1. Evidencing effective governance Calderdale Governors’ Assn Conference
10 May 2014

2. Objectives To explore: What it looks like How to get it
How to prove you’ve got it
Key point
It is about teamwork about distributing leadership not about a teams and B teams
What for you are the features of an effective team?

3. Teamwork www.michelerobbins.co.uk Initial discussion
Clarity of purpose -the big picture. Aspirational. Inspirational. Motivational. Best outcomes for children. Accountability
Clarity re roles
The skills and info required to do the job
Concern for each other’s welfare
Having fun!

4. DfE. Aim Clarify our expectations
All governing bodies should focus on three core strategic functions – as reflected in inspection criteria
Setting strategic direction
Clarity of vision and ethos
Engaging stakeholders
Meeting statutory duties
Accountability for quality of teaching, achievement, behaviour and safety, leadership and management, overall effectiveness
Performance management of the headteacher
Contributing to school self-evaluation
Creating robust accountability
Ofsted 10 criteria for judging governance. UNDERPIN THIS SESSION. SEE WORKBOOK
Can be used to self evaluate on a regular basis.
Taking each in turn
Posing questions.
Ensuring financial probity
Solvency and effective financial management
Use of pupil premium and other resources to overcome barriers to learning 3

5. Ofsted Evaluating governance
How well they:
Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
VALUES/ETHOS
Explain the values activity
STEEPE

6. Refining the vision. possible qs to ask
What do you want children to achieve as a result of their time in your schools? (what will they have achieved, be able to do? What sort of people will they be?)
What will they experience? (Teaching, curriculum, support, guidance)
What will the school look like, feel like, sound like on a day to day basis?
What sort of relationship should the school have with parents and carers?
The wider community?
What will people say about our staff?
Explain how to manage this activity.

7. Keeping the values and vision alive
When were your values and vision last reviewed?
Who was involved? Governors, pupils, parents, staff, others?
What if anything would you like to do now?

8. Provide challenge and hold the headteacher and other senior leaders to account for improving the quality of teaching, pupils’ achievements and pupils’ behaviour and safety, including by using the data dashboard, other progress data, examination results and test results
Minutes of meetings MUST INCLUDE EVIDENCE OF PROBING Qs

9. KPIs
% of children working at/above/below target by key stage/year group/FSM. Trend
% making average/above average progress in English and maths FSM/all other pupils. Trend
no on roll and trend
exclusions, rewards and trends
racist incidents and trend
attendance, punctuality and trends
no of lessons observed and % good and outstanding. Trend.
Complaints reaching head (analysis not detail)
Take up and impact of interventions to support children in poverty including use of charging policy
Pupil/staff mobility
% budget spent/% year expired

10. Are these good questions to ask when you want information?
I’m sure you would agree that behaviour has improved?
What do we know about the school’s approach to the implementation of pay reform and performance related pay, and if appropriate, is it compliant with the most up to date version of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document?
Are safeguarding procedures securely in place?
Do we listen to what pupils, parents and staff are telling us?
First is leading
Second is too complex
Third and fourth are potentially closed

11. Try these Open Probing Reflective Building/linking Hypothetical (*)
Summarising
Open. Tell me about how the behaviour policy is impacting on exclusions
Probing. You said that it’s taking a while to get all staff on board. What would help them to be even more effective, quicker?
Reflective. What you’re saying is……
Earlier you said that ……
What do you think you would do if a student deliberately challenged you in front of parents visiting the school?
So we think the key issues are……………..
NB DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF TONE AND BODY LANGUAGE. IF YOU SOUND CONFRONTATIONAL THAT WON’T GET THE BEST RESULTS.
See examples in workbook

12. So what? Are there any issues that it would be useful to work on?

13. Where’s the evidence to prove it?
Support and strengthen school leadership, including by developing their own skills
What has the governing body done to strengthen the leadership of the school? What impact has that had?
Where’s the evidence to prove it?
A few minutes thinking time then take examples

14. Contribute to the school’s self evaluation and understand its strengths and weaknesses, including the impact of their own work.
What examples could you share of when your governing body has taken action/promoted a change in practice with a consequent improvement in outcomes for pupils?
What evidence do you have to prove that your GB has made a positive difference to outcomes for students?
What are the two key tasks for GBs in relation to the SEF
Check awareness of Ofsted handbook
Ask for examples of impact on outcomes

15. Use performance management systems, including the performance management of the headteacher, to improve teaching, leadership and management. NB salary progression
2013 Inspection Handbook
The pre Sept 2012 Appraisal regs required GBs to give the appraisal statement, once signed by the head, to all except staff governors.
The new regs say nothing about this at all so it is up to the GB to decide what to do. This could include all except staff governors carrying out the process or delegating to a small group. If the latter then GB decides whether to share the statement with everyone except staff governors

16. Ofsted
As part of its focus on leadership and management inspection will include:
‘ scrutiny of anonymised information on the performance management of teaching staff, and its relationship to salary progression, provided to those responsible for the governance of the school’.
handbook September 2013
REPORT NEEDED!!!!!
The GB can decide whether to sample review statements of staff in order to ensure that pay decisions are justified. If they do they decide whether the process is anonymised or not.
Procedures regs stat that heads must comply with any reasonable direction from GB
See Bl John Henry Newman report
CoGs asked what objectives were set for the head

17. Reality check What works well?
What issues if any would you like to resolve?

18. Ensure solvency and probity and that the financial resources made available to the school are managed effectively
Any issues here?
Annual report and accounts to Companies House
SFVS

19. What are the school’s statutory duties?
Operate in such a way that statutory duties are met and priorities approved (NB Safeguarding)
What are the school’s statutory duties?
-and-useful-timelines-information-for-schools
See DfE mandatory guidance
See safeguarding principles and policies
Describe our approach to auditing SG

20. Governance. Sources of evidence
a discussion with one or more members of the governing body
minutes of governing body meetings
references to the work of the governing body as part of more general discussions with key staff, for example, the headteacher; the special educational needs coordinator; the child-protection officer; staff with links to particular governing body committees; or governors with designated responsibilities
discussions with other members of staff and, where relevant, pupils about the impact of the governing body on the work of the school.
Ofsted 2012

21. Engage with stakeholders pupils, staff, parents, wider community
What do you as governors do currently?
What else would you like to see happen?
Divide whole group into 4
postits

22. numbers of children eligible for FSM or LAC budget allocated
Use the pupil premium and other resources to overcome barriers to learning including reading, writing and mathematics.
Does it include:
numbers of children eligible for FSM or LAC
budget allocated
significant gaps identified (Each year group)
interventions
EVIDENCE of impact on outcomes for pupils. HAVE GAPS NARROWED?
implications for future practice
Implications for your governing bodies???????

23. Ofsted subsidiary guidance
Are transparent and accountable, including in terms of governance structures, attendance at meetings, and contact with parents and carers.
Ofsted subsidiary guidance
‘Governance should be transparent.  I see no reason why every board of governors shouldn’t publish an annual statement on their structure and membership. A statement that clearly sets out the key issues they’ve been addressing and the proportion of meetings each governor has attended’. Lord Nash 2013
Use the 10 points for SE
NB Select Committee qs.
Ofsted criteria for outstanding governance

24. Evaluating governance
Is your school’s website compliant?
How do you communicate with staff, parents and pupils about the work of the governing body?
What if anything would you like to do differently?
See list of info that should be published
This session could give you a head start on completing the evaluation framework in your handout.