Our thanks to our associate education experts Cathy Brown, Brendan Hollyer, Lizzie Oliver, Phil Preston, Julia Skinner, Sara Scott and Jill Wakefield for their advice for this article.
Who this article is for
This article is aimed at:
- The board of trustees
- Whoever leads the central governance team in a multi-academy trust (MAT)
- They may be called a ‘governance co-ordinator’, ‘governance manager’, ‘head of governance’ or something different
Make sure there's engagement in both directions
If you want your LGBs to be more engaged, the trust needs to engage with your LGBs too - it's a 2-way street.
Set up regular touch points between trustees and LGBs, and look at where you can establish networks to make sure everyone's on the same page.
Establish regular forums/away days
Expand meeting attendance across your trust
Use meeting reports to stay updated
Help your LGBs understand the scheme of delegation
Your LGBs will be most effective if they fully understand their role.
When a new school joins your trust, or when your scheme of delegation changes, it’s a good idea for someone from the trust central team to go through the scheme of delegation with your LGBs.
Clarify their roles and responsibilities, and how it’ll work in practice
Make sure you train up your LGBs so they understand:
- What's in the scheme
- What responsibilities they have
- What you expect them to do and how often
- How lines of accountability will work in practice
Don’t just print off a ‘decision-matrix’ - instead, try to give your LGBs absolute clarity on what they need to do.
For example, if your decision matrix states that LGBs will be ‘consulted’ when appointing a headteacher, does this mean they’re part of the appointment panel or only consulted on the advert?
Clarify exactly what it means for an LGB to be ‘responsible’ or ‘consulted’ for different areas in the scheme of delegation.
The trust's governance lead is best placed to do this.
Find out how to write a scheme of delegation and on-board a new academy effectively.
Make sure new local governors understand what’s expected
This will help them make an effective contribution early on. Remind your LGBs to use our our training courses - we have an induction course specifically for governors on LGBs.
This will help your new local governors learn at a time and space that suits them, and will help them get acquainted with everything they need to know about governing on an LGB.
Recognise the unique value of your LGBs
Whatever level of delegated power your LGBs have, they're extremely valuable to your trust.
Remember:
- Your LGBs are your board’s eyes and ears at a local level - they’ll always have a unique local perspective which you can’t find elsewhere
- Your LGBs have strengths which the board of trustees doesn’t have
- For example, your LGBs may not have delegated financial power, but instead they may be stronger in supporting school improvement and engaging with the community - celebrate this!
- People rarely choose a school based on the trust - typically it’s the reputation of the individual school that draws parents in. Remind your LGBs that their local decisions and responsibilities matter
To engage your LGBs and help them recognise their value you can:
1. Tell them and thank them
The chair of trustees, a trustee or a governance lead could do this.
Let them know that you're aware of the impact they're having. For example, tell them that you know about the work they do in supporting fundraising efforts, attending functions and raising the profile of the school.
You could:
- Tell them in person/virtually during an LGB meeting
- Speak to the chair of the LGB first to see if they're happy to invite you (don’t just turn up)
- Tell the chair of the LGB virtually/over the phone for them tell their local governors
2. Consider changing how you refer to your LGBs
This could be in your:
- Language - changing what you call your LGBs, for example to ‘committees’ or ‘ambassadors’, might better reflect the responsibilities they have and make them feel closer and more valued by your trust
- Trust’s structure - a diagram isn’t everything, but it can leave an impression. Consider moving your LGBs onto the same ‘line’ in your trust structure alongside central committees and services. This can send a message to your LGBs that they aren’t ‘bottom of the pecking order’, and affirm that they're as important as other committees