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Governor Induction Toolkit This toolkit is a framework to ensure that: • Governors are well prepared and know about their individual board • Governors can gain the maximum benefit from the Governor Services Accredited Governor Induction course This toolkit has been designed for use by Academy and Local Authority maintained boards: • It should be personalised, agreed and reviewed regularly to ensure that it meets the realistic and systematic needs of the board • It contains suggested elements, time scales and persons responsible to oversee actions upon which, prior recruitment and onward may have a bearing • It has been prepared with reference to: - Department for Education, Governance Handbook and Competency Framework for Governance - National Governance Association (NGA) www.nga.org.uk Approval & Review Approved by Governing Board: insert date of approval by board Date due for review: insert review date and frequency (suggest 2 years) Our school policies are written with the objective of continuously improving the school and our aim of realizing the school’s vision: Insert vision statement Our School Values Insert school value
Contents Statement of Intent Outline of the Programme Welcome and Statutory Compliance Safeguarding Governance Structure Vision, Values and Strategy School Improvement – Accountability Mentor and New Governor Review Appendices
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Statement of Intent The governing board of [add name of school] considers it is essential that all new governors receive a comprehensive induction. This should ensure that every governor understands the core functions and strategic nature of school governance, what is expected of them as an individual governor whilst also providing an introduction to the operational elements of the school; this is in line with the responsibilities of the board and expectations set out by the Department of Education (DfE) in the Governance Handbook and the Competency Framework for Governance which should be reviewed regularly: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook School Governance – 3 core roles • Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction • Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff • Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent The governing board may wish to include, and keep under review, any new ways of working that may have been introduced e.g., virtual governance or blended learning, IT systems and protocols, in line with changes to national guidance and local necessity. The purpose of induction A thoughtful governor induction process does more than provide new governors with a good start; it evidences the commitment of the governing board and the school by ensuring that all governors are provided with information, support and tools to fulfil their role with confidence. This programme is an investment which will lead to more effective governance by the whole board as well as individual governors, enabling all to feel valued, well informed and fully able to enjoy their role to the full. This governor induction programme serves to: • Welcome new governors to the governing board and enable them to meet its members • Provide an opportunity for new governors to visit the school, to experience its atmosphere and to gain an understanding of its ethos and values • Explain the role of the governing board, its responsibilities, organisational structure and how the work of the board is carried out, together with an explanation of strategic documentation eg School Self Evaluation and School Improvement Planning documents • Assign any specific areas of responsibility and/or committee appointments to ensure full utilization of identified skills or areas of professional interest • Facilitate meetings with the headteacher, staff and children to enable an awareness of the working relationships between headteacher, staff and governors • Provide knowledge of the stakeholders to which the school and governing board is accountable
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Clarify the roles and responsibilities of governors, acknowledging the role as one of public office Provide background information on the school, its strengths and current issues requiring action Allow new governors to ask questions about their role and/or the school and its community Ensure new governors are equipped with the tools they need to fulfil their role in keeping up to date with local, county and national governance information, advice and guidance Ensure that statutory requirements for new governors are met
Outline of the programme This induction programme covers the following areas: • Welcome and Statutory compliance
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Safeguarding Governance Structure
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Vision, values and strategy
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School Improvement: ▪ Strategy and Financial Probity ▪ Monitoring and Evaluation responsibilities, school performance, external benchmarking
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