This document outlines some thoughts on skills audits for governors. It suggests that current skills audits may not provide a full picture of the skills, knowledge, experience, capacity and commitment of board members. A more comprehensive approach could involve auditing additional attributes like knowledge and behaviors. Regular evaluation of these attributes could help boards understand governance strengths and identify development areas to improve decision making. The document aims to generate discussion on how skills audits and evaluations could be enhanced to provide a richer understanding of what each member brings to the board.
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Governor Skills Audits - some thoughts
1. GOVERNOR SKILLS AUDITS – SOMETHOUGHTS
Fiona Stagg, National Leader of Governance
October 2018
www.sbwgovernance.co.uk
Twitter @sbwgovernance
2. INTRODUCTION
This is a presentation which outlines a personal opinion.You may disagree with what I’ve
said but I merely offer it as a talking point or conversation starter. I am not challenging the
need to do audits rather I wonder if they go far enough? As an Independent Clerk I am
honoured to work with a range of boards who all do skills audits. As an NLG I work with
boards to help them refocus.
We need to ask more often – why?
3. WHY NOW?
Some of the issues which led me to draft this presentation were
• An LA finance and governance audit which was damning with faint praise and identified issues regarding a skills
audit which I knew about but had not actioned.
• Anecdotal concerns amongst some of the experienced chairs I am working with as a clerk and NLG that
current skills audits are a blunt tool.
• The realisation that skills audits are done once and often then only referred to when there’s a recruitment
need not a problem solving need.
• That we don’t talk about our experience, knowledge, capacity and commitment in positive ways often enough.
We don’t celebrate what we do well as a collective.
• Skills audit should be the starting point not the end in itself. It is not a tick box, done once and it’s over with
exercise. If it wasn’t would we get better engagement?
4. THIS MUCH ISTRUE
• We all chose to be Governors and trustees
• We all have other commitments
• We each have different skills and interests
• We each have different beliefs
• We all need to understand the boundaries between the strategic and the operational
• But we must all have the same goal – improving pupil outcomes
5. WHAT ARE THE NON NEGOTIABLES?
• That everyone has the right to induction training
• That everyone should read the Governance Handbook (which used to be called the Governors Guide to
the Law which is a more assertive title!)
• That the Competency Framework is a good place to start but is not a checklist
• That governors and trustees are volunteers and have the right to have their commitment recognised and
respected
• Everyone does safeguarding training
• Everyone should have a mentor of governor buddy
• What are yours?
6. GOVERNANCE HANDBOOK
Para 7.1.3 states
Boards should carry out regular audits of the skills they possess in the light of the skills and
competences they need, taking account of the department’s Competency framework for governance,
and actively seek to address any gaps they identify – through either recruitment or training.
It does not give advice on HOW…
• Often is ‘regular’
• To carry out the audits
• To evaluate and analyse but the skills audits “must be aligned to the organisations strategic plan” eg
School Development or Improvement Plan
7. ASSUMPTIONS
That the board
• Has recognised it has skills and knowledge “deficit”
• Recognises that a range of skills is required
• Has an awareness of what it doesn’t know
• Knows it has unconscious bias
8. ASSUMPTIONS
• Do we assume that everyone knows what they need to know?There is a lot to read – do
we share the reading load?Without the background knowledge how can we effectively
complete the skills audit?
• What is the impact of this assumption on our decision making? Do we take silence for
assent?
9. CURRENT SKILLS AUDIT MODEL
• Annual skills audit usually carried out in the AutumnTerm – this is the analysed and gaps
used to identify where skills needed – usually HR and legal?
• Finance Audit for SFVS and ESFA
• Skills audit when joining a board
• Not referred to again during the year
Tick box exercise?
10. NEEDTO ASK
• What drives our board? Compliance, risk avoidance, educational outcomes?
• Who drives our board?The chair, the head, the clerk?
• What is our why? The core purpose, the moral imperative
• When is our how – when do we do this? Just at meetings…?
• Who is present?Who needs to be?
• Who checks?
Then should we ask what skills do we need? Is the skills audit the cart before the horse?
12. MYTH BUSTER
The headteacher and staff governor should fill in the skills audits too, as should associate
members.
You need to know who is round the table.
13. AUDITS USED INCLUDE
• Governance Competency Framework
• NGA or derivatives https://www.nga.org.uk/Guidance/Workings-Of-The-Governing-
Body/Governance-Tools/Skills-Audit.aspx
• The Key
• Local Authority
• For trust boards the ICSA have a number of tools
How about an audit of behaviours against the Nolan Principles?
14. NOLAN PRINCIPLES
1. Selflessness – do we govern with the best intentions?
2. Integrity – do we do the best we can do and good enough is not good enough?
3. Objectivity – are we aware of what influences us?
4. Accountability – our second core function but what does it really mean and feel like?
5. Openness – are we as democratic as we say we are? Do we screen new governors and
trustees for fit to ourselves or to the needs of the school or academy?
6. Honesty – our third core function.
7. Leadership – do we understand good leadership?
15. YOU?
• How comfortable, or uncomfortable, do those questions make you feel?
• Are you aware of your biases?
• Is your team balanced and diverse?
• Do you challenge yourself – do you reflect?
• Do you make assumptions about what other people know and do? How well do you
know your team?
• Have you gained skills from being a governor which have helped you outside the role?
16. LEADERSHIP
Have you or someone on your board
• Undertaken governance leadership training – current and previous
• Other leadership training eg at work, through being a third sector trustee
• Discussed what leadership is, looks like in your school or academy etc?
If so was this shared with others? How?
17. CURRENT SKILLS MODEL
The Skills Model used by 84% of schools (according to NGA survey) looks at
1. Strategic leadership
2. Accountability
3. People
4. Structures
5. Compliance
6. Evaluation
18. DOESTHIS GIVE ONLY A ‘PARTIAL’ PICTURE?
Other ‘facets’ are
• Knowledge - difference between having and using, and knowing when to use
• Experience and how we can use this
• Capacity – time, availability, openness, willingness
• Commitment - goes beyond ‘improving education and welfare for all pupils’?
19. DOWE NEEDTO BE MORE…
• 3D not just 360°?
• More problem solving and solution focused?
• Looking at skills more often and asking questions about the skills of the people making
each of key the decisions?
• Evidence based?
• Less reactive more proactive?
• Inclusive?
23. RELIES ON
• Governors and trustees being honest about their skills…not underestimating their skills
and knowledge.The opposite can be true too…
• Being confident in the answers given
• A certain degree of pragmatism
24. SKILLS – DO GOVERNORS SAY?
I am not sure what skills I can bring to the board
No one has asked, never had induction, not sure what skills I need to be a governor
I am not sure what skills I can bring to the board
No one has asked, never had induction, not sure what skills I need to be a governor
I have been asked what my skills are…in which case
How was this done? Skills audit, a conversation with Chair, at a meeting, when needed?
I mostly feel my skills are used
I always feel my skills are useful and valuable
25. SKILLS – AREYOU?
Using ideas from other places but
they might not fit?
Linking, making connections,
sharing, moving forward, assessing
impact?
Looking round, being attentive,
horizon scanning?
27. MYTH BUSTER
You do not have to have an educational background to be a governor or trustee.
28. TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE
1. Specific eg safeguarding, finance, HR, risk, H&S, SEN – explicit knowledge
2. Overarching eg school improvement, governance – tacit knowledge/assumed?
3. Qualified – done F2F training, been on CPD courses, safeguarding, assessed impact of
training, certificated on line modules –is this embedded knowledge
29. DOYOU EVER?
Attend training and wonder what was the value?
Come away feeling empowered but done nothing with the knowledge and ideas?
Forget to mention you’ve done training? Read something useful?
Properly discuss impact of your training?
30. KNOWLEDGE – SOME QUESTIONS
• What are the key things we need to know?
• When do we need to know them?
• How do we know we need to know them?
• Does everyone need to know them and if not what does everyone need to know?
(Competency Framework is a useful guide)
• How are we going to ensure we know?The skills audit won’t help but a knowledge audit
might.
31. KNOWLEDGEVERSUS INTEREST
Ask yourself
I know nothing about this so I am going to find out because it interests me AND there is a
definable benefit to myself and the board
I will then
• Report back
• Use the knowledge in a link visit/learning walk
• Think about next steps
32. MUSTN’T BEWEIGHED DOWN BY QUESTIONS
We need to look up and outwards and by doing
so our questions will improve?
34. MYTH BUSTER
You do not have to have an educational background to be a governor or trustee.
Yes, this is a repeated slide!
35. THE PEOPLE ROUNDTHE TABLE
NGA document The right people around the table: a guide to recruiting and retaining school
governors and trustees
This states
The chair (as leader of the governing board), with the support of the clerk (as constitutional and
procedural adviser), is responsible for the capability of the whole governing board
37. EXPERIENCE MATTERS
• Have we been here before? – organisational memory, long serving governors have a key
role. Don’t dismiss their opinions because yo think they haven’t kept up.
• Different approaches to the issues – no one answer, decision making is not linear
• Different perspectives – different voices. How diverse is your board or does it keep
mirroring itself?The leadership team eg in the chair’s own likeness?
• What goes around comes around?
39. CAPACITYVERSUS CAPABILITY
Capability is a feature, an ability, or competence that can be developed in a person.
Capacity is the ability to hold, accommodate, or receive something.This is different to
capability
Governors are volunteers – it is easy to forget this!
40. WHAT ISYOUR GOVERNANCE CAPACITY?
• Have you asked how much time people have before you set expectations?
• Have found f ways to increase capacity by being more focused? Reduce unnecessary
committees, delegation, distribute leadership?
• Have you done this be design or by osmosis?
• Have you asked what people are interested in? Helping governors make a positive choice
about which link areas they lead could mean more engagement? ‘square peg in round hole?
• Are you doing too much that does not need to be done? Do you stray into the operational? Do
you do things without being asked because you think they need doing/that no one else will do
them/that only you can do it? How does this make you feel? Others round the table feel?
42. DEMONSTRATING COMMITMENT
Internal
▪ Attendance at meetings and engagement therein
▪ Link visits and learning walks – do we have the skills to do these?
▪ Being on committees
• School events – attending these are not governance per se
External
• Independent learning and CPD
• Networking
43. DEMONSTRATING COMMITMENT
Personal
• Being on time
• Reading the papers in advance
• Asking questions
• Understanding challenge
• Being focused
• Doing CPD
• Sharing
44. DEMONSTRATING COMMITMENT
Board
• Self evaluation
• Skills Audits
• External Review of Governance
• Networking
• Being quorate
• Respect one another – celebrate more, listen more
• Ensuing compliance with the statutory and mandatory
48. THE TEST OF REASONABLENESS
• There will be skills gaps on your board
• There is a governor recruitment problem in some parts of the country
• Do not expect miracles – people are volunteers
• Accept what you cannot change
• It’s not what you ask people to do it’s the way you ask them
• Respect what people do
• Be reasonable in your approach – no one is perfect!
49. REMEMBERTHIS…
…grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the
courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the
difference…
50. IT’S ALL ABOUT
Understanding and respecting the
• Skills
• Knowledge
• Experience
• Capacity
• Commitment
Of those around the table and in those you haven’t met yet
51. THANKYOU FOR READING – FEEDBACK
WELCOME!
Twitter @sbwgovernance
www.sbwgovernance.co.uk
