Dr Stephen Codrington

Stephen is the Founder and President of Optimal School Governance,  Australia

Workshop Information:

LEAD BOLDLY, GOVERN WISELY, SHAPE THE FUTURE is not mere theory; it’s the roadmap to making real impact in schools.

And yet, many school leaders struggle with the practical implementation of this roadmap for reasons that can often be traced back to the political minefield that is politely known as “board shortcomings”.

This session is designed to help international school leaders, aspiring leaders, and board members by exploring:

• HOW IT SHOULD WORK - outlining the basic principles of sound school governance in partnership with senior management

• WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS IN PRACTICE - investigating proven frameworks for effective school governance and leadership

• WHAT CAN GO WRONG? - identifying all-too-common challenges that can derail effective school governance and leadership

• FIXING THE CHALLENGES – considering proven strategies to make school governance and leadership more effective and resilient

• BACK TO THE REAL WORLD OF OUR SCHOOLS - providing real-world insights that may transform your school culture

One effective way to minimise risk is to avoid the pitfalls of poor governance and ineffective leadership.  However, many school boards don’t recognise their own shortcomings, and are more likely to point an accusatory finger towards senior management than hold up a mirror to their own imperfections.

This ought to be surprising, because school boards expect their senior managers and teachers to be reflective, to undertake regular performance reviews, and to ensure they are adopting principles of ‘best practice’.  And yet these same boards are often reluctant to subject themselves to the same standards.  This matters because there is a clear causal relationship between strong board effectiveness and high student outcomes.

This session scratches the surface of many of the issues, challenges and solutions discussed in Stephen’s new book, “Daring Insights into School Leadership and Board Governance”.

Session Outcomes:

• Clear understanding of how school governance should work in practice, especially with respect to the “Red Line” separating governance and management, and the Accountability-Responsibility Relationship which the Board has with the Head.

• An overview of research findings on the characteristics of highly effective schools.

• Awareness of common causes for board and leadership instability in schools.

• An appreciation of ways that the risks of poor governance can be anticipated and minimised.

• Lots of insights to share and discuss with the Board.

Biography:

Dr Stephen Codrington is the Founder and President of Optimal School Governance, a specialist consultancy service that supports school leaders and their boards.  Based in Sydney (Australia), he works with schools and their boards globally in areas such as workshops, mentoring, strategic planning, governance training, board performance reviews, principals’ appraisals, head of school recruitment, etc. 

He is an experienced Head of School, having served as Principal of five IB schools in four countries (Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the United States) over 25 years.  The author of 71 books, he is currently Chair of the Board at Djarragun College, a multi-campus K-12 day and boarding school near Cairns (Australia) for disadvantaged and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait students.