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Start Strong: Setting the tone for success at your first board meeting

| 6 minute read
ARTICLE Laura Schneikert

With Laura Schneikert, experienced school governance professional

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Read Laura’s top tips on how your board can hit the ground running this September so you can have an efficient and effective full cycle of governance meetings this year at your school or trust. 

Before the first meeting…

The first meeting of the year is often referred to as the ‘governors’ business meeting’ because of all of the compliance matters that need to be actioned and recorded. However, much of the admin should take place before the first meeting. For instance, governors should be asked to complete several tasks, such as updating their business interests declaration, before your board first sits down together so that the meeting itself can be used to confirm and record that these statutory matters are up to date. If your board uses GovernorHub, your governance professional can send compliance reminders out ahead of time via the system.

1. Elect your chair and vice chair

You’ll need to formally appoint your chair and vice chair for the new academic year (if you didn’t do this at the end of the summer term). Your governance professional should ask for nominations in advance and give governors or trustees the option of a secret ballot. When agreeing the roles, the nominees should be asked to leave the room so that all board members have the opportunity to talk freely. 

2. Review roles, responsibilities and committee membership

Your board should appoint its statutory link trustees and governors (Safeguarding, SEND and Careers for secondary schools although health and safety is also a recommended link role) at this meeting and, if it operates under a committee structure, reappoint its committee members for the year. Your governance professional should be able to provide model role descriptions.The headteacher/CEO performance panel should also be appointed.

3. Complete declarations and confirmations

Register of interests: You should have updated your register of relevant business interests before the first meeting of the academic year so that your governance professional can record that the register is up to date at the meeting (nudge, nudge!).

Safeguarding: An updated version of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) comes into force on 1 September 2024. You must read either part 1 or annex a of this document (although it's recommended that you read the whole thing) as well as making sure you’ve completed mandatory safeguarding training. Your governance professional should then be able to record at the meeting that the board is compliant in this area.

Code of conduct: You should sign up to a new board code of conduct each year to demonstrate, amongst other important things, your understanding of the Nolan principles (7 rules that everyone in public life must abide by). Your board might choose to adopt a model code of conduct whilst also adding its own 'non negotiables', for example matters around board engagement (to make sure all members have agreed to contribute fully to meetings and read papers in advance).

4. Agree the board's scheme of delegation

Your board’s scheme of delegation sets out the individual responsibilities of all of its sub committees and should be approved at the first meeting. It should also detail the delegated expenditure of the Headteacher/CEO and the board’s sub committees. Always benchmark this against schools of similar sizes, and ask your LA or trust for guidance if necessary.

5. Agree the school or trust development plan

Governors and trustees should agree the new school or trust development/improvement plan objectives and reflect on the previous year's achievements. Plans may include key performance indicators to measure success against.

6. Agree the school or trust self evaluation

The first meeting of the year is also a good time for governors and trustees to discuss and agree what the school or trust's strengths and weaknesses are. Trust boards should also agree the risk register.

7. Headteacher/CEO report

The headteacher/CEO should agree with board members what to include in all of their future reports for the coming year. Standard practice is to provide a written report three times a year (termly). It is not necessary for the headteacher/CEO to provide a written report to members at this first meeting of the year. Instead, the headteacher should be given an opportunity to update governors on any pertinent matters to be aware of, for example staff and budget changes - plus anything which requires approval. Safeguarding should, of course,  be on every meeting agenda.

8. Agree the board’s scheme of work for the year

The business of the board should be transparent and, other than occasional extraordinary matters, there should be no big surprises. All governors and  trustees should have oversight of an annual governance plan at the start of the year and this should include details of when policies and other important documents are due for consideration and/or approval. Individual meeting agendas should clearly stipulate whether items/papers require approval or are for information only - so everyone knows what to expect.

9. Agree the remit of all participants attending governor meetings

When agreeing the board's scheme of work for the year, there is also an opportunity to review and confirm any additional participants attending forthcoming meetings and what their remit is, for example staff members. The board should review the contribution of those in attendance who aren't governors and whether any current arrangements should continue.

10. Get your school visits schedule set up early on

Have a clear monitoring schedule in place with expectations on how governors should monitor their area throughout the year. This will get the board set off on the right foot and ensure everyone knows their role.

Link school visits to the school improvement plan (SIP) and link governor roles, setting clear expectations for how and when governors should feed back.

 

10. A final note on compliance

Some governance professionals are left to chase declarations of interest well into the autumn term and, in some cases, way beyond this. The chair must set high expectations from board members about statutory matters. Any governor or trustee who has not completed safeguarding training or start of year paperwork should not attend school visits or governor meetings.

About the author

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Laura Schneikert

School Governance Professional

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Comments

  • Deborah Tella 3 Oct 2024, 06:42 (2 months ago)

    excellent

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  • Abiodun Olowookere 28 Sep 2024, 04:42 (2 months ago)

    Really helpful and good developmental material. It also gives accurate information and guidance. Thanks Laura.

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  • David Hagg 26 Sep 2024, 09:53 (2 months ago)

    Very useful for trustees, whether new or experienced, thanks.

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  • Anna Houston 11 Sep 2024, 17:15 (3 months ago)

    Really useful checklist for the start of the year and great advice. Thank you!

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  • Amelie Griffith 10 Sep 2024, 22:38 (3 months ago)

    I’m also a clerk and there are some great tips on here. Don’t forget the new attendance regulations too and governor oversight of this.

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  • Joanne Chipney 10 Sep 2024, 06:47 (3 months ago)

    What a fantastic article. Laura writes with
    a clear wealth of experience and knowledge. There are many tips I will take away from this article and put in place going forward. Very helpful.

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  • Kirsty Nightingale 9 Sep 2024, 23:26 (3 months ago)

    Thanks Laura, great advice and guidance. Helps us to hit the ground running right from the start of the new academic year. A great checklist for Governance Professionals!

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  • Rachel Mason 2 Sep 2024, 14:01 (3 months ago)

    A really helpful article by Laura to help Trustees and Local Governing Bodies start the new Academic year in the strongest way possible for Governance. Laura’s expertise in this area supports Trustee’s to be at their best, and this article offers areas like a checklist to ensure we are Trustees are supporting the school, student and staff to the best of our ability.

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