The Department for Education (DfE) has published a Competency Framework for Governance, detailing what the department define as the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for effective governance in maintained schools, academies and multi-academy trusts.
The guidance, whilst non-statutory, outlines DfE thinking on the essentials of effective governance and the expectation is clearly that governing bodies and academy trust boards should be mindful of these competencies both in recruiting governors and trustees and in shaping the development and training priorities for governance in their own school or trust. The DfE are recommending that governors refer to this new guidance alongside the new Governance Handbook, republished at the same time as this framework was released. Academy Trusts are reminded that they should also refer to the 2016 Academy Financial Handbook.
In total there are 16 competencies within the framework but these are encompassed within six key competencies:
- Strategic Leadership
- Accountability
- People
- Structures
- Compliance
- Evaluation
These key competencies are then underpinned by seven principles and personal attributes which the DfE see as qualities which will enable governors and trustees to “use their skills and knowledge to function well as part of a team and make an active contribution to effective governance.”
The principles and personal attributes, identified by the DfE, spell out that all those involved in governance should be:
- Committed
- Confident
- Curious
- Challenging
- Collaborative
- Critical
- Creative
The guidance makes clear that the DfE envisages the framework to be a source of reference to governing bodies and academy boards of trustees which should inform practice and processes rather than be a template for what governance in 2017 should look like in ever school in England.