NewsletterMoving towards transformational governance - 24/25

Dear all, 

Welcome back to a new academic year!

I hope you all had a restful and rejuvenating summer break.

Supporting Our Governors: Key Insights & Next Steps

As we embark on this new year, I wanted to share some key insights from the 1:1 meetings we held with the majority of our school Chairs last term. It's clear that we have an exceptional group of dedicated and talented individuals governing our schools. Their passion and commitment are truly inspiring.

Governor Feedback & Support

Whilst there were lots of positives about how we support and work with governors I've identified several recurring themes from these meetings that will help us even better support our governors in fulfilling their roles.

These include:

• Clear guidance on training
• More concise and accessible Headteacher reports
• Improved communication within the trust

Clear Guidance on Training

To address the need for clear guidance on training, a governance training matrix has been produced. This matrix aligns with the Governance pillar within the Transforming Schools School Improvement Framework. Click here for the Governance Training Matrix.  BOM's & SBM's can now use this matrix to frame the conversations with the Chair, and individual governors about their training journey, and also ensure that an accurate training log is kept within GovernorHub so that the development of the governing board can be evidenced over time, and used in order to inform where further training is required.  

Headteacher Reports

Headteacher reports need to be concise and accessible. We need to move away from 'education speak' and focus on highlighting key data for interrogation. This will allow for a more exception-based reporting and will be welcomed by your governors. Click here for an example of a concise and accessible Headteacher report as recommended by the NGA. 

Improved Communication Within the Trust

We understand that network meetings can add to the time burden on our volunteer governors. Therefore, instead of the network meetings we will continue instead with the 1:1 Chair meetings in 2024-25. We will also try to attend at least one of your LGB meetings during the academic year. As Trust Leaders, we encourage you to keep your governing board abreast of trust news and developments. Trustees are also considering ways to connect more closely with our governors, who are our eyes and ears in our local schools and their wider communities.  The monthly governance newsletters will also continue and we encourage you to read them so that you are fully informed as to what governors may need to consider, or need your support with. 

Using GovernorHub to its Full Potential

We encourage you to make full use of the GovernorHub platform. Use the platform to send messages instead of emails, and utilise the chat feature, and other features to communicate and support governors.

Appreciation for Governors

The feedback from Chairs was overwhelmingly positive. They value the support they receive and enjoy their roles. Being a governor within the trust feels a rewarding experience that allows individuals to contribute directly to their local communities, to make a real difference.

The Importance of Governance

Governance is central to your leadership and management responsibilities as Headteachers, supported by your BOMs & SBMs. Thank you for all that you do to promote strong governance relationships throughout the trust. Your efforts ensure school and trust compliance, and contribute to a maturing governance models of best practice across our family.

Become a Governor

Being a governance volunteer is a fantastic opportunity to gain new and transferable skills to support your professional development. It also allows you to network with like-minded professionals. If you are interested in volunteering to become a governor or trustee, either inside or outside of our trust, then please do not hesitate to get in touch. We can help introduce you to some key contacts. Colleagues from the educational sector are highly sought-after by schools and MATs, so you won't be short of opportunities!

Feedback Welcome

If you have any questions, need anything clarifying, or want to provide feedback on this newsletter, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Best wishes, 

Alison

We’re excited to announce that preparations for the Nova Transformational Awards are in full swing! As a reminder, this prestigious event will be held on Thursday 28th November 2024 in the The Great Hall of The University of Nottingham, starting at 5.00pm.

A Night to Remember

We’re thrilled to confirm that the talented Geeta Pendse will once again grace the stage as our award host. Her engaging personality and expertise in current affairs make her the perfect choice to celebrate our achievements.

Even better news? The entire event is being externally sponsored, which means you can look forward to a fantastic evening!   We extend our sincere thanks to our headline sponsors, Retinue Talent Acquisition and Equans UK & Ireland, who will be visiting several of our schools in the coming weeks to build even stronger relationships with the trust.

Key Dates and Actions

Entry Deadline: Tuesday 1st October 2024

Review the award scheme and entry process here: Award Categories and Nomination Criteria

Please discuss the awards and  your entries at your first LGB meeting of 2024. 

Press Team Footage Deadline: 18th October 2024

Upload all footage to the SharePoint site: https://torchacademygatewaytrust.sharepoint.com/sites/PupilPressTeam

Ensure footage meets quality standards for inclusion in the awards video.  No footage means no inclusion in the film to be shown on the night.  So please make sure your delegated staff member understands their role, and is working ahead of the deadline date.   See 'School Press Team' article in this newsletter for further information and feedback. 

Awards Ceremony: Thursday 28th November 2024

Venue: The Great Hall, The University of Nottingham

Time: 5.00pm

Get Involved!

We encourage all schools to participate in the Nova Transformational Awards. Your hard work and dedication deserve recognition. Don’t forget to engage your LGB in discussions about the awards and plan your entries accordingly.

You’ll soon receive formal invitations and ticket allocations for the event. We can’t wait to celebrate your successes with you!

If you have any questions about the awards, the entry process, or the press team requirements, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Let’s make this year’s Nova Transformational Awards even better!

We asked before the summer break that every school upload the footage they had gathered so far to Sharepoint.  Many thanks to those of you who ensured this happened.  Over the summer Ed Collard has reviewed the footage and has asked that we share with you his feedback.

Great footage from:

• Birklands Primary School
• Nottingham Free School
• NUAST
• Robert Miles Infants
• SCITT
• The Suthers School

Keep it coming, and keep refreshing yourself on the rules - rule of thirds, sound is critical and lots of cutaways. 

Can we have even more from :

• Firbeck - cutaways please as there are none uploaded.
• Meden - more school activity please.  Only footage uploaded was Mock election and also cutaways needed.  
• NUSA -  more needed and please make sure the footage meets the requirements so we can use it.
• Westdale - some good  clips, but please make sure the camera is shooting in the correct format (horizontal not vertical).  Remember the film will be shown on a TV screen not on a phone.

We didn't unfortunately haven any footage uploaded from:

• The Garibaldi School
• Kirk Hallam Community Academy
• Melton Vale College
• Toot Hill School
• Victoria Primary School

No footage unfortunately means no inclusion in the film to be shown on the night of the Transformational Awards, or indeed any other films we decide to commission.  So please make sure your delegated staff member understands their role, and is working ahead of the deadline date.   

The deadline for getting your footage into Sharepoint is the 18th October 2024!

So lets start with a brief recap of the precise responsibilities of a Headteacher in relation to governance. 

Headteachers:

• welcome the role of effective governance, including accepting responsibility for it
• ensure staff understand their professional responsibilities and are held to account
• work within the required regulatory frameworks and meets all statutory duties
• maintain positive working relationships with fellow trust professionals
• present a coherent and accurate account of performance
• support the shared trust ethos and actively promote the ethos and the vision
• develop and sustain effective stakeholder partnerships with staff, pupils, parents and wider stakeholders

Along with your governing boards your aim is to make the governance in your school transformational, so please remember to  assess your progress against the Governance Pillar within the Transforming Schools School Improvement Framework.  

and BOMs/SBMs have responsibility to:

• ensure effective administrative support including the minuting of meetings 
• provide advice to the governing body on governance, constitutional and procedural matters
• ensure the governing body is properly constituted (2 parent governors and 1 staff governor) and elections managed in line with trust procedures 
• manage governance information effectively in accordance with legal and trust requirements           
• ensure the adoption and implementation of all trust policies
• contribute to the recruitment, induction and training of governors
• maintain a register of governor pecuniary interests        
• maintain a record of training and maintain governor meeting attendance records     
• ensure that statutorily required information is available on the school website and is kept up-to-date
• convene and clerk any statutory appeal committees/panels i.e. exclusions
• assist the Company Secretary and Chief Financial Officer with the preparation of information for final accounts and the auditor

Your role is to support your Headteacher and Governing Board in working towards making the governance in your school transformational, so please remember to  assess your progress against the Governance Pillar within the Transforming Schools School Improvement Framework.  

We support you and your governors to achieve your local responsibilities by providing:

• Advice, guidance, sign-posting, policy and codes of practice to frame what you need to do and by when
• Access to GovernorHub. A platform which helps you to manage your documents and reporting requirements efficiently and securely
• Online access to supporting tools such as the Nova policy portal, the SIF/SEF, SCOAPS, skills audits and the statutory website page developed to make compliance easier for you to achieve
• Trust policies, codes of practice, terms of reference all designed to promote best practice and to shield you in the event of any challenge

We actively promote and support governance development across all those involved in governance – Headteachers, BOM’s/SBM’s, Governors, Trustees & Members by providing:

• access to The Key for Governors
• access to The National Governors Association (NGA)
• access to NGA Learning Link
• access to in training videos, newsletters, promotion of webinars, podcasts, induction sessions
• provision of targeted reading materials, guidance
• provision of tailored trust checklists, template agenda’s or letters, guidance and codes

We built an internal Skills Audit system that you control access to - giving you the data at your fingertips

Trust documents are provided via the Nova Gateway Policy Portal to give additional guidance and support to those with responsibility for governing. 

• Code of Practice for Link Governors
• Electing Parent Governors
• Electing the Chair/Vice Chair
• Recruiting Trustees & Governors
• Appointment checklist and appointment letter
• Governor leaver checklist
• Role of the LGB Chair
• TOR for LGB's
• Trustees & Governors Induction Booklet
• Template reports and meeting agendas

We provide monthly governance newsletters intended to keep you, and your governors updated, informed and knowledgeable.

We support with governance recruitment, and any issues as they arise. 

Elections

The September meeting is when you need to ensure that your board runs a nomination and election process for a Chair and Vice Chair for the new academic year.  Just a reminder that the cap for Chairs is a maximum of 6 years, so remember to check to make sure those standing are still eligible.  

Please remember that once your Chair is appointed, you must update ‘Get Information About Schools’ within 10 days,  update the statutory information page of your website, and also update GovernorHub to reflect any changes in your constitution, including start and end dates. 

Link Governors

Make sure, with your Chair, that Link Governors are appointed at the September meeting.  You must have a link governor for:

• Safeguarding
• SEND 
• Careers (Secondary Only)
• Curriculum 
• Governor Development
• Health & Safety (as set out in your H&S Policy)

Once appointed please remember to update GovernorHub to reflect the changes in responsibility.  This also allows our trustees to make contact with the correct link governors.   Also please remember you need to update the information on your website - Statutory Information - School Governor Information. 

Template Agendas

Template agendas for the year are provided in the Resources section of GovernorHub.  Click here. 

The agenda  recommends the amount of time that should be allocated to each section, and the action required by governors.  Governors should be scrutinising the information they have access to in order to arrive at a decision about how assured they are.  We have retained the agenda item that asks that the Chair of the Board sum up for the minute taker the summation of the local boards scrutiny of the academy.  This is helpful for the governing board to reflect on whether they have fully discharged their responsibilities in respect of scrutiny and assurance.  

Please note that items should not be removed from the agenda  - and it is expected that all sections are reported against. We wish to emphasise this point because via the work of our internal auditors, they have occasionally found that some schools have removed items, or have not reported against them as they should.  This is particularly prevalent for items such as Health & Safety and Risk Registers.  Please speak to the appropriate member of the Central Team if you need any further support on knowing what it is that you should be sharing with your LGBs.    Removing items, or incorrect reporting puts the whole compliance framework of the trust at risk, as well as creating potentially serious implications at a school level for leaders.   

Declarations of interest

Make sure governors complete their declarations of interest promptly on GovernorHub.  As is usual, make sure they do not take part in any governance activities (including meetings) before their declaration is made.

Remember you will need to run the report from GovernorHub to produce your consolidated spreadsheet of declarations of interest, and will need to manually upload this to your Statutory Information page on your website ideally as soon as possible to demonstrate ongoing compliance. 

As last year,  we continue to encourage you to do this periodically throughout the year (or whenever someone changes their declaration, or a new Governor is appointed) and that you consider doing this around the time of your LGB meetings as this acts as a natural and regular prompt. 

Please note their declarations of interest need to be made in this academic year i.e. after 1 September. 

 

General Confirmations

Also, in GovernorHub please make sure all your governors confirm – before they attend the September meeting that they have:

• Read and understood the latest version of Keeping Children Safe In Education
• Agreed to abide by our Code of Conduct
• Declared that they are eligible to be a governors

You can download reports from within GovernorHub to check who has completed this activity by going to the About tab and then choosing Downloads. 

Please note that these confirmations need to be made in this academic year i.e. after 1 September. 

 

Diversity Data

Last year the DfE introduced a new requirement for us to publish diversity data about our Governors. 

Please encourage your Governors to enter their diversity data on GovernorHub in their personal profile, I recommend that you do this as apart of the start of new academic year tasks to complete.  If governors are concerned about whether they will be identiable then please feel free to share this link with them which explains how GovernorHub will process their data.  Privacy | GovernorHub Help Centre

Attendance Record At Meetings Over the Last Academic Year, Complaints Received During the Preceding School Year and Exams and Assessment

As one year starts you will need to upload your governors attendance record for last years LGB meetings.  This gets uploaded to the statutory area of your website as part of the School Governor Information. 

The number of school complaints for 2023-24 needs adding to statutory area too and this can be found in the Academy Policies section just below the Complaints Policy tab. 

Other areas may also need reviewing and updating, for instance:

• the Exams and Assessment section
• making sure your latest Ofsted Report is linked to your website
• updating contact names for the new academic year
• SEND Report
• Accessibility Plan
• Equality Objectives
• Careers Programme

Finding time in September to check your website, to make sure you are up-to-date is good use of time and allows you to confidently inform your LGB at the September meeting that your school is compliant. 

Firstly I want to start by saying that we want all those that govern in our organisation to have completed safeguarding training.  However, there is sometimes confusion about what KCSIE actually states is required so here is a reminder:

All governors should receive safeguarding training.

What's the difference between 'must' and 'should'?
According to page 3 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE):

• Must is when you're legally required to do something
• Should is when the advice should be followed unless there's good reason not to

For example, new governors should receive safeguarding training at the point of induction unless they've already received safeguarding training as staff members at the school.

There is no statutory requirement for how often governors should refresh their safeguarding training, KCSIE does say it should be 'regularly updated' and should be undertaken during induction.  If you have no record of a Governor having undertaken Safeguarding training in the last 18 months - 2 years then please work with your Chair to make sure this happens.   Remember you should be checking (with your Governor for Governor Development), your governors training record on a regular basis to make sure your board has the knowledge and experience that they, and you need!

There are a few ways that governors can undertake appropriate Safeguarding training.  You could invite Governors to attend a safeguarding training session in school, or you could ask them to undertake safeguarding training via The National College. 

The Key have an online Safeguarding course.  This may be one of your easiest options as governors should now be comfortable with finding their way around GovernorHub/The Key.  The link you will need to send them can be found by clicking here. 

Leah is also talking to Safeguarding Leads about their role in how they support and  liaise with the Safeguarding Link Governors to ensure that they get the information they need for local board assurance. 

 

 

 

A number of your governors should also be Safer Recruitment trained.  To access this training please send governors this link - click here. 

 

The Key also provide Safeguarding Link Governor training which you can send to governors via this link - click here. 

 

 

If as Headteachers or BOMs/SBMs you have concerns about the skills and knowledge across your LGB then your first conversation should be with the Chair of the LGB to discuss the steps that you need to take, to further develop the board.  If you need any additional support with these conversations please do get in contact as I am happy to support with strengthening the message.

The fourth governance core function

There is a view in the education and governance sector that stakeholder engagement is now the fourth governance core function.  In part this is because on pages 14 and 20 of the Governance Handbook the  DfE spell out that boards have a responsibility to make sure that trusts/schools have an effective strategy for engaging meaningfully with key stakeholders. 

If you are looking for ways in which to get your LGB more involved with your Stakeholder Engagement work then the following links offer some ideas/opportunities that you may wish to explore.

Tips to boost engagement with parents and other stakeholders

Engaging stakeholders: the governing board’s role - listen to the NGA Webinar

Whilst you all should have access to the Edurio platform (if you find you don't then please let me know and I will arrange this), you and your governors can also access all the PDF reports (including the latest parent survey results) by clicking here. 

The survey dates for next year are all in the school improvement calendar that has been shared with you, but the dates are also provided below for you too.   

Pupil Safeguarding Stakeholder Review

Recognising workload pressures in schools the Pupil Safeguarding Review scheduled for October has been removed  from our plans, limited additional questions about Safeguarding will be added to the Pupil Learning Experiences Survey in April/May instead.   In the meantime the Safeguarding Leads will use the information from previous rounds to inform their continuing work. 

• Staff Working Conditions & Wellbeing Survey: 6 January – 24 January 2025
• Pupil Learning Experiences & Wellbeing Survey: 21 April – 16 May 2025
• Parent Survey: 2 June – 20 June 2025

Highlights from our progress to date

Stakeholder engagement is a key trust priority and will remain so in the coming years.  We continued to make great inroads this year and a few of our successes are highlighted below:

• 78% of Nova parents/carers would recommend their child's school to other parents.  +8% more positive than the latest National Data.
   
• 63% of Nova parents/carers are positively satisfied with the communication they receive from our schools.  +8% more positive than the latest National Data, and +15% more positive than our baseline score in 2022.
   
• 59% of Nova parents/carers feel well informed about their child’s learning progress.  +7% more positive than the latest National Data.
   
• 49% of Nova parents/carers are positively confident that being part of a trust is beneficial.  +12% more positive than the latest National Data.

 

 

and we are particularly proud of the progress made across our 10 secondary schools in relation to staff perceptions of behaviour.

Click here to read the full Edurio Nova Education Trust Spotlight Report. 

 

 

 

 

The following are tasks that must be completed at least annually.  We would recommend that you undertake these activities as early as possible in the first-half of the Autumn term and  certainly no later than December.   The Key have a handy governing board planner for academies which contains all the key dates and deadlines for the sector.  To download and tailor this planner to your school please click here. 

Skills Audit

BOM's & SBM's:   Governors must complete an annual skills audit.  To help support you with the administration of this activity Peter Armann built an in-house skills audit system for schools.  The link to send to your governors so that they can complete the skills audit is provided below .  Within the Nova Governors Portal on the Gateway you  have been provided with a dashboard so that you can analyse your own data and share it with your Chair and wider LGB [image of where to find the Skills Audit dashboard provided below].    Please delete the previous years data from your governors before you share the link. 

www.novagateway.co.uk/skills

Once you have that consolidated skills audit  then you should work with your Chair to make sure you identify gaps in skills/experience on your board that need addressing by either recruitment or training

Work with your  Chair to make sure there is a succession plan in place for key individuals i.e. the Chair or Vice-Chair.  WIthin the policy portal you will find guidance about Recruitment/Succession Planning and Induction. 

Pupil Premium Spending  Report

Headteachers: We must publish (on our school websites - Statutory Information section) the schools  PP Spending Strategy.  This also needs reporting to the schools governing board.   This needs to happen before the end of December 2024 so must be reported to either of your Autumn LGB meetings and minuted to reflect that this has happened. 

For further support or guidance about what you need to do as the Headteacher follow this link:

Click Here

Looked After Children (LAC)

Headteachers: At your September or November meeting (depending when you previously provided your annual LAC report to the LGB) you must report to your LGB on how you support looked-after children.  The Key's template can help you with this. 

 Click Here

First things first.  LGB meetings should take no longer than 90 minutes. 

All reports and papers to your LGB must be circulated at least 5 working days prior to the meeting to allow governors the opportunity to read all the documents and come armed with questions. 

The normal expectation is that there should  be no need for Headteachers to take governors through their Headteachers report, or present at length.    Meetings are  for your governors to scrutinise, triangulate and to seek the assurances they need.  

Policies

The central leadership team worked really hard at the end of last academic year to get all of their statutory policies updated (where required) and approved by trustees.   I have previously emailed you about a number of these policies but a full list of statutory policies signed off by trustees can be found by clicking here.  Within this folder I have also provided a crib sheet for you to tailor and share with your LGB's which explains the changes made to ameliorate the need for them to read the entirety of each policy.  Access these crib sheets/policy trackers by clicking here.   The central department leads are aware that a number of 'operational' guidance documents have gone past their stated review date.  These documents are scheduled to be reviewed, and where necessary refreshed. 

Child Protection Policies – trustees approved our continued use of local authority versions from September 2024 when made available.  Leah Miller will email you separately with these policies. 

As a number of the our policies need tailoring to be school specific you will start to receive automated reminders of this via email.  These reminders only stop once your school policy has been uploaded to the Policy Gateway.   Please note they do need to be uploaded in PDF format for the system to recognise their existence. 

The easiest way for you to check which policies are school specific is to use our Policy Auditing Tool.  Click here. 

or go into Policies and then choose School Audit (as image below). 

 

Link Visits

Please continue to actively promote and organise termly link visits for Link Governors, and make sure they report back to the full governing board.   This is a critical element of their scrutiny and assurance triangulation activities.    Make Link Governors aware that they can access in-house training videos for each of their areas via the following link Click Here. The agenda for each LGB meeting has been strengthened in this regard to ensure that governors understand how key this aspect of their role is. 

Feedback from Governors to the CEO/Trustees

We have retained this opportunity in your meetings for your governors to ask questions or feedback to the CEO/Trustees.  Please encourage them to make use of this opportunity.  Following the external review of governance we have also added in a requirement for the Chair of each LGB to provide a summation of the local boards scrutiny of the academy which should be minuted and also shared post meeting with trustees. Following the meeting please can you take responsibility for getting in touch with me to let me know the feedback/questions post meeting.