Remote Governance

Remote Governance

Governing remotely has become a real focus for Boards across the country.  Governors and Trustees have found it difficult to know what approaches to take, when to be flexible, and how they can effectively monitor whilst not being able to visit schools in person.

This guide offers some thoughts and examples on how Governors and Trustees can remain effective in their role during remote working.

What does the guidance tell us?

The latest guidance from the Department for Education (December 2020) states:

“Governing and trust boards should continue to take a pragmatic approach to their meetings. In line with regional or national restrictions, and guidance on social distancing, boards should continue with their alternative meeting arrangements where possible, but could consider whether a blended approach of face-to-face and virtual meetings would be appropriate if needed.”  

Click here to visit the DfE’s December 2020 governor update -  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-governance-update/school-governance-update-december-2020.

Due to the current national lockdown only essential journeys are permitted and therefore governing boards should continue to meet virtually.  The NGA’s current advice is:

“NGA’s position is that governing boards should continue to meet and govern remotely in order to support the efforts that schools are making to maintain effective control measures and remain open. Whilst acknowledging that our eight elements of effective governance do require some face-to-face interaction, we believe that safety considerations must take priority at this challenging time.”

The following offers guidance on a blended approach if current restrictions are lifted.  

As stated by the DfE, a blended approach could be considered.  It is important to also consider those Governors and Trustees who have chosen to isolate due to their own personal circumstances and such decisions should be respected.  It is also worth considering the level of technology available to your trust or school and whether a blended approach would work.  Think about:

  • If meeting (in part) in person, can meetings be socially distanced and will attendees be able to hear each other and efficiently carry out business?
  • Will those joining remotely be able to hear all present and able to engage in the meeting?
  • Will your Clerk be able to hear from all attendees and manage a blended approach?

These are questions only individual schools and trusts can answer and consultation with the Board members is advised.

Link Governor/Trustee Visits

Each school and trust should consider how monitoring visits could be organised in alignment with the risk assessment.  Many monitoring visits could be completed remotely whereas some may only be effective in person.  If an ‘in person’ visit is essential it should be carried out outside of school hours (where possible) and follow the rules put in place.

Monitoring schedules can remain the same for Trustees and Governors to continue to virtually meet with subject and lead staff.  The outcome of these visits will be reduced and more discussion based, but will provide value and a method for Boards to continue their monitoring role.  When carrying out remote monitoring, Boards should:

  • Focus on strategic priorities and key policies – ensure you have a copy of the strategic plan or school improvement plan where relevant to the subject or faculty you are meeting with.  It is also useful to have a copy of any policy relating to that subject or faculty and familiarise yourself with the contents before meeting.  This way you will be able to identify where the policy is being followed and question where there are gaps.
  • Be pragmatic when confirming dates and times for meeting.  Consider staff workloads and appropriate times of the day.
  • Prepare for the meeting by requesting relevant information from the lead member of staff, reading any relevant policies, and reading through any details from a previous visit.
  • Observe all existing protocols for meeting with staff as you would if in person.  Your school or trust may have a visits policy; review this before the meeting if so.
  • Follow up the meeting with a summary report to share with your Board.  This may be something you already have in place; continue to use the same format if so.  If you don’t have a form in place, create a standard template to build consistency across your Board.  Think about challenges they have they faced, what do they consider are the areas/subjects’ strengths, how do they differentiate learning (if appropriate) to be inclusive to all students, and what are the priorities for the coming term.

Questions for Boards to Consider During Remote Governance

Questioning during Board meetings has always been a critical part of a Governor/Trustees’ role.  Whilst carrying out governing matters remotely, more importance should be placed on effective questioning.  These questions may not be any different to the sorts of questions asked at any time of the year (or under normal circumstances).  

It is important to remind yourself of what ‘holding to account’ means.  Holding to account should not be aggressive; it must be planned, evaluated, and evidence based.  Holding to account should not be a linear process and should consider a range of data and information.

You may wish to consider the following questions:

  • What is the school’s interpretation of vulnerable learners?
  • Has the pandemic had an impact on the number of disadvantaged children?
  • How are free school meals being provided to families?
  • How are families being supported further than daily education – family support, lack of internet access, external services?
  • How is the school managing the blend of remote and face-to-face teaching?
  • Are there any major risks to the school whilst delivering remote education – health, finance, performance, etc.
  • How do we support our pupils and their families to engage with online learning provided?
  • Are we aware of issues families may have in terms of access to remote learning and how are we supporting that?
  • How are we supporting staff to deliver online learning?  Are they receiving CPD?
  • What is the online learning curriculum based on?  Is it meeting the needs of pupils and proving a broad and balanced curriculum?
  • What approach does the school take to support and encourage pupils to stay safe online?
  • Is there anything the Board can do to support the school in respect of remote learning?
  • Is the school tracking relevant additional Covid related expenditure?
  • What are the plans and rationale for spending the additional Coronavirus catch-up premium? Do these align with the catch-up priorities of pupils? 
  • Are there any trends in the attendance figures? 
  • How does attendance compare with previous years/terms?

Remember these questions could be relevant to periods when the school(s) is fully open and to when the school(s) is partially open as well as questions for a Trust Board to focus or an LGB.

Focus Areas 

The following sections provide considerations or specific questions for focus areas during the pandemic paying particular attention to Governor/Trustee Link areas:

Safeguarding

  • Key contact for the Safeguarding Link Governor/Trustee is the Headteacher or DSL (Designated Safeguarding Lead) and regular calls, virtual meetings, or face-to-face meetings (where safe to do so) should be agreed.
  • How is the school/trust working to safeguard vulnerable pupils (including those working remotely), and whether these plans are working well?
  • Whether staff have concerns about any individual pupils, including those who were not technically categorised as 'vulnerable' by the DfE, and what the school is doing for these pupils? (Governors must not be provided with any child specific information).
  • If the school/trust is delivering remote lessons, what safeguarding arrangements are in place to keep pupils safe? 
  • Have the Safeguarding and Behaviour Policies been updated and approved by governors, taking into account the new arrangements? How do governors know that all staff are familiar with the updated policies? Where is this recorded? 
  • Is the Single Central Record (SCR) up to date, when was it last monitored and by whom? Governors to decide on the frequency of their SCR monitoring and arrangements for reporting. 
  • Is the school aware of the updated DBS requirement that all pre-employment documentation needs to be physically (not virtually) verified from the Autumn 2020 term?

Health and Safety

  • Do Governors/Trustees have oversight or access to the latest risk assessments?
  • Are Governors/Trustees aware of the Health & Safety Executive spot check regime (https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKHSE/bulletins/29c406f).
  • Has the Link Health and Safety Governor/Trustee been able to carry out a monitoring visit (in whatever capacity) as per the agreed schedule?
  • Are there any concerns about ongoing maintenance which have been delayed due to restrictions in place?

Wellbeing and Staff Workload

  • Could the Headteacher/CEO report differ during the current pandemic to respond to changes in available data and the workload of senior leaders?
  • How often does the Chair meet with the headteacher to discuss theirs and staff wellbeing? 
  • What is staff wellbeing like within school presently?  Are there any concerns generally or in specific areas?  Remember to ask senior leaders if they are OK or need support.
  • What are the workload pressure points and what can be done to alleviate these? 
  • Do Governor/Trustees need to do a staff wellbeing survey if not already completed? 
  • Are staff and Governors/Trustees taking advantage of CPD available to support wellbeing?
  • What is the level of work-life balance for staff – thinking about different roles (teachers, SLT, support staff, back office staff, etc.). 

Data

  • How will the school identify where pupils are in their learning since returning to school in September and on an ongoing basis?
  • What measures will there be for catch up and are there additional cost implications?
  • Are Governors and Trustees aware of the DfE guidance on school and college performance measures (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-school-and-college-performance-measures).
  • Are Governors/Trustees aware of the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers:
    • Has this gap widened due to pupils not being in school during the pandemic? 
    • What are the plans to close these gaps?
    • What interventions/strategies are required? 
    • What is the evidence to assure Governors/Trustees that these are the most appropriate strategies to use? 

SEND

  • Are strategies in place to support SEND pupils back to school and are they effective? 
  • Is the Link Governor/Trustee continuing to meet (in whatever capacity) with the SENCo?
  • How are the school approaching remote learning for those students with SEND?
  • Are there any additional risks or interventions in place to address SEND concerns during the pandemic?

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