What do the latest policy changes mean for governors?

Governors are the largest force of volunteers in the country, with over a quarter of a million governing state schools in England. To be eligible to be a governor you must be 18. That’s it. This brings incredible diversity of experience to these roles, but also various challenges.

On Saturday 8 February, 70 governors headed to Earlham Primary School for Haringey’s Annual Governor Conference. The conference aims to update governors on the latest education policy changes, while also providing a forum to connect and discuss the challenges faced by them and their schools.

We were delighted to welcome keynote speaker Laura McInerney, alongside local leaders including: Cllr Zena Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families; Jane Edwards, Assistant Director for Schools and Learning; Jackie Difolco, Assistant Director for Early Help; James Page, Chief Executive of HEP; as well as words from Heather de Silva, Chair of Governors at Earlham and Natasha Rezai, Headteacher of Earlham to welcome governors to the school.

The Number 10 grid clearly had education highlighted in the week prior to the governor conference, with several announcements made across the Department for Education and Ofsted.  Here are the key points governors need to know:

On the 3 February Ofsted launched a consultation for a new inspection framework, and introduced report cards that will be used in place of the single-word judgements. Laura McInerney highlighted the proposed changes had not been popular amongst teachers and leaders anecdotally, however, she thought they would help parents to understand Ofsted reports in a much more nuanced way. Check out the example report card below.

There is a curriculum and assessment review taking place being led by Professor Becky Francis CBE, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation. It will review the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system in England, to ensure they are fit for purpose and meeting the needs of children and young people. Implementing a curriculum change is a huge undertaking for teachers and leaders. We should see the first findings by the end of April, with the final report published in September 2025. As per the current plan, changes in curriculum and assessment would begin to be implemented in 2026. Laura warned that curriculum changes, alongside Ofsted changes, may be the straw that broke the camel’s back for some leaders, and governors should be aware of resignation risks.  

Another innovation the Department for Education launched in early February was the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams. This team will work with 300 ‘stuck’ schools across England. They have been designed to support schools in various areas, such as curriculum development and improving teaching. This suggests a shift in approach, with Labour moving away from academisation as the sole option and instead offering support that doesn’t require significant structural changes for schools.

We are experiencing a dip in population, intensified in London, and schools are not full. This brings funding challenges and schools are going to have to close, through no fault of their own. This problem is not unique to Haringey, and locally Haringey Council is supporting schools through these tough conversations.  

It is no secret that the SEND system across England is struggling. Mainstream schools across the country are seeing higher numbers of children and young people with SEND than ever before. Laura emphasised that although this brings challenges, as governors we should see this positively, with more children being kept in the mainstream system through successful inclusion practices. With increased pupils with SEND in Mainstream, impacts are being seen on behaviour in classrooms as well. Schools must continue to do the very best they can to deal with these challenges, and governors play a role in supporting this.  

Schools are experiencing high levels of parent complaints. Know that this is mirrored across the country and not a problem with just your school. Parents of children in school today were largely educated in the early 2000s – a time when there was more funding in the education system. As a result, they have higher expectations of what schools should deliver compared to those who were educated in the 1980s.

Understand the school’s complaints procedure, and be aware of the support you have access to from HEP and Haringey Council to support you and your school with complaints.

Attendance is top of the agenda for government, and locally. Persistent absenteeism is a real focus in the borough and across the country. Jane Edwards emphasised the need for governors to be familiar with the attendance data at their school, and to focus on a strategic approach to addressing attendance for all pupils. In Haringey, figures of persistent absenteeism range from 7% to 32%. It’s important governors know where their schools sit in this.

Haringey is a success story, with enormous strengths across the borough. It boasts excellent results, including the highest ever early years results, KS2 combined scores above the London average, and great progress at GCSE. There is so much to celebrate. Haringey Local Authority is producing an Education Strategy which is focussing on nailing down Haringey’s ambition for our children and young people. The headline, every child and young person matters. 

Governors need to be aware that school leaders are facing significant challenges, with changes in Ofsted and the Curriculum and Assessment Review potentially arriving simultaneously. Governors should try and ignore some of the politics of the changes taking place as they land, but take things on one at a time, and try to be realistic about what a school can do. Focus on strategic oversight, and don't be tempted to stray into operational management. Be aware of what's happening across the borough so you can benchmark your budget, attendance data, and behaviour statistics against those in the borough and nationally, helping you support your school in becoming the very best it can be. And finally, collaborate. Take advantage of support from Local Leaders of Governance and meet locally to explore the potential of collaboration.  

Maya Cardwell is Lead for Digital and Communications at HEP.