September
For all Kent and Medway Governors, Trustees, Clerks and School Leaders
Welcome to our September Monthly Bulletin
Please ensure this bulletin, also published on GovernorHub and The Education People website, is a standing agenda item for both your Full Governing Board, Trustee and Committee meetings.
Dear Governors, Trustees, Governance Professionals and Clerks
Welcome back to a new academic year which we hope, despite inevitable challenges, will prove to be successful and rewarding; we look forward to working with you to support your boards and schools.
The team have been very busy over the summer updating our materials in line with legislation and best practice. This year the updated Terms of Reference and a multi-structure Governor Visits Policy (to be amended and agreed to suit your board structure) are available for purchase from The Education People website.
We are delighted to announce that we have been successful in obtaining accreditation for more of our training courses; accredited certification provides reassurance of quality in the promotion of Continuing Professional Development, helping to progress knowledge and experience of school governance.
Our training programme is available on GovernorHub up to the end of term 4. Our event catalogue for the whole academic year is available on The Education People website to enable you to identify dates and topics in terms 5 and 6. Please take a look at what is on offer and book early!
In response to your feedback, County Governor Briefings are taking a different, 2-part format this term with local, 1 hour area-specific updates being provided by the respective Area Education Officers (part1). Followed another evening by a 1 hour briefing relevant to all (part 2). The Medway Specific Briefing remains the same.
Don’t forget to book your place and join us on: 14
Thank you to those of you who have already taken part in our annual Governor Services Survey; if you haven’t yet done so, it’s not too late to take part, it closes on 30 September.
As you know, we very much appreciate your feedback as this helps us to ensure that we support the needs of as many boards as possible.
There have been some changes within the School Improvement Team; please be sure to check that your headteacher is aware of who the school’s Improvement advisor is for this academic year, and the date for the scheduled visits; this will help ensure that the chair, vice chair or another member of your board is tasked and able to attend these invaluable and informative meetings.
Governor Services
Safeguarding Training for Governors
From Kent Education Safeguarding colleagues: Safeguarding training should be undertaken by all governors to equip them with the knowledge to provide strategic challenge to test and assure themselves that the safeguarding policies and procedures in place in schools are effective and support the delivery of a robust whole school approach to safeguarding. This training should be regularly updated.
An E-learning module specifically designed to support and train governors for their strategic safeguarding role has been developed and is now available for all governors and free of charge for those whose boards subscribe to our Governor Training package (via voucher code system).
A more in-depth interactive course is available for Chairs and Safeguarding Link governors on our core programme on GovernorHub. Please ensure that your own personal training log, especially regarding safeguarding and Prevent Duty training, is kept up-to-date.
Prevent Duty Self-Assessment Tool for Schools
This guidance published in October 2022, includes a self-assessment tool to help schools in England review their responsibilities under the Prevent duty.
Governors will find this helpful when discussing, monitoring and evaluating how well embedded existing policies and practices are; it also encourages a cycle of continuous review and improvement.
SEND Toolkit for Governors - Update
SEND Governors Handbook has been updated and is available to download; all the updates are listed at the beginning of the document including page numbers:
Regular Font - SEND Toolkit for Governors
Large Font - SEND Toolkit for Governors
We hope to be providing further SEND training for governors, information will be published on GovernorHub.
If you have any trouble accessing the links above or have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with rory.abbott@theeducationpeople.org
Equality, Diversity and inclusion
As the responsible body, governing boards have a duty to comply with The Equality Act 2010, ensuring the policies adopted by their school/trust that inform practice and decision making, are both inclusive and meet the requirements of the Equality Act.
Does your board have regular and systematic mechanisms in place to be able to evidence:
Compliance with specific duties - including publication on the school/trust website
Monitoring and Evaluation (reviews) of existing policies and procedures - identification of areas in need of improvement
Development of school or trust-wide actions - for improvement based on evaluation findings
Where is the information that supports you with the above?
Governance Handbook, Equality, 6.4
The Equality Act 2010 applies to all schools as providers of education - a service or public function. The board is responsible for compliance with the public sector equality duties of the Act and the specific education sections for school pupils, see Equality and Human Rights Commission - Public Sector Equality Duty: Guidance for Schools
Keeping children safe in education 2023 sets out in Part two (The management of safeguarding the responsibility of governing bodies, proprietors, and management committees), the strategic leadership responsibility for safeguarding arrangements ensuring policies, procedures and training in schools or colleges are effective and always comply with the law, including The Public Sector Equality Duty.
The Equality Act 2010 and schools: Departmental advice for school leaders, school staff, governing bodies and local (May 2014) contains a chapter (5) on the Public Sector Equality Duty which includes:
What compliance with the specific duties will mean for schools (5.9)
Publishing information (5.17)
How to publish information (5.25)
Governor Services
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) - 2023
KCSIE 2023 is now in force. Annex F provides a summary of the changes.
Your attention is drawn to:
Section 142 - referencing the new published filtering and monitoring standards (Mentioned in our Summer Bulletin, this is not new).
The standards are to support schools meet their duty to have appropriate/effective filtering and monitoring systems in place.
Section 144 - Information security and access management
144. Education settings are directly responsible for ensuring they have the appropriate level of security protection procedures in place in order to safeguard their systems, staff and learners and review the effectiveness of these procedures periodically to keep up with evolving cyber-crime technologies. Guidance on e-security is available from the National Education Network (Meeting digital and technology standards in schools and colleges). In addition, schools and colleges should consider meeting the Cyber security standards for schools and colleges.GOV.UK. Broader guidance on cyber security including considerations for governors and trustees can be found at Cyber security training for school staff - NCSC.GOV.UK.
The Technical requirements to meet the standard state: Staff who require access to your IT network must take basic cyber security training every year. The training should be part of the induction training for new staff This training should focus on: phishing, password security, social engineering, the dangers of removable storage media
The National Cyber Security Centre has published suitable training materials: cyber security training for school staff, infographics at the NCSC
At least one current governor must complete the same basic cyber security training. These governors should read the NCSC publication school cyber security questions for governors (and trustees).
Resources designed to help board members govern cyber risk more effectively are available including a Cyber Security Toolkit for Boards
Additional Templates, Guidance and Resources from the Education Safeguarding Service are also available on The Education People website.
GovernorHub Knowledge also has useful information (subscription information is available from governorservices@theeducationpeople.org), simply search ‘Cyber’:
Governors’ role in cyber security - Be clear on what you need to know about cyber security, and the questions you can ask your school leaders, so you can be assured your school is as safe as possible from a cyber-attack.
Cyber security glossary - Get a handle on the key terms around cyber security so you can understand the common forms of cyber-attack, and the measures your school can put in place
ICT - role of the link governor UPDATED
Section 146. UKCIS has published Online safety in schools and colleges: Questions from the governing board.
The questions can be used to gain a basic understanding of the current approach to keeping children safe online; learn how to improve this approach where appropriate; and find out about tools which can be used to improve the approach. It has also published an Online Safety Audit Tool which helps mentors of trainee teachers and newly qualified teachers induct mentees and provide ongoing support, development and monitoring.
Governor Services 2023 Terms of Reference have been updated (Safeguarding section), reflecting the requirement (the ‘must’) referred to above.
Governor Services
Use of School Email Addresses – How Secure Are You?
Further to our very successful Clerks Conference in July ‘Demystifying Data Protection and the Equality Act’, we draw your attention to the UK General Data Protection Regulations
Quick reads are available via GovernorHub Knowledge membership: UK GDPR
What you need to do to be GDPR compliant
The regulations don’t specifically require governors to use a school email address when communicating on governing board matters however, the UK GDPR does mean you should do everything in your power to prevent a breach of personal data.
A school-based email address will help to ensure that:
Personal data is kept encrypted and secure, as you will have more control over the email service and settings used
Any requests to see data contained in emails can be fulfilled quickly, as you will be able to access these accounts more easily
You can manage your time effectively with school and governing board business is kept distinctly separate
Note - encryption may only work if both sender and receiver(s) are using the same email 'client'.
The secure system at GovernorHub means that you don't need to worry about encrypting emails or sending password-protected attachments - the system handles the IT security for you. You can log in with a personal or school email address, making the process as smooth as possible for your board.
See the help articles on GovernorHub to get started:
How do I email other governors?
How GovernorHub provides enhanced IT security for boards
Are you and your board familiar with your school’s ICT and internet acceptable use policy
Have all of your board members been issued with a school email address, if so, do they use them?
Monthly Bulletin and Agenda Setting
Clerks and Governance Professionals are politely reminded that it is essential to routinely include an item on Full Board meeting agendas to ensure that local, national and diocesan (where appropriate) information and publications are brought to the attention of the board, and recorded in meeting minutes.
As a point of best clerking practice, Clerking Competency Framework, Competency 3 Advice and guidance, there is an expectation that those clerking are: aware of relevant and reliable sources of information clear about when to provide advice themselves and when to recommend external or specialist advice. aware of sources of information relevant to the context and circumstances of the board can discern what level and type of information it is appropriate to provide to support board discussions
An example of sources of information:
Monthly Bulletin - see latest news
School governance update – governance, maintained schools & academy trusts
ESFA update
Ofsted
Get emails about updates from GOV.UK
Diocese of Canterbury – Schools update
Diocese of Rochester – Schools and academies
Education Commission for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark
Chairs, Governance Professionals and Clerks - please ensure publications, information and updates are a routine agenda item; this will enable all board members to be kept regularly updated.
Department for Education
Academy Trust Handbook 2023 (ATH 2023)
This update came into effect on 1 September 2023; it contains several key changes which have been summarised on page 7.
A ‘Schedule of Musts 2023’ provides an abbreviated list of requirements in the ATH; this should not be used as a substitute for the full handbook.
Related party transaction reporting requirements will automatically apply to transactions starting on or after 1 September 2023, to be submitted via the online form.
Working Together to Improve School Attendance
Existing guidance has been updated to include a link to guidance on school attendance for parents.
PE and Sport Premium for Primary Schools
The guidance has been updated for this academic year 2023/24; it shows schools how to use the funding more effectively and highlights the importance of sustainability and equal access for all pupils. It confirms that schools must spend the funding in the academic year it has been allocated for There is also a new section on the upcoming digital tool.
You are reminded that for academic year 2022/23:
Maintained schools, including those that convert to academies, must publish information about their use of the premium on their website by the 31 July 2023 at the latest.
Academies and free school proprietors must publish, on their website, information about their use of the premium by 31 July 2023 at the latest
Length of the School Week
The Minimum expectation on length of the school week: information note has been replaced by Length of the school week: non-statutory guidance and Length of the school week: case studies.
From Length of the School Week Non-Statutory Guidance: Data from July 2021 showed that 80% of secondary schools and 78% of primary schools were delivering a school week of at least 32 hours, and 16% of secondary schools and 7% of primary schools were delivering 35 hours or more. Some schools will already have increased their hours in response to the expectation set in the White Paper.
Any mainstream state-funded school that does not yet meet the minimum expectation of 32.5 hours should be working towards doing so by September 2024 at the latest.
Mandatory Qualification for Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators (SENCOs)
This guidance provides information about the mandatory qualifications SENCOs must gain within 3 years of taking up their post.
Information regarding currently serving SENCOs can be found in Transition to national professional qualification for special educational needs co-ordinators
Ofsted
Ofsted inspection guidance has been updated along with the Risk assessment methodology for good statefunded schools; a summary of changes is provided for each of the following:
Education inspection framework (EIF) - sets out Ofsted's inspection principles and the main judgements that inspectors make
School inspection handbook - for maintained schools and academies in England
Early years inspection handbook - for registered early years and childcare providers
Independent schools inspection handbook
Additional inspections of independent schools: handbook for inspectors
Inspecting non-association independent schools
Further education and skills inspection handbook - inspecting further education and skills providers
Governor Services
Governance Professional and Clerks
As Membership and Information Manager for the board (Clerking Competency Framework), you are politely reminded of the need to be clear on your responsibilities and the expectations of your role regarding the board’s accountability to, and relationship with others including DfE/ESFA, Ofsted, the LA and diocese.
You should ensure that GovernorHub and/or similar membership information platform, the school/trust website (via school leadership action), the diocese (where applicable) and GIAS (via school leadership action) are updated with any changes without delay.
Headteacher Absence or Resignation – LA Maintained School Governing Bodies
LA Maintained School Governing Bodies are reminded that should their headteacher resign or be absent due to sickness for more than a week, the chair of governors as a priority, should liaise with the school’s senior improvement advisor (SIA) and area education officer (AEO).
Our guidance document can be found on GovernorHub
Pre-recorded Training/Information Sessions
The sessions listed below are accessible via a request to governorservices@theeducationpeople.org. The presentation will then be sent via WeTransfer; you will then have 7 days to download the presentation: Getting into Governance
Hearing Panels and the role of the Governor
School Governor Health & Safety Responsibilities
Governance in a Federation
Report Writing- monitoring & evaluation visits
Role of the Staff Governor School Improvement plan
School Policies: do you need help managing your school policies?
We are working in collaboration with a company who have designed a comprehensive online policy management system. The online portal allows easy tracking of policies and when they are due for renewal/ review; the system also offers a simple overview of the current policy position – no more difficult to manage Word and Excel databases!
If you would like more information, we have a short ten-minute demonstration video available; please email governorservices@theeducationpeople.org
Governor Services Privacy Notice Update
The Education People Governor Services Privacy Notice 2023 explains what personal data (information) we hold about you, how we collect, how we use and may share information about you. We are required to give you this information under data protection law.
Governor Services - General Enquiries 03301 651 100
Governor Services: governorservices@theeducationpeople.org
The Clerking Service: clerkingservice@theeducationpeople.org
Training: governorservicestraining@theeducationpeople.org
Head of Governor Services
Suzanne Mayes
Email: suzanne.mayes@theeducationpeople.org
North Kent and Medway (Dartford, Gravesham, Sevenoaks, Medway)
Jude Johnson
Email: jude.johnson@theeducationpeople.org
03301 651 058
South Kent (Ashford, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe)
Tina Gimber
Email: tina.gimber@theeducationpeople.org
03301 651 057
East Kent (Canterbury, Swale, Thanet)
Lorraine Monkhouse
Email: lorraine.monkhouse@theeducationpeople.org
03301 651 061
West Kent (Maidstone, Tonbridge & Malling, Tunbridge Wells)
Julia Durcan
Email: julia.durcan@theeducationpeople.org
03301 651 055