Clerks’ Annual Conference 2010 Clerking towards an “Outstanding” Governing Body Steve Telfer Leadership & Governance

Outcomes By the end of the session, clerks will:  understand how governing bodies are judged by the inspection regime;  have considered Ofsted’s expectations of governing bodies;  know more about their role in helping governing bodies to demonstrate high quality governance;

Education Act 2002 ‘The conduct of a maintained school shall be under the direction of the school’s governing body … The governing body shall conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement at the school.’

The overall purpose of governing bodies remains to help the schools they lead provide the best possible education for pupils. This involves in particular:  setting the school’s vision and strategic aims, and agreeing plans and policies, making creative use of available resources;  monitoring and evaluating performance and acting as a critical friend to the headteacher to support and challenge them in managing the school;  ensuring that the school is accountable to the children and parents it serves, and to its local community and to those who fund and maintain it, as well as to the staff it employs. (Governing the School of the Future,DfES 2004)

Recording the impact of the governing body on the achievement of children?  Inspections are quick - & with small teams  So, how quickly and reliably can inspectors find the evidence they require from the governing body & the school’s documentation?  How does the GB record the impact governance has on the achievement of children in the school?  How does it characterise the difference it makes?

The inspection of governance… “The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities met” OfSTED 2009

The inspection of governance… OfSTED will evaluate:  How effectively the governing body help to shape the direction of the school  How rigorously the governing body challenges and supports leaders and managers, holding them to account for tackling weaknesses and further improving outcomes for all pupils  How well the governing body fulfils their statutory responsibilities

Grades 1.Outstanding 2.Good 3.Satisfactory 4.Inadequate

Inspectors should take account of…  The extent to which the school’s self-evaluation indicates compliance with statutory requirements  The rigour of the GB’s procedures to ensure the health, safety & well-being of staff & pupils  How effectively the GB fulfils its duties to promote community cohesion & inclusive practice relating to SEN, race equality, disability & gender equality  How knowledgeable the GB are of the work of the school, incl its strengths & weaknesses, through their monitoring & evaluation of the school’s performance  How engaged the GB is in setting priorities for improvement & how robustly they monitor & evaluate the impact of any improvement plans  How effectively the GB ensures its skills & expertise are matched to the needs of the school & how effectively these are used to improve outcomes for pupils

Inspectors should take account of contd…  The extent to which the GB understands the school’s performance data & has an accurate picture of how well all the pupils are achieving compared with those in other schools, as well as how different groups of pupils within the school are performing  How the GB ensures that school targets re both achievable & sufficiently challenging to lead to & sustain improvement  The GB’s understanding of barriers to learning, incl attendance & behaviour issues, and what the school is doing to overcome them  How effectively & confidently the GB develop & use their skills & knowledge to hold leaders to account for improvement by robustly challenging underperformance  How systematically the GB consults & gathers views of users & stakeholders & how these views are taken into account in future planning.

How governing bodies are inspected...  Evidence before the inspection?  Evidence during the inspection?

Self Evaluation Form (SEF) 2009  How well are pupils doing, taking account of any variation?  How effective is the provision?  How effective are leadership and management?  How effective is the Early Years Foundation Stage/Sixth Form?

Questions for Schools from the 2005 Self Evaluation Form (SEF)  What are the main characteristics of your school?  What are the views of learners, parents/carers and other stakeholders and how do you know?  How well do learners achieve?  How good is the overall personal development and well being of the learners?  How effective are teaching and learning?  How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners?  How well are learners guided and supported?  What is the overall effectiveness and efficiency of leadership and management?  How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners and why?

Self-evaluation Form ‘Once completed, a SEF should reflect properly governors’ involvement in a school’s self- evaluation and show that it has been completed with the agreement of the governing body’ (Ofsted, 2005).

During the inspection… “Pupils, parents, staff, governors and other stakeholders must be given opportunities to speak with inspectors in private, without the headteacher or senior staff present…” OfSTED: Guidance for inspectors 2009

The governing body’s involvement in the Ofsted process: The governing body will:  have their work evaluated as part of leadership and management;  be responsible for signing off the self- evaluation form;  need to assure themselves that the process of self-evaluation and planning is based on good evidence and on how parents and pupils feel about the school;

GB involvement (cont.)  need to be confident in the strategies adopted to bring about improvement;  be required to notify parents and others of the inspection;  give views during the inspection, and the governing body will be represented at the feedback meeting for senior managers;  continue to have responsibility for distributing reports to parents, and making these available to others with an interest.

Outcomes By the end of the session, clerks will:  understand how governing bodies are judged by the inspection regime;  have considered Ofsted’s expectations of governing bodies;  know more about their role in helping governing bodies to demonstrate high quality governance;