The Governing Chatters Podcast

Join us for the final episode of Governing Chatters for this academic year as we take a retrospective journey through the challenges we've faced and celebrate our accomplishments. 

In this episode, we'll delve into the key challenges that schools and trusts have encountered throughout the year and explore the implications of the upcoming outcome of the STRB (School Teachers' Review Body).

We have news to share regarding NGA's leadership and we provide an exclusive sneak peek into NGA's highly anticipated annual governance survey, scheduled for release in September.

Whether you're an experienced governor, an aspiring leader, or simply interested in the world of education governance, this episode will provide valuable insights and thought-provoking discussions to wrap up the academic year.

Join us as we reflect on the past, examine the present, and anticipate the future of school governance.

Welcome to this episode of our podcast, where we delve into the world of governance professionals and explore what it takes to build a successful career as a self-employed governance professional. Joining Amy Wright, NGA's Clerking Development Manager, are Laura Corcoran and Ellie Hully who both have extensive experience and are eager to share their insights.

We tackle a range of issues that are crucial to governance professionals as Amy discusses Ellie and Laura’s experiences of being self-employed and important topics such as fee setting, service level agreements, managing relationships, and adapting to the changing nature of the role.

Whether you are just starting out in your career or are a seasoned professional looking to take the next step, this episode will provide valuable insights and practical advice to help you succeed. So tune in as we explore the world of governance professionals and discover what it takes to build a fulfilling and rewarding career. 

In the latest episode of Governing Chatters, Fiona Fearon is joined by Catherine Roche, the chief executive of Place2Be, Lucy Bartley, chief executive of Two Ten Therapy and Ben Levinson, the headteacher at Kensington Primary School as we explore pupil mental health and wellbeing.

This year’s theme for Children's Mental Health Week is Let’s Connect. Fiona, Catherine, Lucy and Ben discuss what that means and how we can all support good pupil mental health and wellbeing.

You can access the resources we talk about in this show at http://www.nga.org.uk/pupilwellbeing and for more on Children’s mental health week resources, visit:  www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/schools/

You can follow our guests on social media

Ben Levinson @mrlev

Two Ten Therapy - https://www.facebook.com/twotentherapy

Lucy Bartley - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-bartley-91998477

Place2be - https://twitter.com/Place2Be

Our intro music is Acid Jazz by Kevin Macleod and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence.   

Join Emma Knights, Steve Edmonds, San Henson and Emma Balchin as they look forward to what is on the education horizon in 2023, whether it is the implementation of parts of the white paper, the need for action on SEND and the welcome news from the autumn fiscal statement and what that means for governors and trustees. We also look forward to some of the exciting NGA plans for the year.

In the latest episode of Governing Chatters, Emma Knights is joined by long-time friend of NGA, Andy Buck to talk about the vital relationship between the chair of the board and the executive leader, whether that be a head teacher of a school or a chief executive of a trust and how that relationship can be supportive, challenging and secure.

Emma and Andy explore some of the key habits that help to build a rapport between the board and the senior leadership team. They discuss how to create conversations that are both supportive and challenging that ask the right questions.

Find out more about BASIC coaching at https://www.basic-coaching.com

You can find Andy Buck on twitter at https://twitter.com/andy__buck

If you want to order the Chair’s Handbook, visit  https://www.nga.org.uk/CHB

For more on the Board 360 that was mentioned in the podcast, visit https://www.nga.org.uk/board-evaluation

Making EdTech work for you

In this month’s podcast, Steve Edmonds and Nina Sharma explored the increasing prevalence and reliance on technology in our schools and classrooms. We wanted  to find out how those who are governing keep pace with these developments and ensure that technology is being used effectively.

Steve and Nina were joined by Al Kingsley, Chair of trustees, Hampton Academies Trust and group CEO, NetSupport and Julie Carson, Director of Education at Woodland Academy Trust who gave us their expert view on the impact of technology in schools, particularly during the lockdown as well as looking at how boards can test the robustness of new proposals.

You can read Al’s piece for SchoolsWeek on how to save money by tailoring your tech here https://schoolsweek.co.uk/budget-crisis-how-to-save-money-by-tailoring-your-tech/

If you want to find out more about Julie’s experience at Woodland Academy Trust, you can watch a short video here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHF39HAIQj4 and read a case study here.  https://academia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Spotlight-Stories-Woodland-Academy-Trust-FV21.pdf

You can find out more about NGA membership at www.nga.org.uk/membership, our webinars free to join, you can find all of our webinars at www.nga.org.uk/webinars

As we start a new academic year, Emma Knights, Sam Henson and Steve Edmonds discuss the challenges schools are facing. With a new prime minister and secretary of state we explore what is sitting in the in-tray for the new ministerial team at the Department for Education, particularly the financial challenges schools are dealing with. We also explore the findings from NGA’s annual governance survey and outline what that means for MATs and explore the issues boards are facing recruiting volunteers.  

We want to hear your views and experience to help shape NGA's response to the emerging schools funding crisis. If you would like to share your story, please email [email protected] 

If you would like to read the latest reports from our annual governance survey, you can find them at www.nga.org.uk/governance2022

In the latest episode of Governing Chatters, Sam Henson and Nina Sharma discuss NGA’s latest report on school inspection. Following on from our report that looked at Ofsted’s newly introduced education inspection framework in 2020 which identified key issues and areas to address, the latest report highlights where Ofsted inspection practice has since changed or improved.

Sam and Nina discuss the experiences of governing boards and the results of our extensive analysis of inspection reports.

You can read the latest report here 

Our first report is available to read here 

If you are an NGA member, you can read our guidance on Ofsted inspections here.

We also have a Learning Link module on Ofsted inspection available to subscribers. You can sign up for a free trial of Learning Link here.

In our latest episode, Emma Knights is joined by Sam Henson and Steve Edmonds to discuss the recently published white paper ‘Opportunity for all: Strong schools with great teachers for your child’ sets out the government’s vision for the future of education which was swiftly followed by the green paper, 'SEND review, Right Support, Right Place, Right Time'.

Emma, Sam and Steve discuss what was included, what boards need to know and what NGA would like to have seen included.

If you would like to find out more about either the white or green paper, we are running webinars in the summer term. You can find out more at www.nga.org.uk/webinars. Our Governance Leadership forums in the summer term will be focusing on the white paper and we are delighted that Paul Cohen - Deputy Director, Governance and Trust Development Division, Department for Education will be joining us to discuss the implications of the paper. You can book your place at the forums at www.nga.org.uk/events.

For more information on our view of the papers, you can read our information sheets and reaction at https://www.nga.org.uk/News/NGA-News/April-2022/NGA-publish-summary-information-sheets-on-the-scho.aspx

You can read Sam Henson’s blog on local governance on our blog page at https://www.nga.org.uk/News/Blog.aspx.  

In this edition of Governing Chatters, Sam Tranter is joined by two members of NGA’s Young Governors’ Network, Anju Dhir and Matthew McKirgan to talk  about their experiences of being a young governor, the importance of diversity of thought and representation on boards and what they have learnt from governing.

You can read the full report on increasing participation in governance here.  

You can find more information on NGA’s Young Governors’ Network here and you can contact Sam Tranter through the network page to discuss how you can get involved.