Ofsted Inspector Rob Hackfath discussed school performance in the West Midlands and priorities for good governance at a governors' conference in Walsall on 14 May 2016.

1. Date
Tackling ‘Amateurish’
Governance
Governors’ Conference
Rob Hackfath HMI
Ofsted, West Midlands
14 May 2016

2. The Future of Inspection
How are we doing in the West Midlands?
What are our priorities for governance?
Delegate Discussion and Questions

3.  The overall performance of secondary schools continues
to lag behind that of primaries.
 This is a divided nation after the age of 11: children in the
North and the Midlands are much less likely to attend a
good or outstanding secondary school.
Annual Report 2014/15

4.  Structural solutions alone will not be enough to address
this gap in quality. We need better oversight, more good
leaders and teachers, and a greater focus on the most
disadvantaged, particularly in isolated areas of the
country.
 Schools working in isolation are more likely to decline
than those working as part of a group of schools,
whether that is with the local authority or a multi-
academy trust.
Annual Report 2014/15

5. How are we doing in
the West Midlands?

6. The proportion of good or better early years
by local authority, August 2015

7. | 7
The proportion of good or better primary
schools by local authority, December
2015

8. The proportion of good or better secondary
schools by local authority, December 2015

9. FSM attainment by local authority (5+ GCSEs
including English and maths) 2015

11. Outcomes for looked after children
in the West Midlands
27%
40%

12. West Midlands Priorities 2015/16

13. What are our priorities for
governance?

14. The role that governance plays in an
increasingly autonomous education
system
HMCI Sir Michael Wilshaw Nov 2015:
"21st century governance needed for 21st century
schools. Five hundred failing governing boards
identified by Ofsted this year – time for a re-think?
Governors and trustees are there to set the school’s
vision, ethos and strategic direction. They are also
expected to hold the headteacher to account for
the performance of teachers and pupils, and to
ensure that public money is being well spent.”

15. The importance of governance
“It would be unrealistic to expect every member of the
governing board to have a deep knowledge of educational
issues. However, for the 2 or 3 people who hold the most
senior roles on the board, and who could be responsible
for ‘cascading’ training to other members, I believe this is
essential.”

16. Inspectors will consider whether
governors:
 work effectively with leaders to communicate the vision, ethos
and strategic direction of the school and develop a culture of
ambition
 provide a balance of challenge and support to leaders,
understanding the strengths and areas needing improvement at
the school
 provide support for an effective headteacher or are hindering
school improvement because of a lack of understanding of
the issues facing the school
 understand how the school makes decisions about teachers’
salary progression and performance
 performance manage the headteacher rigorously

17. Inspectors will consider whether
governors:
 understand the impact of teaching, learning and
assessment on the progress of pupils currently in the school
 ensure that assessment information from leaders provides
governors with sufficient and accurate information to ask
probing questions about outcomes for pupils
 ensure that the school’s finances are properly managed and
can evaluate how the school is using the pupil premium and
the primary PE and sport premium
 are transparent and accountable, including in recruitment of
staff, governance structures, attendance at meetings and
contact with parents.

18.  Inspectors will recommend an external review if governance is weak.
 Under ‘What the school should do to improve further’, inspectors
should use the following words in the report:
‘An external review of governance should be undertaken
in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and
management may be improved.’
 The school should decide how this review will take place and
commission it. Reviews should be developmental. They do not
represent a further inspection, although inspectors will follow up on the
review during any subsequent inspection. Full details of what might be
the form and nature of such reviews can be found at:
www.gov.uk/reviews-of-school-governance.
External reviews of governance

19. In the most effective schools, governors
know the school well and provide robust
challenge to senior leaders
This analysis is based on what inspectors chose to comment on as particular strengths.

20. Common issues with governance noted in
inspection reports
 not ambitious about expectations
 lack of a critical friend approach
 over-reliance on information from the headteacher
 lack of systematic visits to school
 lack of engagement with school development planning
 limited role in monitoring, and none of it ‘independent’
 limited understanding of data and the school’s effectiveness.

21. Delegate Discussion leading
to Questions

22. Discussion: How
well does your
governing body
monitor the impact
of the Pupil
Premium funding?

23. Common issues with governance noted in
inspection reports
Discussion: Do you
recognise these
issues in your
governors board and
if so what can be
done by you to
address this?
HT Fan club Partnership
Go-alongs Antagonists

24. Questions to consider

25. Questions to consider
 What is your evaluation of the school’s overall effectiveness at
this stage of its development?
 How do you know?
 Consider areas for improvement and vulnerabilities: leadership,
governance, staffing, finance, roll, premises
 How have governors supported and challenged the
performance of the school in relation to teaching, learning and
assessment?
 Can you provide a practical example?
 What is the impact on learners and staff in the school?
 How do you know this?

26. Questions to consider
 What is your involvement in the performance management of
the headteacher and the staff?
 What proportion of the teaching staff made progress up the
school’s pay scale last year?
 How do you know this?
 How well are the pupils in Year 1/3/8 doing?
 Is the assessment information that you are given accurate?
 Which groups of pupils in which year groups are you particularly
concerned about at the present time?
 How do you know?

27. Questions to consider
 Can we discuss the use of funding for disadvantaged pupils?
 Where has the funding had its biggest impact?
 In which year group has the funding not enabled disadvantaged
pupils to catch up with their peers?
 What is the school doing about this?
 Last year, pupils did not reach the national average in
mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4.
 What changes has the school made to address this issue?
 Has the curriculum been changed to address this
underachievement?
 How do you know?

28. https://www.gov.uk/ofsted
http://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/
And many of our presentations are at:
Ofsted on the web and on social media
https://uk.linkedin.com/company/ofsted
@Ofstednews
http://www.slideshare.net/Ofstednews