There is no doubt that for a Governance Board to be effective (Advisory or Decision Making), Board reporting also needs to be effective.
Acknowledging that an Ofsted inspection focuses on only certain aspects of a Board’s responsibilities, it is noteworthy that board reporting is one of the most commonly recurring criticisms, with inspectors invariably pointing the finger at leaders and managers.
For example:
- Senior leaders do not provide governors with enough robust information to enable them to make informed decisions about the quality of education.
- Leaders do not provide those responsible for governance with enough information for them to challenge and support improvements to the quality of training.
Whilst many providers have very robust reporting arrangements, others have a distance to travel. Capacity, capability, naivety and attitudes can all play their part in creating a reporting deficit.
So, what of the new inspection toolkit. In acknowledging that the Toolkit is likely to change before implementation of the new framework, there are some takeaways that Boards and senior leaders should be starting to consider.
In our opinion, the following makes for a useful checklist:
- Governors have an accurate understanding of the provider’s context, strengths and weaknesses. This informs the actions they take.
- Governors conduct their roles effectively to support the provider’s strategic aims and values.
- Governors perform their statutory duties fully.
- Governors challenge the provider’s support and provision for disadvantaged learners and learners with SEND.
- Governors are highly effective at holding leaders to account.
- Governors are highly effective at supporting leaders’ well-being.
The new framework will likely require incremental changes in approach for many providers, for some providers, however, something more transformational may be more appropriate.
Footnote
Solvendis regularly run seminars on ‘Establishing an Effective Board’, ‘Effective Board Reporting’ and ‘Safeguarding and Prevent for Board Members’
