360 Degree Review

360 Degree Review of the Chair’s Performance

The Governance Unit

1 NYCC April 15 MB Introduction

Effective leadership of the Governing Body is essential. This ‘Governance in Practice’ resource explores the tools that may be used to review the Chair’s leadership of the Governing Body and develop best practice, skills and competencies to contribute to effective governance.

About The School Governance Unit

The School Governance Unit believes all schools need effective governance so that children and young people can thrive in schools that are ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’. We strive to build the skills and confidence of volunteers from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds to effectively support and appropriately challenge school leaders to further develop education in their school with the best interests of their pupils at the heart of all they do. We don’t do this through a ‘one model fits all’ approach; we tailor the support, and challenge if in the best interests of the school, to the needs of the school and individuals. We listen to our partners and find ways of making sense of changes to national policy, legislation and expectations in order to help Governors and Governing bodies to respond efficiently and effectively.

We do this through the provision of three broad but inter-related services – school improvement, training and clerking services. Through hands-on support, high-quality resources, partnerships and sharing the best and emerging practice of others we support Governing Bodies to respond to the changing educational landscape quickly and effectively.

2 NYCC April 15 MB 360 Degree Review of the Chair’s Performance Undertaking a review of the Chair’s Performance to support effective governance at the school

The Chair has the key leadership role on the Governing Body. He/she will lead the team, build the team, ensure school improvement is the focus of the Governing Body, lead the business and have a healthy and effective relationship with the Headteacher.

The 20 Questions that a Governing Body may ask itself includes the question: “Do we carry out a review the Chair’s performance?” The Governing Body may wish to discuss this question.

The review should provide a broad and balanced perception of the Chair. It should improve awareness and self-awareness, encourage open and honest feedback, identify areas for development for the Chair and the wider Governing Body and promote continuous improvement. There is no right or wrong time to review the Chair’s performance. Some Chairs have been in office for many years and others will be relatively new to the role. The review should not be onerous and could easily be built into the Governing Body’s self-evaluation on an annual cycle. Should the Governing Body agree that it is a good time to review the Chair’s performance, this unit may be helpful. It is important to stress that the review must always be constructive and a positive experience for those involved. It’s an opportunity to give constructive feedback and it can provide a steer for the Chair in furthering his/her own development and that of the Governing Body as a whole. Overall, it adds further depth to the Governing Body’s self-evaluation and enables the Governing Body and individuals to understand their strengths and areas for development.

The 360 degree review process may be anonymous, or you may wish to be totally open and include your names in the feedback. It’s up to the Governing Body to decide what will work best.

This unit provides an example questionnaire to use with your Governing Body. Colleagues from the Wakefield and Leeds Governor Services Teams and Leading Edge Independent Associates have worked-up this questionnaire which is based on a model that was developed by Ruth Agnew, Director of RMA Governor Support Services and National Leader of Governance. The questionnaire includes a number of statements relating to the Chair’s performance. In addition, there is a summary section which asks respondents to reflect on the last 6-12 months and think of three key points relating to the Chair’s contribution to the Governing Body and areas for development.

Through reviewing the Chair’s performance governing bodies learn more about themselves, identify their strengths and areas for development and subsequently increase their effectiveness.

This activity can be introduced into a full Governing Body meeting, or taken away from the meeting and returned to a nominated person to collate. The Governing Body may wish to ask the Clerk or a member of school staff to collate the findings.

3 NYCC April 15 MB Activity – Part A: Carry out the review. Circulate the questionnaire found on page 5 onwards to all Governors, Associate Members and the Clerk to the Governing Body. Ask them to complete the form and return it to a nominated person for collation. Specify a deadline for completion and ask the nominated person to chase any outstanding responses. It’s important that as many returns as possible are received in order to make the process worthwhile and meaningful.

Activity – Part B: Collate and share the findings. The nominated person should collate and share the findings with the Chair confidentially. The Chair will decide whether he/she wishes to share all, parts or none of the feedback with Governors. The Chair will need to be open to accepting the feedback and prepared to use this constructively to make improvements where needed.

Activity – Part C: Take the next steps. Discuss and celebrate the strengths that have been identified as part of the review exercise. Consider ways of addressing any areas for development, for example, mentoring/coaching, attendance at training courses and events, partnership working with other Governing Bodies, in-house training and development, further self-evaluation activities, sharing of leadership responsibilities amongst the Chair, Vice-Chair and Chairs of Committees (it is recommended that different Governors take on leadership roles in order to support succession planning).

Activity – Part D: Plan future review. Agree a date for review and ask the Clerk to make a note to include an item on the agenda of the Governing Body Meeting.

4 NYCC April 15 MB GOVERNING BODY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT

Please tick one of the boxes and give evidence to support your judgement:

The Chair of Governors ensures there is a clear vision for the school and the Governing Body, which is communicated effectively to all stakeholders.