Good governance ‘essential to school improvement'

Released 19/05/2011

Ofsted says a good relationship between school governors and the leadership team is critical for schools to the quality of provision and pupil achievement

School governing bodies that clearly understand their roles and responsibilities, build productive relationships with school leaders, know their schools well and use the views of parents, pupils and the wider community are best equipped to drive improvement in their schools, an Ofsted report published this week has revealed.

Inspectors visited 14 schools where governance was judged outstanding and the report, ‘School governance: Learning from the best', identifies the key characteristics of those governing bodies and evidence reveals that there is a strong correlation between effective governance, the quality of leadership and management and the quality of provision and pupil achievement.

School governors are one of the largest volunteer groups in the country with more than 300,000 governors in England. Over the past 20 years, Ofsted says, school governing bodies have taken on more responsibility and their role has become more important as schools have gained increasing autonomy.

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert agreed that good governance is of "huge importance" in schools. "Governors play a critical role in guiding, supporting and challenging schools," she explained. "Members of governing bodies give up their time to do the very best they can for their schools, pupils and local communities and it is important that their contribution adds real value."

Gilbert says governors who know their school well, and are able to take and support hard decisions in the interests of pupils, will be in the best position to drive improvement at their school.

Governing bodies working harder

The governing bodies in the report use a wide range of information from a variety of sources to monitor the progress being made by their schools. They also engaged extensively with parents and the wider community to promote the schools' work.

Governors communicated with parents in a variety of ways, both formally and informally, so that they could gather their views about the school.

In one primary school, the governing body designed an annual questionnaire for parents, collated responses and provided parents with feedback. In addition, the governors consulted parents and pupils on a range of issues during the year if the need arose.

Governors also visited their schools to talk to staff and pupils, and to see the school in action. In eight of the 14 schools visited, governors routinely attended lessons to gather information about the pupils' experience in the school.

Emma Knights, chief executive of the National Governors' Association, said her organisation welcomed Ofsted's report. "School governance is a crucial component of ensuring school improvement in both maintained schools and academies, and it is increasingly important as schools are given more autonomy," she said.

Good governors also help with fundraising. All of the outstanding governing bodies visited by Ofsted used their business and wider community links to support the learning experiences of staff and pupils and act as champions of the school. This included securing additional resources and arranging visits for pupils.

In the schools visited, governance supported insightful, honest school self-evaluation. They were committed to making sure that all school staff, including the headteachers, were provided with meaningful opportunities for relevant professional development.

School leader support

School leaders have echoed the conclusions of the report.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "The combination of strong, inspirational leadership with a committed governing body is a formidable formula for turning schools into exceptional learning environments.

"The invaluable support that governing bodies can provide requires a relationship built on mutual respect, good communication and a shared vision for the school. Challenge is important, but poor relationships between school leaders and governors only impede progress.

"Ofsted itself has an important role to play in ensuring that schools receive the support they deserve and governors receive the recognition they deserve by continuing to specifically highlight the contribution made by governors in inspection reports."

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