HACKNEY ANNUAL GOVERNORS’ CONFERENCE 2017
challenging governance:
taking control of
school-led improvement
in uncertain times
Keynote speaker:
The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Estelle Morris
SUNDAY 29 JANUARY 2017
10AM – 1.15PM
VENUE:
THE TOMLINSON CENTRE
GOVERNANCE
CHALLENGING
Taking control of school-led
improvement in uncertain
times
Taking control of school-led improvement in an era of uncertain
times requires a different type of governance across our mixed
economy of schools. If in Hackney, we are to continue our zealous
mission in fulfilling a promise of success for every pupil within the
community, school leadership needs stronger and more confident
governance than ever before.
We know that governing boards play a crucial executive role in
supporting and challenging school leaders to develop and sustain
excellent educational/wellbeing outcomes for all pupils. We also
recognise that governance is becoming more complex, requiring
greater accountability of educational standards and management of
key risks.
Governors cannot always do this on their own. As such, the
governors’ conference takes a new approach to inspire an even
greater collegial and collaborative approach that is mutually
ambitious in creating a family of exceptional schools.
By debating current thinking around key themes, we hope that
governors will benefit from a series of greater insights and shared
expertise. We also anticipate that governors will consider how
national and local developments could impact on the future of
schooling. We encourage your questions to enrich the seminar
debates so colleagues might also consider common issues and
begin to co-construct solutions to future challenges.
Above all we believe the conference will help all our schools develop
greater capacity for meticulous self-improvement, whilst tackling the
challenges of a new funding formula and anticipated budget cuts.
Never has the responsibility of governance been more vital. The
role demands commitment and we take this opportunity to thank you
for giving of your time, skills and expertise.
Working together, we will better enable Hackney to promise that
every child will continue their study through routes that are academic
and/or vocational and successfully enter into the career of their
choice.
Maggie Kalnins
Head of Governance Services
Keynote Speaker
Challenging Governance:
Taking control of school-led improvement in uncertain times
The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Estelle Morris
Estelle’s prestigious career, first as a teacher then as a
politician and educational policy-maker, enables her to
speak about current challenges with a rare depth and
freshness.
EEstelle started her career in education as a teacher in an
inner city multi-racial comprehensive school where she
taught for 18 years. In 1992 she entered Parliament and in
2001 became the Secretary of State for Education and
Skills. She followed this with 2 years as a Minister at the
Department of Culture Media and Sport and left Parliament
in 2005.
Since then she has combined a career that includes senior
posts both in education and the arts as well as being a
member of the House of Lords. She is Chair of the Council
at Goldsmiths and a trustee of the Poetry Archive.
Estelle’s roles in education have allowed her to see the
education landscape from classroom teacher to senior
policy maker and it is this breadth of experience that is now
reflected in her comments and analysis of education.
Amongst other posts she now works at the Institute of
Effective Education which aims to transform the
relationship between education research and practice so
that policy making and teaching can become more
evidence based.
She is a regular contributor to Guardian Education.
Programme
9.30 am
Registration, Networking & Refreshment
10.00 am
Welcome
Anne Canning (Group Director of Children, Adults and Community Health)
10.05 am
Conference Introduction
Maggie Kalnins (Head of Governance Services)
10.10 am
Maslow
Okoruwa
Hall
Keynote Speech
Challenging Governance: Taking control of school-led improvement in
uncertain times
The Rt. Hon. The Baroness Estelle Morris
The keynote speech will be followed by Q&A. Please use the cards provided to pose questions.
10.55 am
Break, for further Networking & Refreshments
11.10 am
Seminars for Session A:
1
2
3
4
The Three Rs
How do schools ensure that all children develop strong foundations in reading,
writing and maths by the time they leave primary school?
Hilary Ryan (Principal Adviser, Primary)
Achieving Employment
How do secondary schools ensure that all students acquire the skills, knowledge
and qualifications needed to secure their route into employment?
Martin Buck (Head of Secondary, School Performance & Improvement)
Tackling Poverty
How can schools eliminate the differences in outcomes between advantaged and
disadvantaged pupils?
Derek Powell ( Leadership & Management Adviser )
Engaging Stakeholders
How can schools foster effective interaction with pupils and parents to assure the
very best outcomes for every child?
Toni Dawodi (Head of Integrated Services for Disabled Children)
Helena Marks Dwyer (Head of SENDIAGS)
Nick Corker (Head of Virtual School)
Maslow
Bandura 1
Bandura 2
Bloom 1
Bloom 2
12.05 pm
5 minute break to move to seminars
12.10 pm
Seminars for Session B:
5
6
7
Safeguarding
How do we safeguard our children from the dangers they face growing up in a
digital era within London?
James Sykes (Safeguarding & Quality Assurance Officer)
Excellence Without Compromise
How do you instil a strong school culture, ambitious expectations and continue to
meet the needs of all learners, including those who are the most vulnerable
Calvin Henry ( Leadership & Management Adviser, Primary & Early Years)
Bandura 1
Bandura 2
Diminishing Resources
How will schools continue to invest in achieving their mission when financial
resources are diminishing?
Yusuf Erol (Head of Finance)
Jo Larkin (Deputy Head of HR)
Bloom 1
Working in Partnership
What are the benefits and opportunities of working together through informal
collaborations, Teaching School Alliances, maintained school federations, and
Multi-Academy trusts?
Maggie Kalnins (Head of Governance Services)
Bloom 2
1.05 pm
Concluding Remarks, Completion of Evaluation, Next Steps
Maggie Kalnins (Head of Governance Services)
Okoruwa
Hall
1.15 pm
Close of Conference
8
Seminars for Session A
1
The Three Rs: How do schools ensure that all children develop strong
foundations in reading, writing and maths by the time they leave primary
school?
Hilary Ryan (Principal Adviser, Primary)
As we work together to ensure that our pupils leave primary schools with the skills they need
to succeed in the next phase of their education, a key focus is to ensure that pupils develop
strong foundations in reading, in writing and in mathematics.
This workshop will review key features of the practice of successful schools; some of the
current challenges schools face and how schools ensure that this necessary focus on core
standards is not at the detriment of high quality personal, social and cultural enrichment.
Recommended reading:

Betsy Brown Ruzzi (2016) Preparing great primary school teachers is not so elementary
2
Achieving Employment: How do secondary schools ensure that all
students acquire the skills, knowledge and qualification needed to secure
their route into employment?
Martin Buck (Head of Secondary, School Performance & Improvement)
Government, business and wider societal interests have a keen focus on extending the role of
schools to more adequately prepare young people for the world of work and ensure that they are
able to adapt to a fast changing and increasingly globalised environment. In this agenda there is
concern on the part of some that schools are being expected to act as clearing houses for
national employment routes as opposed to focusing on a broad and so called liberal curriculum
that prepares young people with life- long opportunities and interest beyond the world of work.
What should governors and school leaders do when framing the values, ethos and curriculum to
take account of these apparently conflicting demands particularly at a time when the demands
of the accountability regime including potential funding cuts increase this challenge? What does
a school programme that gives focus to careers education and understanding employment
routes and experiences look like? How does it mesh with skills development beyond
employment?
Recommended reading:

Ofsted (2016) Getting ready for work
3
Tackling Poverty: How can schools eliminate the differences in outcomes
between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils?
Derek Powell (Leadership & Management Adviser)
“…. to an extent unmatched in most other countries, the distribution of educational achievement
maintained pre-existing inequalities, with differences between high and low attainment
accounted for by socio-economic class.” Tackling UK poverty and disadvantage in the twentyfirst century, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2003.
In 2017, the differences between the achievement of children from poor backgrounds and their
peers remains stark. This workshop will examine the contribution that schools can make to
reducing differences in outcomes between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils and
improving social mobility.
Recommended reading:

Leading Learner (2017) How best to spend your pupil premium funding?
4
Engaging Stakeholders: How can schools foster effective interaction with
pupils and parents to assure the very best outcomes for every child?
Toni Dawodi (Head of Integrated Services for Disabled Children); Helena Marks Dwyer
(Head of SENDIAGS); Nick Corker (Head of Virtual School)
Wherever you look there are plenty of references to the importance of listening to parents,
collecting their views and generally encouraging them to be involved in school life especially if
their child has special educational needs or a disability. Similarly pupil voice and the importance
of this in helping to assure the very best outcomes for every child is on everyone’s agenda. But
are parents or pupils an easily identifiable and homogenous groups? Parents are experts by
experience, school staff experts by profession. Can the language of professionalism leave
parents feeling marginalised and ignored?
What does this mean for governors in real terms; how does your school engage pupils and
parents as partners in learning? How do you build and maintain parental engagement – what
about when things go wrong and relationships are difficult? Does effective interaction look
different when we are considering children who may be potentially more vulnerable because they
have SEND or they are ‘looked after’?
Recommended reading:

LBH (Feb. 2016) The POET survey

Nicoll (2011) Co-production – how are you doing? A self-reflection tool

Special Needs Jungle (2016) Surrey gets a spanking from Ofsted in its SEND inspection

http://www.in-control.org.uk/
Seminars for Session B
5
Safeguarding: How do we safeguard our children from the dangers they
face growing up in a digital era within London?
James Sykes (Safeguarding & Quality Assurance Officer)
One of the primary concerns for children, parents, carers, educators and prosecutors in the
modern age is the safety and welfare of children and young people online.
The internet is an extraordinary force for good but it is not designed with children in mind. Yet
one third of all internet users are under the age of 18 and the part it plays in their lives continues
to grow: in the last year time online among 3-4 year olds has increased from 6 hours 48 minutes
to 8 hours and 18 minutes. 12-15 year olds now spend over 20 hours a week online.
With this in mind it is essential that we educators develop our understanding of this landscape
and concentrate on developing skills with children to become resilient digital citizens. This
seminar will explore safeguarding children in the digital era.
Recommended reading:
 Fossi (2016) The need for parity of protection
 Livingstone (2015) 6 things parents and policy-makers need to know about children and the
internet
 NSPCC report (2016) A qualitative study of children, young people and ‘sexting’
 Children’s Commissioner (2017) Growing up digital
6
Excellence Without Compromise: How do you instil a strong school
culture, ambitious expectations and continue to meet the needs of all
learners, including those who are the most vulnerable?
Calvin Henry (Leadership & Management Adviser, Primary & Early Years)
We live at a time when our education system undergoes continual and often radical change, with
government leaders pledging that Britain’s attainment standards will in time, be in line with
standards attained by the world’s best education systems. But at what price?
Does this drive for ever increasing standards mean that high attaining outstanding schools and
more specifically, teachers and leaders compromise their educational and pedagogical beliefs?
Are certain pupil groups side-lined or can all schools really achieve excellence without
compromise?
Recommended reading:
 Wheatley & Wilkes (2012) Creating a positive school culture
 SecEd (2016) Getting whole school behaviour right
 Beischer (2016) How can school leaders who exclude foster a climate of belonging?

Scott (2016) The 6 secrets of school turnarounds
7
Diminishing Resources: How will schools continue to invest in achieving
their mission when financial resources are diminishing?
Yusuf Erol (Head of Finance); Jo Larkin (Deputy Head of HR)
Schools, particularly schools in London, are operating in a challenging environment with
significant policy changes and many facing funding cuts. This seminar will introduce governors
to some strategies which aim to support the optimum allocation of resources. It will also look at
specific school examples of where school leaders might focus their efforts in an attempt to
improve the financial position of their school.
Governors who attend this seminar should be able to take away a list of items which they can
discuss at their next governing body meetings. These items should stimulate a discussion on:
(1) the effectiveness of the current way the school creates, approves and monitors a budget
plan; (2) potential areas (including staffing) where the school can become more efficient; and
(3) how the school can shed some of its spending power and still remain as effective as
possible.
Recommended reading:
 Mansfield & Bereford (2014) Smart Budgeting: Integrating Financial and Strategic planning
for outcomes
 DfE (2016) Schools financial efficiency: top 10 planning checks for governors
8
Working in Partnership: What are the benefits and opportunities of working
together through informal collaborations, Teaching School Alliances,
maintained school federations, and Multi-Academy Trusts?
Maggie Kalnins (Head of Governance Services)
Many governors today remain unconvinced of the benefits that collaboration with other schools
can bring. For instance, 76% of respondents to the 2016 NGA/TES governors' survey did not
think there were sufficient educational benefits to Academisation. Furthermore, the motivation
for partnership and collaboration across schools may too often feel forced, uncomfortable and
also instil a fear that some schools may get ‘left behind’.
In this seminar, we will go beyond terminology, to better understand the practices within
collaborative partnerships of Hackney schools and further afield, which result in mutually
beneficial outcomes.
With schools now facing greater challenges than ever before we will aim to highlight the key
elements within such partnerships that enables individual schools to achieve their strategic
plans, embody their distinct ethos and values, and greatly enhance the life chances of all
children within their school.
Recommended reading:

Armstrong for DfE (October 2015) Effective school partnerships and collaboration for school
improvement: a review of the evidence

Robert Hill (October 2016) Where is the MAT agenda going?

Rob Carpenter (August 2015) The Power of School Partnerships: Putting the 'Why' Before How and
What
Biographies
Martin Buck
Head of Secondary, School Performance & Improvement
[email protected]
Martin Buck works for the Hackney Learning Trust as a Leadership and Management Adviser. His
strategic role as Head of Secondary and member of the HLT leadership team for the last five years
means that he has responsibility for the oversight and improvement of the secondary schools within
the local authority, as well as working in partnership with Academy schools and the two main colleges
and other post16 providers, as part of the HLT 11-19 Strategic Development Partnership.
Martin has a sustained track record of school improvement as a Head teacher, Consultant Head
teacher with London Challenge and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT). Martin has
led schools in Hammersmith, Harrow and Newham, including in Harrow a successful school re-status
and re-build process and in his Newham School three successful Ofsted’s with outstanding practice
recognised in each and a high quality BSF new build. His London Challenge work involved the
support of a failing West London boys’ school that moved to good over a three year period. Prior to
Headship he was an LA and Ofsted Inspector, having been an Advisory Teacher and DHT
Curriculum.
Martin has led leadership and management training, including mentoring and coaching of senior and
middle leaders and governors, teaching and learning and curriculum modelling and community
schooling. Martin has a long history of national training with London university partners and NGAs in
the area of personal and social development and citizenship in which he has published extensively.
Nick Corker
Head of Hackney Virtual School
[email protected]
Nick Corker is the Head of the Virtual School for Looked After Children, Care Leavers and Youth
Justice and has worked in local schools and The Hackney Learning Trust since 1998. He is a qualified
teacher and holds the National Professional Qualification for Headship. In his current role he works
closely with Hackney’s Children’s Social Care Department and is Vice Chair of both the adoption and
fostering panels.
Nick has developed a team of collaborative professionals whose commitment, creativity and
innovation has resulted in Hackney’s Looked After Children attaining some of the best results in the
country.
Toni Dawodu
Head of Integrated Services for Disabled Children
[email protected]
Toni Dawodu is the Head of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) at Hackney Learning
Trust. She is a qualified social worker with over twenty years' experience in the field of multi-agency
working such as Youth Justice and Children Disability Service. She was Head of Hackney Ark for
over 5 years so has extensive knowledge around health service provision and commissioning. She
is a Practice Educator and Practice Assessor in Social Work and lectures at Kingston University on
the MA Social Work programme.
Yusuf Erol
Head of Finance
[email protected]
Yusuf Erol is Head of Finance at Hackney Learning Trust. He is a chartered certified accountant with
over 10 years of experience in public sector finance. He has been vice-chair of governors at a
Hackney primary school. He is an elected panel member at the Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants (ACCA). He is responsible for coordinating Hackney Council's education budget.
Jo Larkin
Deputy Head of Human Resources
[email protected]
Jo Larkin has extensive experience in the field of Education Human Resources having worked over
20 years in Education. In her current role as Deputy Head of Resources, her team of HR Business
Partners and Advisers provide HR support to schools in the borough of Hackney. This support
includes advising Headteachers and panels of governors on capability and disciplinary issues as well
as supporting schools with staffing restructures. She also serves as a governor at two primary
schools within Hackney and Haringey.
Calvin Henry
Leadership & Management Adviser, Primary & Early Years
[email protected]
Calvin Henry is a leadership and management advisor at the Hackney Learning Trust and is the
strategic lead for assessment. He has been a headteacher and an executive headteacher,
sucessfully leading one of his schools to achieving outstanding on two consecutive occasions. Calvin
has experience of teaching in inner-city schools across a range of contexts, including mainstream
schools with special educational needs resource bases. He has also been a Local Leader in
Education, worked for another local authority and the London Diocese to support a range of schools,
including those in challenging circumstances, all of which have since been graded as at least good
by Oftsed. Calvin is also a serving Ofsted inspector.
Maggie Kalnins
Head of Governance Services
[email protected]
Maggie Kalnins became the leader of governance services for schools in Hackney after an extensive
career as a science teacher and school leader within complex urban secondary schools. Most
recently Maggie served as the CEO of an education charity which develops alternative models of
learning. During this tenure, she introduced the term ‘pushed out’ to provoke a debate amongst
practitioners focusing on the weaknesses in our education systems rather than the ‘abnormality’ of
the individual child. Maggie commissioned the publication of ‘The alternative should not be inferior:
What now for ‘pushed out’ learners?’, which called on schools and alternative providers to find
innovative solutions that support England’s overlooked pupils.
Maggie has dedicated more than 20 years to serving as a school governor. For the past 12 years
she has been a member of the Mossbourne Federation Governing Board in Hackney, where she
worked closely with Sir Michael Wilshaw prior to his appointment as HMCI at Ofsted.
Helena Marks-Dwyer
Head of SEND Information, Advice & Guidance Service
[email protected]
Helena has been working in Hackney since January 2016 having previously spent 15 years working
in a similar role in Hertfordshire providing information, advice and support to parents and carers of
children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. She has been involved as
a school governor since the late 1980’s initially as a parent governor and is now a governor for a
special school in Hemel Hempstead. Helena has a Masters in Early Education in 2013 during which
she was the author of a chapter in a multi-agency publication Transitions in the Early Years.
Derek Powell
Leadership & Management Adviser
[email protected]
Derek Powell is a Leadership & Management Adviser at Hackney Learning Trust. He is a qualified
teacher with over twenty year' experience as a teacher, middle and senior leader in inner London
schools.
Derek holds the National Professional Qualification for Headship. He has been working with school
leaders and governors in Hackney and other local authorities since 2000.
Hilary Ryan
Principal Primary Adviser
[email protected]
Hilary Ryan is the Principal Primary Adviser at Hackney Learning Trust. She is a qualified teacher
with over thirty years' experience as a teacher, middle and senior leader in a range of primary schools
in five local authorities. Hilary holds the National Professional Qualification for Headship and was
headteacher of an urban primary school for eleven years. As headteacher she was a Local Leader
of Education supporting schools causing concern with particular expertise in developing leadership
capacity and improving the quality of teaching and learning. She is a team inspector for Ofsted.
James Sykes
Safeguarding & Quality Assurance Officer
[email protected]
James Sykes has been working for HLT for 18 months, primary responsibilities include, designing
and delivering safeguarding training courses and developing policy to further support schools and
setting in achieving best practice in safeguarding children.
Prior to this he spent 6 years for a Local Safeguarding Children Board managing systems and
processes in partnership with a wide range of agencies including Children's Social Care, the Police,
NHS and the Voluntary and Community Sector. James has spent 20 years in safeguarding and 10
years in learning and development and is both a qualified teacher and youth worker.
Hackney Learning Trust
School Improvement
Business Services
Leadership and Management,
Teaching and Learning, Curriculum
and 14 to 19 support
Email:
[email protected].
uk
Phone: 020 8820 7499
IT Services
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7777
Early Years Support
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7037
Coaching and Learning & Development
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7526
Governor Services
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7369
Payroll
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7697
Music Services
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 020 7241 7408
Human Resources
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7538
School Finance/Bursarial
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7457
Marketing, Design and Web Services
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7474
Pupil Support
Educational
Psychology/Mindfulness in Schools
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7519
Specialist Teaching and Inclusion
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7326
Professional Training
Continuing Professional
Development
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 3076 1515
Newly Qualified Teacher Training
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8820 7613
Services for Schools Team
Telephone: 020 8820 7378
Email: [email protected]
Website:
www.hackneyservicesforschools.co.uk
Notes
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