1. APPRAISAL OF THE HEADTEACHER GOVERNORS’ BRIEFING

2. Regulations Maintained Schools The statutory requirements for reviewing maintained school headteachers' performance are set out in the Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012. The regulations apply to headteachers in community, voluntary, foundation, community special, foundation special and maintained nursery schools There are new leadership standards

3. Regulations Academies The Governors' Handbook explains on page 79 that the requirements above do not apply in academies. Academies can therefore determine their own appraisal arrangements, but may adopt the arrangements for maintained schools if they wish. There are new leadership standards

4. National Standards Jan 2015 – Can be used In January 2015, the DfE published National Standards of Excellence for Headteachers. These standards do not set a baseline of expected performance but can be used as a 'background' document during the appraisal process.

5. Under These Regulations The following existing requirements remain: governing bodies and local authorities will have to have a written appraisal policy for their teachers/Headteachers governing bodies will have to appoint an external adviser to advise them with appraising the headteacher objectives will have to be set for each teacher and head teacher which contribute to improving the education of pupils schools will have to have an annual appraisal process for teachers and headteachers – How is this currently happening?

6. Teachers and headteachers will have to be given a written appraisal report which sets out: an assessment of their performance in the previous appraisal period agreed objectives for future performance an assessment of their training and development needs where relevant, a recommendation on pay progression.

7. What is the GB role in PA? to establish the school’s performance management policy to determine the appraisal period for teachers and headteachers – usually 12 months but can be shorter or longer for newly appointed staff to review the headteacher’s performance annually, including appointing governors as they see fit to carry out this task to appoint an external adviser (there is no longer a requirement to use a local authority officer). (The adviser should be well versed in the appraisal regulations, and be able to use evidence effectively support appraisal)

8. What is the GB role in PA? / Continued to set performance standards and objectives for the headtecher which aim to improve pupil performance and which are in line with the school improvement plan, having first consulted the external adviser to ensure the headteacher arranges for the appraisals of teaching staff to be carried out annually, and for any pay recommendations to be made to the governing body To ensure the headteacher and every teacher is given a written appraisal report including a review of past performance, objectives set for the future and any pay recommendations

9. Who appoints the governors to the headteacher’s review? The governing body makes the appointments and should appoint governors who have undertaken performance appraisal training and who have the appropriate skills. Two to three governors remains a workable number. The 2006 regulations on performance management limited the number of reviewers for a headteacher's appraisal to a panel of two or three governors. The 2012 regulations do not include this requirement.

10. Do headteachers have any say? This will be determined by the school’s policy, but it is good practice for headteachers to be able to object in writing to the governing body of the appointment of any particular governor once in any cycle to the review panel. Any objection should be on the grounds only that the governor is unsuitable for professional reasons

11. Does the governing body have to accept this objection? The governing body should satisfy itself that the reasons submitted by the headteacher seeking the removal of an appointed governor are for professional reasons only and that the reasons themselves are significant. The governing body will then appoint another governor if they accept the head’s objections or may reject the request. In the case of a rejection the governing body should state the grounds for the rejection, in writing.

12. Who sets targets for the headteacher? The targets and objectives for the headteacher are set by the appointed governors after consulting with the headteacher and the external adviser, on an annual basis as part of the review process. Such targets must be meaningful and achievable, and should reflect the overall development needs and priorities of the school, as well as being aimed at improving the pupils’ education. The external adviser should assist the governing body in establishing targets and objectives in discussion with the governors’ review panel and the headteacher. Every effort should be made to achieve agreement on the requirements to be placed on the headteacher What could this look like?

13. What is the function of the external adviser in performance management? To assist the governors review panel in setting meaningful but achievable targets and in reviewing outcomes. Both the review governors and the headteacher can choose to meet separately with the adviser to discuss the headteacher’s performance and targets before the review meeting. The adviser should attend the review meeting and offer advice and support to governors and can be asked to prepare the first draft of the appraisal report. The adviser is not responsible for determining a recommendation to the pay committee on whether increment(s) should be paid to the headteacher following the review; this is a matter for the governors’ panel alone. However, governors can ask for advice and should take account of any advice offered.

14. To whom does the headteacher turn if dissatisfied with the outcome of his/her review of performance? The school’s policy should set out a review process – for example, the appraisal report could be given to a governor acting as the review officer (usually the chair of governors unless the chair is a member of the review panel) for further deliberation. If the review officer is persuaded that aspects of the review are inaccurate, he or she may require that the statement be reviewed again.

15. Minutes/Report The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012 do not specify that the clerk needs to take minutes of the headteacher’s appraisal. Recommended that the external adviser should take notes at the review meeting, in preparation for writing the appraisal report. The notes should focus on the outcomes of the discussion rather than being detailed minutes. The adviser normally uses the notes and any other evidence to produce the report. In circumstances where the external adviser does not take the notes, they can be taken by the governing body’s clerk, the headteacher’s personal assistant, or one of the governors present at the meeting.

16. Ratification Must the governing body ratify the panel’s decision? This does not need to be ratified by the full governing body, as long as responsibility for carrying out the headteacher’s appraisal has been formally delegated to the panel. This applies to both maintained schools and academies.

17. Confidentiality Confidentiality and the appraisal statement The governing bodies should approach this issue with care, as some headteachers will be concerned about confidentiality. Page 14 of the DfE's model policy suggests the following statement could be included surrounding the confidentiality of appraisals: The appraisal and capability processes will be treated with confidentiality. However, the desire for confidentiality does not override the need for the headteacher and governing body to quality- assure the operation and effectiveness of the appraisal system.

18. S TAGE 1: AT THE PRE - MEETING BETWEEN THE HEADTEACHER AND EXTERNAL ADVISER The headteacher and external adviser hold a ‘pre-meeting’ shortly before the planning and review meeting. This will give them an opportunity to discuss: The headteacher's progress in meeting his or her objectives; this should focus on the evidence of the individual’s contribution, rather than being a more general discussion about progress of the school as a whole The impact of support/training on progress towards performance objectives The outcomes of the headteacher’s self-evaluation against the Teachers' Standards, and any other standards as appropriate Potential objectives for the next appraisal cycle, to be refined in the review and planning meeting Any professional development needs and how these might be met

19. S TAGE 2: AT THE PRE - MEETING BETWEEN GOVERNORS AND THE EXTERNAL ADVISER Governors should also meet the external adviser shortly before the review and planning meeting. Consider the evidence gathered through their monitoring and evaluation of the headteacher's overall performance 2015/16 Seek advice to inform discussion at the review and planning meeting, drawing on the adviser's knowledge Discuss outcomes of their review of the headteacher against the Teachers’ Standards (or if not already completed, undertake this review and then discuss it) Talk about outcomes of evaluations against other standards as appropriate Consider potential objectives for the next appraisal period, to be agreed in the review and planning meeting with the headteacher Discuss their plans for monitoring and evaluating progress

20. S TAGE 3: THE HEADTEACHER ' S REVIEW AND PLANNING MEETING The review and planning meeting is the central part of the appraisal process. Clarify their summative judgements about the headteacher's overall performance against the Teachers’ Standards (and other standards as appropriate) and progress made towards objectives 2015/16 Agree achievable but challenging objectives for the next appraisal period, with clear performance criteria. To contribute to improving the education of pupils and the implementation of any plan of the governing body designed to improve that school's educational provision and performance. The New Targets Decide on the methodology by which the headteacher’s overall performance and progress towards the new objectives will be monitored and evaluated Determine any professional development activities to support the headteacher

21. How it works – (suggested)