Governor Self Evaluation Tool
The support and challenge provided by the Governing Body (GB) can help improve the quality of all learners' experiences, ensuring they have the very best opportunities to learn, develop and grow. In order to continue to perform this strategic role effectively a GB should, from time to time, evaluate its knowledge, skills, strengths and areas for development. This can help identify developmental priorities and skills gaps, as well as enabling the most effective allocation of governors to GB roles / committee memberships based on their skill sets.
The purpose of this tool is to enable Governing Bodies to make an accurate assessment of how well they are leading the school in partnership with the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team. It has been produced by EAS staff with support from the EAS Governor Strategy Group, which is made up of 2 representatives from each of the 5 local authority governors’ associations. We have also worked closely with colleagues in Central South Consortium and are grateful to them for sharing their developments.
The tool is split into four sections:
An individual governor skills audit and summary
A self-evaluation tool and summary
A reflection and evidence exercise
An action plan tool
Use by the Governing Body
It is for each Governing Body to determine whether they complete all of these at the same time or separately. It is intended to be a positive experience to be undertaken as a Governing Body so that it is inclusive of all governors, not to be just completed by 1 or 2 governors.
We hope it will not only help identify best practice but also empower Governing Bodies to adapt and evolve to embrace the opportunities the changes in the education system will bring. Following completion of the process, any identified areas of development could be used to inform the School Development Plan.