Being an Effective Governor

The role of a governor is highly responsible and your accountability is significant. This is what the DfE (Department for Education) say about being an effective governor, and note you need to:

Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

Hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and

Oversee the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

This seems intimidating but you realise that it is the collective role of the governing body to do this and does not fall on your shoulders alone. Phew!

1.       Governors provide support and challenge at strategic level

This is a collective role, and it is important to have a clear appreciation of the role of governance and that of the head and senior team who ensure the operational function, whilst having an interest in the strategic leadership of the school.

Support and challenge means that governors ask often the tricky questions, and listen to the school’s answers to ensure that pupils’ outcomes are as good as possible. In discussing outcomes, this means progress from starting points (into nursery, middle school, KS2, sixth form and so on); behaviour and attitudes to learning – including attendance, rewards and sanctions; preparation for the next steps in education and training (whatever is suitable for the type of school you are in); and personal development.

It is not for governors to tell the school what and how to do things but to ensure that the outcomes for pupils are of as high a standard as possible. Challenge stereotypes and entrenched beliefs – young humans are immensely adaptable and habits of good learning give an advantage throughout life. Pupils have no limits to their capability, and can achieve almost anything with the right support and time. 

     2.   Building relationships with the staff and students

Get to know the school by attending events, assemblies, special occasions. Perhaps drop in for 30 minutes before a formal meeting or complete a short learning walk with a senior team colleague. If you are asked make time to attend disciplinary meetings or exclusion hearings, this is an important way of supporting the school.

3. Being part of a team of governors that makes an impact

It is the collective governing board that makes the difference and working as part of a team for the good of a school of children or young people will bring a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for you. A good school provides on-going training and information for its governors so that new skills and knowledge areas are developed, and takes the external perspective provided by governors into account when making important decisions. For most governors the role enables you to expand your understanding and perspective on education and your expertise from outside school can be brought to make a positive impact.

4. Challenge when needed for the school, and support too

Governors are often described as ‘critical friends’ to the school. Getting the right balance between criticism and friendliness is key. You don’t want a headteacher and senior team always on the defensive through excess criticism, but at the same time, a strong governing body challenges the school, through its senior staff, to further improve for the benefit of the pupils.

5. Using external sources to triangulate

Each year a range of data is made available to governors to provide an external check against the information given to you by the head and senior team. Take time to read and understand the RAISEonline report. It has a series of questions that governors can use to help understand how the school is doing compared to other similar ones and national averages. The autumn-published performance tables also allow governors to compare different data between schools.

Check what parents are saying on the ParentView website.

Reviews by external groups or individuals can also provide information to the governing board, such as a multi-academy trust review, or local authority safeguarding visit or Ofsted.

6.                6.  Stay strategic

Governance is about being shrewd, thoughtful, decisive, wise, discerning and prudent. It is about what is best for the pupils, first and foremost.


Dr. Fiona Hammans, Associate Director, Ease Training

Learning about Cyber Security - Tricky at Times!

This month I decided to share my own fears and uneasiness on Cyber Security. Having digested the feedback from our successful Cyber Risk event at Cheltenham College and having seen increasing news coverage of cyber-attacks, we knew that Cyber Security and Safeguarding is a vital area to investigate and educate for schools, staff and Governors. What was unclear when beginning to research this topic was the enormity of the subject, which, if ones spends time digging, can be a little daunting. Only yesterday I read the story about the Hairdresser, Stuart Holmes, in Cheltenham that now faces up to £7,000 in costs due to a hackers stealing data. They had paid for anti-virus software and thought they had an understanding of website security but their data was still left wide open to a cyber-attack (read the article here).

So what is Cyber security? There are many definitions, but for this purpose we mean the safety of information stored on computers, iPads, phones and other technology. Including the case above, there has been a remarkable increase in the volume of and sophistication of cyber-attacks, where our personal and client information is under threat. So we know that we should have safe and protected technology in our schools…. But how?

I recently attended a seminar at Gloucestershire University, run by Circle2Success. It was great and really informative (thank you). I listened to speakers including Buck Rogers, Head of Cyber Security at the Bank of England. Shortly afterwards, we at Ease Training have also updated our website security with the help of Skylight9Limited. Did you know it is important to hide your server technology on your website code, and ensure that you have a ‘X-XSS- Protection header’? Lost? All jargon? Don’t panic.

What I have learnt is that some of the language used within the Cyber world can be overwhelming and difficult to understand, which can dispel anyone from wanting to learn or even make decisions. There are, however, some really simple key points, which are vital, that anyone and everyone can grasp and deliver into their schools very quickly. 

On 27^th June 2016 due to the success of the previous event and in light of the recent attack very close to home, we are replicating our Cyber Risk event at Cheltenham Regency Hotel. We have brought together practical, down-to-earth speakers from many fields of expertise to ensure that this topic is accessible and relevant to all.

Kristine Scott, Partner, Education Team, Harrison Clark Rickerbys. Kristine is trusted by schools to provide support on a wide range of employment and education issues. Patrick works in the Cyber Growth team at GCHQ, which promotes Cyber Security as a subject of study, as well as a career. Detective Sergeant Nigel Hatten, Gloucestershire Constabulary. Nigel has twenty-four years’ police service primarily dealing with Major Crime and Child Protection and Sandra Shepherd, Strategic Lead, Gloucestershire County Council. Sandra manages Governor Services in the Education Performance and Inclusion team at the County Council as well as myself.

We will be announcing future events very soon, focusing on highlighting the issue and exploring the solutions which best work for you. This is a hot topic which needs to be thoroughly understood and most importantly our personal and business technology safe and protected!

Amber, Digital Marketing Manager, Ease Training

amber@easetraining.co.uk