Education CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Southwark Diocesan Board of Education
(a) The purpose, roles and responsibilities of school governing bodies, within the wider context of school governance and leadership
1. The three-fold role of governing bodies in setting the strategic direction of the school, acting as a critical friend in supporting and challenging the school leadership and holding the school to account remains key. Governing bodies must focus on the strategic function in order to drive up standards without getting involved in the day-to-day management of the school. To function most effectively it is important that the senior leadership team and the governing body work in partnership and understand their discrete roles and functions. In our experience relationships break down and governance becomes ineffective where there is a misunderstanding about the roles and responsibilities of governors. Inevitably there will be some blurring of boundaries (governors do get involved in operational functions, admissions in voluntary aided, foundation schools and academies, appointment of staff, disciplinary matters etc) but it is vital that there is a clear understanding of the roles and functions of the governing body by both the headteacher and senior leaders as well as the governors themselves.
(b) The implications of recent policy developments for governing bodies and their roles
2. OFSTED September 2012 framework: the changes to the reporting of governance in the new framework are welcomed. While rightly part of the leadership and management judgement, it is much clearer for governors to have commentary under a separate heading of “governance” within that. Strengthening the governors’ link to school improvement in the framework must be linked to the provision of high quality training and to an evaluation of effectiveness and impact.
3. SFVS: the recent change to a less onerous self assessment form for financial practices is helpful.
4. Academy structures: the structure of academies does not change the fundamental nature of school governance; the role and functions of governors of academies is essentially the same as those in other schools. It is absolutely essential for all schools to have an efficient clerk, but this becomes even more critical in an academy so that the academy company structure (eg, reports to Companies House, accounting/audit procedures etc) does not get in the way of effective governance. It is important therefore in academies that governors understand the role and functions of the Academy Trust and vice-versa.
(c) Recruiting and developing governors, including the quality of current governor training provision and any challenges facing recruitment
5. The Diocesan Board appoints approximately 200 foundation governors to its schools and at any one time there may be 5–6% of these positions vacant; recruitment can be difficult in some areas of inner London, but generally recruitment is not an issue. Over this last year we have made increasing use of SGOSS to place people (five in the last six months) who express a wish to serve in a Church of England school. Our schools are generally successful when filling vacancies for elected staff and parents. Recruitment procedures could be improved by ensuring there is clear information on the role of a governor, the expectations in terms of time commitment as well as the specific skills that might be needed on the governing body at a particular time. Obviously this information is available at a local level, but it would be helpful if the national profile of the role of governors was raised, so that people are more generally aware of the expectations placed on school governors. It should be made clear to employers too that employees who serve on governing bodies should be given time off to fulfil their duties because it is vital that governors are able to be in school during the school day if they are to fulfil the expectations placed on them to monitor and evaluate their schools.
6. The Diocesan Board runs a central governor training programme which incorporates induction training and training on OFSTED, SIAS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools) school admissions, self evaluation, religious education and worship, performance management and personnel procedures and the curriculum and other topics. We also run bespoke training for governing bodies in their schools. We evaluate all our courses and feedback is always very positive. We are looking into the possibility of on-line training, but the Board feels strongly that this is no substitute for face-to-face training; governors often comment on the value of meeting governors from other schools and from different local authorities and sharing experiences and good practice. The Board has also recently introduced partnership working between two governing bodies, so that they can share good practice through visiting each others’ schools with a clear focus, attending joint bespoke training etc.
7. Induction training is essential for all new governors and it is important that all new governors of church schools understand the distinctive ethos of their school. The Board believes that quality induction training should be mandatory for all new governors; governors do a very important job and a lack of understanding of the role of the governing body can mean that governors focus their energies on the wrong tasks. This is often detrimental to the school.
(d) The structure and membership of governing bodies, including the balance between representation and skills
8. Governing bodies should be representative of the communities they serve and have an understanding of their school community, but they also need to have a balance of skills. The vast majority of governors are hard working volunteers who give their time freely to support and contribute to the improvement of their schools, but it is sometimes true that there are core governors who do most of the work and other governors who simply turn up to meetings and contribute little. The new regulations allow governors some freedom to appoint governors on the basis of skills and for those governing bodies where this has been a particular issue, this will be welcomed, but it is predicated on being able to find the right people with the right skills in the right place; in some areas of London this can be particularly difficult. We encourage our governing bodies to undertake a skills audit so that they can make the most of the talents they have by appointing the right people to the right committees and ensuring that they are aware of any skills gaps that might need to be filled.
(e) The effectiveness and accountability of governing bodies
9. Governing bodies, like schools and any other organisation, vary in their effectiveness. Governing bodies are made up of people and inevitably they are subject to vagaries of the human condition. A key member may fall ill unexpectedly and that will have an impact on that governing body’s effectiveness at a particular time; an influx of several new members may alter the balance of a governing body for a time; experienced members often take their knowledge with them leaving the governing body vulnerable in a key area. An effective governing body will of course make provision for its own succession planning and will have structures in place (as far as possible) to cope with the unexpected. We have seen examples of schools which plan for the retirement of the chair of governors, ensure there is an appropriate period of handover and grow their own leaders to ensure that there are governors who are ready to take over as a committee chair or vice-chair when vacancies arise.
(f) Whether new arrangements are required for the remuneration of governors
10. Currently school governors are volunteers and are not remunerated for their time and service to their schools; their reward is in seeing improvements in the education offered to the children in their schools and hopefully sharing in the success of their schools. The Board does not believe remuneration for governors is desirable as it may mean that people are attracted to governance for the wrong reasons. Many governors give their time freely and willingly and do not expect or wish for financial rewards. Governors should not however be out of pocket for volunteering, and while some may not notice the expenses they incur in carrying out their role, others may find the cost of governing prohibitive especially when paying travel costs to attend training at the Diocese, local authority or other provider. In our experience, governors are generally reluctant to claim expenses because what they claim, although relatively small in terms of the overall budget, is no longer available to spend on resources for the children. Governing bodies should be encouraged to have a clear allowances policy which does not put inadvertent pressure on governors not to claim necessary expenses.
(g) The relationships between governing bodies and other partners, including local authorities, academy sponsors and trusts, school leaders and unions
11. Diocesan Boards in relation to church schools and religious authorities in relation to faith schools have been omitted from the above list yet they have a statutory relationship with their schools. The Church of England Diocesan Boards of Education are given their functions through a parliamentary measure (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/1991/2) and have a long-established legal relationship with church schools. The Church of England has been a partner in education since such things existed and was an education provider before the state. In Southwark we have a strong partnership with our 106 schools and work closely with the Southwark Diocesan Headteachers’ Association and our governing bodies. We offer advice, briefings and written guidance on key issues together with a comprehensive training package for governors, headteachers, middle leaders and others (as has been mentioned in (c) above). Our governing bodies value our advice and we work closely with local authority colleagues, we have also established good working relationships with the academy sponsors of three of our academies.
12. Good relationships built on trust are vital to the effective functioning of a school and its governing body; any breakdown in relationships is likely to be detrimental to a school. It is important for governing bodies and senior leaders to work together in partnership and to provide opportunities to foster good relationships for the benefit of the school through governors’ meetings, shared opportunities for training, eg, governors joining staff on relevant INSET days, and other events. Codes of conduct for governing bodies are a useful way of expressing their commitment to the school and providing a focus for establishing good relationships. The Diocesan Board provides a model Code for its schools to adapt and use; and encourages its governors to adhere to the Nolan principles.
(h) Whether changes should be made to current models of governance
13. The Diocesan Board does not see any obvious benefit in changing the current model of governance; structural change does not necessarily provide the vehicle for excellence. The key to effective governance is to have the right people, with the right skill set who have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and are prepared to commit themselves to training, to their school and most importantly to the future of our children.
December 2012