The National Governance Association takes every opportunity to highlight the work of governing boards. We support and encourage the 250,000 volunteers governing our state schools to stand up and shout about what they do and the difference they make.
What may come as a surprise is that we also champion and celebrate the people who ensure that boards stay out of the spotlight, because governance is almost invisible when it is working well: the 20,000 or more paid governance professionals. Most of them are clerks, which governing boards are required to have, and includes all those who provide strategic leadership of services supporting governance across a number of schools.
They keep the governance show on the road, support a volunteer workforce to stay on the right side of complex rules and procedures and ensure decisions are made in the interests of children and young people. It is one of the most important professions in education, yet it is held back by its outdated image and is easily overlooked.
This must change if we are to attract and retain people with the skills and knowledge needed to ensure our schools and trusts are guided by an effective and robust governance structure that exemplifies ethical standards.
Changes in school structures and the creation of academies and MATs have led to more complicated and multi-layered governance arrangements. These carry greater risks because of the requirements of education and charity law.
While clerks fulfil an invaluable role, they are no longer the sole level of professional support needed to ensure effective governance. MATs and commercial service providers are developing roles at a leadership level and are seeking skilled and qualified individuals to quality assure governance across schools, line manage, develop clerks and design governance models that align with their strategies for future growth.
Clerks are no longer the sole supporters of effective governance
At the same time, many governance professionals in schools and trusts are also building a career that incorporates training and consultancy. Currently, half the designated national leaders of governance work in governance professional roles, most of them as lead governance professionals in trusts. This is far removed from the traditional view of the governance professional as part-time clerk and minute-taker.
The NGA has long believed that there needs to be a vehicle for raising the profile, status and reward of a profession that makes an invaluable contribution and is a crucial vehicle for attracting new entrants. Through extensive consultation, we have created the career pathway, a free resource that contains a wealth of information and links to resources. It is designed to support individuals to develop and progress as governance professionals either within or working towards one of three levels our research found most governance professional roles fall under – clerking, governance co-ordinator and lead governance professional.
Within each level of the pathway are examples of relevant job titles, a description of the type of work and hours involved, a broad estimate of earning potential and a summary of individual requirements, including qualifications and CPD.
The pathway doesn’t just serve current and aspiring governance professionals. Far from it. The content is also highly relevant to governing boards and employers in schools, trusts and service providers. We hope they will use it to improve their understanding of the expertise and value that a governance professional brings to a school or trust and reflect it in the approach they take to recruitment, line management, appraisal, pay and ensuring an entitlement to professional learning.
With enough momentum and “buy in” from the sector, the career pathway can be a game-changer, both for building a stronger governance professional workforce and for giving the experts who are so vital to governance the credit and support they deserve.
When it comes to the often invisible efforts of governance professionals, we can’t afford “out of sight” to mean “out of mind”. The future of good governance demands it.
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