Governor Improvement Groups- The impact on governors’ capacity to support senior leaders.
Quick links:
Information about the school
Troedyrhiw Community Primary is situated in the village of Troedyrhiw and Pentrebach, with a few pupils attending from further afield. The school is based on two adjoining sites and has 215 pupils aged 3-11 years. Around 20% of pupils are eligible for free school meals and 17% are identified as having an additional learning need. The school’s motto, ‘Believe, Achieve and Shine Bright’ embodies everyday practice at the school, where the whole school community work together to raise aspirations, encouraging all to believe in themselves, achieve their goals and shine bright.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
The governing body at Troedyrhiw Community Primary is made up of a range of volunteer governors with broad experiences. Together, they support and challenge the leadership team to bring about positive change and impact on standards for all learners. In order to strengthen the role of governors, a Governor Improvement Group (GIG) was established. The GIG aims to develop a network of governors from the cluster of schools, to share practice, knowledge and training, increasing the expertise of governors and equipping them with the skills and confidence to act as a critical friend to their schools.
Initially, the GIG was made up of chairs and vice-chairs of governors of each cluster school. The GIG has evolved and now other representatives from each governing body attend the meetings, thus widening the opportunity for all governors.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
At the beginning of each academic year, the GIG meet to discuss and agree the actions for that year. They carry out a skills audit to understand the needs of the cluster governing bodies, taking into consideration the context of each of the schools. This information is used to develop a ‘Calendar of Commitments’. Typically, these planned meetings take place at least once per term and are hosted by each of the cluster schools.
The Calendar of Commitments outlines the agenda for each meeting and allows governors across the cluster to select which meetings are most supportive to their role.There is always a minimum of two representatives per cluster governing body; this helps to ensure that each school is represented and makes dissemination within each school possible.
When deciding the priorities for the year, a range of information is gathered. For example, the Additional Learning Needs Act and Curriculum for Wales have been a focus for development and information sharing. Other foci are typically those that have affected all schools across the cluster, such as transition plans, financial cuts and pupils’ skills progression.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
The GIG group is a professional network built on trust and honesty, with a shared desire to provide the best support and challenge to schools in order to strive for continuous school improvement and improved outcomes for all pupils.
The following provides an overview of some examples and the impact they have had on leaders and pupils.
Developing creativity and how this looks in practice.
During an autumn term meeting each cluster school shared a presentation to the GIG on ‘Creativity in the Curriculum’. In line with a review of each schools’ curriculum and as a result of Curriculum for Wales, each school shared how they were developing creativity and what progression in creativity looks like in their schools. The informative session provided an opportunity for governors to acquire knowledge of curriculum design, ask questions about different practices and have a shared understanding of each school’s perspectives. The following term a meeting took place where schools brought along a range of books and digital evidence to demonstrate how creativity was being developed with pupils. This provided the opportunity for governors to view books and pupil progress from a range of schools. Having a collective understanding strengthens governors’ knowledge and skills, increasing the ability and confidence to ask informed questions, to challenge and support leaders.
Assessment and Curriculum for Wales
GIG meetings include training and information sharing sessions. Troedyrhiw Community Primary shared information on how they were developing their use of assessments linked to curriculum design. During this meeting information was shared with group members on assessment and how this links with Curriculum for Wales and how they evidence pupil progress through the tracking and monitoring of standards. This was a particularly beneficial session to governors as it highlighted the recent research and information on best practice for using and developing assessments to support learner progression. It also shared detailed information on pupils’ standards, their starting points and how leaders use assessments to plan for pupil progress. Governors developed an understanding of how day-to-day / ongoing assessments are used to inform planning, provide personalised learning for pupils, and to identify training and coaching to up-skill staff, as well as track pupils’ achievements.
In addition to information on how Troedyrhiw uses ongoing assessments, the school shared how they use summative assessments. As this is an area of change for many governors, it was useful for them to develop their knowledge of how different types of assessments support leaders when tracking and monitoring pupil progress. The assessment sessions provided a balance of how summative assessments and ongoing (formative) assessments can be used to successfully ensure accurate judgements and robust monitoring and tracking procedures to support whole school self-evaluation.
Additional Learning Needs
The GIG received information from the Additional Learning Needs Coordinator (ALNCo) at Troedyrhiw who provided updated training on the ALNET Act. Governors had the opportunity to view an anonymous Individual Development Plan (IDP) and One Page Profile. This gave them a clear understanding of the legislation and person centered practices for pupils with additional learning needs. Governors were then able to ask informed questions about policy and practice in their own schools. Furthermore, governors who are representatives on their local authority additional learning needs groups are also able to share their expertise when making decisions that affect schools across the authority.
How have you shared your good practice?
- The GIG group has a digital network (through Hwb) where minutes of meetings and presentations are shared and accessible for all members.
- The headteacher has shared the work of the GIG with other schools beyond the cluster and as a result, GIG groups are now established across the LA.
- Chairs of governors from other non-participating schools have been invited to attend GIG meetings and terms of reference shared to help support them to develop their own GIG groups.