Governance
It’s time to get on board

Leadership Focus journalist Nic Paton looks at the vital role of the school governor and how it can develop, inspire and challenge you.

For many – probably most – school leaders, just getting through the last five unprecedented months has been an achievement and one that, rightly, everyone working in education should be proud of.

We can’t, of course, know what the autumn will hold, especially if covid-19 flares back up and we end up in a potentially disruptive cycle of schools opening only then having to close once more.

But in the hope that a semblance of routine at least returns to the academic year from September, the summer months will be a good moment for all of us to take stock and reflect – not just on the upheaval we’ve been through but also what we want as educators and leaders from ‘normality’ when it does eventually return.

This is especially true for middle and senior leaders aspiring to headship. Part of this process needs to be asking the questions ‘what skills do I need to acquire to help me progress that I don’t already have? And what would be a valuable additional skill set to have?’.

NATALIE ARNETT,
NAHT POLICY OFFICER

This is where being, or becoming, a school governor (or, for academy trusts, school trustee) can potentially play an important part, as NAHT policy officer Natalie Arnett explains: “Particularly for middle leaders, sitting on a governing or trustee board gives you the experience of making the sort of strategic decisions that you would have to make as a head teacher or senior leader.

“You can gain a lot of insight into developing the strategy and vision for a school as well as financial planning and budgetary oversight – things that you might not normally otherwise get access to in a school on a day-to-day basis, particularly at that top level.”

One way to make this transition into governorship is through Educators on Board. This is an NAHT-backed initiative between the National Governance Association (NGA) and the charity Education and Employers, via its Inspiring Governance recruitment platform, which connects volunteers to governing boards. Scroll down for more details about how to register and get involved.

CHALLENGE OF WORKLOAD

But, hang on. If you’re already spending the vast majority of your waking hours intensively at ‘the coalface’ of education, surely the very last thing most teachers or school leaders would want to do is spend even more time, their precious spare time no less, back at school sat in meetings?

“Workload, 100%, is a barrier,” concedes Natalie. “Workload for teachers is huge, and it’s an ongoing issue at all levels: teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders. If you’re spending 50 to 60 hours in a school, then it is a big ask to go and spend another five to 10 hours a month, or whatever it is, as a school governor. There is no easy way of getting around that.”

KIRSTIE EBBS,
PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER AT THE NGA

“The last thing we at the NGA want to be saying to teachers is ‘don’t have a life outside of education’,” agrees Kirstie Ebbs, public relations manager at the NGA. “What we’re saying is ‘use this information to go and decide whether this is an opportunity that may be suitable for you’.”

And the payback – for you as an individual, your ‘day job’ school, the school you are governing in and your wider local community – can be immense.

For example, the NGA has carried out research with education professionals who have taken the plunge and gone into governorship. The consensus is that, yes, being a governor is a commitment that can, at times, be challenging and, of course, it brings with it important accountability and fiduciary responsibilities. But it can also be intensely rewarding and beneficial from both a personal and professional perspective.

“It is about developing strategic leadership skills as well as adding to your personal and job-related skills, yet still in an education-related environment. For example, if you teach or are a leader in a secondary school and then govern in a primary school, there is a lot you can learn – and a lot of knowledge you can offer – about the transition from year six into secondary,” Kirstie points out.

“We also spoke to someone who works in a pupil referral unit and governs in a mainstream school. As a result, they can now see more clearly how these settings work together, the individual challenges both sides have and how they can make that work better.”

KIRSTIE EBBS,
PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER AT THE NGA

And the payback – for you as an individual, your ‘day job’ school, the school you are governing in and your wider local community – can be immense.

“It is about developing strategic leadership skills as well as adding to your personal and job-related skills, yet still in an education-related environment. For example, if you teach or are a leader in a secondary school and then govern in a primary school, there is a lot you can learn – and a lot of knowledge you can offer – about the transition from year six into secondary,” Kirstie points out.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

But what does a governing or trustee board do, and what sort of role and responsibilities as a governor or trustee can you expect to have?

Appointing and performance reviewing the head teacher and senior leaders, including making decisions about pay
Managing budgets and deciding how the school spends money
Engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the school community
Sitting on panels and making decisions about things, such as pupil exclusions and staff disciplinary
Addressing a range of education issues in the school, including disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special needs, staff members’ workload and teacher recruitment
Looking at data and evidence to ask questions and have challenging conversations about the school.

So, given that, as we touched on at the beginning, one of the motivators for wanting to go into governorship is the extra skills it can give you as a school leader. But how and where can you learn to do all of the above effectively?

NAHT has long made the argument that induction training for governors should be mandatory, a position supported by the NGA. While we’re not there yet, the NGA does offer a range of useful training resources for all governors, including the guides Welcome to governance and Welcome to a multi-academy trust.

NAHT, in partnership with the NGA and others, has also developed guidance on what senior leaders and governing boards can expect from each other; a helpful introduction to building productive relationships and the different roles and responsibilities of senior leaders and governing boards.

Equally, when you become a governor or trustee through Inspiring Governance, you gain access for a year to a range of training resources, including one of the two guides by the NGA mentioned above, its online knowledge centre, telephone and email support, a weekly e-newsletter and CPD-accredited e-learning modules.

Find out more

“Even as an education professional, you might understand education, but you have still got to gain that knowledge and understanding of governance and how that works in an educational context,” explains Kirstie.

“This means the ability to step away from the operational leadership paid role, to recognise this is about the strategic leadership of the school and knowing the difference. People do tell us that it takes about six months to a year to feel confident in the role, and I think that goes for everyone,” she adds.

“You tend to have nominated governors for certain areas. So, you might be the nominated governor for careers, for example, and it might be something that you don’t do in your day-to-day work, but you are interested in developing,” explains Natalie.

“There are benefits across a broad range of areas, particularly for middle leaders. For senior leaders, if you are working with your governing board on strategy and vision, having that insight about what others are doing can be valuable too. You can take that learning back to your school and say ‘oh that worked well; maybe there is some read-across for my setting’,” she adds.

DOMINIC JUDGE,
DIRECTOR OF GOVERNANCE PROGRAMMES
AT EDUCATION AND EMPLOYERS

“We’re very keen to make it clear that this is not us telling teachers or school leaders ‘you should be doing this’,” emphasises Dominic Judge, director of governance programmes at Education and Employers, who is mindful of the challenging period the whole profession has faced due to the pandemic and its fallout.

“Rather, this is about people making a conscious decision for their continuing professional development. It’s about them recognising that being a governor is a good development opportunity, and it gives you a range of strategic perspectives you don’t get as a classroom teacher or lead in a school,” he suggests.

The ‘holding the school leadership team to account’ element of governorship can also be where people with experience of and background in education and school leadership can bring real value to the table, he contends. This is also why, while most boards will have staff governors (and such roles are valuable in their own right), it can make sense to consider taking on a governorship or trustee position in another school.

“Education professionals on boards can be really helpful because they understand the answers that are being given by the head teacher. They can make their decisions on whether to probe that bit further, ask more questions and get more data out. They can understand where the head teacher might need to be challenged a bit more on progress, for example, or where there are obvious mitigating circumstances,” Dominic says.

DOMINIC JUDGE,
DIRECTOR OF GOVERNANCE PROGRAMMES AT EDUCATION AND EMPLOYERS

“Rather, this is about people making a conscious decision for their continuing professional development. It’s about them recognising that being a governor is a good development opportunity, and it gives you a range of strategic perspectives you don’t get as a classroom teacher or lead in a school,” he suggests.

HOW EDUCATORS ON BOARD WORKS

Educators on Board is encouraging educationalists to put their hands up to find out more about the personal and professional benefits and opportunities that can come with being a school governor or trustee.

Register for free with Inspiring Governance to find out about governing board vacancies in your area.

Once appointed through Inspiring Governance, you will receive the free support and training for a year from the NGA to help you feel confident and effective in your role.

WHY BECOME AN EDUCATOR ON BOARD?

Professional development for you

Be involved in a school/trust with a different context or culture; use your expertise to solve new challenges and see different ways of working
Develop and extend your strategic leadership skills, personal skills and job-related skills in an education environment
Get a strategic view of a school/trust; you’ll oversee budgets, human resources and long-term planning
Build networks and connect with other education professionals and people from the wider community
Gain a practical understanding of the role of governance in schools/trusts; it’s essential experience for stepping into school leadership
Take professional pride in applying your knowledge and expertise to support another school/trust
Broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of education issues and how they affect schools
Reflect on your practice and the policies and practices of the school/trust you work in.

Advantages for your employer

You will gain a strategic view of leadership in schools/trusts
You can apply your new experience and skills in your day-to-day role
You can bring back ideas, insight and knowledge from another school
You will be better equipped to work effectively with your school/trust’s governing board
You can build stronger relationships with local schools, trusts and networks.

Advantages for the school you govern

Your specialist knowledge and skills (such as data, safeguarding or SEND) will add valuable knowledge and perspective to the board you join
You will be able to offer robust challenge and support to executive leaders with your working knowledge of education and understanding of the profession
You will provide insight and ideas from a different phase, type or context of school
Your experience of working in a school can shape the culture and practice of another.

WHY BECOME AN EDUCATOR ON BOARD?

Professional development for you

Be involved in a school/trust with a different context or culture; use your expertise to solve new challenges and see different ways of working
Develop and extend your strategic leadership skills, personal skills and job-related skills in an education environment
Get a strategic view of a school/trust; you’ll oversee budgets, human resources and long-term planning
Build networks and connect with other education professionals and people from the wider community
Gain a practical understanding of the role of governance in schools/trusts; it’s essential experience for stepping into school leadership
Take professional pride in applying your knowledge and expertise to support another school/trust
Broaden and deepen your knowledge and understanding of education issues and how they affect schools
Reflect on your practice and the policies and practices of the school/trust you work in.

Advantages for your employer

You will gain a strategic view of leadership in schools/trusts
You can apply your new experience and skills in your day-to-day role
You can bring back ideas, insight and knowledge from another school
You will be better equipped to work effectively with your school/trust’s governing board
You can build stronger relationships with local schools, trusts and networks.

Advantages for the school you govern

Your specialist knowledge and skills (such as data, safeguarding or SEND) will add valuable knowledge and perspective to the board you join
You will be able to offer robust challenge and support to executive leaders with your working knowledge of education and understanding of the profession
You will provide insight and ideas from a different phase, type or context of school
Your experience of working in a school can shape the culture and practice of another.

HOW ENCOURAGING GOVERNORSHIP CAN BENEFIT YOUR SCHOOL

When considering succession planning to senior or executive leader positions, you will have staff members who have experience of strategic leadership
Your staff members will bring back new ideas, insight and networks to their paid role as well as develop their professional and leadership skills
Your staff will have access to substantial, long-term, evolving, no-cost development in an education setting
You will have more governance-literate staff who understand the role of a governing board and can work better with the board in your school
Your staff will gain new perspectives and knowledge to feed into your school by volunteering in different phases, types and contexts of schools
Your staff will gain a strategic view of schools and education topics that helps them to understand the discussions and decisions of your board.

HOW YOUR SCHOOL CAN BECOME A GOVERNOR CHAMPION

Inspiring Governance is looking for more employers to join its ‘Be a school governor champion’ campaign to promote school governance to their staff.

The best way to do this is via a charter where employers can pledge to do five simple things to promote school governance throughout their organisation and show their public commitment to their local schools and communities.

HOW ENCOURAGING GOVERNORSHIP CAN BENEFIT YOUR SCHOOL

When considering succession planning to senior or executive leader positions, you will have staff members who have experience of strategic leadership
Your staff members will bring back new ideas, insight and networks to their paid role as well as develop their professional and leadership skills
Your staff will have access to substantial, long-term, evolving, no-cost development in an education setting
You will have more governance-literate staff who understand the role of a governing board and can work better with the board in your school
Your staff will gain new perspectives and knowledge to feed into your school by volunteering in different phases, types and contexts of schools
Your staff will gain a strategic view of schools and education topics that helps them to understand the discussions and decisions of your board.

HOW YOUR SCHOOL CAN BECOME A GOVERNOR CHAMPION

Inspiring Governance is looking for more employers to join its ‘Be a school governor champion’ campaign to promote school governance to their staff.

TRUSTEES VS GOVERNORS

Much like governors in grant-maintained schools, the board of trustees in a MAT will set the strategic direction of the trust, hold senior school leadership to account and oversee the trust’s financial performance.

A key difference, however, is that trustees will be overseeing strategy and finance across all schools in the trust, not just a single school.

Trustees are both company directors and charity trustees, as academies have the legal status of both a company and charitable trust.

According to Governors for Schools, which places volunteers on school and academy boards, trustees have more specific responsibilities than governors, especially when it comes to finances.

As it explains: “Because trustees are directors under company and charity law, trustees have legal responsibilities that governors of maintained schools do not. With no local authority to answer to, if anything goes wrong, the academy or MAT is accountable.

“Trustees are ultimately responsible and accountable for the trust. It’s up to them to make sure the trust is not only compliant with its charitable objectives but also with company and charity law.”

STUART BECK IS CONSULTANT SENIOR LEADER AT SACRED HEART OF MARY GIRLS’ SCHOOL IN HAVERING, EAST LONDON. HE HAS BEEN CLERK OF HIS SCHOOL’S GOVERNING BODY SINCE 1993, BUT IN 2017, HE ALSO JOINED THE GOVERNING BOARD OF THE NEARBY SOUTH QUAY COLLEGE ON THE ISLE OF DOGS AS GOVERNOR FOR TEACHING, LEARNING AND SUPPORT.

“South Quay College is an alternative provision college that, while located in an affluent area, serves a student population drawn from some very disadvantaged backgrounds.

“For me, apart from the reward of the civic responsibility of being a governor, I have learnt a lot from working with the college. I had no previous experience of alternative provision; I had some concept of the type of pupils they deal with, but I did not really know what goes on.

"So, apart from anything else, I have found it very stimulating to find out about a sector that I didn't know anything about.

"For example, the way an alternative provision unit operates, what it sets out to achieve, its performance indicators, what it considers to be ‘success’ and so forth. To that extent, it has given me an extra string to my bow.

“One thing worth checking is the size of the governing body because that could govern the time commitment involved, and there has been a drift towards reducing the size of governing bodies in recent years. A smaller governing body can mean, naturally, a greater commitment.

“I did do a bit of background research before I said yes. I went to visit the school, and I met the principal and vice-principal to work out what I might be able to bring to the role. Having done my research, it was clear they needed a bit of input and verification of what they were doing in teaching and learning, and I was able to bring some leadership and management skills as well.

“Having said that, I was very keen not to come in as an external ‘expert’ or someone who says ‘this is the way you should do things’; I’ve never liked that kind of approach. It has very genuinely been a case of wanting to work with them to develop the aims and ethos of the school; that we are able to bounce ideas off each other really.

“I do have a statutory role in that I go in and visit the college at least once a term. I talk to the vice-principal about progress and data; I do some lesson observations and learning walks, and so on. And I just work collaboratively over things like their appraisal and professional development strategy, which has also included teacher support.

“Finally, I’d argue it is important to go into something like this saying ‘this relationship is going to be of mutual benefit; I can learn from you while also hopefully helping you the best I can’. Certainly, for middle leadership wanting to go into senior leadership or even headship, I would say that if you haven’t got experience of how governing bodies work and operate as well as what they’re facing and how they do things, you could struggle if you didn’t have that knowledge.”

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