Governors
News from Governor Services
As the academic year comes to an end and just before you put away your school governance work for a few weeks during the summer break the Governor Services Team would like to say thank you for the time and support you give to our schools and we look forward to working with you all in the new academic year.
Changes within Governor Services
We welcome Joanna Wain to our team. Jo joins us as an Administrative Clerk for the Warwickshire Clerking Service and will be working closely with Gurby to support her in managing and developing the Clerking Service.
You can contact Joanna on 01926 7458097 or by email: joannawain@warwickshire.gov.uk
We also welcome Sundari Cleal who joins us as a School Governance Administrative Assistant. Sundari’s main responsibilities will be to provide the administrative support for our Training and Support Programme. This involves taking course bookings, course enquiries and producing the delegate packs for training events. In addition she will be updating the governor database when you notify us of any changes to your governing board.
Sundari can be contacted on: 01926 745120 or by email: sundaricleal@warwickshire.gov.uk
Training
We provide a comprehensive training programme for all school governors, clerks and head teachers, whether in maintained or academy schools. Places on training sessions are available to all schools.
For subscribing schools these will be free of charge and for non-subscribing schools there is a charge per delegate.
Click here to view our Training and Support Programme (April 2018 – March 2019) which lists courses available from September.
If you would like to book on a course, or for further information please:
When booking a course, in addition to quoting the course reference number, title and date, please provide:
- the name of the person attending the training event
- the school / setting they are from
- a contact email address and telephone number
If your governing board does not subscribe to Warwickshire Governor Services and you think it would be useful to do so, please contact Gurby Dhesi to discuss your requirements:
Email - gurbydhesi@warwickshire.gov.uk
Telephone – 01926 745 137
Joint letter to school governors and trustees
In celebration of Volunteers' Week (1-7 June 2018), the National Governance Association, the Association of School and College Leaders and the National Association of Head Teachers have published a joint letter to thank school governors and trustees for their remarkable contribution to education.
Safeguarding
December 2017 saw the DfE publish a consultation on proposed changes to its statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (“KCSIE”). The consultation closed at the end of February 2018.
A draft of the revised KCSIE guidance has also now been published so that schools and colleges can plan for the commencement of the new guidance on the 3rd September 2018.
This draft is for guidance purposes only and until the 3rd September 2018, the existing statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe In Education, 2016 is still in force and is what schools and colleges must continue to have regard to.
When the revised KCSIE is published and comes into force on 3rd September 2018 it will be fully reflective of schools’ and colleges’ role in the new safeguarding partner arrangements. The updated KCSIE 2018 will also include updated guidance on information sharing practice under the new GDPR regulations and the Data Protection Act.
The draft KCSIE 2018 guidance can be accessed here. Part Two of the draft statutory guidance looks at the management of safeguarding and the responsibility of Governing Bodies, proprietors and Management Committees, with specific regards to:
• Legislation and the law;
• Safeguarding policies and procedures;
• The designated safeguarding lead;
• Multi-agency working;
• Information sharing;
• Staff training;
• Online safety;
• Opportunities to teach safeguarding; and
• Safer recruitment.
The DfE has also published revised Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment advice.
This follows an inquiry by the House of Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee which in 2014 found that 59% of girls and young women aged between 13 and 21 said they had faced some form of sexual harassment at school or college in the previous year. The advice covers schools’ legal responsibilities, a whole school approach to prevention, and responding to a report of sexual violence or harassment.
Academies Financial Handbook
The Education and Skills Funding Agency have updated their Academies Financial Handbook.
The 2018 edition of the handbook is effective from 1st September 2018. It strengthens expectations about the process for setting executive pay and explains new requirements for related party transactions.
The main changes to the handbook are summarised on pages 6 and 7 of the updated handbook.
Charging for School Activities
The DfE has updated the guidance, provided to help schools set out their policies on charging for school activities and visits, to take account of the new Universal Credit regulations.
Changes to information schools must publish online - September 2018
Department for Education’s (DfE) guidance - What maintained schools must publish online
The DfE has updated the above guidance. There is a new requirement to provide information about a school’s careers programme for years 8 to 13 pupils (which is with effect from September 2018) as follows together with other amendments:
Careers programme information
This must include:
- name, email address and telephone of the school’s Careers Leader
- a summary of the careers programme
- how the school measures and assesses the impact of the programme
- date of the next review of the published information
KS4 results
English Baccalaureate attainment measure has changed to an average point score showing pupils’ point scores across the 5 pillars of the EBacc
DfE performance tables
Now requires a link to the school’s performance table page on the DfE’s website as well as the link to the DfE’s main performance tables page
Curriculum
Within the requirement to publish the content of your school curriculum in each academic year for every subject, the DfE has added ‘including Religious Education even if it is taught as part of another subject or subjects, or is called something else’
PE and Sports premium (for lower/primary)
Now requires additional information about swimming and how many pupils within your year 6 cohort can do each of the following:
- swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres
- use a range of strokes effectively
- perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations
Governors’ information and duties
Now required to include the following additional information:
- full name, date of appointment, term of office, date left and appointing body
- any material interests arising from relationships between governors and between governors and school staff
- attendance record at governing board and committee meetings for the last academic year
Department for Education’s (DfE) guidance - What academies, free schools and colleges should publish online
The DfE has updated its guidance on what academies should publish online. An academy’s funding agreement will specify what must be published on its website.
Exclusion arrangements
The recommendation to publish an exclusion policy has been removed.
KS4 results
As for maintained schools, the English Baccalaureate results, the attainment measure has changed to an average point score showing pupils’ point scores across the 5 pillars of the EBacc
KS5 (16-18)
Publish a link to your 16 to 18 performance tables page
Curriculum
Within the suggestion to publish the content of your academy’s curriculum in each academic year for every subject, the DfE has added ‘including for mandatory subjects such as Religious Education even if it is taught as part of another subject or subjects, or is called something else’
Special educational needs (SEN) information report
Academies and free schools must publish a report on their policy for pupils or students with SEN and how they put the policy into effect.
Academy Trust Governance Vacancies
Academy trusts, including free schools, must notify the ESFA about the appointment or vacating of governance roles within their trust. The Academies Financial Handbook clearly sets out the requirements for Trusts to provide:
• information and direct contact details for the Chair of Trustees, Chairs of the local governing bodies, Accounting Officer and Chief Financial Officer
• information for all members, trustees and local governors.
Trusts must notify the ESFA within 28 days of opening, and subsequently within 14 days of any changes being made, using the GIAS (Get Information About Schools) service.
Individual academies within MATs should also record their head teacher information on GIAS and keep this up to date.
Inspiring Governance
Inspiring Governance is a free, online service that connects schools and trusts in England with skilled volunteers.
Does your Governing Board have a ‘Professional Clerk’?
There has been a lot of focus on the role of Members, Trustees/Directors and Governors within a school’s Governing Board, yet there is another important role which has evolved but can all too often be taken for granted – that of the Clerk.
The DfE’s 2017 Governance Handbook (4.4 The professional clerk pg. 36) states that “High quality professional clerking is crucial to the effective functioning of the board. The clerk should be the boards’ ‘governance professional’.”
Gone are the days when the Clerk was simply the minute-taker in the room.
The increased expectations of the Clerk, supporting and guiding a group of volunteers, have been brought to the forefront through the publication of the DfE’s Clerking Competency Framework. This Framework highlights the: Vital role of the Clerk in supporting the six key features of effective governance, as identified in the Governance Competency Framework:
- Strategic Leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy with the Clerk supporting the Chair and the Board in remaining strategic at all times;
- Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance with the Clerk supporting the Board to identify information requirements and questions that could be asked of the Senior Leadership Team;
- People with the Clerk supporting the Board to recruit, induct and train individuals with the right skill sets;
- Structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities and ensuring the Board is properly constituted;
- Compliance with professional clerking providing knowledgeable and confident support to the Board to ensure compliance with the relevant legal frameworks and governance requirements of the organisation; and
- Evaluation to help monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance.
The four core competencies that are expected from all school / academy Clerks:
- Understanding Governance with a sound understanding of the Board’s duties and responsibilities and the wider context in which the Board is operating, the Clerk will be able to make an important contribution to the Board’s effectiveness.
- Advice and Guidance by understanding governance, the Clerk will be able to provide better quality advice on legal and procedural matters related to governance, assisting in a more effective strategic decision-making process.
- Administration taking care of the administrative side enables the Chair and the Board to make more effective use of their time, focusing on strategic matters.
- People and Relationships professional clerking plays an important role in ensuring the Board has accurate records of its members and their skills. Good relationships are also essential to establishing open communication and ensuring smooth information flows between key stakeholders.
Does your Board use a professional Clerk for all of their meetings, including committee meetings - someone who has been given training in both the role and responsibilities of a clerk and is given the time to carry out the role and is not just seen as a ‘minute taker’?
It is good practice that your Board does not use:
- A member of school staff, raising the issue of potential conflict of interest; and
- A governor to minute meetings. This will result in the governor not being able to fully engage in Board/Committee discussions, reducing their strategic effectiveness.
A professional Clerk doesn’t always have to be employed by the School / Academy Trust - there is also the option of using the Warwickshire Clerking Service. If you would like to know more about how the Warwickshire Clerking Service can work to effectively support your Board, please ring Gurby Dhesi on 01926 745137 or email gurbydhesi@warwickshire.gov.uk
Head teacher Recruitment Guidance
Just a reminder that Head teacher recruitment guidance has been published by the DfE and NGA.
The guidance outlines the different stages of the process including:
- planning and setting up a selection panel
- preparing the application pack
- advertising and promotion
- the interview itself and the actions to be taken once an appointment is made
The NGA have developed a toolkit alongside the guidance comprising practical checklists and templates for boards to use to support the recruitment process, including shortlisting templates, suggested interview questions and a checklist of things to consider when using a recruitment agency.
With the recruitment of a school leader being arguably one of the most important tasks a board will undertake, the guidance aims to steer governing boards through the legal context and principles of recruitment.
Action for Clerks / Chair of Governors
When a Chair of Governors at a local authority maintained school receives their Head teacher’s written resignation, either the Clerk or Chair of Governors must immediately inform Heather Imbush at Governor Services and, in the case of Church Schools, especially Voluntary Aided Schools, the relevant Diocese.
Heather can be contacted by telephone: 01926 742635 or by email: heatherimbush@warwickshire.gov.uk
Heather can then update our records and advise you on the support available to your school and governing board.
Head teacher Resignation Dates and Notice Periods (Maintained Schools)
To leave their post at the end of the Summer Term a Head teacher must give a minimum of 4 months’ notice.
This means:
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Term
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Date by which notice must be submitted
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Leaving Date
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Autumn
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30th September
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31st December
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Spring
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31st January
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30th April
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Summer
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30th April
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31st August
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Key Governing Board Tasks for the Autumn Term
Ongoing Tasks for the Governing Board
- Monitor school improvement plan
- Organise induction, support and training for governors
- Arrange governors’ visits to the school
- Appoint clerk
- Establish governing board committees
- Review delegation of functions and committee structures
- Review terms of reference of committees
- Receive curriculum area reports
- Receive reports on and review pupil progress (including pupils within special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision)
- Approve new policies/review existing policies (where appropriate)
- Complete asset management plan
- Receive friends'/parents’ association report
- See and agree the school's self-evaluation
- Prepare for Ofsted inspection
- Review safeguarding arrangements
- Review the quality of teaching
- Complete the School Financial Value Standard (SFVS)
- Ensure governor details are updated on the national database of governors on Get information about schools
Specific Tasks for the Governing Board
- Elect chair and vice chair (and schedule next elections)
- Set dates of meetings for the year
- Decide committee structure, membership and terms of reference
- Set objectives for the governing board for the year
- Receive head teacher's report
- Review head teacher's performance
- Review the school's charging policy, for example for school trips
- Draw up freedom of information publication scheme
- Approve school improvement plan
- Review appraisal policy
- Set pupil performance targets
- Review public examination and national test results
- Receive report from school improvement partner/external adviser
- Review pupil welfare information, including strengths and areas for development identified by staff with responsibility for safeguarding and PSHE, citizenship and careers guidance (‘learning for life’)
DfE Updates / Documents / Guidance
Guidance - Multi-academy trusts: Establishing and developing your trustGuidance and resources for academy trusts, including those establishing new trusts and existing trusts planning to grow.
News story - Education Secretary issues call to arms for school governors:
Damian Hinds calls on leading employers to lend their business expertise to support schools to improve education for every child
Managing behaviour and bullying in schools case studies: Case studies from schools showing good practice in dealing with bullying, disciplining poor behaviour and encouraging good behaviour.
Approaches to preventing and tackling bullying: Research into anti- bullying practices used by schools to prevent and tackle bullying, including case studies.