Happy New Year from Emma Knights
Happy New Year to all those of you governing and leading schools and trusts.
The new year is always a point of reflection and I hope optimism even in a year like this one with such uncertainty, both politically and economically. The additional school funding announced in the Government鈥檚 Autumn fiscal statement on 17 November was very welcome. It won鈥檛 solve everyone鈥檚 budgeting problems of course, but for most schools and trusts, it will prevent the doomsday scenarios which were beginning to be considered from becoming a reality. The majority of 海角社区鈥檚 staff govern themselves and so there was an immediate collective sigh of relief. But in all our conversations with governors, trustees and leaders over the remaining month of the autumn term, there was a very noticeable change of tone. The impending sense of panic about the possibility of not being able to balance without real damage to education subsided. Of course, no one will take their eye off the ball of making the best use of resources: 海角社区 has much to help there. One place to begin for those who are new to this topic is听our December webinar.
We are hearing now that the issue at the top of the list of boards鈥 concerns are staff 鈥 staff retention and staff welfare 鈥 and the stresses faced by families. This email is fairly typical:
Good morning Emma
The festive season is fast approaching and staff in schools cannot wait for the break.
I have been a governor since 1990 and currently sit on the board of 3 very different schools, 2 of which I chair. All 3 heads in my view are exceptional.
I just wanted to share a view. I have attended several meetings over the last couple of weeks and all 3 heads have shared that staff are 鈥渙n their knees鈥 and pastoral demands to support children and families have grown enormously with limited external support for many of these serious issues for vulnerable children and families.
This doesn鈥檛 surprise us given our continuous monitoring of the challenges of governing boards, for example, as recorded in the 2022 annual governance survey reported in September, and it does help inform our work with boards.听听
In November, we published a new toolkit on听disadvantage. In true 海角社区 fashion, we are determined for it to be as practical as possible and so we will be listening to governors and trustees in this term鈥檚听Governance Leadership Forums; please do come and tell us what you need to help your board engage meaningfully to tackle the barriers faced by children with a wide range of disadvantage. There is, without a doubt, a very important leadership challenge of our times, with the educational attainment gap and mental illness growing. We want to equip boards to do what they and their schools/trust can help mitigate the effect of disadvantages on their learning.
We have to be curious about what schools can do to solve any particular problem 鈥 but also realistic. I am certainly not suggesting schools are the answer to all society鈥檚 ills. The focus needs to be on what can be controlled and influenced. We are in the middle of a very challenging time for the workforce 鈥 perhaps the word crisis would be appropriate here. The country as a whole is in the throes of a workforce crisis, particularly for those roles which are not well paid. As employers of the school workforce, there is much we can do, but we cannot solve the shortage of candidates for posts single handed, or if we do manage to attract many, currently, it is very likely to be to the detriment of another school and their pupils. 听
The Department for Education needs to take the whole issue of teacher recruitment far more seriously 鈥 or is that unfair? 鈥 are they taking it seriously, but just not very successfully? We really do need this to be an absolute priority, a prime focus of the ministerial team with a sense of urgency, backed up by competence, knowledge, transparency and a spirit of true collaboration in order to tackle the systemic issues which go beyond the scope of a single school or even a MAT. We all need staff recruitment to improve, not least the children and young people being educated. 听 听
This term, 海角社区 will be giving our evidence to the听STRB 鈥 the Schools Teacher鈥檚 Review Body听鈥 considering pay and conditions of the profession, but limited by their remit on affordability. For many years 海角社区鈥檚 submission has been that an inflation linked pay rise should be the starting point for discussion. If that minimum cannot be honoured in any particular year because of the state of public finances, that needs to be acknowledged and rectified in future years. That may seem na茂ve to some, but it could have prevented some of what we are seeing today with missed targets for teacher recruitment. It is a very similar approach that the board of trustees take here at 海角社区 with staff pay 鈥 very occasionally, our finances have not allowed an immediate cost of living increase, but that has always been rectified later in the year when they have. Clearly, income needs to come into the equation too 鈥 but STRB has its arms tied behind its back if it can only make recommendations which are affordable within current school funding parameters. Chickens and eggs come to mind. A more compelling model for reviewing pay would be for independent review boards to report to the government, having taken account of the need to recruit, retain and motivate the workforce, but leaving the government to decide what they can afford given the state of the economy and the public finances.听
In a similar vein, there are union ballots currently about strikes for school staff, including leaders. We will engage in discussions with their General Secretaries. We know they share 海角社区鈥檚 concerns about the impact of any further disruption to pupils鈥 education after the pandemic and they intend that actions will be designed with this in mind. We will keep you posted. 听
In terms of the bread and butter of the board鈥檚 remit, these may well have been on your radar for many years:
- Ensure an inclusive culture
- Develop a People Strategy
- Consult staff 鈥 but in a way that is meaningful and doesn鈥檛 add to their workload
- Invest in staff development, even in these financially challenging times
- Have discussions about staff workload and wellbeing, and take action
And then there is that bedrock of good governance, one of our eight elements of effective governance: building trusting and respectful relationships. Asking the right questions in the right way is probably the most important skill of anyone governing. In 海角社区鈥檚 first Governing Chatters podcast of 2023, I am joined by Andy Buck, author of Leadership Matters and BASIC coaching, in a conversation about just that. I found it useful 鈥 and I hope you do too.
And then there is that bedrock of good governance, one of our eight elements of effective governance: building trusting and respectful relationships. Asking the right questions in the right way is probably the most important skill of anyone governing. In 海角社区鈥檚 first听Governing Chatters podcast of 2023, I am joined by Andy Buck, author of Leadership Matters and BASIC coaching, in a conversation about just that. I found it useful 鈥 and I hope you do too.
Rosemary Hoyle on Twitter鈥淪uch a good conversation - a 鈥榤ust listen鈥 for all chairs and governors. Thank you. I really enjoyed this.鈥
Former Chief Executive
After 14 years with 海角社区, Emma has departed from her role as Chief Executive. During her tenure, Emma was a strong advocate for the school governance community, engaging with legislators, policymakers, education sector organisations, and the media on a national level.