Ways to improve your governance

Experienced governors give you a taste of what they've done to step up their governance and move their boards from good to great – see if they work for yours too.

Last reviewed on 25 August 2022
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 35477
Contents
  1. Make everyone accountable with a written commitment
  2. Make your governance more noticeable in the community
  3. Set up a ‘shadow structure’
  4. Loosely align board and staff CPD
  5. Get expert eyes on your data
  6. Set few objectives, and clear success criteria
  7. Check out The Hoot for more inspiration 

While your board may have the basics down, you might now want to take your governance from good to great. We have some tips and advice from experienced governors on how they did this with their own boards. 

These might not work for every board. You know your board better than anyone else, and what works for you will depend on your context and situation. However, these ideas might also inspire you to think outside of the box and try something new. 

Make everyone accountable with a written commitment

Establish and emphasise a shared commitment to the school and its outcomes whenever someone new joins your board.

Ask new governors to sign a written statement