East Sussex Governor and Clerking Services
Governing Body Self-Evaluation Audit Tool for schools in East Sussex 2016-17
Section 1: Guidance for Completing the Governing Body Self-Evaluation Audit Tool
About this audit tool
This toolkit has been updated to reflect the changes in the Ofsted framework, a self-improving school system and to include reference to best practice. It also includes
a section for Church schools. It is intended to be used to build on the self-evaluation practice which developed during 2015-16 and as part of the regular annual selfevaluation and improvement planning process. It can be used in conjunction with the procedural review self-evaluation tool which supports evaluation of statutory
practice and support clerking performance management.
How to use the audit tool
The toolkit can be used over the course of the year, to evaluate practice, adjust action plans and reflect on progress made. For schools due for inspection, it can be
used as a prompt to help governing bodies prepare.
Governing bodies can use a range of different ways to use the toolkit: it can be completed as a whole governing body during a training session; completed in sections as
part of FGB meetings; completed by a governor working party; completed by the strategic leadership group or any other way which suits the governing body. Ideally,
the headteacher would be involved in the process. Governor Services are able to support this process by offering a 2 hour support session as part of its coaching offer,
for £250. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to arrange this.
Governors are asked to evaluate their effectiveness in the defined areas using a Red, Amber, Green coding:
Red
=
Not currently effective, to be a priority on action plan with a short deadline for action.
Amber =
Effective but would benefit from further focus and action.
Green
Highly effective, no further action required this year.
=
Summary of current practice should enable you to succinctly reflect on what you currently do that is working well and aspects for improvement will enable you to
balance this against what could be better.
The action plan is also sectioned into Red and Amber sections so that you can prioritise your actions and make the workload manageable.
Completed self-evaluations and action plans should be returned to the Local Authority when completed with indication of any support you may require. This could be
from within the ESGRG, EIP, an NLG or the Local Authority. The Local Authority will broker support on your behalf.
Please return to [email protected].
Section 2: The Governing Body Self-Evaluation Audit Tool for Schools in East Sussex, 2016-17
Name of
school/college/academy
Date audit completed:
1. Governors work effectively with leaders to communicate the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school and develop a
culture of ambition, planning future succession. Positive relationships between governors and leaders are based on trust, openness
and transparency.
Governing Body characteristic
RAG
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
Summary of current practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
There is evidence, including minutes and
reports, of governors taking a lead role in
setting the school’s vision, and involving key
stakeholders in the local community. They set
high expectations of for performance and
outcomes and have a clear idea of the kind of
school they want
The vision is well embedded through policies
and procedures and underpins key activities
such as who governors appoint as leaders in the
school.
Everyone knows the school’s key aims and
vision; the school website sets expectations and
makes the vision and ethos clear.
Targets and objectives set for the school and
governors’ own work are ambitious and
East Sussex Governor Service – Governing Body Self-Evaluation Audit Tool
Date modified: June 2016
1
challenging eg key governors are involved in
meetings where targets are set.
The governing body and school leadership have
an open and professional relationship eg where
alternative views are valued and confidentiality
respected.
The Chair meets regularly with the headteacher
and aspects of these meetings are shared with
the governing body.
East Sussex Governor Service – Governing Body Self-Evaluation Audit Tool
Date modified: June 2016
2
2. Governors contribute to the school’s self-evaluation and provide a balance of challenge and support to leaders, understanding the
strengths and areas needing improvement at the school, reviewing the impact of their work on pupil outcomes.
Governing Body characteristic
RAG
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
Summary of current practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
Governors have a balanced and accurate view
of the schools main strengths and priorities for
improvement.
Governors demonstrate that they contribute to
the school’s self-evaluation and understand its
strengths and weaknesses, including the quality
of teaching, and reviewing the impact of their
own work eg meetings conclude with an
evaluation of the impact of decisions on pupil
outcomes.
Governors take on key responsibilities including
in monitoring plans eg School Development
Plan. There are named governors for statutory
governor roles and responsibilities.
The School Development Plan (SDP) is clearly
aligned to school self-evaluation and addresses
any improvement priorities that have been
identified.
Governors provide support and check carefully
where their support is most needed; they use
expertise from their external roles, where
present, to support the headteacher and other
leaders.
East Sussex Governor Service – Governing Body Self-Evaluation Audit Tool
Date modified: June 2016
3
3. Governors provide support for an effective headteacher and ensure understanding of the issues facing the school through
undertaking regular training.
Governing Body characteristic
Evidence
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Governors can talk about the issues and the
school’s context. They show they understand
how these issues and other context-related
factors may affect how the school is led and the
actions and effective headteacher needs to take.
During difficult times, eg major building works,
difficult staffing situation, the chair and vice
chair are actively involved and, if appropriate,
present at meetings.
Governors ensure that the headteacher has
robust induction, mentoring and other one-toone support if needed, especially when the
school faces challenging issues.
Governors understand how leadership and
management responsibilities are divided among
leaders and staff at all levels, recorded within
the staffing structure.
Governors maintain a strategic focus and allow
the headteacher to carry out operational work.
They do not interfere with decisions eg the
approach to behaviour management, but do
check that this is effective.
.Governors endeavour to ensure that the
headteacher and other leaders have a
reasonable work/life balance.
East Sussex Governor Service – Governing Body Self-Evaluation Audit Tool
Date modified: June 2016
4
4. Governors understand how the school makes decisions about teacher’s salary progression and performance and performance
manage the headteacher, executive headteacher and/or head of school effectively.
Governing Body characteristic
Minutes and the headteacher’ s reports to
governors include information about the generic
objectives set for staff, how these link with the
school priorities and how they provide
challenge/ opportunities for progression for staff
at different pay ranges eg Mainscale, UPS and
Leadership Scale teachers.
Governors ask staff (eg through survey) on their
experience of performance management and
how it is improving staff skills.
Documentation and discussion indicate that
governors have a rigorous approach to checking
evidence of performance before agreeing pay
awards or agreeing to staff passing key
thresholds for pay, linked to pupil outcomes.
Policies and plans for performance management,
including the headteacher are robust. The
headteacher feels that the process of their
performance management is robust.
The governorning body has a sub-group to
review the headteacher’s performance. An
external professional is appointed to support
this group.
The headteacher’s objectives are linked to
achievement, teaching and learning, leadership
and management and include safeguarding. They
reflect the school’s identified priorities.
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
5. Governors understand the impact of teaching, learning and assessment on the progress of pupils currently in the school, and ask
probing questions about outcomes for pupils.
Governing Body characteristic
Governors have a comprehensive range of firsthand evidence of the impact of teaching,
learning and assessment on progress, through
their visits to the school. This includes talking
to pupils about their learning experiences,
looking at books, discussion with middle level
leaders and feedback from parents.
Governors ensure that they have good quality
reports from the school about the impact of
teaching, learning and assessment and actions to
improve where learning and progress are
slower.
Minutes and forward plans show that governors
are following up, or tracking, areas where the
impact of teaching is not as good as it should
be.
Governors are actively involved in school
development planning and ensure that any
issues of teaching and its impact on learning and
progress are addressed in the plan; named
governors are identified on the plan as being
responsible for monitoring progress against the
actions/targets in the plan.
Governors also feed into the self-evaluation and
ensure that this accurately captures the impact
of teaching, learning and assessment –
evidenced through discussions with governors,
headteacher and minutes of meetings.
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
Governors have a comprehensive range of firsthand evidence of the impact of teaching,
learning and assessment on progress, through
their visits to the school. This includes talking
to pupils about their learning experiences,
looking at books, discussion with middle level
leaders and feedback from parents.
7
6. Governors ensure that assessment information from leaders provides governors with sufficient and accurate information to ask
probing questions about outcomes for pupils and narrow the gaps in achievement between different groups of children and
learners.
Governing Body characteristic
Governors demonstrate that they have a clear
understanding of the school’s strengths and
weaknesses in terms of pupil performance,
progress and attainment including comparisons
with national data. They look outward when
comparing their data with national averages.
Training records show that all governors have
attended training on how to read the
RAISEonline report and the data dashboard.
Most governors understand how to interpret
progress tables and ask incisive questions about
different groups. All governors are able to
articulate the key areas and groups where
performance needs to improve and know what
the school is doing to address these.
Governors look in depth at assessment
information- evidenced in minutes and agendas
for meetings. They are keeping a close watch on
the impact of the school’s actions to improve
performance.
Subject leaders are asked to present assessment
information for their subjects, so that governors
are able to question them and check what they
are doing (and how well) to secure
improvements, especially in the performance of
pupils/groups that might be underachieving or
falling behind.
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
Individual governors have a role in focussing on
assessment information in particular subjects or
year groups. They visit the school to check how
pupils are progressing and this is reported back
to the governing body in terms of key headlines.
Governors have shaped the headteacher’ s
reports so that assessment information is
presented to them in a way that makes it easier
for them to identify issues in performance
quickly. This is evidenced by discussions with
the headteacher and the governors, and by
requests for changes to reports.
Governors are actively involved in target setting
for achievement in the school development
plan, based on their understanding of how well
the school is doing and how this compares with
attainment on entry and national data.
9
7. Governors actively promote equality and diversity, tackle bullying and discrimination.
Governors have a good understanding of the
context of their school, and therefore, what
aspects of equality and diversity might be
important.
Records and reports from governors show that
governors meet with different groups of pupils
to check how well they get on with one
another and gather their views on: how
harmonious the school community is; the level
of respect between pupils of different
backgrounds; and how well they understand the
rule of law and democracy.
The governing body includes clear and
empathetic statements on the school website
and in policies about its aims for promoting
diversity and equality and not accepting any
discriminatory behaviour.
The governing body membership reflects the
diversity of the local community and the
governing body consciously recruits a diverse
range of members.
Governors ensure statutory information is on
the school website.
Green
Amber
GB meets
characteristic
Red
Governing Body characteristic
Evidence
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
8. Governors ensure that the school’s finances are properly managed and can evaluate how the school is using the pupil premium and
the primary PE and sport premium. They ensure solvency and probity and that the financial resources made available to the
school are managed effectively.
Governing Body characteristic
There is a named accountable governor who
has the lead role in overseeing the schools
finances, meets regularly with the School
Business Manager/Bursar and reports back to
the governing body.
The finances of the school are in order with
positive audit reports.
The school has met national financial standards
and governors have effective methods of
reviewing their spending decisions, evidenced in
minutes.
There is evidence that decisions are closely
linked to promoting the best outcomes for
pupils eg through evaluations of the impact of
spending.
Reports on the use of pupil premium, sports
funding and catch-up funding show sharp and
incisive evaluations of the impact of how the
money is spent.
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
9. Governors are transparent and accountable, including in recruitment of staff, governance structures, attendance at meetings and
contact with parents.
Governing Body characteristic
The governing body is open to staff and parents
and takes time to explain its roles through a
wide range of engagement and feedback
mechanisms.
The governing body has clear and wellproduced records of decisions it has taken and
how these have been communicated to relevant
parties.
The governors’ area of the school website is
informative about the work of the governing
body and how it takes responsibility for its
decisions and actions.
All governors have signed up to a code of
conduct and demonstrate through their
behaviour and actions that they are living up to
the standards expected by the Nolan Principles
in public life.
Swift and decisive action is taken if a member is
not attending or is in breach of the code of
conduct.
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
10. Governors ensure that there is a breadth depth and relevance to the curriculum and actively promote British Values.
Governing Body characteristic
Governors have a good understanding of the
curricular provision in the school, including
aspects of British values. They check how well
this is implemented, using independent means as
well as governing body meetings.
The curriculum and extra-curricular activities
are developed to reflect the cultural, religious
and linguistic diversity of British society and
promote tolerance and respect for others.
Minutes and papers from governorning body
meetings provide evidence of governors’ inputs
Subject leaders are regularly invited to governor
meetings to present information on their
subject area so that governors are well
informed.
Governors have a good understanding of the
range of pupils in their school, how well the
curriculum matches their needs and how well
prepared they are for their next steps.
The governing body includes clear statements
on the school website and in policies about its
aims for promoting British values.
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Action plan
Aspects for
improvement.
What action is required, why by
and when by.
11. Governors ensure that they discharge the core statutory functions of the Governing Body effectively; ensuring safeguarding meets
all statutory and other government requirements, promoting the welfare of all learning and prevent radicalisation and extremism.
Governing Body characteristic
Governors have a good understanding of their
statutory duties; they can explain and provide
robust evidence of how they are meeting these.
All governors are DBS checked and have
completed safeguarding training.
Governors are familiar with the governance
handbook and use it and the All Party
Parliamentary Group 20 Questions, to promote
and review their work.
There is forward planning, which outlines the
work ahead and includes ensuring statutory
requirements are met
A schedule of statutory responsibilities is
available to governors so that they can see what
duties they must ensure the governing body and
school undertakes.
Lead governors for specific areas have
undertaken external training. They provide
regular and detailed reports to the rest of the
governing body, gained from visits to the school
and first-hand evidence, to show they are
checking on statutory responsibilities.
Statutorily required policies are of good quality
and governors monitor their implementation as
evidenced in governor reports and other
activities.
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
Governors use a wide range of evidence to
monitor statutory requirements eg discussions
with pupils, examination of school documents,
discussion with leaders and visits to lessons.
Safeguarding requirements are effective and no
issue of welfare and safety is ignored.
Safeguarding is on the agenda at every meeting.
In addition, governors are regularly in school to
check that the single central record is accurate
and up to date and that policy is being well
implemented.
Governors gather the views of parents and
pupils, and also staff, to ensure that the school
is considered to be a safe place for all.
Policies and training for governors are of a good
standard, and governors keep close track of the
training that staff undergo to make sure they
are all up to date.
Governors have required all staff to read
Keeping Children Safe in Education, and have a
record to indicate that all have read and
understood the document.
15
12. Governors are proactive in developing system leadership, engaging with local partnerships including Educational Improvement
Partnerships. They seek external validation of their effectiveness.
Governing Body characteristic
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
Governors have a succession planning policy
and practice which promotes development of
leaders at all levels, within the school and for
the profession.
All governors understand the partnerships the
school is involved in, and discuss and evaluate
the action plans and outcomes for the group.
Governors have representation on the
Educational Improvement Partnership and
evaluates how the school benefits from the
opportunities it provides. Plans for the EIP are
shared and evaluated by all governors.
Governors keep themselves informed of
national changes and take steps to ensure that
the school is best placed to implement required
changes.
The governing body uses its partnerships and
other support mechanisms to validate their selfevolution.
16
13. Governors in schools with a denominational religious character ensure that the character of the school is promoted and monitored
and the school is prepared for Section 48 inspection using the SIAMS framework. (Christian Schools only).
Governing Body characteristic
Evidence
Green
Amber
Red
RAG
Summary of current
practice.
Aspects for improvement.
Action plan
What action is required,
why by and when by.
Governors have self-evaluated using the SIAMS
framework and completed an action plan. They
undertake regular monitoring activities.
Governors evaluate how the religious character
supports the SMSC development of all learners
and promotes fundamental British values.
Governors evaluate the extent to which the
school’s values are distinctly Christian values in
addition to being shared human values.
Governors evaluate how well the school fosters
positive relationships based on distinct Christian
values between all members of the school
community.
Governors evaluate how well learners
understand the role of their Christian faith at a
local, national and international level. They
evaluate to what extent do learners understand
and respect difference and diversity.
17
Part 3: The Governing Body Self-Evaluation Action Plan Template
Action plan 2016-17
Priority for improvement
Action required
By when
By whom
Success criteria
Example:
Governors demonstrate that they
have a clear understanding of the
school’s strengths and weaknesses
in terms of pupil performance,
progress and attainment.
1. Training for governing body on
RAISEonline:
 source training providers and costs,
 agree date and time,
 invite governing body
November
2016
Chair and clerk
Training session takes place (November 2016)
All identified governors attend (November 2016)
Governors are able to explain the RAISE data and
how it informs their work (November 2016
onwards)
Governing Body and committee minutes reflect
governor understanding of the data and evidence
governors asking informed and challenging
questions (autumn term 2016 / spring term 2017
minutes and on-going)
Priority for improvement
Action required
By when
By whom
Signed:
(Chair of Governors)
Signed:
(Headteacher)
Date:
Date:
Success criteria
18