32nd COBIS Annual Conference Sunday 12 May 2013

1. PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE 32nd COBIS Annual Conference Sunday 12 May 2013 Stuart Westley General Secretary

2. Background 1969 to 2009 40 years in the teaching profession • Currently: • September 2009 General Secretary AGBIS • Governor of one HMC School • Chairman of Governors of two Preparatory Schools

3. About AGBIS • A Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee • Operate from an office in Welwyn • Led by a Board of 16 Directors, elected by the members at the AGM • 4 employees (2 are part time) • One of the eight constituent members of The Independent Schools Council (ISC) • 763 member schools, increasing by 20 per year • Schools are members (not governors) • Represent the entire sector (National and International) • Modest entry criteria • Subscription fee related to school size • Originated (GBA, GBGSA) in the 1940s

4. Our Services • Promote good school governance in the independent sector • Organise training seminars countrywide for new and experienced governors • Provide e-Learning for governors at no charge • Publish ‘Guidelines for Governors’. Revised October 2011, published in hard copy and on-line. • Provide a telephone advisory service on all aspects of governing schools • Provide model documentation for governance • Provide model Teachers’, Heads’ and Bursars’ contracts and other standard documents

5. Our Services Contd. • Information via the web site • Annual Survey of heads’ and bursars’ salaries • AGBIS e-Alerts and e-Newsletters • On-site training for governors • Reviews of governance for schools • Annual conference and AGM • Support regional meetings

6. Our Vision Our vision is to: • Continue to improve services to members • Develop our e-Communication strategy to enable us to communicate on a concurrent basis with member schools and their governors. • Build upon the success of the e-Learning facility and develop a further course in 2013/14 • Encourage co-operation with governors of maintained schools, free schools and academies particularly.

7. Characteristics of the Sector • Over 80% of ‘ISC Schools’ are charities • Some were once privately owned • Governing instruments vary (unimportant) • Proprietorial Schools: proprietor de facto is the governor • In reality (almost) no owner above the governing body British independent schools: • Extraordinarily diverse • Governors largely operate in isolation • Practice pretty varied! • Regulated by • The DfE • The Charity Commission

8. Aspects of Good Governance • Governance & Management: The Distinction! • Role & Duties of School Governors • Indicators of Good Governance and Self- Assessment • Strategic Planning • The Inspectorate’s Criteria of Good Governance • Provision of Public Benefit (A requirement of Charities) • Relationships, Confidentiality and Transparency • Governors’ Appeal Panels

9. Governance and Management A Little Light Revision! Guidelines for Governors: • The Governing Body is concerned with aims, policies and plans. It looks to the head to help formulate and then to implement them. • Acting within that framework the head and the senior team manage and administer the school with the support of the governors.

10. Governance “. .is the Board’s responsibility. It is about ensuring that the organisation has a clear mission and strategy, but not necessarily about developing it. It is about ensuring that the organisation is well managed, but not about managing it. It is about giving guidance on the overall allocation of resources, but is less concerned with precise numbers . . . Governance is ultimately concerned with providing insight, wisdom and good judgement.” (Managing Without Profit – Mike Hudson)

11. Management “ . . . is a staff responsibility. Staff are responsible for implementation of strategy agreed by the governors. They are responsible for turning the governors’ intentions into action and for administering the systems and procedures needed to get results. In practice staff also do much of the work required to flesh out the detail of strategies and policies agreed by the governors. They also help to ensure that the mechanics of the governing process run smoothly” (Managing Without Profit – Mike Hudson)

12. Chairman/Head/Bursar Fundamental Principles • Understand their responsibilities and those of others • Understand their interdependence • Confidence, trust and judgement Confusion of GOVERNANCE and MANAGEMENT • Unclear lines of responsibility • Governors unwilling to think strategically • Problems referred upwards • Weak, indecisive management • Professional development stifled

13. Governance and Management Lines of Communication Chairman of Governors Bursar/Clerk Head

14. Role & Duties of School Governors • Act collectively • Dual role of trustee and director • Companies Act 2006 • Comply with the governing instrument • Ensure it is up to date • Charities Act 2006 • Know the charitable objects • Demonstrate public benefit • Act for the School and with skill and care • Act in good faith • Responsible for the acts of others • Take advice where necessary

15. Role & Duties of School Governors (Contd.) • Determine aims and overall conduct • Ensure key policies are in place and reviewed • Develop plans • Guardian of charitable assets • Guardians of standards • Support the Head and SMT • Hold them to account • But don’t run every meeting as an interview of the Head! • Expectation of self-review

16. Indicators of Good Governance • Clear comprehensive strategy agreed with SMT • Regularly assess the Charity’s performance • Good relationships including with SMT • Legally compliant • Oversight of key policies and activities and finances • Conflicts of interest • Capacity to deal with appeals • Proper use of private business • Welfare of the Head and Bursar!

17. APPRAISAL OF HEADS AND BURSARS

18. Appraisal of Heads and Bursars • Arrangements are an important responsibility of the Governing Body • Important assessment of performance and effectiveness • A time to reflect on strengths, weaknesses and relationships • Identify personal development requirements • Needs to be undertaken with skill and sensitivity

19. Who is the Appraiser? • AGBIS recommends established external consultants (too cosy?) • Arrangements should be agreed on appointment • Once every three or four years, 360 degree (but no guarantee of quality!) • Report confidential between Chairman and Head/Bursar • Annual internal, informal appraisal • Assessment of progress towards externally agreed targets

20. THE INSPECTION OF GOVERNANCE

21. Self Evaluation • Effectiveness of the committee system • Appropriate range of skills • Governor training in the past three years • Articles and/or Charitable Deed • Changes in governance since last inspection • Systems for monitoring regulatory compliance • Strongest features of the governing body • What areas need to be developed • What actions are in hand to facilitate development • Grade: Excellent, Good, Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory

22. Grade Indicators - Excellent • Valuable range of expertise • Comphrehensive induction arrangements • Well chosen training • Perceptive long-term strategic plan • Work closely with Head and SMT • Clear insight into the workings of the school • Aims achieved via a development plan • Well known and attend school events • Sample the curricular experience • Monitor school policies

23. Grade Indicators – Excellent (Contd.) • Oversight of academic standards • Oversight of pastoral, welfare and health & safety • Committed to financial planning to maintain and develop the school estate and resources • Committed to recruiting high quality staff • Commitment to safe recruiting and central register • Strong source of advice for the Head • Effective mechanisms for evaluating the work of the Head and staff with delegated authority in compliance matters

24. Comments on governance in recent inspection reports • No formal appraisal of the Head • Governors attendance at events infrequent • Governors simply taking as gospel opinions of SLT re compliance • Ineffective (or no) Governors’ strategic plan • Insufficiently clear means of ensuring compliance • No means of induction for new Governors • limited monitoring of management workloads, • Little training to support the trustees with their responsibilities is available. • Extend governors’ oversight of pupils’ curricular experience

25. Comments on governance in recent inspection reports • Strategic plan insufficiently focused; it comprises too many targets, not prioritised or incisively evaluated. • Review of policies and procedures to ensure that governors are fully effective in discharging their monitoring responsibilities is insufficiently rigorous. • An informal induction programme in place …governors but limited training for governors on an on-going basis. • Ensure that the minutes of the full governing body record the outcomes of the annual review of safeguarding. • An evolving situation

26. THE INSPECTION OF REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

27. Role of Governors • Regulatory compliance is essentially a management task but the Governors’ responsibility • Governors should not get drawn into too much detail or become involved in the drafting of policies • The system of reporting to governors must be clear • Governors must question the executive and hold them to account for any failures. Governors need to know enough to know what questions to ask!

28. Policy Implementation and Review ‘Appropriate’ policies Priority 1:Policies & Documents Required by Regulation Priority 2: School Policies Priority 3: Governing Body Policies

29. THE ROLE OF GOVERNORS IN CHILD PROTECTION

30. Approach • A serious and politically sensitive subject • You cannot afford to get it wrong • In relation to departmental guidance, governors should understand the difference between ‘must’ and ‘have regard to’ • Establish management communication with the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) • Effect governance oversight and monitoring via an appropriate standing committee (Education/Academic Committee?) • Committee members must be properly briefed and prepared to ask the awkward questions • The governors must know enough to know what questions need to be asked

31. Public Benefit post judicial review Quashing order Revised guidance awaited Parliamentary review of the Charities Act Greater freedom for trustees to make their own decisions They must make informed decisions Consider who are the poor Much depends on attitude – beware of tokenism A developing situation

32. RELATIONSHIPS, CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRANSPARENCY

33. Objectives • Show clear strategic understanding • Understand the ethos and heart of the School. • Take an interest • Support where possible • Avoid meddling in management • Keep time demands efficient and realistic • Understand and respect collective responsibility

34. Confidentiality & Transparency of Meetings • Statutory duty to publish minutes’ a complete myth! • Factors to consider: • Board policy or case-by-case approach? • Can confidentiality be maintained? • What of staff reaction and morale? • Should a summary of meetings be placed on the staff room notice board? • Should the above be available via the parents’ portal? • Is it better to be on the front foot and in control of events or defensive with control of information? • Note: Governors need to be able to speak with authority!

35. GOVERNORS’ APPEAL PANELS

36. Prior to the Appeal Hearing • Need for clear procedure and processes for the hearing. Beware the informal approach to the Chair! • All parties must have the relevant information at least five days before the hearing • Vital, time consuming role for the Clerk at this stage • Can also be very time consuming for governors • Appeals are proliferating • Impartiality (and its appearance) essential • Approach the big decisions with wisdom!

37. Contact Us • General Secretary - Stuart Westley gensec@agbis.org.uk 01438 840730 • Training & Membership Secretary - Nigel Noble training@agbis.org.uk 01963 33957 • Office Manager – Gillian Dobson admin@agbis.org.uk 01438 840730 • Accounts & Communications Manager – Carol Carty comms@agbis.org.uk 01438 840730 Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools (AGBIS) The Grange, 3 Codicote Road, Welwyn, Herts AL6 9LY