Funding, training and finding a good Clerk are main concern for Chairs at SCHOOLS NorthEast Chairs of School Governance conference
Funding, training and governor recruitment were among the main concerns for over 100 school Chairs attending a major governance conference in the region.
On the 16th January 2018, SCHOOLS NorthEast held its inaugural Chairs of School Governance conference at Hardwick Hall, Durham.
Following on from the success of the Regional Governance conference in March 2016, the organisation recognised that a bespoke event was needed for Chairs in the North East to help and support them in their challenging roles.
A total of 150 delegates attended the event which included an evening of discussion, deliberation and debate as heads were put together on how Chairs could find the support they needed to best fulfil their roles.
The packed-out event was opened by John Hardy, SCHOOLS NorthEast Chair. John spoke of the importance of Governors to a school, as well as the vital role they play in supporting and challenging Head Teachers, and described the room as a “truly remarkable bunch”.
Following on from the welcome, main speaker Geoff Barton, the Association of School and College Leaders’ General Secretary, gave a rousing speech of the importance of Chairs and Governors in the modern age and that Chairs of Governors play a “critical role in a child’s life”. His focus was on giving advice to delegates on leading and governing schools in turbulent times, particularly in a social media age, and the role Chairs should play in this.
After Geoff Barton’s speech, Paul Aber, Head of Training Development at the National Governance Association, spoke to attendees about governance in the North East and that, as a region, it is “one of the most confident in the country”. He told delegates that, for Chairs, “the stakes are getting higher” and that Governance has strong networks in the region.
Following on from the key notes, delegates in their groups took part in a ‘Chairs Congress’, which was an opportunity for Chairs to discuss and debate key issues impacting them in schools in the current environment. They were asked:
- What is the number one issue affecting you in your role as Chair?
- What topics would you like covered in this year’s Regional Governance Conference?
- How can SCHOOLS NorthEast support you and your Governors going forward?
This activity created an incredible response from Chairs, with more than 70 issues listed as being a main concern for delegates in their role.
After the Chairs Congress, Iain Veitch, Vice-Chair of SCHOOLS NorthEast and Head Teacher of Park View School spoke to delegates about preparing for their next Ofsted Inspection. Iain told Chairs that they played a vital role in inspections, and how they would factor in to the inspection.
After a refreshment break and networking, delegates spilt up into three smaller groups for sessions.
There was a session titled the ‘IDSR in 28 minutes or less’ with Phillip Burton, Senior Principal Analyst of Nottingham City Council, where, in under 30 minutes, he took delegates through the ins and outs of deciphering the results on their school’s inspection data summary report.
Jackie Gray of Womble Bond Dickinson, the conference’s main sponsor, held back to back sessions on General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which will affect schools from May 2018. Her session included the 5 things Chairs needed to know in how this would need to be implemented in schools.
The third session was held by Michelle Ellams, Leadership Specialist at GCSEPod, on ‘demystifying Progress 8’. Her session was to help Chairs understand the new grading system and how they could work out their school’s progress scores.
The final sessions of the day included a session from Amy Cook, Commissioning Editor of The Key, who spoke on the role of the Chair in a supportive and challenging capacity, and how to strike the right balance.
Julia Millard, the National Leaders of Governance Advocate for the North East, spoke on ‘how to be an effective Chair: top tips for getting the most out of your governing body’ and how and when to ask for support and how to Chair an effective team.
The conference was a huge success with delegates, with feedback now being used to shape the Regional Governance conference on the 20th April 2018.