Devon Association of Governors - Run by Devon Governors for Devon Governors

Major Review of School Governance 2008

Initial Response from NGA

NGA comment on the Government review of Governance

School governors warn against unnecessary change and call for ministers to demonstrate that they value the biggest volunteer group in the country by offering improved support and training.

Judith Bennett, Chair of the NGA and a governor at an Oxfordshire primary school said:

“The NGA welcomes the Secretary Of State for Education’s affirmation of the key role that governors play in the strategic management of our schools. We agree with Ed Balls’ view that good governance has a clear role to play in school improvement, and that strong governors are “central to turning around underperforming schools”.

“But we are concerned that ministers are intent on changes that may not improve the quality of governance in our schools. Governors need improved training and better quality support from both central and local government.”

Phil Revell, Chief Executive of the NGA said:

“We agree with the schools minister Jim Knight when he states that:

“There is clear evidence that there is a relationship between good governance and pupils’ achievements, the quality of teaching, as well as the quality of leadership and management.”

“The NGA is not opposed to the idea of change; we recognise that some governing bodies struggle with their role and others could be reduced in size without any loss of effectiveness.

“But, as far as the NGA is aware, there is no recent research that supports the view that smaller governing bodies are more effective; neither is there any recent research to show that governing bodies are failing in their task.

“We are concerned about the apparent direction of government policy in this area and about the evidence base that ministers are using for policy formation.”

Notes for editors:

  1. The government admits in its press release that ministers have no idea how many governors there are in state schools. The figure of between 235,000-350,000 is a guesstimate based on multiplying the total number of schools by ten – then adding a few for good measure. Ministers should be ashamed of this paucity of information.

  2. Starting from this absence of evidence the government then goes on to assert that certain groups in society are underrepresented on governing bodies. This may be true, but there are no facts to support the statement because the government has never collected the information.

  3. The last reorganisation of governing bodies took place in 2003, yet ministers are using research prior to that date to justify their case for change.

  4. The DCSF research paper quotes Ofsted figures from 2001 indicating that only 53% of primary schools and 34% of secondary schools had governing bodies judged ‘good or better’. But the most recent Ofsted figures do not support that claim. An analysis of Ofsted judgements for 2006/7 carried out by the National Education Trust revealed that less than 3% of governing bodies were judged inadequate for governor judgement – just 230 out of 8277 schools inspected.

  5. The DCSF also quotes from research carries out for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by a team led by Alan Dyson from Manchester University. This research, which generated a great deal of media interest last year, looked at a total of 14 schools, all of which were in ‘challenging circumstances’. In the NGA’s view the Dyson research said very little about the state of school governance as a whole.

  6. The NGA has consistently called for mandatory training for governors; something that is not mentioned at all in the terms of reference for the new working group.

The above Press Release response to the recent announcement on Governance published here with permission from the NGA.