Education Challenge Board
The Education Challenge Board is the strategic Board tasked with monitoring school improvement. It sits at Tier 3 in the new framework.
Peter Kent is the Independent Chair of the Board and he shares his thoughts on the development of the ECB:
The Board came into life approximately 18 months ago and now has school leader representatives from across Warwickshire who sit down with colleagues from the local authority, Ofsted and the Office of the Regional School Commissioner. My role is to act as Independent Chair, drawing on my experience from a series of system leadership roles undertaken during my 18 years as a Warwickshire headteacher.
I would be the first to admit that the Board is in some respects still finding its way, but that is only to be expected. However, I do feel that we have made significant progress since the ECB came into being and as a result school leaders have a significantly greater role in shaping the future of education across the county. To some extent this involves grappling with difficult questions that do not have an easy answer, but this is often necessary when tackling challenges that are important and worthwhile.
The Board does not spend large amounts of time discussing individual schools since that would neither be practical nor appropriate. Instead its focus is upon broader issues of strategy, ensuring that support is available to schools that need it and that a clear direction is mapped for the future development of schools across Warwickshire. Area groups sit underneath the Board, ensuring that the needs of individual schools are addressed.
Change can be difficult and is sometimes regarded with suspicion. The Duke of Cambridge wrote in the late 1800s that ‘Any change, at any time, for any reason… is to be deplored’. The Education Challenge Board is a new idea and like all change it will take time to become fully formed and to reach its maximum effectiveness. However, I feel that it has already shown its worth and that its very existence makes an important statement about the value which Warwickshire attaches to the strategic oversight of its school leaders. Most importantly of all, it reminds us that working to support and improve schools across the authority is a shared responsibility for all of us.
Further information about the purpose and make-up of the Board is included in the:
Terms of Reference
Current Membership
Thank you to Peter Kent, Independent Chair of the Education Challenge Board and headteacher of Lawrence Sheriff School for his contributions to this article.