RSS Feed for the unit School Governors: primary school monitoring

Introduction

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

School governors need to be involved in the monitoring and evaluation of primary schools. But what areas should you be monitoring and how can you ensure that monitoring is effective. This unit will help you assess these matters and also look at the kind of evidence you should be sourcing, and how that evidence should be evaluated.

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Learning outcomes

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

The aim of this unit is to:

explain the nature and value of the governing body's monitoring role as part of school improvement;
familiarise governors with different forms of monitoring and demonstrate ways in which governors can undertake their role as critical friends of the school;
reflect upon the importance of sharing information between members of the governing body and school staff;
raise awareness of the importance of the evaluative processes to the improvement cycle.

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1 What is monitoring?

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

Monitoring means gathering evidence to show what progress has been made towards strategic priorities and targets and the implementation of policies.
Evaluation means making judgements about the results.
DfES 2003, National Training Programme for New Governors, Module 2, p. 4.

Monitoring is a key aspect of governors' remit; it is necessary so that governing bodies can carry out their strategic function effectively, and is central to their role as a critical friend. Monitoring enables governors to know the situation in their school, keeping track of how initiatives and schemes are progressing. However, it should be remembered that governors are not expected to inspect the school and are not responsible for monitoring the quality of teaching – this is the responsibility of the headteacher. Monitoring can also be defined as ‘observing’ or ‘checking’ against specific milestones, which is perhaps less threatening. Have a look at the animation below by clicking on it.

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Monitoring should lead to evaluation, which is the forming of a judgment on the impact. This will be covered later, but you can see how it fits into the school planning cycle (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 The school planning cycle

Long description

The simplest definition of monitoring is: making sure that what we planned should happen is actually taking place. To be really effective, you could add that this should be within the agreed timeframe and budget. Further, as part of regular, probably termly, monitoring we should occasionally ask whether circumstances have changed sufficiently to need to review/revise our original plans.

In principle, once priorities have been agreed they should not be amended but, in the field of education, change is a regular occurrence! Governors thus need to consider whether changes imposed on the school from outside will, or have, prevented a goal from being achieved, and take this into account when monitoring for success.

This monitoring, or critical friend, role is the second major function of the governing body. We are ‘friends’ through our support and knowledge for the school, but ‘critical’ in that we provide an element of challenge by asking appropriate questions, to establish the facts pertinent to planning, target setting and progress.

Now look at Activity 1.

Activity 1

Monitoring everything in your school with equal rigour would take considerable time and effort. Most monitoring is actually undertaken by the headteacher with other staff. However, you may find it helpful to find a time with fellow governors to identify key indicators to monitor: remember your priorities should reflect the aspects of school that you value and have concerns about, not just those that are easy to measure.

Now try the activity ‘Looking for evidence’ from the National Training Programme for New Governors, by clicking on the link below It asks you to think about where you will look for evidence in your monitoring.

Click on 'View document' to access ‘Looking for evidence’ from the National Training Programme for New Governors.

View document

Once you have completed the exercise, preferably with other governors, compare your answers to those in the feedback sheet, which can be found by clicking the link below.

Click on 'View document' to access the ‘Feedback’ from the National Training Programme for New Governors.

View document

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2 Finding evidence

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

If the purpose of monitoring is to ensure that policies and plans are being put into action, it follows that governors should be focusing their attention on finding evidence that supports this.

Governors are not inspectors, and need to be aware of the danger that they could impinge on the role of the headteacher through inappropriate involvement in day-to-day monitoring, rather than operating at the strategic level.

How monitoring is undertaken is a matter for each individual governing body. Gann (1998) comments that the best way of finding out how a school is operating is to ask the people who spend most of their time there, and it is true that, to a large extent, governors will find that they monitor the monitoring already being carried out by the school and LA professionals. It follows that one of the most obvious means of monitoring is through the report from the headteacher, in his/her role as the senior professional consultant to the governing body. Have a look at the slide below by clicking on it.

if you would like to view this animation in a new window click on 'Launch in separate player'.

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The emphasis should not be on the method of monitoring; what is important is that the governing body has a structured, but simple, approach to receiving and sharing information.

We should also think carefully about how much information is actually needed to give a clear and correct picture of the school and the quality of information provided by each of these exercises – are they all providing ‘value for money'? Far better to be focused than be confused by too much information!

In discussion, governors should not be afraid to volunteer their perspective of the school, provided that this is based on real evidence, and not on rumour or conjecture. The true critical friend will find out the facts first, then ask appropriate questions before making a judgement.

Look at some methods for monitoring in Activity 2.

Activity 2

You might find it useful to read the case study Governors' involvement in monitoring the work of a primary school, which you will find under the link below, on how monitoring is carried out by governors in a real primary school.

Click on 'View document' to access Governors' involvement in monitoring the work of a primary school.

View document

Click on 'View document' to access Monitoring, from Improving School Governance, by Gann.

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Also take a look at the extract on Monitoring, from Improving School Governance, by Gann (above), in which he suggests that questionnaires might be used as a method of monitoring.

When might this be an appropriate tool to use?
Has your governing body sent questionnaires to parents to ask for their views on the school?

If you are thinking about using a questionnaire, you might find the sample parents’ questionnaire (Reeves, 2002) (below) a useful starting point.

Click on 'View document' to access the questionnaire.

View document

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3 Sharing information

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

If all governors are not involved in monitoring there must be procedures through which all are kept informed.
Creese and Earley (1999).

The role of the governor has changed considerably in recent years: there is a genuine need to know and understand the school much better, from the point of view of its performance and development priorities. At the same time, all governors have other commitments, and many are unable to give as much attention to the school as they would like, especially during the working day.

However, many governors of primary schools are regular visitors: through being attached to one particular class or key stage in the school; attending school events; helping in classrooms or with school clubs. While these are not formal monitoring visits, they are opportunities to see the pupils at work and make judgements about aspects of the school other than curriculum or teaching. However, it must be appreciated that these are ‘lay’ not professional judgements and that they do not constitute a professional evaluation.

Simple examples of feedback from visits might include:

the number of pupils in relation to the size of a classroom, and how this impacts upon learning;
the pupils' use of recently-purchased, expensive equipment, and whether the money was well spent;
the general level of behaviour during morning break or lunchtime, and how staff deal with misdemeanours.

All of these are important factors that could impact upon long-term decisions, so the governing body needs to agree the means by which members record information about their visits and relay this back to colleagues. Teachers should be involved in these discussions. Governors should be careful not to make comments which are opinions rather than facts.

Minutes of meetings are one place to record discussions focused on concerns raised after governors’ visits, together with suggested actions. The signed minutes are public documents, from which parents, staff, the LA, Ofsted, etc., gain information about how the governing body monitors the school.

It is important to share with the rest of the governing body all information relating to monitoring. Many schools use their committee structure effectively in monitoring, and in some schools the aspects to be monitored are shared out amongst individual governors who report regularly to committees.

Take a look at the effectiveness of governor visits in Activity 3.

Activity 3

How well does your governing body currently share information between members, or between governors and staff? Do you have a system for recording visits?

You might like to discuss setting up a working party of governors and staff that will consider drawing up a Protocol for Governor Visits. Many LAs have a model you could use to start a discussion. A sample protocol from Norfolk LA can be read by clicking on the link below. This sets out how governors undertake monitoring visits to school and then report information back to the governing body.

Click on 'View document' to access LA Guidance for Governors on Visits to Schools.

View document

These are some questions you might want to think about:

Are there any obvious obstacles to governors' visits, e.g. not all staff totally happy to have governors in their classrooms? Do you know why this is, and can problems be overcome through this agreement?
Should formal visits be notably different to informal visits and, if so, in what way?
What concerns might teachers have about the sharing of information from governors' visits, and how can these be overcome to everyone's satisfaction?

You might find it interesting to look at two contrasting reports by governors of visits to schools and think about the questions which follow. You can do this by clicking on the link below.

Click on 'View document' to access two contrasting reports on school visits.

View document

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4 Evaluating success

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

Understanding the reasons for a school's success may require special expertise, but the fact of that success should be clear…..
Martin & Holt, 2002.

Take another look at the cycle for improvement (below).

We decide where we are currently, agree a course of action, put plans into operation and then monitor progress against the targets set. What should happen next is an evaluation – looking to see what impact the action has had. For this to happen, we need to agree some success criteria. This aspect of governors’ work should be a part of the whole school self-review – this aims to increase the school's capacity to generate its own self-improvement.

For example, your school may have put in place an action plan to raise boys' attainment in writing at Key Stage 2. To assist this, some teachers undertook professional development, for which the school paid. Governors monitor the situation by receiving regular reports from the headteacher, which say simply that staff development has occurred and that the proposed changes have been implemented. However, at the end of the set period, the governing body should ask, ‘Were targets met?’ and collect and analyse data to form a judgement about the effectiveness of this activity, including whether the training and other associated costs were a good use of the budget.

Where we can clearly see improvements being made, as a result of plans/actions being implemented, governors should ask further relevant questions. These might include:

What, in particular, has brought about the improvement? Is it as a result of changed processes or have individual teachers made the difference?
Can success be sustained, or even improved further?
Are there other areas of the school where similar action can be undertaken with the same success?

Writing clear and measurable success criteria into plans is essential for governors and teachers to be able to evaluate success. The governing body should establish whether it is prepared to accept varying degrees of success. What may work well in one area of the school may not achieve the same result elsewhere. Without accepting excuses, can genuine reasons for this be identified? Agreeing in advance what we expect as an outcome will help us to measure success.

Once we have monitored the implementation of our plans, and carried out an evaluation of the actions taken, we will review the school's situation and, using all the shared knowledge, plan for the next steps in its development. In that way, we complete one improvement cycle and start the next.

Investigate the success criteria used in your school by doing Activity 4.

Activity 4

For this activity you will need a copy of your school's School Improvement Plan or Post-Ofsted Action Plan, whichever is most appropriate. You could work with another member of the governing body, or even in a committee.

If you select one of the major objectives from the Plan, can you identify:

whether it is a SMART target? (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-related);
the different success criteria? The governing body agreed these when the plan was formally adopted.

Thinking back to the various meetings, both committee and full governing body, that have been held since the plan was agreed, are you aware of discussion taking place about whether the school has met those specific criteria?

There may have been general feedback about areas of the plan being completed, but did governors ask questions about the various outcomes in the school?

What answers, and what evidence of success, were provided?

You may want to broaden this discussion within the whole governing body, to ensure that all governors are aware of the implications for their work.

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Next steps

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

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References

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

Baird C., Bostock J., Brunton P., Cousins L., Gann N., Hammerton R., Reeves G. and Shaw C., (2002) The Governor's Handbook, pfp publishing, London.

Creese M. & Earley P., (1999) Improving Schools and Governing Bodies, Routledge, London.

DfES (2003), National Training Programme for New Governors, Module 2.

Gann N., (1998) Improving School Governance – How Better Governors Make Better Schools, Falmer Press, London.

Martin J. & Holt A., (2002) Joined-up Governance, Adamson Books, Ely.

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Acknowledgements

The Open University — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:35:52 GMT

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Author details

Sue Platt has been a school governor for 21 years, at both primary and secondary phase schools, and currently chairs her local secondary school governing body. She holds the Diploma in Management Studies (Education).

Sue is a Development Officer in the Norfolk Governor Support Service, part of the Norfolk Education Advisory Services. She works with colleagues to devise and deliver training courses for Norfolk's 7000 school governors. Within the team, Sue's areas of in-depth knowledge include personnel issues (including performance management and pay), use of data to aid school improvement, behaviour management and pupil exclusions.

Other acknowledgements

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material within this unit:

Diagram – The school development planning cycle from Joined-up Governance by Jane Martin and Ann Holt (2002), Adamson Publishing Ltd; Looking for evidence and Feedback sheet from Module 2, The Critical Friend – National Training Programme for New Governors (2003), DfES. Crown copyright material is reproduced under Class Licence Number C01W0000065 with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland;

Governors' involvement in monitoring the work of a primary school. Extract from Creese, M. and Earley, P. (1999) Improving Schools and Governing Bodies – Making a Difference, Routledge. Taylor and Francis www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk;

The Strategic Governing Body. Extract from Gann, N. (1998) Improving School Governance – How Better Governors Make Better Schools, The Falmer Press;

Parents Questionnaire from Reeves, G. (2002) The Governor's Handbook, pfp publishing limited;

LA Guidance for Governors on Visits to Schools from Norfolk County Council website;

Unit image courtesy of bowbrick / Steve Bowbrick at Flickr.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright owners, but if any has been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

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