forum • Idea of providing a timeline of activities for governing bodies • Importance of website information for governors • Idea of a checklist of questions for governors to ask • Idea of a personal training schedule for governors, with the mandatory training
listed and space to add extra training attended
2. Welsh Government Schools Governance Task and Finish Group
Professor Catherine Farrell presented the report.
NOTED:
• Value or otherwise of bronze award • Template for self-evaluation • Template for skills audit • Checklist for development appraisals • Need to encourage people proactively to become governors • People may be worried by the legal responsibilities • Schools need to have a strong community base • Different schools can have very different cultures • Whole governing body training • To check whether the issue of looked after children needs to appear on
governing body agendas
The Panel were referred to the recommendations from the recent scrutiny inquiry into Wellbeing in Schools (see APPENDIX A)
A submission was received from the Audit Committee (see APPENDIX B)
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4. PREVIOUS SCHOOL GOVERNANCE REPORTS AND RESEARCH (MAY 15)
Purpose The purpose of this report is to give an outline of other work that has been carried out on school governance.
Content This report highlights the work that has been completed by other authorities and organisations around school governance.
Councillors are being asked to
• Give their views • Consider the report as part of their work into school
governance Lead Councillor(s)
Councillor Fiona Gordon, Convener
Report Author Jenna Tucker, Scrutiny Research Officer, 01792 637732
Introduction The following report highlights national work and research that has been carried out in the area of school governance. The report specifically contains scrutiny reviews into school governance and other reviews and inquiries that have led to recommendations for improvement and other work which outline good practice. For the scrutiny reviews and other inquiries each example will show exactly they wanted to do/find out, what methods they used to gather evidence, any conclusions made and the suggested recommendations. These will give the panel the opportunity to see how others have gone about reviewing school governance and to consider the conclusions and recommendations and assess the implications for Swansea. The good practice mentioned in this report highlight key characteristics of a successful governing body which the panel can take into consideration whilst carrying out their inquiry. The following are summarised in this report:
• Bracknell Forest Borough Council: A Review of School Governance (2013)
• Portsmouth City Council: A Review of School Governance Arrangements (2014)
• Cheshire East Council: Mablins Lane Community Primary School – From ‘notice to improve’ to ‘good’ in 15 months
• Education Select Committee: The Role of School Governing Bodies (2013)
• Hill Report: The Future Delivery of Education Services in Wales (2013)
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• CBI: Leading the Way – Improving School Governance and Leadership (2013)
• Ofsted: Learning from the best (2011) Please note that the Welsh Government School Governance Task and Finish Group is not mentioned in this report as it is being discussed separately at the meeting (see APPENDIX C). This report concludes that there are a number of common issues running through the school governance research, these are:
• Training and development of governors
• Sharing of good practice
• The information available for governors particularly websites
• The induction process for new governors
• The idea of a central pool of governors with specialism’s
• Attracting more governors from the business sector
• The recruitment and retention of school governors
• Clear roles and responsibilities
• The role of the clerk
• The formats of the information/data governors receive Bracknell Forest Borough Council: A Review of School Governance (2013) Following some concerns regarding school governance arrangements in Bracknell Forest schools raised by Ofsted inspection reports, the Children, Young People and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Panel established this Working Group in autumn 2012 to review school governance in the Borough’s schools with a view to identifying areas for improvement and disseminating good practice. The Panel wanted to specifically address the following questions:
• Are school governance arrangements sufficiently robust?
• Is there best practice in the borough which can be shared with other schools?
• What can be done to improve governance arrangements?
• Should governance practice be amended to enhance succession planning? During the review the working group gathered evidence from a number of sources including:
• Council officers who provided background information and knowledge
• School governors of all types together with headteachers who met the Working Group and completed questionnaires to explain their governance practices and comment on any related issues.
• Attended meetings of the Link Governors Forum and annual Governors Conference to gather information and views.
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• Relevant documents including extracts from Ofsted inspection reports concerning local school governance, the statutory guidance on the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012, an Ofsted report relating to good governance practice and minutes of meetings of governing bodies.
A number of conclusions were made by the working group including:
• School governors carry out a very important role for the community, and particularly the education system. These are unpaid voluntary roles and all governors deserve our thanks for the time, effort and commitment they give for the benefit of Bracknell Forest’s children and young people.
• Extracts from Ofsted inspection reports of Bracknell Forest schools’ governance indicates that the quality of governing bodies varies across the Borough, but is never less than satisfactory and often good or outstanding. The qualities of enthusiasm, belief in the school, commitment and knowledge are required for a school to attain an excellent inspection rating. Outstanding performance should not go unnoticed and inspection comments should be shared to enable governors to question, challenge, assess and compare their performance with that of other governing bodies.
• All governors need to be fully aware of preparations for Ofsted inspections. A general programme of pre-Ofsted visits made to schools by advisers who would ask challenging questions similar to those asked by Ofsted to assist schools prepare for inspections is favoured. The programme should prioritise schools in most need of improvement. The preparation sessions could vary to reflect the type and size of school, include a tick list of actions to evidence effective governance to Ofsted inspectors, and feature a workshop with governors to raise their awareness of their role and inspection requirements, provide learning points and act as a self-evaluation tool.
• Governing bodies expressed limited support and enthusiasm for a governing body federation advising several schools as each school is individual with differing cultures, strengths and weaknesses. The concept of a central pool of governors with specialisms who can be called upon by all governing bodies to advise and remedy issues as required has been identified by the Working Group as an alternative. The Council could be responsible for maintaining a list of such experienced governors, who could meet informally on occasions during the year to include networking sessions where all other governors are welcome to attend to discuss issues and obtain advice.
• Although succession planning for chairs can be successful and is largely favoured by governing bodies, it is dependant upon the availability of willing candidates with the necessary skills, experience, expertise and commitment being available to assume the role. Some schools do employ succession planning and approach it in varying manners including potential candidates shadowing chairs towards that latter part of their tenure, training vice-chairs to assume the role and attending meetings of all committees to become familiar with their roles and functions. When schools have devoted energies into succession planning it has reaped benefits and one primary school whose governors’ contribution to the school’s success was described as outstanding
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by Ofsted had for several years had two vice chairs with different roles to enable the support and succession aspects to be fully effective.
• Many qualities required of chairs of governors and of governors have been identified by chairs and include personal qualities such as charisma, confidence, decisiveness, commitment, honesty and a sense of humour, also skills/abilities such as leadership, management, recruitment, organisational, analytical and team building.
• The good governance practice identified by this review is principally: challenging performance, chair of governor succession planning with a limited term of office, strengthening the induction process by providing mentoring, promoting safeguarding, utilising self-evaluation to evidence effectiveness to Ofsted inspectors, and undertaking skills audits to focus governor recruitment to fill skills if possible.
The panel made the following recommendations:
• Governors be regularly encouraged to concentrate on ensuring safeguarding practices are sound, and challenging the performance achieved by their schools. This should include holding the school to account for any issues preventing an excellent Ofsted rating.
• All governing bodies be encouraged to implement succession planning. Related to this, the Council explore with governors the introduction of a school policy on the maximum tenure of chairs of governors. This should recognise the value of continuity and knowledge retention, balanced by the need to introduce fresh thinking and approaches periodically.
• Building on good practice already in place, the induction of new governors be improved by more widespread: use of ‘buddies’ or mentors; individual school induction handbooks; attendance of a meeting of all committees to enable the governor to identify which he/she is best suited to serve; use of web information advising on the basics of the role of governors; acronym sheets and receiving chairs of governors’ explanation of unfamiliar matters at governing body meetings as means of integrating and inducting new governors and facilitating their early involvement and contribution.
• All governing bodies be requested to adopt a code of conduct.
• All governing bodies be reminded of the importance that the membership of governing bodies ideally needs to reflect the communities served by the school. Governing bodies should be mindful of this when recruiting new governors.
• All governing bodies be asked to carry out ‘exit interviews’ of governors at the point they stand down, as a valuable learning resource. The knowledge gained should be shared, in non-personalised form, among all governing bodies.
• Information stalls be introduced, run by experienced governors, at appropriate events such as school fêtes and Borough events, to assist with raising the profile of the role of governor and recruiting suitable candidates to fill vacancies.
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• A general programme of pre-Ofsted visits be made to schools by advisers who ask challenging questions similar to those asked by Ofsted, to assist schools to prepare for inspections. The programme should prioritise schools in most need of improvement, and sessions should vary to reflect the type and size of school. This should include a tick list of actions to evidence effective governance to Ofsted inspectors, and feature a workshop with governors to raise their awareness of their role and inspection requirements, provide learning points and act as a self-evaluation tool. Although such support is not included in the Service Level Agreement with the Council, it should be available as a bought in service or offered cost free to schools at risk.
• Consideration be given to the concept of a central pool of governors with specialisms who can be called upon by all governing bodies to advise and remedy issues as required. The Council be responsible for maintaining a list of such pool governors, who could meet informally on occasions during the year to include networking sessions where all other governors are welcome to attend to discuss issues and obtain advice.
• With a view to making the Bracknell Forest skills audit form more easily understandable, focusing on the skills required of governors by asking governors to set out their skills in place of the current tick box approach, the Link Governors Forum be invited to identify the skills required of governors as part of a review of the form. The re-designed form must take account of confidentiality and be circulated to all governing bodies in the Borough to assist them with undertaking skills audits.
• It be explained more clearly to governors that the self-evaluation toolkit does not have to be followed strictly and it can be adapted to meet individual schools and governing bodies. New governors be encouraged to look at the toolkit and bring a fresh view as to whether it has been followed. The Governor Services Team re-visit the implementation of self-evaluation and consider the next stages.
• A forum meeting every six months be established for parent governors where they can network with other parent governors and share experiences and remedies to issues.
• The Chairs’ Briefing, which is in the form of briefings and operates at a strategic level, be extended to provide chairs with opportunities for increased interaction and for discussion and networking at the conclusion of sessions.
• The quality of advertising material for recruiting governors be reviewed. This could usefully include a leaflet to explain the role of governors and their responsibilities. With regard to the time commitment required of a governor, the information disseminated should not refer specifically to a timeframe in case it discourages applications but not understate that either, as the role requires a considerable commitment.
• The governor related content of the Bracknell Forest website be evaluated, specifically to: explore the possibility of introducing an on-line feedback forum where comments concerning training and valuable learning points can be posted; producing a summary sheet of training sessions.
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• The good practice identified by this review be collated and circulated to all governing bodies and they be encouraged to discuss and consider it for adoption.
Portsmouth City Council: A Review of School Governance Arrangements (2014) The Education, Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel's topic for the 2013-14 municipal year was School Governance Arrangements. In January 2014 their Cabinet approved the School Governance Strategy and the aim of the review was to feed into the development of the strategy. The Panel agreed the following objectives for the review:
• To consider whether there is sufficient capacity within Portsmouth City Council to provide the necessary support to governing bodies in the city.
• To consider recruitment and retention of school governors in the city.
• To consider the skills of school governors, take up of training by governors, their ability to understand and interpret school data and ability to hold senior leaders to account.
• To consider how effective the existing arrangements are for governing body self-review.
• To consider how effective clerking of governing bodies currently is and what can be done to strengthen clerking in the city.
• To consider good practice from other local authorities. The Panel received evidence from a number of sources, including:
• Council officers who provided background information and knowledge
• All types of governors from different schools in the area
• Discussion with Hampshire Governor Service
• A questionnaire which was sent by email to all head teachers, chairs of governors and clerks of schools
Based on the evidence gathered, the Panel made the following conclusions:
• Standards of governance are variable in the city and it is important to spread good governance in the city. The Panel recognise the importance of good governance in relation to Ofsted results and that previously Ofsted have been critical of the quality of governance in schools in the city.
• The Governor Services Team at PCC is providing excellent support and is recognised by head teachers, chairs of governors and clerks as being a vital, effective and highly valued service. Some academy schools have chosen to commit to buy into the governor services SLA and only six schools have opted not to use the service
• The governor services' section of the council's website could be used further to provide information for governors. Currently a generic role description of a governor or clerk is not included on the website. In addition a social media
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support model where governors can discuss problems/solutions and share best practice is currently not available for governors.
• The Education Group within Shaping Portsmouth are providing valuable work in promoting the role of school governor to the business community and that PCC will continue to work with the Group to promote governors to the business community. Further work however is needed to promote the role of the school governor, especially to parents.
• Reconstituting under The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 may help schools focus on the skills sets needed on their governing bodies. A small number of schools have already reconstituted and a larger number are considering this.
• At present, there is no effective way of matching the skills of potential governors to the vacancies in the city. In addition a clear role specification for governors is not currently available.
• The take up of training offered by governor services is variable among schools. Just over half the questionnaire respondents are regularly accessing training available from governor services and this needs to be further promoted.
• Many new governors feel overwhelmed with the amount of information received when they are first appointed as governor. New governors also find it difficult to understand and interpret school data and are therefore unable to actively challenge this. The governor induction process is not as effective as it could be and needs to be improved
• Clerks provide a vital role to the governing body but the evidence shows that the quality of clerking in the city is variable.
• Self-Review is an effective method of assessing the skills gap of governing bodies if implemented properly, and the majority of governing bodies who provided evidence completed some form of self-review annually. Not all questionnaire respondents were aware that the Governor Services Team provide a template for this. In addition peer review among governing bodies does not take place.
The Panel made the following recommendations:
• That all schools in the city, including academies, be encouraged to buy into the governor services SLA.
• That the governor services section of the council’s website be developed to provide more information and guidance for governors. In addition that consideration be given to develop a social media support model for governors to discuss problems and solutions and share best practice.
• That awareness of the role of school governors in the business and wider community be promoted, emphasising that they do not necessarily have to commit to the role for four years, although this is preferred. The Chamber of Commerce and Flagship magazine be used as ways to promote this. Information stalls manned by experienced governors at appropriate events such as school fetes, should also be considered to raise the profile.
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• That schools be encouraged to reconstitute under the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012, to help governing bodies become more effective by concentrating on the relevant skill sets of governors.
• That the council’s Internal Audit team consider a shared piece of work with the Governor Services Team, to monitor the recruitment and retention of governors. In addition the Governor Services Team to use the information obtained from retiring governors' exit interviews to help governing bodies understand why governors are not staying in post and how to rectify this.
• That work is undertaken to better match skills of governors into governor vacancies, for example governor services should consider keeping a database of skills to quickly match these with governor vacancies in the city.
• That the Governor Services Team consider offering training courses on Saturdays to give more flexibility for governors who have other commitments to be able to attend training sessions.
• That the Governor Services Team provide a training pack for every governor to keep a portfolio of their training that they wish to pursue. This to include their identified learning outcomes and keep a record of their continued professional development.
• That online forums for training or an online portal showing slides and further information on training courses be explored. This would allow governors to fully understand what the session involves before deciding if a course is relevant.
• That the Governor Services Team actively target governors via email when new courses are organised to ensure that courses offered are well attended and that governors are adequately trained.
• That the Governor Services Team create a generic induction pack for new governors with a separate pack for infant, junior and senior school governors. This should contain only the essential information to allow them to start their role as governor. That governing bodies also be encouraged to give newly appointed governors a mentor for a short period of time to provide support and the opportunity to shadow them as part of their induction process.
• That head teachers be encouraged to put school data into an easier format. The Governor Services Team should work with head teachers to present school data as simply as possible to allow governors to become fully involved.
• That the council consider setting up a clerking pool in the city and look to develop a SLA with Hampshire County Council for the clerking service.
• That the Governor Services Self-Review Toolkit be further promoted to schools and that schools be offered training on how to carry out effective self-review. That in addition peer review between governing bodies in the city be encouraged.
Cheshire East Council: Mablins Lane Community Primary School – From ‘notice to improve’ to ‘good’ in 15 months Cheshire East Council worked with the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) to enhance governance and whole school accountability in six of its primary schools. Mablins
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Lane Primary School was one of the schools involved. They used the CfPS ‘six steps to an accountable, transparent and inclusive school’ (see below). Created using CfPS’ methodology of good governance, the model addresses the role of governors at each aspect of school improvement and supports governors and senior leaders to improve outcomes for young people and also raise attainment. Learning indicates this approach can help governing bodies provide better scrutiny, challenge and support of and to the school, leading to an improvement in attainment, achievement and Ofsted results.
In February 2012 Mablins Lane Community Primary School had their leadership and management of the school judged as inadequate and were issued a notice to improve by Ofsted. Following this judgement, the Chair of Governors called governors and senior leaders together to systematically examine the key findings from the Ofsted inspection and plan improvements and interventions. Using aspects of methodology from the CfPS, the Chair of Governors (also an employee of CfPS) led a review of school governance – assessing what was good, what worked well, what didn’t and also how other schools’ governing bodies functioned. This review brought in the concepts of accountability, transparency and involvement. Over the next 15 months the following happened:
• Governance was refined – and governors better skilled to scrutinise, challenge and support the school through a better system of meeting, reporting and linking with teaching.
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• The senior leadership team was expanded and transformed in to a multi-skilled team – that enabled better distributed leadership – moving away from the head providing leadership in isolation.
• Clear roles, responsibilities and expectations were developed for all.
• Robust performance management systems were put in place, including: - Lesson observations, scrutiny of children’s work books and lesson planning.
- Pupil progress, achievement and attainment. - Accountabilities and reporting.
- Effective triangulation of the above – and a school development plan focused support and interventions where it was needed
• The enhancement of ‘Link’ governor roles with teaching staff ensured that governors were better informed of the school and their link area – enabling better scrutiny, challenge and support.
• A link governor for Assessment and Data provided the one to one challenge that improved working practices and filled a gap in the accountability and improvement cycle.
• A plan for involving different stakeholders was produced – how we communicate and work with parents, staff, governors and pupils – clear expectations.
• More frequent and thorough reporting to governors along the four themes inspected by Ofsted – ensures that the school and its governors are fully aware of the whole school and how it is pulling together to make and sustain improvements.
They viewed these actions as steps to take to becoming an accountable, transparent and inclusive school. Each of the steps below should not be taken in isolation, they all need to be in place for a school to be fully accountable, transparent and inclusive. Mablins Lane Community Primary School is now deemed ‘Good’ in all areas and close to outstanding – with governance highlighted as outstanding within the report. In this example stronger and more effective governance made a significant impact on the improvement in the school (alongside other teaching interventions). Whilst the governors would not and could not take the credit for all of the improvements they provided the strategic scrutiny, challenge and support needed to ensure that the leadership team within the school developed to its full capacity. Education Select Committee: The Role of School Governing Bodies (2013) The Parliamentary Education Select committee carried out an inquiry into the role of school governing bodies in 2013. This inquiry looked at the existing role of governing bodies, and the implications of recent Government policy developments in education for them, as well as a range of issues concerning recruitment, reward and responsibilities. Over 90 written submissions were received as evidence for this inquiry from a range of organisations and individuals including governors, local authorities, national governor infrastructure bodies, training providers, unions, academics, Ofsted and the Department for Education. The Committee held three oral evidence sessions with:
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• Serving school governors, the National Governors’ Association
• Headteachers, Ofsted and Professor Chris James of the University of Bath
• School Governors One Stop Shop (SGOSS), GL Education Group, National College of School Leadership (now the National College of Teaching and Leadership) and National Co-ordinators of Governor Services (NCOGS)
• Local authorities, NASUWT, The Haberdashers Company
• The Minister, Lord Nash, and a DfE official A seminar was also held with school governors. The Committee visited Denmark and the Netherlands as part of the evidence gathering for the Inquiry. From all the evidence received the Committee made the following conclusions:
• This inquiry into the role of school governing bodies does not suggest that any radical changes are required to the current system of governance in English schools. Recent legislation provides adequate flexibility for governing bodies to innovate and this flexibility could, in itself, bring about radical change should governing bodies implement it more widely. However, our evidence indicates that few governing bodies are taking advantage of the new regulations, which suggests that Government needs to do more to clarify what models of governance are now possible, along with explaining how these could be beneficial in different school contexts.
• Although the Committee are generally supportive of the Government’s current direction of travel with regard to school governance, certain issues need to be addressed as priorities. These include a strengthening of current interventions in poor or failing governing bodies, and the promotion of the role of clerk to a professional one. The Government also needs to make it easier for skilled individuals to be recruited from business to undertake governor duties.
• In order to improve the quality of governance in all schools, the Government must stress the importance of continuing professional development for all governors and headteachers. Our recommendation that the Government should introduce a requirement for schools to offer mandatory training to all new governors reflects the high priority attributed to training and development in the evidence we received.
In their core recommendations the Education Committee concludes:
• As professional bodies, school governors need professional support. The role of Clerk to a school governing body should be classed as a professional post. Government must ensure that people appointed to this role are given the detailed information and data they require to perform their important function. The recently published Governors’ Handbook should be reviewed, so that detailed information supplied in the predecessor guide for professional clerks (but currently omitted) can be reinstated.
• Ofsted’s increased focus on school governance is a welcome development. The clear standards now set within the inspection framework will help governing bodies to reflect on their own practice and identify areas for
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improvement. Where governance is poor or failing then the Government and Ofsted must act swiftly and decisively. Current interventions should be reinforced, including the imposition of time limits for implementation of an Interim Executive Board in a failing school. Greater powers for removing poor governors – including chairs – from office are also required.
• Payment for governors is not necessary, but there may be a case to consider remuneration in some cases – for example when governors deploy their skills or experience to disseminate best practice to improve governance in other schools.
• The Government should introduce a requirement for schools to offer mandatory training to all new governors
Hill Report: The Future Delivery of Education Services in Wales (2013) In January 2013 the Minister announced the appointment of Robert Hill to undertake the review on the future delivery of education services in Wales. It focused on looking at the effectiveness of the current education delivery at school and local authority level, and to consider what should be undertaken at school, local authority, regional and national level with a focus on:
• raising standards and improving learner outcomes at all ages
• better support and challenge to schools to improve standards
• developing and strengthening the leadership of schools and the quality of teaching and learning
• ensuring value for money and effective use of resources • bringing about coherence and strong links between all areas of the education
system, including post-16 provision and the wider children’s services agenda.
As part of the review invitations for written submissions were sent out to education stakeholders. Submissions were asked to be based around three questions:
• What measures would contribute most to improving the quality of teaching and learning in every classroom in school in Wales?
• What measures should be taken to enable, empower and equip school leaders in Wales to lead significant and sustainable improvement of the school system?
• How can schools in Wales best be held to account and supported in improving outcomes for children and young people?
Twenty primary, secondary and special schools across Wales were also visited as part of the review. This review did not make any recommendations but reported on a range of possible delivery options for education services. This report puts forward three governance model options. The report states that each proposed model has at its heart a concept considered by the Welsh Government School Governance Task and Finish Group. The idea is to have a relatively small inner board with governors recruited for their skills and a stakeholder group focused on support and scrutiny The proposed models were as follows:
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Model 1: The federation governing body would have overall and ultimate accountability for the performance and management of all the schools in the federation. However, in addition to an overarching small board each school would also have its own head of school (who would be the key point of contact for parents) and its own local governing body or parents’ council to consider pastoral and community issues, support the life of the school and scrutinise performance and progress. Potential new governance model for school federations
Model 2: This option is similar to the last model but it shows how it could work in the context where local authorities might wish to bring several existing schools together to create a new 3–19 learning institution for a locality. Potential new governance model for a multi-campus 3–19 school
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Model 3: In this option a trust (or a charity) is formed that holds the land and assets of the schools in the trust and employs all the staff employed – as in foundation and voluntary-aided schools. The trust might bring in strategic partners – such as universities, FE colleges, charities, organisations with educational expertise and local employers – to add expertise in specific areas. A trust would also be configured to provide an opportunity for parents, pupils and staff of the schools to form a members’ council that would elect some of the trustees. This would provide them with a stake in the operation of the schools. The trustees would nominate some of the governors – and they along with the chairs of the parents’ councils would be accountable for the operational performance of the schools. Potential new Co-operative Trust-based governance model
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The report also notes that there are two other governance options that could also be considered:
• Education improvement partnerships (EIPs) provide a looser means for schools and other key stakeholders to work together to deliver school improvement and, through service-level agreements with their local authority and other agencies, coordinate delivery of other children’s services.
• Education companies that are run on a not-for-profit basis are a further means for schools to take collective responsibility for delivering shared services. Such a vehicle is normally used where schools are providing traded school improvement services to other schools.
This review suggested the following options to the Welsh Government School governance Task and Finish Group (which resumed following the publication of this report) for consideration:
• Monitoring the impact of the new governor training arrangements to ensure that they are of high quality and support more effective governance in practice
• agreeing with regional consortia a template of what an effective governance support service looks like
• Providing a standard school performance data-reporting template for governors
• enabling outstanding chairs of governors to act as Lead Practitioners and so support improvements in governance at other schools
• working with CBI Wales and other employers to develop a register of aspiring and serving business leaders willing to serve as school governors in each region.
This review also highlighted Crickhowell High School as a good practice example of school governance. The following statement was given about the school in the report:
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Extract taken from Hill Report:
CBI: Leading the Way – Improving School Governance and Leadership (2013) CBI produced this report in 2013 promoting the benefits to schools, staff and business of firms supporting their employees to volunteer as governors. Whilst the main focus of the report is England the principles can be applied across the UK. The report makes the following recommendations for improvement:
• Maintain progress on devolution of control to schools to empower headteachers and governors to deliver real and lasting change
• Ensure that the frameworks and structures in place support and encourage strong accountability. This must include a renewed focus on the importance of governing bodies.
• There should be no increase in local authority control. This would be a step backwards, and will not secure improvements.
• Ofsted should continue to focus more acutely on the quality of leadership and governance – making this a real priority
• There must be real movement on creating a culture of continuous professional development in schools, in particular for current and future leaders. In this context, the idea of a Royal College of Teaching deserves serious consideration
• Schools and governing bodies should recognise the value of school leaders having industry experience – there should be more interchange between the education sector and industry to ensure a better mix of skills, knowledge and experience in senior management teams in schools
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• The focus of governing bodies must be on strategic issues, and this needs to be clearly articulated to schools and headteachers as well as governors themselves
• The composition of a governing body must revolve around skills and capabilities, and should not be too large as to impede decision making
• Training and support should be available and encouraged for all governors
• More needs to be done to attract individuals from business to serve as governors. This should involve a concerted effort from the government, from the education sector and from business. Given the particular importance of raising standards in primary schools, initial efforts should focus on attracting individuals from business to serve on the governing bodies of these institutions
• The requirement for businesses to release their staff for governor duties should be extended to include academies and free schools as well as maintained schools
• Senior ministers need to be more vocal in championing the role and importance of school governors
• Schools and businesses can learn from each other to improve their own operations, especially around board composition, rigour in holding to account, and succession planning. The links to – and lessons from – corporate governance in the private sector should be made more explicit.
Ofsted: Learning from the best (2011) Inspectors visited 14 schools that were selected from primary, secondary and special schools in various localities where governance was judged as outstanding in inspections conducted in the academic year 2009/10. During these visits no single model of success was seen, but this report identifies some of the key characteristics of those 14 governing bodies that have achieved excellence. These are the key characteristics of effective governing bodies as highlighted in the report:
• Positive relationships between governors and school leaders are based on trust, openness and transparency. Effective governing bodies systematically monitor their school’s progress towards meeting agreed development targets. Information about what is going well and why, and what is not going well and why, is shared. Governors consistently ask for more information, explanation or clarification. This makes a strong contribution to robust planning for improvement.
• Governors are well informed and knowledgeable because they are given high- quality, accurate information that is concise and focused on pupil achievement. This information is made accessible by being presented in a wide variety of formats, including charts and graphs.
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• Outstanding governors are able to take and support hard decisions in the interests of pupils: to back the head teacher when they need to change staff, or to change the head teacher when absolutely necessary.
• Outstanding governance supports honest, insightful self-evaluation by the school, recognising problems and supporting the steps needed to address them.
• Absolute clarity about the different roles and responsibilities of the headteacher and governors underpins the most effective governance. Protocols, specific duties and terms of reference are made explicit in written documents.
• Effective governing bodies are driven by a core of key governors such as the chair and chairs of committees. They see themselves as part of a team and build strong relationships with the headteacher, senior leaders and other governors.
• In eight of the 14 schools visited, governors routinely attend lessons to gather information about the school at work. All the governors who were interviewed visit their schools regularly and talk with staff, pupils and parents. Clear protocols for visits ensure that the purpose is understood by school staff and governors alike. Alongside the information they are given about the school, these protocols help them to make informed decisions, ask searching questions and provide meaningful support.
• School leaders and governors behave with integrity and are mutually supportive. School leaders recognise that governors provide them with a different perspective which contributes to strengthening leadership. The questions they ask challenge assumptions and support effective decision-making.
• Governors in the schools visited, use the skills they bring, and the information they have about the school, to ask challenging questions, which are focused on improvement, and hold leaders to account for pupils’ outcomes.
• Time is used efficiently by governors because there are clear procedures for delegating tasks, for example to well organised committees. These committees have clear terms of reference, provide high levels of challenge and use governors’ expertise to best effect. Systems are in place for sharing information and reporting back to the full governing body.
• The role of the clerk to the governors is pivotal to ensuring that statutory duties are met, meetings are well organised and governors receive the information they need in good time. Consequently, governors come to meetings well prepared and with pertinent questions ready so that they are able to provide constructive challenge.
• A detailed timeline of activities, maintained by the clerk and linked to the school development plan, provides a clear structure for the work of governors and ensures that their time is used appropriately.
• Governors in the schools visited, use their external networks and professional contacts to fill any identified gaps in the collective skills of the governing body.
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• There are clear induction procedures for new governors which help them to understand their roles and responsibilities and ensure that best use is made of their varied skills and expertise.
• The governing bodies constantly reflect on their own effectiveness and readily make changes to improve. They consider their own training needs, as well as how they organise their work.
Conclusions A lot of work has been carried out in the area of school governance. All the work outlined in this report have stressed the important role that governors play for their communities and the education system. When looking through the research there are a number of common issues, these are:
• Training and development of governors
• Sharing of good practice
• The information available for governors particularly websites
• The induction process for new governors
• The idea of a central pool of governors with specialism’s
• Attracting more governors from the business sector
• The recruitment and retention of school governors
• Clear roles and responsibilities
• The role of the clerk
• The formats of the information/data governors receive A number of these issues were highlighted in the Ofsted: Learning from the best report which identifies key characteristics of governing bodies that achieved excellence. These include training and development, role of the clerk, the induction process, roles and responsibilities and the formats of the information presented to governors.
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5. NOTES FROM THE MEETING WITH THE CLERKS FORUM (JUNE 15)
Are governors clear about their role? • We support new governors by providing them with a handbook • When new governors start we match them up with staff and other governors
to act as mentors (not all schools do this) • When new governors start I spend time with them as clerk to get them up to
speed – our business manager does the same Are governors able to express their views well in meetings?
• Yes most are Do governors have the skills they need?
• New governors training is really important – every governor needs to go on this
• Really good that new governor training happens every 2 months • We have governors who have been with us for 6-7 months but not had
training yet – they tell us it is hard to get on • Not all governors are motivated to take up training and support – need more
positive steps to get all governors engaged • Every school is different
Do governing bodies have the right mix of people? • Overall average age of governors is too high • Many firms not keen to let people act as governors • The idea of an ideal mix ‘sounds dangerous!’ • Would be useful to have a profile of ne governors so we can see what skills
they can offer when they join • Important to manage non-attenders so that they can be moved out and others
elected in What types of people are missing from governing bodies?
• Some lack of professional skills evident (straw poll 50% had accounting, 20% had legal, 75% had HR skills)
Are governors able to challenge the head teacher in a constructive way? • Clerks have observed level of challenge increasing over recent years • All governing bodies have a mix of those who will challenge and those who
will just sit quietly – no governing bodies are just ‘nodding dogs’ • Good practice in regard to preparation (doing homework) and developing
questions happening in all schools even if not all governors participating • Do governors work well with challenge advisors? • Older governors are less likely to challenge – maybe because they haven’t
had the new training? • Governors more confident to challenge more likely to come from a
professional background
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• Confidence is an important factor • Governors unit observe that more challenge is being minuted • We had a new head who encouraged more challenge – this was a change for
our governors who found it difficult at first • Parent governors and professionals ten to be more challenging • Building confidence is really important – this can take time • None of my governors lack the confidence to challenge • Takes a while for governors to grow into the role – support from the clerk is
important Are governors provided with the right information?
• All governors receive information by email although not all open their emails (LA Governors can be the worst!)
• Not everyone opens their emails but clerks have different strategies they use – the right headings for emails, providing hard copies etc
• Exec summaries / jargon and acronym busters both useful Is the recruitment of governors a problem?
• Some schools find it difficult – particularly parent governors • Professional people can’t always make the meetings – these are people who
are often very good when they attend • Many schools using the skills matrix provided by LA • We need to recruit governors who understand expectations and who want to
engage Additional Issues Raised
Is there a conflict of interest between the role of governors’ clerk and the role of school clerk?
• This can be difficult for some – particularly during disciplinary proceedings • Some believe that the role should be formally split • Others suggest that it makes sense for the role to be combined as allows
clerk to know what is going on but need to make sure proper training and support are in place
• Split works differently in different schools Are governors aware of their responsibilities since the balance between schools and LA has changed?
• Not sure all governors are aware of their responsibilities • Need to make sure governors read the handbook • One example of bespoke version of handbook for school (will be provided to
panel) • Concerns expressed about the loss of honorariums for clerks – give as an
example of LA getting involved unnecessarily • Schools need access to impartial advice
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Is the process of appointing LA Governors right?
• Some can’t attend the meetings – better if regular times of meetings were know before appointments made so people are sure they can attend?
Meetings
• One meeting per term is an overload – two would be better • Meetings are often too long – partly due to volume of business, partly meeting
management • Professional and parent commitments can make attendance difficult
Relationship between governors and staff – are informal / social meetings held?
• We had a meeting for governors to meet with staff but they didn’t all turn up • We also had a meeting for governors to meet with staff but the staff felt
uncomfortable – they see governors as ‘mini inspectors’ • In our school staff and governors get on well • In our school classes adopt a governor who stays with them through their
school life • Engagement with staff helps governors to be more knowledgeable and
effective Sub committees
• Would be better if subcommittees followed same structure as inspection framework – subcommittee structure also helps governors to specialise – governors ned to share the workload
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6. GOVERNORS PERSPECTIVE (JULY 2015)
Panel Members: Fiona Gordon (Convener), Anthony Colburn, David Cole, Lynda James, Jeff Jones, Cheryl Philpott, Dave Anderson-Thomas
Scrutiny Officer: Dave Mckenna
Discussion with:
• Jeff Bowen (Chair), Swansea Association of Governing Bodies • Dereck Roberts, Swansea Association of Governing Bodies • Jane Morris (Director), Governors Wales
Presentation – Jane Morris
[Presentation and handout provided. See Appendix D and E]
• All partners need to know roles – a clear understanding of the governor’s role is really important
• Support for governors is key • A self-improving school system is the way foward but governors also need LA
and regional support. • Governors need to know about the national decisions being made • Governing bodies need to self-identify strengths and weaknesses • Effective chair needed to make sure all contribute effectively • Effective clerk is really important • Training needs to be effective and accessible and well supported • Some training is mandatory but important to find out if it is having an impact • High levels of challenge and support from governors are required at the same
time • Relationship with heads and school is key • Governors play important role as a sounding board • Governing bodies need to be clear that heads have responsibility for day to
day management • Onus is on the governing body to undertake skills audit and identify gaps in
the governing body • Co-option should be used to fill gaps as appropriate • Governing bodies should be looking at their terms of office and thinking ahead
regarding any recruitment process.Skills matrices and audits are available. • Education is target driven so need good quality assurance systems with
governors involved • Governors need to be clear about the role of the challenge adviser • Governors should be willing to look at different ways of working • Governing bodies have a lot of work – they need to consider delegating work
to sub committees/working groups as appropriate • Sometimes governors can be an afterthought and are not always consulted • Never forget that governors are volunteers • We need to celebrate the good work that governors do
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FG
The problem is when governing bodies don’t realise that they need support
Presentation - Dereck Roberts
• Important to remember that governors are all volunteers • Difficult for governors to cope with all of things that they are now being asked
to do – things are being dumped on them • “The burden on volunteer governors is becoming intolerable – particularly in
the context of the cuts – why would anyone want to do it?” • Central support is decreasing • There are 1,400 governors in Swansea and a difficulty with recruitment • Problems with ERW – not functioning properly yet • High turn-over of challenge adviser causing problems • The move towards a federated structure of schools is worrying – we are likely
to have cluster governing bodies • Federating schools on a catchment basis will cause problems in Swansea • LA governors don't make enough of a contribution – they don’t visit their
schools enough – understand the time issues involved • Confidence between head and governing bodies very important • Governing bodies are feeling very vulnerable with a lack of support from the
centre
Presentation – Jeff Bowen
• I get feedback if governors don't show up – there is a problem with LA governors not attending
• Long serving governors can be turned out when councillors get priority • Problem of federated schools - example in Neath where each feeder primary
has to have a sub-committee = mini governing body • It is unclear how the governing body of a federated school would function • Most governors understand their role as they have had training. • Good idea to ask governors to feedback to their governing body when they
have had training • Good idea to provide training across a cluster • Sub committees do a very important job • High turnover of challenge advisors is an issue • We got support as governors after a poor inspection – what we really needed
was support before to prevent the poor report
FG
• Have been leadership issues in education – these should now have been resolved
• Concerned to hear about the turnover of challenge advisors
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JB
• ERW there have been problems with late notifications and changes of meetings etc. – not getting information until 24 hours before
• Too much information being sent out by ERW – we have no input • Relationship with head very important – their role is now very wide – feel for
them • Governors don’t always get the information they need
DR
• There is lots of information available – maybe too much – the metrics keep changing – lots of confusion about data
• Governors’ data training is provided and very useful
FG
• We need accessible data
DR
• 25% of governors access data training – this is good • Education welfare service is patchy
JJ
• Relationship with the head is very important • Being a governor is an important part of the councillor role – attendance rules
are in place • Governors should declare interests and links to community organisations (as
they do in England)
JM
• Governors in Wales have to declare interests a recent news item indicated that in England a national database of school will be produced.
Note from Jane Morris:
Here is the bit from Schedule 4 of The School Funding (Wales) Regulations 2010 - Content of Financial Schemes
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15. The keeping of a register of any business interests of the governors and the head teacher.
The interests could cover:
• relevant business interests of governors (employment, directorships, shareholdings etc.)
• relevant business interests of their partners if appropriate. • details of any other educational establishments they govern. • any relationships between governors and members of the school staff including
spouses, partners and relatives.
CP
• Selection of governors – there is no way of rejecting application if only one applies and their application is not suitable
• The application form is not ‘skill searching’ – it should be - maybe include a short CV
• Concern that some councillors may only become governors so they can have it on their CV before an election
DR
• We always have an interview before we decide whether to appoint a governor
JB
• Really important that governors are able to commit themselves to the role when they sign up
DB
• Agree that governors should be able to make the proper commitment when they sign up
JB
• Good that ERW are opening up training regionally
JJ
• Should there be training by cluster?
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JM
• Yes training by cluster would be a good idea
FG
• Who should coordinate training? Clerks?
JM
• Yes clerks could possibly coordinate cluster training events
DR
• Cluster approach doesn’t work if schools divided geographically for example by hills
JM
• Very important to explore e-learning for governors • Also the idea of ‘consultant governors’ (successful governors advising other
schools) is being promoted in some areas of Wales
JB
• Very important that governors have a good source of information and advice – that they know who to contact for advice
• Governors’ Wales have a very good website but not all governors use it • More governors need to be encouraged to use the Governors’ Wales website
FG
• Maybe introduce a ‘credit card’ with useful numbers for governors?
CP
• All governors have access to data – it is what you do with it that matters • How do governors know that their head teacher is managing properly? • Many governors don’t like to challenge their heads and don’t get the right
training to do it • Many governors unsure about what to do about poor performance of the
management team in their schools
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DR
• Agree that many governors unsure about what to do about poor performance of the management team in their schools
• Challenge has to come from experience
FG
• Important role for challenge advisors in supporting governors to challenge poor performance
• Handouts from Governors Wales suggests questions that can be used to challenge performance
• Governors need to know their rights and what they can ask and where to go next Would be good to have a list of FAQs for governors
JB
• In my experience school staff welcome a close relationship with governors – we are clear that we are not there to judge teaching but to see how the children are doing
• We have governors who specialise in subjects and they provide someone for specific teachers to go to
DR
• Governors need to be familiar with the school development plan
CP
• Need to be careful not to ask governors to do what the staff should be doing
FG
• Core visits are an important part of the challenge process
CP
• Support for governors from challenge advisors should be proactive not reactive
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JB
• Agree that support for governors from challenge advisors should be proactive not reactive
DR
• The governing body is responsible for appointing the senior management team – it needs to be made clear that poor quality teaching is not acceptable – if heads don’t agree with this then they may have to leave
LJ
• When governing bodies get told something by the head teacher how can they know that it is true?
CP
• Important for governors to get their questions and concerns minuted so they can return to them if things go wrong later on
• How do we convert the unconverted schools to good practice?
JM
• Calibre and consistency of head teachers’ reports is very important
FG
• Agree that governors should feel confident about the head teachers’ reports
CP
• Governors need to be confident to ask questions
FG
• Would be good to have a list of FAQs for governors
DR
• Governor shortages include parent governors and those with finance expertise
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JM
• Do you know what your vacancy rate is? I believe it is about 76 this was the figure on Stats Wales for 2013/14 One idea is promote awareness of the role through an advertising campaign, targeting employer forums, developing links with business
DR
• Community service to be a governor should be part of MBA courses – new campus is an opportunity to promote this
FG
• Like the idea of joining up qualifications / experience / recruitment
JR
• Organisations seem less likely than before to release people to be governors – they are worried about the time it takes up
DR
• IBM have a very good policy for supporting people to be school governors
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7. CORPORATE PERSPECTIVE (JULY 15)
Panel Members: Fiona Gordon (Convener), Anthony Colburn, David Cole, Lynda James, Jeff Jones, Sarah Joiner, Catherine Farrell.
Scrutiny Officer: Dave Mckenna
Discussion with:
• Helen Morgan–Rees, Head of Education Improvement • Kathryn Thomas, School Governors’ Unit
HMR
• Conference was held jointly with Neath Port Talbot and included approx. 80 governors from Swansea
• Overall the conference can be considered a success with positive feedback from participants
• A range of presentations were made – not all were received positively • Governors attending identified the following benefits; networking, learning
practical tips, sharing common problems • Theme of the conference was ‘how to challenge’ • Some governors uncomfortable with the word ‘challenge’ if they have been
subject to a recommendation from Estyn that they need to be more critical – it can be difficult for them to hear
• It can be difficult to get the right balance between support and challenge
DC
• Are governors with an education background less critical?
HMR
• Not necessarily – important to ensure that all governors can provide challenge
KT
• The governance structure is based on the stakeholder model • It does not always follow that practitioners who have experience of an
education setting have experienced good practice
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FG
• Balance of challenge and support is clearly difficult – and what point can be you be confident to trust the teaching expert?
HMR
• Important role of the chair is to get input from a wide range of perspectives – the key is to have a good balance
• Good practice is to have distributed leadership throughout the school and for governors to receive updates from a wide range of people from within the school
AC
• Distributed leadership could be a recipe for disharmony – staff may be unwilling to criticise superiors or may be unwilling to ‘cross swords’ with the head
HMR
• AS long as everyone is working within the parameters of the school development plan and within a shared vison then disharmony amongst staff should not be a problem
KT
• As part of training we emphasise that the school development plan process should involve staff and governors
HMR
[Presented paper: Governor Voice on Effective Practice and Barriers to Effectiveness: Joint Governing Body Conference April 2015. See APPENDIX F]
• Paper summarises views of governors at the conference relating to effective practice and barriers to effective practice
• The most effective governing bodies take a rounded view of everything that affects the children i.e. health and safety, classroom environment
• Being able to see first-hand what children produce is key • Governors should triangulate their data i.e. speak to head + speak to child +
view child’s work • Too much jargon and acronyms are a barrier • The relationship between the head and chair of governors is crucial • Risk that there can be “an overbalance of cheerleading” in the governing body • Challenge advisors have helped governors to focus on priorities
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KT
• We will be issuing a skills matrix for all governing bodies to use in the autumn (e.g. HR, Finance etc)
SJ
• The skills matrix is really helpful
KT
• If you can’t recruit you can encourage existing governors to improve skills via training
• We keep copies of all minutes and we do pick up issues where needed e.g. appointment processes for chairs, setting up of sub committees
• The quality of minutes varies • We provide a minute taking course for clerks which has been tailored
specifically for clerks to governing bodies • Minutes are not published online as a matter of course but must be available
on request – confidential items will be retained separately and can be withheld from the public
JJ
• How do you define an ‘ineffective governing body’?
KT
• We have a system using RAG statuses that we are developing - it is an assessment tool. This is not to be confused with the National Categorisation Model
• Not usually a surprise to us when something negative about the governing body is included in an Estyn report
HMR
• We see this RAG assessment tool as a stress test coving issues such as vacancies
AC
• Too much bureaucracy can put people off being a governor
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DC
• Focus is all on indicators such as attainment and budget
SJ
• LAs only have two powers – to dissolve governing bodies and to monitor if there are good reasons. There is a lack of understanding of this issue amongst governors.
HMR
• Effectiveness is about governing bodies doing the simple things well, having clear sight of where you want to get to and monitoring along the way
JJ
• Should heads reports have a certain format?
HMR
• We are a draft ‘good practice’ format for the heads report and suggesting the frequency of reporting specific indicators
FG
• Does this model heads report have links to the questions that governors should ask?
KT
• We provide 20 questions from the governors wales website to new governors and chairs as part of the mandatory governor training elements to help inform governors with questions for the heads reports
FG
• Good to provide FAQs for governors including ‘what should be in a heads report’
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SJ
• Linked governors not always asking the right questions – sharing the 20 questions would be good
AC
• Heads spending too much time dealing with questions – should be dealing with school issues instead
HMR
• Head teachers should be able to prioritise their work and have time to be accountable – an important aspect of leadership
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8. ESTYN PERSPECTIVE (JULY 15)
Attending
Fiona Gordon (Convener), David Cole, Lynda James, Ceinwen Thomas, Jeff Jones, Dave Anderson-Thomas, Cheryl Philpott, Sarah Joiner, Professor Catherine Farrell
Scrutiny Officer: Dave Mckenna
Discussion with:
• Maldwyn Pryse, HMI, Estyn
[Presentations by Maldwyn Pryse attached. See APPENDIX G and H]
MP
• Secondary schools in Swansea are doing significantly better than most schools in Wales
• Swansea has good practice in school governance; “no-one has to cross any bridges to find good practice”
JJ
• Why are primary schools not doing so well?
MP
• Difficult to say why primary schools are not doing so well
CF
• Have Estyn made comparisons for Swansea with cities such as Cardiff and Newport?
MP
• These have not yet been done
CP
• Are there different issues for primary schools compared to secondary e.g. the spread of STF units?
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MP
• Assessments of primary schools are made using soft assessment data rather than hard exam data
• No schools in Swansea are in special measures which is an achievement • There are no recommendations in Estyn Secondary school reports that relate
specifically to governance (or across the rest of Wales) during the last two years
• In Swansea primary schools there are 12 recommendations relating to leadership and 6 relating to governors (2013-2015)
CP
• I am concerned about the governors when schools are in significant improvement or special measure – are they all involved?
MP
• Guidance for Estyn inspections is published on the Estyn website • Governance is part of the quality indicator for leadership • Most (not all) Estyn reports distinguish between leadership and governance • ‘How well governors understand their roles’ is one of the criteria that Estyn
use • How well governors are informed about the performance of the school and
issues that affect it is one of the criteria that Estyn use • Governors can be too dependent on the data that they receive from the head
teacher – Estyn will check governors’ knowledge to see that they have been given the full information
FG
• Roles and information are both really important
MP
• Secondary governors tend to be better at data than primary – they are helped that their data is externally verified
CP
• Governors tend to be aware of GCSE and A level results – not Key Stage 3 Assessments
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MP
• Governors can access data independently via mylocalschool.wales.gov.uk/ for example
• Sometimes Self-evaluation reports by headteachers to governors are too detailed – they find it hard to see the wood from the trees – reports need more focus using key indicators e.g. free school meals
• ‘Providing a sense of direction’ is a criteria that Estyn use when assessing governors
• The ‘critical friend’ criteria used by Estyn to assess governors is by far the weakest element – particularly in primary schools.
• In Wales around one third of secondary schools had negative comments in their Estyn reports about the critical friend role
• In order to maintain standards it is really important that governors have the confidence to challenge data
SJ
• Really important that governors see the children’s’ books
MP
• Shadow governors are able to build up expertise – this is common in secondary schools and happening more in primary schools
• Some schools have a ‘learning walk’ to help governors understand the school better
• Governors’ Wales provide a very useful protocol on classroom observation by governors
JJ
• How can you know as a governor if the work you are looking at is of good quality?
MP
• Best way for Governors to learn how to assess books is alongside teachers
FG
• Is it good practice to have link governors?
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MP
• Yes, it is good practice to have link governors although the commitment in terms of time can be a problem give that this is a volunteer role and because a number of governors work
FG
• How many governors do Estyn meet with when you inspect?
MP
• Estyn usually meet with the chair of governors and one other when they inspect (there will be a maximum of three) – always ask to include the data expert
• Minutes of governors meetings do not minute challenge well enough – it is hard for Estyn to see evidence of examples if they are not recorded
• Sometimes, in the worst circumstances, when we ask governors ‘please give an example of when you have challenged the head teacher’ we see blank faces – some also find it hard to explain the impact of a particular example
• The Estyn guidance provides descriptions of both good and unsatisfactory leadership
• The good practice section of the Estyn website only gives one example relating to governance [see presentation]
• The Governors’ Wales website is an invaluable resource for governors • Estyn meet regularly with Governors Wales and work closely with them • A new online training module for governors is being launched shortly by The
All Wales Academy – this will help governors prepare for inspections • There is a self-evaluation manual on the Estyn Website that is useful for
governors • The self-evaluation of governing bodies is likely to be an annual expectation
soon • All schools must have a school development plan in place from September
2015 • Schools with excellent governance in Swansea: Bishop Gore, Ysgol Gwfyn
Gwyr, Bishopston, Bryn Tawe, Hafod.
FG
• What are the nuts and bolts of the Estyn inspection meeting with governors?
MP
• A pre inspection commentary contains the initial lines of inquiry and we base our discussions on this. It would be advisable for the governors meeting the
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inspectors to be aware of the content of this document and the \Lines of Inquiry
• Purpose of the Estyn inspection is essentially to verify the self-evaluation report of the school
JJ
• How quickly are Estyn reports shared with governors?
MP
• Chair of governors is part of initial Estyn inspection feedback however this is confidential as judgements are only provisional at this stage
• Schools that go into significant improvement after being in Estyn Monitoring are usually those in denial – those that just get on with it, including before the final report is published, usually come out of Estyn Monitoring successfully.
• Head teachers need to be aware that Governors are an integral part of management
CP
• What is the quality of the initial Estyn report – is it likely to change?
MP
• Very few Estyn reports are edited down or up, but this is always an option and explains the provisional nature of the judgements shared during feedback at the end of an inspection visit.
CF
• Is whole governing body training a good idea? Would it be a better model particularly if it engaged the governing body in working with their school’s data away from the school?
MP
• Something like whole governing body training could happen as part of the autumn visit of the challenge advisor
CF
• Governing bodies don’t always know each other well enough to work as a team – they might feel more confident following social get togethers etc
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MP
• Agree that team building away from the school would help governing to be more confident to challenge
SJ
• Whole governing body training is available through the local governors support unit
• Does Estyn offer training to governors?
MP
• Estyn attend governors’ conferences but do not have the capacity to provide training otherwise
• This is the first scrutiny committee that Estyn have been invited to – hopefully we will go to more – we are all working towards the same thing: raising standards
FG
• We need to emphasise to governors that they should look at the Estyn site to see what the inspectors are looking for
MP
• Any further issues can be fed through the two inspectors who liaise with Swansea Council on behalf of Estyn
SJ
• Are we missing any issues from Estyn’s point of view?
MP
• From an Estyn point of view you are looking at all of the right issues.
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9. REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE (SEPTEMBER 15)
Attending
Fiona Gordon (Convener), David Cole, Anthony Colburn, Lynda James, Jeff Jones, Dave Anderson-Thomas, Cheryl Philpott, Linda Tiler-Lloyd, Professor Catherine Farrell
Scrutiny Officer: Dave Mckenna
Discussion with:
• Betsan O Connor, Managing Director, ERW • Helen Morgan-Rees, Head of Education Improvement, Swansea/ ERW • Huw Roberts, Chair ERW Governor Support Group. School Improvement
Service, NPT • Kathryn Thomas, Manager School, Governor and Student Services
BOC
• ERW undertook a review into school governance in order to decide how to shape governor support in November 2014
• The review found a complex picture across the region – there was variation in both strengths and overall quality of support to governing bodies
• The ERW review into school governance identified a need for change in respect of standards and quality
• A governance working group existed but the terms of reference for the Group were amended in line with ERW Board. The original group had made limited initial progress and the revised group has tried to draw strengths from different areas in order to inform a single programme
• Governors support comes from a range of places – not just governors support teams in isolation
• A challenge advisor to specialise in governors issues is being identified for each local authority
• ERW recognises that the governor support role in local authorities has diminished over time and that this may make it difficult for these officers to challenge head teachers and other senior staff
• All governor training details are held locally • ERW provides added value for training by providing access to courses in any
given area for governors across the region • An ERW officer has been appointed to support collaboration including
developing peer to peer support between governing bodies • Peer to peer to support for governors is one of ERW’s box of tools for
governing bodies
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FG
• The panel has identified the turnover of challenge advisors as a problem – a challenge advisor with an oversight role for governors locally should help with this
BOC
• ERW is building better data and intelligence so that that when an individual challenge advisor moves it should not be an issue. The team is a deliberately transient team drawing seconded school leaders into the team.
HMR
• Training for challenge advisors is important to ensure consistency of service as is the effective management of handovers
• We know the turnover of challenge advisors is an issue and we are taking steps to address this
CP
• How do you assess governing bodies when awarding a green status to schools?
BOC
• ERW uses a clear set of nationally agreed criteria to assess governing bodies including; their performance management approach; the effectiveness of their challenge and their ability to dig into indicators; whether statutory responsibilities are being met; and governor involvement in self-evaluation and planning.
CP
• What evidence does ERW use when assessing governing bodies?
HMR
• Two documents are vital when we evaluate schools to assess their status; the School Development Plan and the School Self Evaluation – these are tested with further evidence
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BOC
• ERW involvement with schools is greater when the risks are greater
AC
• What is the end game for school governors? They have all of the responsibilities but none of the power.
BOC
• The end game is that we all want the best for learners and that we all want children to have the best education
• We want the ERW outcomes to be the best in Wales – we all work together to raise standards for children
• Currently the picture is improving and we are doing the best we can given the constraints
KT
• We do not have a high level of vacancies for governors in Swansea – it is about 5%
• Where there are concerns about recruitment we work with those schools
JJ
• Is there a threat if schools get their governors support services from outside the local authority eg HR?
KT
• Our advice is that governing bodies should get their support from the local authority but it is their choice. There is economy of scale in buying into Service Level Agreements and school teachers pay and conditions have specific terms and conditions that do not apply to other areas of HR. Generally other providers are not familiar with these.
• The local authority can offer bespoke training if a governing body has a particular issue
FG
• Training is something that we recognise as key
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LTL
• When I had governor training I did not feel I had a chance to feedback what I had learnt to my governing body
• I was asked to fill in a survey about my role as a governor by the head teacher – this made me worried that I was not doing the role as I should be so I went to the library and read my school’s Estyn report – after that I felt better able to challenge (KT noted that Cllr Tyler-Lloyd sought advice from School and Governor Support in taking these concerns forward.)
FG
• We need to reinforce that all governors get evidence from outside of their schools – this is one way that governors can feel more confident that they are providing effective challenge
HMR
• Governors are an important part of building stronger schools
KT
• In the Governors’ Unit we often hear from governors that ‘they don’t know what they don’t know’
• The governors’ unit have recently publicised the 20 questions produced by Governors Wales
• The governors’ unit organise termly data training • The governors’ unit will offer other bespoke packages of support to governing
bodies and data training can be arranged for individual governing bodies to focus on their data and compare all Wales, family, cluster comparisons to help improve governor understanding
CF
• It is really important for governors to learn to ask questions together and not just feel like they are a ‘lone voice’
BOC
• Governors should let ERW know if they need bespoke training – we may be able to organise it
• Communication with stakeholders including governors has been an issue for ERW
• ERW meets with representatives of governors’ associations on a termly basis in order to get feedback
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• The feedback that ERW gets from associations is mainly about logistical issues such as the arrangements for training courses
• ERW meets regularly with Governors’ Wales and seeks to avoid duplication – a joint strategy is being developed
• ERW produces a newsletter but this may not get to all governors ( KT confirmed that the most recent newsletter has been received and disseminated to clerks today. This practice will continue.)
• ERW will be producing a newsletter jointly with Governors Wales
HR
• ERW have brought together documents from across the region that will be useful for governors and these will be published soon on the ERW website
• ERW is working on the consistency of training provided as well as hoping to introduce online training
• Avoiding duplication with Governors Wales is key for ERW
KT
• The Swansea web pages for governors links to the ERW website
HMR
• In respect of how challenge advisors support governors to prepare for inspections some schools have their own systems but ERW do offer mock interviews for the two governors normally directly involved with Estyn
BOC
• Rather than simply preparing when an inspection is announced governors should be inspection ready all the time
• In respect of all governors being involved in autumn visits, too many people can make the debate difficult so this may not be a good idea. It is important that all governors are fully informed and receive the feedback.
HMR
• ERW expects that all reports will be shared with governors during autumn visits – we find that the strongest schools are the most transparent
• Our experience is that governors are becoming more interested in these visits
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BOC
• ERW are likely to involve a wider range of governors in autumn visits where there are particular concerns
FG
• The panel understands the importance of the autumn visit – it would be good if all governors were informed if they cannot be involved
• It would be a good idea to ask head teachers to ensure that all governors are fully informed about the autumn visits
HMR
• It is important that governors are part of the self-evaluation process as this strengthens leadership in the school
• If governors are going to contribute meaningfully to the self-evaluation process they should have sight of evidence first hand (i.e. school work)
• Where governors are viewing school work there needs to be a protocol in place and the process needs to be carefully managed
HR
• ERW are in the process of capturing good practice examples (schools and governor support units)
• Swansea compares favourably with other local authorities in the ERW region in terms of school governance
• Skills sets are really important for governing bodies to consider
BOC
• The ERW officer looking at collaboration will be collecting good practice case studies as part of their role – this will feed into a regional index of effective practice called DEIALOG (this is available only internally to challenge advisors at the moment and the School and Governor Unit but may be available to governors in future)
CP
• One concern about the use of the skills matrix – in areas of deprivation many community governors can be made to feel embarrassed about a lack of formal qualifications even though their experience and commitment is very valuable
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KT
• The skills matrix will not suit all governing bodies – it is just one of the tools in the box – it can be adapted
HR
• The way that head teachers work with governors has changed a lot over the last 10 years
• Head teachers have an important role in encouraging governors to ask the right questions; “what I would ask if I were you”
• Remember that head teachers are governors as well
JJ
• How does ERW work with Estyn on governor issues?
BOC
• ERW and Estyn work together on ‘remit reviews’ that are commissioned by the Minister – these highlight effective practice and challenges
• ERW is inspected by Estyn – a full inspection is taking place in March 2016
CF
• How should governors be involved in school self-evaluations?
BOC
• Everyone should be involved in school self-evaluations including governors and community partners
• Lots of quality assurance arrangements feed into the self-evaluation process that governors should be aware of
HMR
• School self-evaluation should be an ongoing process – it can be captured at any time in the school year
CF
• How can governors take ownership of the School Development Plan?
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HMR
• Governors should always ask to be involved in the development of the School Development Plan, to see drafts etc
HR
• School Development Plans cannot just be ‘rubber stamped’ by governors – they have to be collaborative documents
FG
• “Have I been involved in the development of the School Development Plan” should be part of any school governors’ checklist
DC
• Governors should be involved early in the School Development Plan process – it should be participatory
HR
• The School Development Plan should be a standing item at every governors’ meeting – it should be clear each time what specifically is to be discussed
KT
• Mandatory new governor and chair training emphasises the need for governor involvement in drawing up the school development plan.
• A session is being held for new, acting and any other headteacher on working with your governing body which will include engaging governors in drawing up the school development plan (and also pupils and staff).
FG
• Good to hear that there is a challenge advisor with a remit for governors and an officer at ERW responsible for collaborative working
Following the evidence session the Panel raised the following points:
• Based on their own experience, the Panel is unsure that all governors are involved in the development of School Development Plans
• Extra steps may need to be taken to ensure that governors are involved in the development of School Development Plans
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• Whether School Development plans do/should include a section on governors and their development
• The idea, used in Housing Association governing bodies, that the chair will conduct an ‘appraisal’ for each governor to support their development and the effective functioning of the governing body
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10. GOOD PRACTICE SCHOOLS SESSION (OCTOBER 15)
Discussion with:
• Hafod Primary School – Rachael Webb, Head Teacher and Beverley Hopkins, Chair of Governors
• Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe – Simon Davies, Head Teacher and Heini Gruffydd, Chair of Governors
• Bishopston Comprehensive School – Jeff Bird, Head Teacher and Professor Jon Roper, Chair of Governors
(These schools were among those identified by Estyn and the Head of Education Imporvement as has having good practice in governance)
Hafod Primary School:
• 250 pupils, 50% have English as an additional language • Hafod is very much a community school • Although it is recommended that governing bodies meet once a term, they
meet twice in Hafod • Governors sit on 1 or more committees • Relationships between staff and governors are key – have got this right in
Hafod • The governors are clear about their roles – budget, staffing, behaviour,
curriculum, attendance, attainment targets and the overall aim to raise standards
• Governors know the schools mission statement and they support it • Governors aware of all strategies e.g. attendance • There is a governor with responsibility for SEN • Really close working relationships between staff and governors • At the start of the year a governor is assigned to a class as a buddy. The
governor works alongside the teacher, discussing the curriculum and scrutinising outcomes and performance.
• Governors input into the School Development Plan and pupils write their own • There is an informal atmosphere at the school. Governors can just pop in to
the school or classrooms. • Pupils attend the beginning of all governing body meetings
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe
• Why do we become governors for free? There is a lot of pressure on governors when they are doing the role for free
• The Governors Handbook gives an indication of what your contribution should be but it doesn’t even come close
• Council provide a list of training courses available but how do you decide which ones are relevant
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• Lots of pressure on governors: legal, finance, targets • Governors should help with the strategic direction of the school and advise • Dialogue between Head and Governors important • Governors need to balance the amount of challenge they give with the
amount of support • An open and honest relationship between governors and the Head is key • Each department within the school has a link governor that meet at least once
a year. Governors give support to any changes or departmental needs/requests. This means that teachers have someone to talk to and also individual departments are being challenged.
• Link governors with departments are beneficial as governors are not just working with the leadership team.
• Head wants the departments challenged not just the leadership team but at all levels
• There is a representative from the governing body at every school event to increase visibility of the governors
• There is a lot of experience on the governing body. Many governors have been there for years
• There is a complete open and honest relationship. If standards are not good the Head shares the data with the governors. They explain the reasons and give context. This is key.
• The mission statement of the school was put together with the Chair of Governors
• Governors want to play a key role in the school. They need to play a consistent role
• Pupils give a presentation at the start of governor meetings about life at Bryn Tawe
• Specific guidelines need to be available online. County guidelines are different to Welsh Government guidelines
• In serious or emergency situations simple advice is needed as soon as possible. This needs to be available either online or a personal contact
• Summary: Key points a clear vision of where the school is heading, what is the schools unique selling point and Head, staff and governors needs to working towards the same aims.
Bishopston Comprehensive School
• 1053 pupils • High expectation from school because of the area • The governing body provides robust challenge and also support • Governing body meets termly plus in April for the budget • Link roles for governors are decided at the first termly meeting • The link roles for governors are extensive. They go beyond the usual such as
curriculum cymreig, careers, ICT • Parent governors have the highest turnover. This is useful as it brings in new
experience to the governing body. This coupled with the many governors who have been there for many years that have a lot of experience is a strength for the school.
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• Governors need to look at the interests of the school rather than personal interests
• Challenge is an important aspect of the governing body. It is the essence of the ethos of the governing body
• Transparency on both sides is important • Governors are involved in a number of things in the school including Estyn
inspections, appointments and shortlisting, school awards and mock interviews for pupils. This highlights the range of involvement governors have in the school
• When make decisions for the school the governors always challenge what is the impact? How does it enhance the learning environment?
• Bishopston Comprehensive is sector leading on pupil voice. Associate pupil governors are invited to governor meetings.
Discussion
FG
• It can be intimidating for governors to come into the classroom. How do you overcome this?
RW
• By using senior leadership involvement and informal events. During the summer a speed dating event was held where teachers brought in their plans and governors were able to go around and have a look through the plans and discuss with relevant teachers. These types of informal events result in governors not being strangers to teachers.
BH
• The teachers at Hafod were asked their views on governors coming into their classrooms and they all though it was a good idea.
DC
• Do governors rotate the classes/teachers that they are linked to?
RW
• We have open discussions with teachers and governors about which classes governors will be linked with
BH
• Governors have different expertise and interests. This sometimes determines which class they are linked with.
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RW
• Getting governors involved in classes breaks down the barriers. Currently in Hafod Year 6 pupils email they journals to governors and also governors attend the residential trips.
JJ
• Having worked with other governing bodies in the past have you moulded this one in anyway to make it a success?
BH
• Every Head has a different vision for their school. It is about the Head and governors working together to develop a shared vision. It is about working as a team.
JJ
• So the Chair of Governors and the Head need to have a good relationship?
RW
• Chair of governors and the Head need an open and honest relationship but there also needs to be challenge.
BH
• What works for us in Hafod may not work for all schools. It is about the senior leadership team and governors finding what works for them.
FG
• During the ACV is it just a representative from the governing body that is involved?
RW
• In Hafod it is just the Chair and Vice Chair that are involved in the ACV.
JB
• In Bishopston it is just the Chair and Vice Chair that are involved in the ACV.
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SD
• In Bryn Tawe it is just the Chair and Vice Chair that are involved in the ACV.
JJ
• Governors have a wide range of backgrounds. Do you think these backgrounds make a difference?
JR
• Governors at Bishopston have a variety of backgrounds such as education, business, IT and finance which is useful.
BH
• When looking at recruiting a community governor we looked at what expertise was missing from the governing body.
JR
• You have more influence over community governors. You can add value to a governing body rather than duplicating existing skills and expertise.
HG
• When recruiting parent governors it is just who is available at the time. This is an issue that could be addressed.
JJ
• Do all governors at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe speak Welsh?
HG
• Not all governors at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe speak Welsh. A translation service is provided at governor meetings
CP
• With LEA governors do you feel frustrated at the set criteria used for appointing? Would it be more beneficial to have more of a say in LEA governor appointments?
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HG
• It would be better for the Local Authority to communicate with the school over LEA governor appointments rather than just appointing and then not hearing from them again.
FG
• What support could the Local Authority give?
SD
• Support should be given at a time and place when it is needed. Training could be more specific. Online training and information could be available so it is there when you need to refer to it.
CP
• Would you consider opting out of service level agreements (SLA’s) to have private HR, legal support and advice?
SD
• At Bryn Tawe we would look at all avenues to save money that would promote pupil attainment. We look at all SLA’s to see how they add value.
JB
• In Bishopston we have a good discussion on all of the SLA’s.
CP
• Governors are not involved in SLA’s so how would they be involved in deciding whether to opt out? There needs to be in-depth discussion into this in the future.
RW
• We have been told that as a school if we opt out of SLA’s there will be no support from the Local Authority.
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BH
• Sometimes you do get conflicting advice from the Local Authority and sometimes they do take a while to get back to you on an issue. Some cases are specific and in the past we have received the wrong information. We would prefer to wait for the information then to receive incorrect information.
HG
• If departments say that they are going to get back to you on a specific issue then they should. In some cases you cannot rely on policies.
CF
• This session has highlighted some good practice around governors which need to be shared with other schools.
CF
• I would like to ask the Heads if they feel challenged. Also do governors attend strategic away days?
SD
• I feel challenged. We are also congratulated when appropriate in all sorts of areas. Currently governors are not part of strategic away days. There are discussions with the Chair where issues can be raised. Strategic planning comes from this not just from senior leadership team meetings.
JB
• I feel suitably challenged and also reassured that governors know what they are talking about. There are informal discussions with the Chair and Vice Chair about agenda items even though they do not sit in on these meetings.
JR
• As governors we trust the senior leadership team to manage the school. They are the professionals.
RW
• Challenge is important but governors must also have a general interest.
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SD
• Openness and honesty is the essential trait.
DM
• What are your reflections on governors being challenging and not just being friendly?
RW
• Governors as well as the Head get letters about core visits so they are not just taking the word of the Head.
BH
• Nothing is hidden between governors and the senior leadership team. It’s all about transparency.
JR
• On the governing body people do have disagreements and sometimes it does come to a vote. There are mavericks on governing bodies but this can be a good thing as it encourages good discussion.
HG
• We have a presentation from the Head at governor meetings. The data is more detailed so you know where we stand as a school in comparison to other schools in our cluster or in Wales and by different subjects. It is about having consistent open discussions.
FG
• Is having more detailed data, with more openness and more expertise to draw on the key to a good governing body?
BH
• The Head knows each year group so she has an idea on what each child will achieve. This is explained by the Head to governors. As governors it is useful to know this kind of information in advance so if any extra support is needed this can be put in place to help pupils.
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DM
• From the information that the three schools have provided the following key points have been highlighted: - Openness and Transparency - Pupil involvement in governing bodies - Special specific roles for governors - Close working between staff at all levels and governors - A shared vision for the school and all working towards it
FG
• Good working relationships underpin all of the points mentioned.
BH
• Training is still an issue. Some governors feel intimidated to come to CCS for training. Pentrehafod Comprehensive set up some training sessions there and more governors felt comfortable attending that.
JB
• Training for governors in schools is much easier. Governors are busy people. It is far easier for them to attend a training session before or after a governor meeting.
CP
• The Governor Unit will try to accommodate training if you ask.
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11. NEW GOVERNORS PERSPECTIVE (OCTOBER 15)
Informal discussion with 5 new governors who had completed their training within the last 12- 18 months.
Overall impression so far
• As a new governor it was useful to have attended the induction training before the AGM to understand the language and terms that were used. I would advise all new governors to attend the induction training as soon as they can particularly before they attend a meeting or AGM.
• Data training was the most useful training as everything in schools are data driven. You can’t challenge unless you understand what underpins it all.
• Induction training in the school was organised but this was organised by the governor herself.
• The induction training gave a good overview of what was expected. It was useful to receive specimen questions.
• The first governor meeting was a bit overwhelming and it does take a while to get up to speed.
• The induction training provided a lot of information. It would have been useful if this was presented in a small booklet or guide that governors can carry around with them.
• The induction training provides you with information of what should happen but sometimes this is not the reality of what actually happens.
• The guide provides a lot of useful information but it is a lot to take in. There is not enough on what you need to know for meetings. The information provided needs to be more specific.
• Training didn’t relate to what was actually going on in the school • Having another governor to mentor and encourage was the biggest help
received • It has taken a while to settle into the role of a governor • Preparation of meetings is essential
School Culture
• Governors can only challenge on the information that you are told • Those governors who have more experience and more knowledge in the field
of education tend to be the ones who are more vocal at meetings. Those governors who don’t understand so much tend to be quieter
• There needs to be a balance of governors from different backgrounds within a governing body. Not just those who are ex-education. More community representatives
• The different category of governors gives a balance of skills and experience to the governing body
Information
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• Information needs to be shared with all governors not just the Head and Chair of governors.
• It would be easier if there was a hub/portal where all information could be stored and all governors had access to it.
• Most recent Estyn report for your school is the best starting point for all new governors
• Best information is from other experienced governors • A mentor governor was mentioned in the induction but I haven’t been
approached about it by the school • An initial checklist for new governors would be useful to refer to when needed • There are a number of places governors can go for information but sometimes
the information can be different in the different places • The Governor Wales website is very useful. The handbook has a lot of useful
information
Importance of team building:
• As a new governor I have no other opportunities other than at meetings to meet up with other governors within my governing body
• It has taken around a year for the governing body to accept me as a member. • It would be useful for new governors to have the contact details of other
governors within their governing body when they start. • There is a fine line because if you get to familiar and friendly with others with
the governing body it can be difficult to challenge
Role
• As a new governor I understand what my role means but in reality I don’t know what it means
• At governor meetings you only see and know about what you are present with. You need to see what is going on in the school for yourself to get the full picture. Although it can be difficult for all governors to dedicate this amount of time
• In writing I could tell you what the role of a governor is but in reality I do not know
• Not all governors have the mentor experience to get lots of help and guidance • The induction training explains the role of the governor in black and white but
it is not always like that in reality • Some schools don’t appreciate the strategic nature of meetings. If you don’t
have the information for meetings in advance you can’t read and digest it and formulate questions
SDP and School Self Evaluation
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• Governors don’t really contribute much to the SDP it is pretty much organised by the senior leadership team
Challenge Advisors
• Chair and vice chairs meet with the challenge advisor but it doesn’t filter down • As a new governor I do not know what a challenger advisor is
Skills
• There needs to be target recruitment of governors to ensure that governing bodies have the right skills.
• If governing bodies don’t have professional such as HR, legal and finance on their governing bodies I think they would struggle
• Not all schools in Swansea have a governing body that includes professionals and they would struggle to recruit them in certain areas
• It is unfair for some governing bodies to be able to recruit professionals whilst others would struggle. There should be a professional system that can be used across the board
• A skills matrix could be carried out and governors could be assigned to schools where their skills are needed
Conclusions: one important thing that needs to be changed for governors
• Mini induction booklet/guide for new governors that they can take around with them
• Recruitment changed so that it is targeted. Skill based recruitment for governors
• Equal distribution of resources. Some areas don’t have the expertise that some areas have.
• Heads need to be open and honest • Set agenda items for all governing bodies • The initial induction training is not enough
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12. CABINET MEMBER PERSPECTIVE (NOVEMBER 2015)
Attending Fiona Gordon (Convener), David Cole, Anthony Colburn, Lynda James, Jeff Jones, Cheryl Philpott, Linda Tyler-Lloyd, Dave Anderson-Thomas, Professor Catherine Farrell Scrutiny Officer: Dave Mckenna
Discussion with Councillor Jennifer Raynor, Cabinet Member for Education
Introduction
JR
• Governors are there to help achieve the best possible attainment, to make sure staff are up to task and to maintain the school building and facilities. Governors do not realise the full role of a governor.
• There are different motivations for different types of governors. • New governors are sometimes expected to slot into the role that has been
vacated. This needs to be addressed by speaking to the Head and Chair. • There is no real introduction for new governors at their first Governors
Meeting. Informal discussions with other governors are missing • Information is not filtering through to the whole of governing bodies; it stays
mainly with the Head and Chair of Governors. A newsletter that is now being produced by the Education Department will help combat this.
• Governor Wales have 20 questions that all governors should know the answer to.
• When challenge advisors turn up at the school they need one more governor present other than the Chair.
• There is now more training taking place for governors in schools within clusters. However this is an issue that if training is not organised internally it is not recorded on governor records.
• Whether governing bodies are improving pupil attainment varies from school to school. Some governing bodies are now requesting information in various formats to understand it better. Governing bodies are becoming more confident in translating the data
FG
• How will the Sustainable Swansea programme have an impact on the support that is provided corporately to governors by the Council?
JR
• I doubt the School Governors Unit will grow in size. • ERW will be introducing a regional training system.
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• The Hill Report recommendations will eventually be introduced. This includes skilled governors for clusters of schools and less governor meetings where the Head is present.
• We are reluctant to do anything that requires spend when the Welsh Government may change things.
JJ
• What about the outsourcing of SLA’s?
JR
• It is up to individual schools to work out their SLA’s. Some schools have dropped music, swimming and procurement SLAs.
JJ
• Are schools aware of what they are taking on? More complex SLAs such as HR and Legal and IT support require careful consideration. Mistakes can be costly to a school. If schools out of an SLA a tipping point is reached where it may not be financially possible for the Authority to continue with the offer. If schools drop-out and then want or need to return the SLA may no longer exist.
JR
• The cost of SLA’s are in the school budget and the governing body agrees the school budget so governors are involved in deciding SLA’s. It is down to the confidence of governors to ask if they are not sure.
FG
• Governors should be made to feel that no question is a stupid question. A list of key questions would be helpful.
JR
• Schools are looking at their own bespoke training. City and County of Swansea is the largest contributor to ERW so we are interesting in this. We want to see what we are getting out of it.
• E-training and learning is being looked at by ERW. There is currently e-training available on safeguarding but many have not completed this.
FG
• As well as introducing training modules how we ensure that governors complete it?
JR
• Governors are volunteers so it is difficult to make training compulsory
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DC
• As a group governors are not involved in the details of the School Development Plan. Is this not an important role, the essence of what the role is about?
JR
• This culture about governors not being involved in the school development plan (SDP) needs to change.
DC
• It sometimes feels that within governing bodies that it is professional vs amateurs and because of this it can sometimes be difficult to know when to challenge.
FG
• This issue about non-professional governors feeling less confident than professional governors is something that can be reflected in the Panel’s report.
JR
• It is surprising that there are schools and Heads still operating in a way where the whole of the governing body is not involved in the development of the SDP. The SDP should be on all agendas. Particularly at around Easter time where the governing body should carry out a review of what has been achieved from the plan.
LTL
• Many people don’t have an idea of how much it takes to be a governor. It would be useful if governors could be involved in more than one area/committee so they have a better whole picture of the school.
JR
• Issues around what committees governors are on can be brought up at the AGM. Some schools have a rotational system.
CF
• Governing bodies need community people not just skilled people. Professionals see the SDP as their document and not involving other governors. There needs to be a better balance of what is in the SDP; ‘brains and drains’
• All governors should be invited to strategic away days
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FG
• Community people can have skills and knowledge that are beneficial to governing bodies. Talking about skills and professionals can put some people off applying to be a governor.
JR
• As a governor I want to continue my own personal development – not just put a contribution in – I want to learn something new.
FG
• Governors in Swansea can get their information from a least three different websites. Is there a case for reviewing what is provided to ensure simplicity and consistency?
JR
• The main aim of the Governor Wales website was to provide correct and up to date information but in recent years funding has been an issue.
FG
• During the discussions with good practice schools the panel heard about schools in emergency situations getting conflicting advice.
JR
• The complexity of cases can often make the information available difficult to understand and apply.
FG
• As long as websites off the same information and link off to each other then there shouldn’t be a problem.
JR
• Google searches can sometimes be an issue for governors looking for information. They sometimes end up on English websites and the information is different for Wales.
• Websites for governors need better maintenance. The information is sometimes out of date.
CP
• The information on websites offer general advice for governors. The examples given in the meeting with good practice schools were of complex situations where conflicting information was given from different CCS departments. In the end the governors had to get external advice.
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FG
• In these complex/emergency situations the Chief Education Officer will do what he can.
JR
• A one point of contact for Education is being developed. The will allow the correct person to be identified and ensure the best advice comes out as fast as possible.
FG
• In Carmarthenshire due to budget cuts people are being diverted to the website to deal with more queries. We need to reduce demand in this way.
JR
• Governors are better at communicating electronically – 99.3% of governors in Swansea use email.
FG
• The Panel heard evidence that some LA appointed governors are not able to make the contribution that they should. Is there a case for reviewing the appointments system so that vacancies can be better matched with the skills and ability to make a commitment?
JR
• Within the last year four LA governors have been removed from their post for non-attendance. This is six months without attendance. Letters are written prior to this to give a warning.
• There may be a role for group leaders in helping to address non attendance.
CF
• How is governor attendance monitored?
(DM)
• (Councillors are in a unique position to share good practice – they are often governors at more than one school so are in a position to compare and contrast)
JR
• All school governor meeting papers are available on request. This includes attendance information.
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FG
• Governor attendance could be available on school websites for people to view. All schools have their own website.
CP
• Not just attendance information should be available on school websites but governor vacancies when they come up.
• Some applications received for LA governor appointments contain very little information on how the applicant will be suitable for the role. A CV could be attached to show the skills they can offer to the role. Currently co-opted governors are the only route where schools can recruit based on skills.
JR
• I would be wary of asking applicants for a CV. Some people are very good at padding out a CV whilst others are not confident enough to write a CV. Dedication, motivation and the willingness to learn are more important than qualifications.
CP
• The governor application forms need to ask for more information. All kinds of people have something or some skills to offer. Governing bodies don’t just need professional people.
FG
• While the level of challenge seems to be improving there are still many governors, particularly those who are non-professional, who lack the confidence to challenge head teachers in meetings. Could the LA be doing more to identify schools where challenge is weak and to support the governors in those schools?
JR
• Governors can draw on the challenge advisors reports and Estyn reports for information to help them challenge. Parent and community governors can be confident and provide good challenge.
FG
• Making sure that the governors challenge the school can become a bit of a tick box exercise.
JR
• A better word is needed other than challenge.
DC
• Questioning could be a better work than challenge
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JJ
• Estyn stated when the panel met with them previously that challenge wasn’t recorded enough.
JR
• More work is needed with governing bodies to go through all their paper work prior to inspections to find challenge examples.
FG
• While the turnover of challenge advisors is an issue that has been recognised and is being addressed, could the advisors be doing more to encourage greater involvement of governors in autumn visits, self-assessments and school development plans? How can we be sure that governors have been fully involved in the autumn term core visit (ACV) to their school, by their challenge advisor?
JR
• One issue that needs pointing out is that the former LA school advisors are not the same as challenge advisors. Information on what is needed for the ACV needs to be disseminated better. An additional governor can be present at the meeting with the challenge advisor, Head and Chair of Governors. The challenge advisor can also enforce this.
FG
• During the Panel’s meeting with ERW they stated that there should not be too many people involved in that meeting.
JR
• There could also be another governor present at the meeting with the challenge advisor, Head and Chair of Governors to act as a scribe and read back at the end of the meeting to confirm what has been agreed.
• When a school can show that every pupil is moving forward in their development then the challenge advisor will be happy.
CP
• Governors need to be telling their Head that they would like to come along to the ACV to understand it first-hand.
JR
• Governors could state that they want to be involved with other visits too that feed into the SDP not just the ACV.
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JJ
• Do governors know what a challenge advisor is? / Who the challenge advisor is for their school?
FG
• The information on challenge advisors could be added to the induction process.
CF
• It would be useful if governors have a baseline of where their school is when they start and in comparison with other schools.
FG
• The Panel heard many examples of good practice and will be sharing these in the final report. Should the council be doing more to share good practice between governors?
JR
• Building good practice into the agendas can be difficult as agendas for governor meetings are already too long. More self-reflection within governing bodies is needed. Secondary schools appear to be more advanced in sharing good practice as the school to school support is already in place. Primary schools in Swansea do have some really good Heads who are sharing information. It is important that we compare like with like so schools compare themselves with other schools that are similar.
CF
• There are plenty of examples of school and teacher good practice there needs to be more examples of governor good practice. This needs to be shared on the Governor Wales website.
FG
• Sharing good practice can be flagged up in the central education newsletter.
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13. SCHOOL GOVERNOR SURVEY RESULTS (NOVEMBER 15)
Purpose To present to the panel the findings of a survey on school governance.
Content This report details the findings from an online survey which ran from 6 July to 16 October 2015
Councillors are being asked to
• Give their views • Consider the report as part of their work into school
governance Lead Councillor(s)
Councillor Fiona Gordon, Convener
Report Author Jenna Tucker, Scrutiny Research Officer, 01792 637732
Introduction As part of the scoping process the panel agreed that one of the sources of evidence would be a survey for school governors. The survey gave governors the opportunity to give their opinions on various issues relating to the role. This report presents the findings of the school governance survey. The survey ran from 6 July to 16 October 2015. It was sent via the School Governor Unit. The panel is asked to consider this report as part of the evidence gathering stage of its inquiry into school governance. This report concludes that:
• Only a small amount of Chairs of Governors completed the survey (13%) • Most of the governors who completed the survey were either parent governors,
LEA governors or community governors (91%) • Over half of those who responded had served as a governor for more than 4
years • The results for the skills and experience of governors came out really positive
with 83% and 81% respectively agreeing that governors at their school had the right skills to carry out their role and the right mix of skills and experience. Training and the careful of selection of governors based on specific skills were the top reasons given on how this could be improved.
• Most governors (84%) felt clear about their role and responsibilities. Training emerged as the main way in which this could be improved.
• Many governors (78%) felt encouraged to provide advice and robust challenge to the Head. When asked how this could be improved increasing governor’s confidence came out as the top suggestion.
• Only half of governors who responded agreed that they had a good relationship with the challenge advisor. This question had the highest response of ‘don’t know’ answers (31%). Many governors responded that they either didn’t know
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what a challenge advisor was or they didn’t know who the challenge advisor for their school was.
• Most (89%) governors agreed that they receive school performance information in a format they understand. There were issues around the data being too long and too technical.
• Over half (61%) felt that recruitment of governors wasn’t an issue at their school.
• Training emerged by far as the main way in which council support for governors could be improved. Issues were highlighted around training being more accessible to governors. Specifically more training at schools and outside of working hours.
• When asked if they would like to share anything else about the experience of being a school governor most highlighted that the role of governor is very fulfilling but can sometimes be challenging.
Survey Results The total number of surveys completed was 183. The results were as follows: 1. Are you a governor in a primary or secondary school?
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2. Are you a Chair of governors?
3. Are you a:
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4. For how long have you served as a governor?
5. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Governors in my school have the right skills to carry out their role effectively
6. How can this be improved? All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• Training issues (48) including - All training to be made compulsory - More accessible training - Training opportunities that are more tailored to individual/school needs - Online training and resources
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• Skill audit of all governors (22) - Identify any gaps in knowledge and skills, these can be targeted when recruiting - A good range of backgrounds including professionals • Support and guidance for governors (5) - Greater clarity and understanding of the role of governors - Support and guidance on specific roles such as challenge, finance, staffing
decisions, inspections 7. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The governing body in my school has the right mix of skills and experience
8. How can this be improved? All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• Careful selection of governors (23) - Skills audit to identify gaps in the governing body - Too many governors are connected to pupils - More professionals needed
• Training issues (14) - Compulsory attendance at training - More specific training tailored to individual/school needs - More in-house training
• Learning from others (5) - LA facilitating the sharing of good practice - More interaction between schools – joint ventures and meetings - Mentoring process
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9. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Governors in my school are clear about their roles and responsibilities
10. How can this be improved? All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• Lack of awareness of roles and responsibilities (10) - A detailed guide on roles and responsibilities - More detailed outline of roles and responsibilities from Local Authority
• Training (17) - Annual refresher course - School based learning
• Production of job descriptions (2)
• Governors taking an active role (4) - Contributing to meetings not just turning up - Roles and responsibilities will become clearer the more you are involved in a
role
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11. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Governors in my school are encouraged to provide advice and robust challenge to the headteacher
12. How can this be improved All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• Confidence (9) - Some governors need more confidence to openly challenge the school
• Encouragement (7) - Governors need more encouragement to challenge - The role of challenge needs to be reinforced at governor meetings
• Head involvement in governor meetings (4) - Heads dominate governor meetings - The governing body should sometimes meet in absence of the Head - More debate without the Head present
• Challenge comes mainly from Chair or vice chair (4) - Challenge is not well received - Heads don’t like to be challenged - It feels to friendly/cosy
• Training/Support (11) - Training of how to challenge/how to be a critical friend - More knowledge is needed of what should be challenged and when it is
appropriate to challenge - Production of a set list of questions that can be asked
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- Good practice examples that others can learn from 13. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Governors in my school have a good relationship with the challenge advisor
14. How can this be improved All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• What is a challenge advisor? (22) - Don’t know what a challenge advisor is - Don’t know who the challenge advisor is
• Have not met the current challenge advisor (19)
• Challenge advisor only meets with Head and Chair of Governors (5)
• Lack of continuity (6) - Difficult to maintain relationships when challenge advisors change so frequently
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15. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Governors in my school receive school performance information in a format they understand
16. How can this be improved All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• Training (7) - It should be compulsory for all governors to attend the interpretation of data
course - Production of a guide to help governors
• Technical information (7) - Information needs to be made as concise and simple as possible - Information needs to be a set format – too much data in various different
formats - A simple document that outlines acronyms, processes, brief explanations of the
many different reports, audits
• Data too long (6) - Too much data is confusing for governors - Too much information can discourage questions and absorption - The amount of data supplied can be intimidating
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17. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Recruitment of governors is a problem at my school
18. How can this be improved? All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• Difficult to recruit/retain parent governors (9)
• More publicity/awareness is needed around the role and responsibilities of a governor (6)
• Recruit more widely to get a wider range of candidates with a variety of backgrounds (5)
- Including a pool of candidates who have no preference other than a local school 19. How could the council support for governors be improved? All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• Training (59) - Training to take place in cluster schools rather than at Civic Centre - Training to take place out of working hours so working governors can
attend - Online training/resources/advice/support - Continue maintaining and developing the governor training programme
• Council officers attending more governing body meetings (4)
• Mentoring support/programme for new governors be developed (4)
• Improved information for governors (8) - Better guides
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- Newsletter for all governors - Improved information on roles and responsibilities
• More incentives for governors (6) - Expenses - Paid time off for governors to carry out their duties
• Sharing of good practice (3) With this question it is also worth noting that a number of governors stated that they were happy with the support that they receive from the Council and particularly the Governor Unit.
20. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your experience of being a school governor?
All the comments given were analysed and the following themes emerged. The number in brackets shows how many times that issues was raised:
• Being a governor is a very rewarding role but sometimes can be challenging and frustrating (37)
• The role of governor has changed in recent years and has become more demanding (12)
• Governors need to challenge more (6) - Relationship between Head and Chair of Governors too cosy - Too many just accept what the Head say - Critical friend role important • It takes time to get to grip with the role (3) • Attendance is important (3)
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14. RESEARCH COMPARING SWANSEA TO CARDIFF AND NEWPORT USING ESTYN REPORTS (NOVEMBER 15)
Purpose The purpose of this report is to give a comparison of Swansea with Cardiff and Newport using their recent Estyn reports.
Content This report highlights how Swansea has scored in terms of their Leadership and Management score in recent inspections in comparison with Cardiff and Newport. The report also highlights good practice.
Councillors are being asked to
• Give their views • Consider the report as part of their work into school
governance Lead Councillor(s)
Councillor Fiona Gordon, Convener
Report Author Jenna Tucker, Scrutiny Research Officer, 01792 637732
Introduction The report specifically compares Swansea with Cardiff and Newport in terms of their Estyn score for Leadership and Management (this is where school governance sits). In order to carry out the comparison all Estyn inspections for Swansea, Cardiff and Newport for the period September 2014 to August 2015 were looked at. A tally was then taken of the scores given for Leadership and Management. These were then turned into a percentage to compare with each other. This report also highlights good practice examples from Cardiff and Newport as highlighted by the Governor Wales Quality Mark Bronze Award. The good practice mentioned in this report highlight key characteristics of a successful governing body which the panel can take into consideration whilst carrying out their inquiry. The following are summarised in this report:
• Estyn scores for Leadership and Management in Swansea, Cardiff and Newport for the period September 2014 to August 2015.
• Good practice in Langstone Primary School Newport
• Good practice in Glasllwch Primary School in Newport
• A school improvement journey from ‘in need of significant improvement’ to ‘Excellent’ in Mary Immaculate High School, Cardiff.
This report concludes that:
• With the comparisons the majority of scores for Swansea were either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ (60%). However this is much lower than Newport (89%) and also lower than Cardiff (62%).
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• The good practice examples in this report highlight some traits of a successful governing body including holding the school to account, using school data effectively, involving pupils and the right balance between challenge and support.
Comparing Swansea with Cardiff and Newport Graph 1: Swansea Leadership and Management Score for Estyn inspections between September 2014 – August 2015
Graph 2: Cardiff Leadership and Management Score for Estyn inspections between September 2014 – August 2015
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Graph 3: Newport Leadership and Management Score for Estyn inspections between September 2014 – August 2015
Garph 4: Comparison between Swansea, Cardiff and Newport – Leadership and Management Estyn Scores
Comparison Conclusions:
• All 3 authorities have mostly ‘Good’ scores over the year period • Newport had the most ‘Excellent’ scores (22%) but Swansea wasn’t far
behind with 20% • Swansea did have a much higher ‘Adequate’ score (33%) compared to
Newport (11%) and Cardiff (14%). • Swansea had low numbers of ‘Unsatisfactory’ scores (7%) compared with
Cardiff (24%). Although Newport didn’t have any in that year period.
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• The majority of scores for Swansea were either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ (60%). However this is much lower than Newport (89%) and also lower than Cardiff (62%).
• It is worth noting that even though these comparisons show at a glance how these three authorities have scored in terms of Leadership and Management over the last year they are based on differing number of inspections. Swansea’s results are based on 15 inspections, Cardiff on 21 and Newport only 9.
Good Practice Examples The good practice examples below have all been awarded the Quality Marked Bronze Award. The principle behind this award is that it acts as a governing body self-review. It provides a benchmark against which governing bodies can assess their effectiveness. The quality mark is centred around an audit of policy and procedural documentation where governing bodies are required to put together a portfolio of evidence based on a checklist designed to enhance and improve governing body effectiveness. Achieving this award highlights the success of the governing body and its role within the school and in raising standards. The following are extracts from Estyn reports from schools that have achieved the Quality Marked Bronze Award. Langstone Primary School Newport, extract from 2014 inspection: ‘The governing body is very aware of the school’s performance data and holds the school to account robustly. Governors attend training regularly and have a clear understanding of their role of working with the school to create improvements. The governors’ standards committee meets pupils from every class to look at their books and to discuss the work they have been doing. This has a direct and positive impact on pupils’ achievements and adds very well to the governors’ knowledge of expected outcomes.’
Those schools who achieved full marks in the Quality Mark Bronze Award were awarded the Griffin Award in July 2015 at the Governor Wales AGM. Glasllwch Primary School in Newport was one of the schools that received the Griffin Award. Extract from their 2014 inspection: ‘The governing body is highly effective in providing leadership to the school and holding the school to account. Governors have an excellent understanding of provision across the school and are persistent in seeking improvements in standards and quality. They use data very effectively to inform decisions and to hold school leaders to account. Governors make excellent use of their own innovative, online document management and information system to provide them with quick access to all relevant materials. The chair’s involvement with national working groups has ensured that the governors’ innovative procedures have been recognised and shared nationally.’
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School Improvement Journey – Mary Immaculate High School, Cardiff
In their inspection in 2009 the school was found to be ‘in need of significant improvement’. One of the shortcomings noted was the leadership at the school. A new headteacher took up post in 2010 and the school was removed from this Estyn category in 2011. One of the factors the school felt had an impact on improving standards was to improve and develop leadership at the school. The development of leadership included the involvement of and works with governors. The new Head worked with an experienced governor who then took on the role of Chair. In their inspection in 2015 they received an Excellent score for Leadership and Management.
Significant changes were made to the governing body with the majority of governors being replaced by experienced individuals from a range of backgrounds who are able to bring specific skills and attributes. These backgrounds included headteachers, educationalists and those from the business sector. New parent governors brought additional experiences to the governing body. Governors were also more exposed to the range of data available and are more informed about the quality and standards at the school.
The extracts below are from the 2009 and 2015 inspections. They highlight the differences in terms of the governing body between the two inspections.
2009 inspection extract:
‘The governing body does not challenge the school sufficiently about pupils’ attainment in statutory assessments and external examinations. Governors are not sufficiently involved in strategic planning.’
‘One member of the governing body has particular responsibility for matters related to pupils with SEN, but governors need to monitor more closely the target-setting and review procedures relating to these pupils.’ 2015 inspection extract:
‘The governing body fulfils its role with care and commitment. It is developing its capacity to challenge and support the school well. It shares the very high levels of aspiration within the school and is committed to continuous progress over time.’
‘The effective governing body strikes a skilful balance between support and challenge’
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Conclusions
From the small selection of good practice examples mentioned in this report there are a number of key points that are highlighted:
• Holding the school to account • Using school data effectively • Governor involvement with pupils and classes • Right balance between challenge and support
These are some of the key traits of a successful governing body.
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15. GOOD PRACTICE POINTS FROM SCHOOL OBSERVATIONS (OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 15)
The following are a summary of good practice points observed at governing body meetings at Hafod Primary, Bishopston Comprehensive and Ysgol Bryn Tawe. Some of the points apply to more than one school.
What good practice could governing bodies adopt?
• Aim to create and maintain a confident and cohesive group able to discuss and debate together
• Ensure a friendly and informal meeting atmosphere that encourages contributions
• Encourage presentations from pupils to the governing body, involving a range of children, about work they have been doing. This could be interactive e.g. through a quiz
• Include an agenda item at the first meeting about the roles and responsibilities of governors
• Hold a discussion about link governors at a full governing body meeting. This will allow governors to state their personal preferences and debate together the best matches between governors and roles. This should also include the role of link governors and what questions they should ask.
• Provide a pack to governors including what questions to ask etc. This could be a folder that can be updated throughout the year
• Encourage governors to attend external training and events so that they are able to draw on these experiences for their contributions
• Maintain a balance between whole school data and individual stories in discussions
• Maintain a balance between national and school priorities in discussions • Share information electronically in advance and set the expectation that
governors will prepare before meetings • Encourage involvement from a range of staff in the meetings and particularly
in the presentation of reports • Discuss the skill gaps of the governing body before appointing community
governors • Discuss and review sub-committee membership as a group – individual
governors should be able to match roles with their preferences • Encourage head teachers to identify good practice for governing bodies when
reporting on good practice generally • Encourage governors to come into the school and engage with staff • Secondary school governing bodies should encourage the involvement of
pupil governors and/or the head girl / boy in meetings • Ensure that data is clearly presented • Encourage the involvement of governors in the school development plan (and
the plans for individual departments where they exist) at an early stage • Encourage governors to have links with community groups and to use this
links to inform their contributions to meetings
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• Have an agenda written in plain language that makes it clear what governors are being asked to do for each item
• Look at ways to ensure every governor contributes to the meeting by, for example, asking for updates from link governors
• Primary schools should invite representatives from the secondary school that they feed up to onto the governing body
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