In it I explained how our school went from ‘requires improvement’ to the cusp of ‘outstanding’ in
just two years.
We were never
a good school. At least according to Ofsted. From the time they first inspected
us we were judged ‘satisfactory’ in old money or ‘requires improvement’ as it is now.
When they
visited in February 2013 the inspectors picked up on a number of weaknesses and
identified governance as part of the problem. The governing board was often too
busy firefighting in a struggling school to concentrate on purely strategic
matters. Our headteacher had taken early retirement and an interim head was in
place in the wake of an unsuccessful recruitment process.
We didn’t even have a settled chair so the local authority parachuted in a
recently retired headteacher to fill the gap on a temporary basis. Things
slowly began to take shape. We commissioned an external review of governance
and started implementing its recommendations. We appointed a substantive head
and having settled the ship the temporary chair managed to persuade me to stand
as her successor.
In February
2015 Ofsted came to call once more. For the very first time we were judged ‘good’, with many outstanding features. As far as governance was concerned
the weaknesses highlighted in 2013 had been rectified. The 2015 report noted
that “the governing body now provides good strategic direction for the school” and “governors accurately monitor the work of the school and hold senior
leaders to account well”. The inspectors acknowledged our
commitment to governor training and that new members were appointed according
to their skills.
Common
vision
The arrival
of our new headteacher had a lot to do with it. As both he and I were new to
post we worked hard to forge a constructive working relationship. Together we
ensured that senior managers and governors shared a common vision and strategy
that was communicated to stakeholders.
A culture of
open dialogue was fostered between school leaders and governors concerning the
challenges we faced in turning the school around. Expectations were raised of
what it means to be a governor. We have a saying that “governors
are not conscripts, but volunteers”. No one is forced to join the
board, but those who do should be prepared to commit themselves fully in order
to secure the best possible outcomes for our students. The clerk is now subject
to annual appraisal against a set of professional standards criteria to help
ensure that the board is supported by efficient clerking.
There had
been a tendency on the part of governors to be overly concerned about
operational matters. But now we were clear that it was not our role to run the
school, but to tell the school where to run by setting its vision and strategy,
and making sure we were on track to get there by holding the headteacher to
account.
Each year we
agree a fresh set of key performance indicators and review the school’s performance against targets for pupil achievement, improvements in
the quality of teaching, and so on. Headteacher performance management goals
are aligned with our strategic priorities.
Stakeholders
Pupil
outcomes have improved significantly and the school is a vibrant centre of
teaching and learning at the heart of the local community. Our students have
heightened aspirations for themselves, signalled by their request for a blazer
and tie-based school uniform.
Governance-wise
this has been achieved by a board comprised of local stakeholders, parents,
staff and members of the community. It seems that this model of governance is
currently out of favour with the education establishment. Both Ofsted and the
DfE have signalled that they would like parent governor posts phased out.
Skills-based governing boards are the order of the day.
But we are
living proof that you can have the best of both worlds. We have a team of
skilled-up stakeholders who are committed to sharpening the expertise of the
board through ongoing training and development. We are also fired up about
providing our school with the strategic leadership required to help ensure it
offers the outstanding education our students deserve. Expertise without
passion will lack motivation. Passion without expertise will lack direction. We
need governing boards with both fire and skill. That’s what
makes a difference.
NGA members can download a copy of the Jan/Feb mag here.
