W17 schools white paper - claire collins
- 1. Clare Collins Chair National Governors’ Association
- 2. The Schools White Paper: the end of the council role in education or a new beginning? 30th June 2011
- 3. • A membership organisation representing the voice of school governors in England at national and regional level • We aim to improve the effectiveness of governing bodies by providing expert and tailored information and advice • We represent governors from all state funded schools, including academies
- 4. Aims: To improve the well-being of children and young people by promoting high standards in all our schools, and improving the effectiveness of their governing bodies. We do this by: 1. Providing information, advice and training to Governors – EXPERT 2. Ensuring the voices of Governors are heard – REPRESENTATIVE 3. Being recognised as the leading organisation on school governance, exercising influence through high quality policy publications and communications, and through appropriate partnerships – INFLUENTIAL
- 5. The role NGA sees for councils in the local education system New clarity as the champion: • for parents and families • for vulnerable pupils • of educational excellence Still has a role: • as a provider of: – community schools – statutory services • when standards drop or serious issues arise e.g. financial irregularities • appointing Authority governors for community schools
- 6. What support do governors want from councils? • Training and development • Information, Advice, Guidance: – current issues – system changes – professional matters (HR, legal, finance) • Consultancy i.e. School Improvement Partner role for: – data analysis – performance management – school improvement support
- 7. What are the challenges and opportunities in a system with more school autonomy? – NGA asks governing bodies to think carefully about the notion of greater autonomy / tension between autonomy and collaboration – Reduction in LA central funds may impact on depth and breadth of service provision, cross subsidisation and economies of scale / challenge for LAs will be to decide which services to retain, and to maintain the quality of those that they do – Challenge for GBs will be to ensure their schools are equipped with the time and skills to: • assess the LA offer • to look elsewhere if alternatives are required • to quality assure • to judge value for money and price stability
- 8. How will things work if the majority of schools choose academy status? LA services may: – focus on the statutory – struggle to fulfil strategic functions e.g. place planning – be more focused on ‘disaster’ management – become uneconomic
- 9. What does the future hold? – Time of transition → period of uncertainty … – Challenge is for governing bodies to be truly strategic i.e. deciding what their values and aims are, and how best they can be delivered – Governing bodies should be asking themselves: • Is our governing body fit for purpose? • Do we have governors with the right skills to do the job? • Where will we get the support that we need?
- 10. NGA’s view on the proposals to reform school funding and bring in a national funding formula – NGA has responded to the consultation – Recognises that the current system needs reform – Supports some flexibility in order to address local issues
- 11. www.nga.org.uk [email protected] 0121 237 3780