This is a short pdf about holding to account for school governors. It poses some questions and offers some definitions on which governors can reflect. It does not provide any answers but poses some suggestions for discussion.

1. Holding to
Account
December 2020
Fee Stagg – National Leader of
Governance

2. Contacts
www.hempstallstsa.org.uk
www.sbwgovernance.co.uk
Fee Stagg
Twitter @dogpaws23

3. About this presentation
• This is a copy of a webinar I led on the 14th December 2020 for local
governors of small multi academy trust.
• The slides have been shared with the permission of the commissioner –
The Hempstalls Teaching School Alliance.
• In November I posed a challenge on Twitter asking people to describe
holding to account in 240 characters and these tweets form a key part of
the presentation.
• The webinar was about helping governors to self reflect and think about
holding to account means to them, their governing boards and trusts, and
to them personally if they are a link or nominated governor.
• You may have other definitions or you may disagree – what matters is that
everyone around your governing board table has the confidence to hold to
account – not just the leaders but each other.

4. Remember
there is no
such thing as
a silly
question…

5. Context
• 3 core functions
• 6 key features
• The trust – it’s structures and what it delegates
(terms of reference)
What contribution does the LGB make and how can
we do it better?
Everybody has a story – team building is important –
you are not alone.

6. Governors
amd Trustees
We all have other commitments
We each have different skills and interests
We each have different beliefs
We all chose to be Governors
We all need to understand the boundaries
Governing boards are corporate so decisions
are made collectively not individually.
We all have the same goal – improving pupil
outcomes and wellbeing of all
We all sign up to “Come as you are and leave
as a champion!”

7. Competency Framework – 2017

8. Creating the right
environment
Where does governance happen?

9. Challenge versus conflict

10. What is holding to
account and where
will we find it?

11. I asked some
people what they
thought holding
to account meant
to them and this
is what they said…
1. Are we staying true to our values, culture &
ethos?
2. Are we making sufficient progress towards
our vision, strategy & development plan?
3. Do we fully understand your current
challenges?
4. Do you feel sufficiently supported by
governors?
5. What could we have done better?

12. In the broadest terms, did you do what you
said you were going to do? (Subsidiary
questions: If not why not? If yes, how did that
work out?)
Are decisions being made in the best interests
of the children and school community and in
keeping with what we've agreed is important
to move our school in the direction we'd all
like?
Defensible decision-making
I asked some
people what they
thought holding to
account meant to
them and this is
what they said…

13. Has what you did had the impact you
expected? If not, why not? And what are you
now going to do and why?
Asking for (usually evidence supported)
assurance and/or explanation.
Have you done what you have been tasked
with and given the responsibility to do?
I asked some
people what they
thought holding
to account meant
to them and this
is what they said…

14. Setting clear targets and goals; agreeing
how progress will be measured and the
timeframe; reviewing progress/ delivery at
agreed times and then assessing whether
the targets were met at the agreed end
point and any mitigating factors that have
led to under or overperformance. It’s hard
to hold someone to account if you don’t
agree at the outset what success/delivery
will look like.
I asked some
people what they
thought holding
to account meant
to them and this
is what they
said…

15. Here's the thing: If you're monitoring every
single thing that goes on in a given culture, if
you have all the information that is there to be
had, then that is the equivalent of having
none of it. How are you going to process that
amount of information?
Not everything needs a reaction.
I asked some
people what they
thought holding
to account meant
to them and this
is what they said…

16. I asked some
people what they
thought holding
to account meant
to them and this
is what they
said…
• Impact prioritisation!!!
• Understanding which strategies are going
well/not well
• Resourcing the organisation -specifically the
strategic plan
• Assurance about compliance - reports from
external expert

17. Monitoring is
about
Strategic monitoring - school improvement
Monitoring the vision and culture of school
Monitoring compliance
Seeking staff views, pupil voice, parental voice
Community engagement (including local
business etc..)

18. Board
Reports
The minimum requirements are;
• Information you get enables you to know your
school
• Alert you to changes affecting the organisation
• Alert you to changes impacting strategic aims
• Focus on progress, attainment, behaviour and
attendance
• High level reporting which RAG rated milestones
• Significant changes to risk register

19. LGBs – why are you there?
LGBs are a full and formal part of the trust governance structure and can:
1. Support the effective operation of the trust and its policies
2. Provide support and challenge to the local (school level) executive (although trusts
must be careful to make sure accountability is clear and not muddled through local
reporting to the LGB and CEO)
3. Provide a vehicle for trust board engagement with the school, its parents and local
community, to help ensure that the Academy Trustees stay connected. Trusts may
choose to bring in people to sit on LGBs who provide links to the local community, in
addition to parents.
4. Bring issues and risks to the attention of the trust board. It is important that the board
listens and responds to concerns the LGBs may raise.
5. Provide constructive feedback to the board where a policy may not be effective in the
local context, and suggest alternative approaches
6. Help ensure the trust works as one entity, in the interests of all its schools equally

20. What happens in the gaps is really
interesting…

21. Core Function 1 – Trust or School Values
Do you know what they are?
How do you hold to account in relation to living your values?

22. How to generate questions

23. Vision and Accountability
a) To carry forward the vision, in a way appropriate to the specific
qualities and community characteristics of each academy.
b) Implementation of actions required to comply with statutory
regulations
c) Implementation of the policies.
d) Holding leadership to account for academic performance, quality of
care and quality of provision
e) others?

24. Core Function 3 – Finance at LGB level
Finances and Assets – 11 tasks
Academy budget - monitor the spending of the budget each term and review
the outturn at the end of each academic year. Except where prior permission
has been obtained from the Trustees, the academy budget is to be prepared
to show break even or better.
Accounts and Audit - monitor the spending of the budget each term and
review the outturn at the end of each academic year.
Risk Management - review the academy risk register and seek assurance
that risk management is effective.
Appointments - monitoring local HR activity and policy, including the process
for local performance reviews for members of staff and in particular ensuring
that it is within the parameters for the particular academy from time to time
established by the Trust.

25. Triangulation

26. Context to all
your
questions
• Scheme of delegation in a trust
• Terms of reference
• Headline information – your school and the
trust
• Headteacher report
• Link reports
• Your own CPD/learning

27. Themes
Teaching, Learning and Curriculum
• How do we ensure our pupils receive a broad
and balanced education?
• How do we know that the curriculum meets the
particular needs of each of our pupils?
• How do you ensure that the curriculum across
the school promotes the ethos of the school
and the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and
cultural development?
• How do we ensure students gain the skills they
need (as well as the knowledge) and develop
appropriate attitudes to enable them to flourish
in and outside of school?

28. Themes
Asking questions about
• Catch up funding
• Pupil premium
• SEND
• Safeguarding
• Policies
• Staffing
• Cohort data
• Outcomes
• IT

29. What do we need to
know for Ofsted?
Always ask about
1. Safeguarding
2. Pupil Premium/Disadvantage/ Catch
Up
3. Outcomes/curriculum
4. They will do a Deep Dive into
subjects of concern as well as
others doing well.

30. Different
perspectives
Summary
• Diversity of thinking requires skills to reach
agreement
• Groupthink
• Your questions have value – ask them

31. Finally pay attention to detail!