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Jim Knight launches major review into strengthening school governance
A major review to strengthen school governing bodies and make them more effective has been launched today by Schools Minister Jim Knight.
The review, announced by the Secretary of State Ed Balls in the Children�s Plan last December, will develop firm proposals to give every school a highly skilled, smaller and better trained governing body to deliver the best service they can for the children and parents in their communities.
Mr Knight will chair a working group to advise ministers on equipping governing bodies to give schools clear, strategic direction and ethos; listen to parents and local communities; and be at the heart of turning around underperforming schools. It will report by the autumn.
It will build on the very best work of England�s 22,700 maintained school governing bodies and advise ministers on how this can be mirrored in all areas.
The group will also make recommendations on how governing bodies can support the wider vision for schools set out in the Children�s Plan - with extended facilities for young people and adults and linking up with neighbouring schools, other children�s services and outside organisations, including colleges, employers and health and social services.
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls said:
�Governing bodies are the largest volunteer group in the country and have a proud tradition of serving their communities. No one can doubt their long-term commitment to improving the lives of children and I value having people prepared to invest their time and experience in our schools.
�But we know that some schools have difficulty recruiting governors with the necessary skills and that, in some cases, governing bodies are not able to provide the right balance of challenge and drive.
�We want to raise the profile of school governors, attract talented and skilled people into this vital role, and provide them with the best support. I want every school to be governed with a strong focus on driving up standards and securing the best outcomes for every child.
�We need all governing bodies to lead the work of school improvement. Strong governors are central to turning around underperforming schools and will be key to raising standards in our 638 National Challenge schools, where less than 30 per cent get five A* to C GCSEs, including English and maths.�
Schools Minister Jim Knight said:
�A consistent theme from research is that the most effective governors take a strategic role in guiding and supporting the school�s work and challenging headteachers to take their schools on to the next level.
�There is clear evidence that there is a relationship between good governance and pupils� achievements, the quality of teaching, as well as the quality of leadership and management.
�Our review and working group will draw on this to come up with clear proposals to equip school governing bodies for the future.�
To support the working group, the Department is today also publishing a summary of what some of the research evidence tells us about school governance. Findings relevant to the review include:
Latest figures suggest that there are approximately between 235,000-350,000 school governors in England with 11 per cent of posts vacant. Vacancies are particularly evident in inner city areas.
Some research has found that particular groups are under-represented as governors, including black and minority groups, disabled people, young people, lone parents, those with low incomes, those who are unemployed and business people.
Some governors have said that they find it difficult to challenge the head teacher and preferred to work collaboratively with them;
In 2006/07 the majority of schools carried out their governing duties at a satisfactory level (judged by Ofsted inspections to be satisfactory or better). However in 2001/2002, 53% of primary school governing bodies were judged to be �good� or better, compared to 34% of secondary school governing bodies;
A recent survey of headteachers revealed much variation in the perceived effectiveness of governing bodies - approximately one in five were described as �very effective� but a similar proportion as �ineffective�;
In schools which are judged by Ofsted to be �inadequate�, governing bodies failed to hold leaders to account for its overall effectiveness and did not adequately monitor the school to know its strengths and weaknesses; and
A recent study of governing bodies that had joined together in a federation demonstrated significantly higher proportion of pupils gaining five A* to Gs GCSEs and a higher contextual value added score.
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09 May 2008 |
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09 May 2008 |
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