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Introduction to the NGA’s Governance Professional’s Career Framework

Earlier this month the National Governance Association (NGA) held its first Governance Professional’s Career Framework focus group online meeting.

Background

The NGA has “made a commitment to collaborating with governance professionals and other interested parties to develop a career pathway for the profession” with the aim of launching their framework at the end of 2022.

The framework aims to:

Be an online resource relevant to current and new governance professionals from all backgrounds
Cover all education sectors
Contain explanatory roles (see levels below) and supporting resources

Three working title levels

The NGA have suggested the following (non-exclusive) working titles, with the aim to provide guidance on the roles associated with each level, individual requirements and pay benchmarks:

Clerking: Typically, those whose role will be to deliver the board’s clerking requirements
Governance Co-ordinator: Typically, those who are a governance officer within a MAT, clerking service manager or regional governance co-ordinator for a group of schools. In most cases their role will involve clerking, but with the addition of line managing clerks, co-ordinating governance support activities across a number of schools and supporting the lead governance professional level to provide strategic and operational direction
Lead Governance Professional: Typically, those who are part of the central support team. In most cases this will involve line management and strategic and operational development of governance structure

Further explanatory guidance includes:

The most common entry routes associated with each level
An outline of duties contained in most job descriptions associated with a particular level
Individual requirements in terms of standard of education, experience, specialist qualifications, knowledge, skills and attributes
Pay – to provide a current market estimate pay/pay region based on benchmarking
Training and development – the ongoing CPD requirements that are associated with a particular level

The role of the focus group

The focus group meetings have been set up to help shape the NGA’s framework from a variety of different roles and backgrounds, including self-employed governance professionals, trainers and professional networks.

The first focus group meeting, held earlier this month, looked at the suggested levels (as above), key messages around progression and professional growth and the explanatory content for each level.

The focus group was asked to consider the suggested levels and explanatory guidance, any roles or entry routes that should be more visible, the role and duties of a company secretary and where this should sit within the framework, the information required about working as a governance professional at each level and career pathway opportunities including as a self-employed governance professional.

Initial thoughts from Pro Clerking

When I first heard about the NGA’s plan to develop a career framework for governance professionals I jumped at the chance of being part of the focus group. Since starting Pro Clerking in 2019 I have always been keen to share how the role of a Clerk or governance professional can be developed into a professional career, as you will see from my website:

Pro-Clerking promises to:
EQUIP Clerks with up-to-date resources and information
ENABLE Clerks to join a supportive community, collaborate with their peers and have the opportunity to progress their professional development
EMPOWER Clerks to acknowledge the importance of their role and have the confidence to provide solid and meaningful advice on governance, constitutional and procedural matters

I really valued being part of the focus group and not only hearing about the work the NGA have ben doing but to also hear input and opinions from other governance professionals. For me, the highlights of these conversations came out as the necessity of ensuring the framework inclusively includes ALL sectors rather than being academy or MAT heavy, the inclusion of a company secretary as a separate role and how those wishing to become self-employed or even set up their own clerking business can be best supported.

With all of this in mind, I’d love to share that Pro Clerking will be launching a career development workshop, to include information on setting up as a self-employed clerk or starting your own business. I will also be sharing a case study of my professional background and progression with the NGA as part of the development of their framework – watch this space!

Upcoming workshops

Exclusions Workshop in collaboration with Sarah Shortt from Brighter Futures for Children – Monday 23rd May 10-12pm, £50.40

Compliance Workshop – Wednesday 22nd and Monday 27th June 10-12pm, £30

I could also run an additional Company Secretary Workshop if there is enough interest.

View and book onto upcoming workshops here – want to receive 20% off all workshops? Why not consider joining our FREE Pro Clerking GVO Community?

All my best

Ellie

elliehully@proclerking.com

The Governance Professional’s Annual Planner 2022-23 is now available!

Planners will be dispatched in June 2022 – find out more and order your planner here

Coming soon…..

The Clerking with Confidence Academy – a self-paced online course with pick n mix modules – enrolment for 2022-23 opening soon!

Have you joined our Free Pro Clerking GVO community? Find out more here.

The DfE’s Schools White Paper: What does it mean for Governance?

As I’m sure you are aware, at the end of March the DfE released their widely awaited white paper – Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child.

The paper provided an insight into future national education policy and, as expected, had a strong indication towards a full trust based education system in the UK with the majority of schools (90%) being within or in the process of joining a MAT by 2030. It is worth noting at this point that the white paper is not legally mandated – but rather to set out the Government’s vision for education policy.

The paper is separated into 4 clear chapters:

School improvement and what is needed for the teaching profession
Curriculum and the minimum expectation of the length of the school week
Targeted support including the parent pledge on engagement and broadening the use of pupil premium funding
A stronger and fairer school system – aka the move to a fully trust based education system

What does a stronger and fairer school system mean?

The DfE is focusing on the development of a “family of schools” and aims to have all schools within or joining a “strong trust” by 2030. A “strong trust” exhibits:

High quality and inclusive education
School improvement
Strategic governance
Strong and effective financial management
A strong workforce including prioritisation of staff wellbeing

What does strategic governance look like within a “strong trust”?

An effective and robust governance structure
The involvement of schools and exemplification of ethical standards
Utilising the expertise and skills on it’s board to oversee strategic direction and hold senior leaders to account
Inclusion of a strong local identity that effectively engages with parents and members of the wider community

Local governance arrangements

The paper was very clear about the continued need for trust’s to have local governance arrangement in place. The NGA has suggested some key local governance expectations including:

The importance of separation between the 3 distinct governance layers within a trust (Members/Trustees/Local Governance) to ensure accountability but also the need for 2-way communication and clear delegation between each layer
The investment in lead governance professionals to provide professional, expert advice
The acceptance of meaningful challenge
For local governance to be formed of local volunteers, not executives
For Trust Boards to be visible to local governance and local governors having input in the performance management and recruitment of headteachers as well as contribute to school improvement and be aware of the school’s budget plan
For a trust-wide development plan that encourages local governors to learn from schools outside their trust

Other key take home points

The DfE wants to eliminate the number of “empty” MATs with a trajectory for Trusts to have a minimum of 7,500 pupils or 10 schools
No upper limit has been placed on the number of pupils or schools within a MAT but organisations will not be be able to run indefinitely without excellent outcomes
Better regulatory procedures will be put in place for trusts including new statutory intervention powers
Good and outstanding schools may request being moved to a stronger trust in exceptional circumstances
Local Authorities will remain at the heart of the education system with new powers to deliver legal responsibilities
New standards will be introduced for MATs including collaboration standards to ensure the best outcomes for children

Additional thoughts and next steps

Although the white paper didn’t particularly hold any new huge announcements it was useful to have clarity on the DfE’s strategic vision for national education policy and reflect on where we are within our own establishments. The big take-home items for me would be the recognition of the need for investment in lead Governance Professionals, the continued need for local governance (and so local Clerks) and the LA’s continued role at the heart of the education system.

What are your thoughts on the white paper? Has this kick-started any conversations within your establishment?

Upcoming workshops

Clerking with Confidence Workshop Summer 1 – Monday 16th May 10-12pm, £15

Exclusions Workshop in collaboration with Sarah Shortt from Brighter Futures for Children – Monday 23rd May 10-12pm, £50.40

Compliance Workshop – Wednesday 22nd June 10-12pm, £30

I could also run an additional Company Secretary Workshop if there is enough interest.

View and book onto upcoming workshops here – want to receive 20% off all workshops? Why not consider joining our FREE Pro Clerking GVO Community?

All my best

Ellie

elliehully@proclerking.com

The Governance Professional’s Annual Planner 2022-23 is now available for pre-order!

Planners due to be shipped June 2022 – find out more and pre-order your planner here

Coming soon…..

The Clerking with Confidence Academy – a self-paced online course with pick n mix modules – enrolment for 2022-23 opening soon!

Have you joined our Free Pro Clerking GVO community? Find out more here.

NGA’s Governance Professional’s Conference Round-up 2022

Welcome back to to the summer 1 term! I hope you all had a restful Easter break and have come back fully refreshed for the term ahead. Here at Pro Clerking it’s an incredibly busy (and short!) term with lots of workshops, client training and of course the launch of the Governance Professional’s Annual Planner 2022-23.

At the end of March the NGA held their 2022 Governance Professional’s Conference so I thought it would be nice to do a summary round-up of key take home points for those who weren’t able to attend.

Day 1 of the conference focused on the introduction of a career pathway for Governance Professionals (GPs), the growing MAT sector and implications for GPs and reviewing governance including the launch of the NGA’s 20 and 21 questions. Day 2 the covered legal updates and the role of the Company Secretary.

Of course, the slight elephant in the room was the DfE’s newly published Schools White Paper which includes the aimed move towards MATs. Due to timing, the conference didn’t focus any more on this in particular; however, I will be summarising the White Paper and any implications for GPs in next week’s blog post.

Key take home points

The NGA is committed to creating a career pathway for GPs
This includes qualifications, roles, entry level, case studies, CPD expectations and pay benchmarking
Suggested 3 distinct levels – Clerking level, Governance co-ordinator level and Lead Governance Professional Level
The NGA are seeking volunteers to be part of a focus group – first meeting Tuesday 10th May 2-3pm – email amy.wright@nga.org.uk
The growing MAT sector – to be covered in next week’s blog post
The NGA has re-evaluated and refreshed it’s 20 questions to better reflect changes in governance and to ensure board self-review is both proportionate and impactful
The review, including a consultation period, resulted in an updated structure – 20 questions for single schools, 21 questions for Trust Boards and 15 questions for academy committees
The NGA highly recommend using RAG (red, amber, green) rating for self-evaluations to highlight areas of strength and those that potentially need work
The conference highlighted other ways of conducting reviews including Chair’s 360, annual informal Board member evaluation and external reviews of governance
Mark Blois from Browne Jacobson provided a legal update including the following: provision of virtual meetings, noting the need for Academy Trusts to ensure meetings are held in line with their Articles, provisions to change how admission appeals operate have been extended to September 2022, statutory timescales for exclusions now apply as usual with updated regulations expected this autumn and proposed changes to KCSIE 2022 including GBs and proprietors will need to ensure that all governors and trustees receive appropriate safeguarding training at induction and such training should be regularly updated
The role of the Company Secretary including the following: bridge between governance and management – in all honesty I felt the speaker missed the mark with his presentation and talked more about the general role of GPs rather than the specific role of a Company Secretary

Additional thoughts and next steps

I found the discussion about a career path for GPs really interesting as this is something I already value and have thought about in depth as part of Pro Clerking and how I can support Clerks and GPs to see their role as a fulfilling career in which you can progress. More on this in a later blog post.

As a follow up to several of the points raised at the conference I would like to invite you to join the following workshops:

Clerking with Confidence Workshop Summer 1 – Monday 16th May 10-12pm, currently at early bird offer price of £9.60

Exclusions Workshop in collaboration with Sarah Shortt from Brighter Futures for Children – Monday 23rd May 10-12pm, £50.40

Compliance Workshop – Wednesday 22nd June 10-12pm, £30

I could also run an additional Company Secretary Workshop if there is enough interest.

View and book onto upcoming workshops here – want to receive 20% off all workshops? Why not consider joining our FREE Pro Clerking GVO Community?

All my best

Ellie

elliehully@proclerking.com

The Governance Professional’s Annual Planner 2022-23 is now available for pre-order!

Planners due to be shipped June 2022 – find out more and pre-order your planner here

Coming soon…..

The Clerking with Confidence Academy – a self-paced online course with pick n mix modules – enrolment for 2022-23 opening soon!

Have you joined our Free Pro Clerking GVO community? Find out more here.

Spotlight on: Governor Recruitment & Diversity

One of NGA’s 8 elements of effective governance is having the “right people around the table”. From evaluating your current board to succession planning and governor recruitment, ensuring you have an effective governing board of volunteers, including recruiting from underrepresented groups, is not always an easy task!

The NGA’s updated Right People Around the Table guidance provides practical advice on governor recruitment, including prioritising diversity. The NGA’s Skills Audit has also been renamed the Skills and Diversity Audit.

Here are some top tips to help you create a robust governor recruitment process:

Be transparent

Ensure vacancies are transparent around what governance looks like both more generally and in your specific setting. Ensure you include information about the role, eligibility and responsibility of governors in addition to expectations in terms of time, travel and availability. Also remember to make it clear how to apply or ask for more information.

Use a wide range of channels

By opening up your recruitment process to a wide range of channels you are actively encouraging diversity. From local media to Linkedin and twitter – think outside the box!

Actively encourage diversity

“A diverse Board brings greater awareness of the different challenges experienced by the communities we serve. It reduces blind spots and leads to better decision-making”
Kam Kothia, Chair of Trustees at Star Academies

Set a culture for equality and diversity as a fundamental believe and guiding principle for the evolution of your Board to ensure it best serves the commities it supports. Create an inclusion culture by inviting and welcoming both challenge and support.

Consider peer on peer review

Peer on peer review of your recruitment process can offer key insights into where you could improve inclusivity and diversity.

Be visible

As well as being transparent around governance, help potential applicants to understand the role of governance in your setting by being actively visible in your role and encourage meaningful engagement with stakeholders.

Have a high quality induction process

Ensure a high-quality induction process for all governors is in place. On the flip side, encourage fresh perspectives with meaningful succession planning.

What would you add to this list? What barriers do you face with governor recruitment? Have you considered the diviersity and incluivity of your Board?

All my best

Ellie

Summer workshop dates will be circulated soon!

Have you joined our Free Pro Clerking GVO community? Find out more here.

Spotlight on: Regulatory Documents

What do you mean by regulatory documents?

Regulatory documents determine the way in which an education setting is set up and overseen. They outline the legal requirements by which school governance is held to account and guidance around the role and functions of governance.

LA maintained vs. academies

Regulations depend upon the type of school. Schools fall generally under two categories – LA maintained and DfE funded (academies and free schools) which dictate the regulations they fall under.

Regulatory documents for LA maintained schools

E.g Community, church, foundation and special schools

Regulatory documents:

Governance Handbook : includes guidance from the DfE outlining the core role and functions of governance. It is the first point of reference for legal duties and includes a lot of links to additional documents and information.
School Governance Regulations : Two documents – 1. Roles, Prodecures and Allowances – provides guidance on legal obligations and duties of a governing board 2. Constitution – the way in which governance is made up (number and types of governor)
Competancy Frameworks : Two documents – 1. Competancy Framework for Governance 2. Clerking Competancy Framework – both documents outline the knowledge, skills and behaviours for effective governance
Instrument of Government : Legal document recording the constitution and terms of office for a government body and the legal name of the school
Standing Orders : Sets out the rules for how your governing body works (not a legal document)

Regulatory documents for academies

Academies are governed by the DfE and company and charity law as companies limited by guarantee and exempt charities. Therefore, their regulatory documents look different to those of LA maintained schools.

Regulatory documents:

The first three documents above (governance handbook, regulations and competancy frameworks) also relate to academies; however, are not binding
Articles of Association : set out the charitabe purpose and governance structure of the trust
Funding Agreement : Master Funding Agreement is the legal contract between the Secretary of State (government) and the academy trust. Schools within a MAT will also have Supplementary Funding Agreements for each school that joins the MAT
Scheme of Delegation : agreement between the trust board and local governing body or headteacher setting out the delegated authority given by the trust board

Ellie

Upcoming training from Pro Clerking

Effective Minute Taking – Wednesday 9th March 10-12pm

Clerking with Confidence Workshop – Monday 21st March 10-12pm

Can’t make the live session? All workshops are recorded and any resources are circulated to delegates following the live workshop.

Have you joined our Free Pro Clerking GVO community? Find out more here.

Spotlight on: Persons of Significant Control

This week’s blog post is a spotlight on Persons of Significant Control (or PSCs).

*Please note: PSCs only apply to Academy Trusts!*

What are PSCs?

PSCs relate to any individual or group (aka corporate Member) who has the ability to exercise “significant” control, i.e. more than 25% of voting rights.

Where and why do PSCs need to be declared?

Academy Trusts are companies limited by guarantee and therefore, under company law, must declare any PSCs in both their statutory (or governance) books/registers and at Companies House.

How do I know if an individual or group are a PSC and need to be declared?

PSCs relate to Members of Academy Trusts when there are fewer than 4 Members in post (noting the minimum requirement of 3 and suggested best practice of 5) as 3 Members would hold more than 25% voting rights, and to groups such as a sponsor or umbrella trust who have the ability to appoint the majority of Trustees.

So essentially – if you have 4 or more Members, none of which are a corporate Member, then none of these need to be named as PSCs.

If you have just the minimum of 3 Members they will each need to be individually named as PSCs. The same as if you were to have a corporate Member with the ability to appoint the majority of Trustees.

PSCs do not relate to Trustees as they are already declared on Companies House.

What information do I need to declare?

Below is an example of the information required when declaring a PSC:

Name – name of individual or group
Correspondance Address – If a person, use the Trust’s registered address
Governing Law – e.g. UK Companies Act
Legal Form – e.g. Company Limited by Guarantee
Place Registered – e.g.UK
Registration Number – e.g. Company number
Nature of Control – e.g. right to appoint and remove Trustees

All my best

Ellie

Have you joined our Free Pro Clerking GVO community? Find out more here.

Blogmas Day 18: Merry Christmas from Pro Clerking and GVO + Exclusive Discount Code

Welcome to day 18 of Blogmas! Today is the last day of this year’s Blogmas series – I hope you’ve found the posts helpful and, as always, we always welcome comments or feedback!

To end this year’s series, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year for 2022 from Pro Clerking and GVO.

As a Christmas gift here’s an exclusive discount code for 10% off ANY Pro Clerking workshop or resource to use site-wide for the whole of 2022 (one use only)!

BLOGMAS2021

All our best