As the architects of vision and strategy, and the pivotal decision-makers for schools and trusts, governing boards offer a vital perspective on the local educational landscape.

This year the National Governance Association’s annual school governance survey underlines this more clearly than ever, revealing how the sector continues to contend with the aftershocks of the pandemic, as well as dealing with long-standing and emerging problems.

Based on insights gleaned from 2,695 members surveyed between April and June, here are six key insights from our findings.

1. Recruitment and retention

One of the most striking revelations in this year’s survey is the shift in concerns surrounding recruitment and retention.

While the considerable crisis in teacher recruitment and retention is well-documented, 2023 findings show that support staff recruitment and retention is more worrying still.

Respondents told us of the increasing challenge to retain support staff owing to non-competitive pay rates compared with lower-skilled roles in other sectors.

2. Balancing the budgets

Balancing the budget remains an enduring challenge, with 52 per cent of respondents placing it at the top of their list of concerns, with just 18 per cent perceiving their schools as financially sustainable.

Meanwhile, the number of those who said they were able to balance income and expenditure without reserves fell below 70 per cent for the first time, to 58 per cent.

The top challenges for setting a balanced budget were staff pay costs, special educational needs and disabilities support, infrastructure costs and estate management.

3. School buildings

Obviously, our survey took place before the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete crisis emerged.

But it is imperative to acknowledge that the events of the past week only scratch the surface of the deep-seated concerns governors and trustees harbour regarding the state of our school facilities.

Fifty-year-old prefabricated buildings and portacabins are still being relied on, and there are glaring disparities in the conditions of different parts of school estates.

One respondent said they had “cut expenditure on the building to the bone and prioritised staffing for the good of the children”. In some places, boards were forced into pitting essential statutory requirements against one another.

Nearly 40 per cent of them voiced serious reservations about the sub-par conditions of their buildings.

The issue extends beyond the immediate fear of structural deterioration; it poses a genuine threat to pupil access to educational environments.

We find ourselves in a precarious situation where this long-standing problem is now forcing some schools to shut their doors to children and young people who have already endured a lack of face-to-face learning during the lockdowns.

This places a tremendous burden on boards, particularly as educational leaders strive to engage parents in the argument for why their children are better off in school.

4. Attendance

Since the pandemic, attitudes towards regular attendance, whether from pupils, parents or both, have shifted and prioritising school attendance is no longer a given for some families.

There is a host of other challenges that families face, including rising poverty levels, the cost-of-living crisis, mental health issues and unstable housing situations.

Schools and trusts are working tirelessly to combat these alarming trends but, in reality, some pupils who were once a daily fixture in the classroom are now increasingly absent from schools.

What our boards and leaders urgently require is substantial support from local authorities, children’s services, and related agencies - the urgency of addressing the current RAAC situation feels like it is placing that support increasingly out of reach.

5. Safeguarding

One of the most significant findings in last year’s report was a 71 per cent increase in reported safeguarding concerns.  

This year, only 3 per cent of respondents reported a decrease, while more than half mentioned a further increase over the past year. It is no coincidence that as attendance issues have risen, so have safeguarding concerns.

We are witnessing an increase in the number of pupils permanently excluded from school, with almost a quarter of our respondents reporting this troubling trend.

Among those who have also seen a significant uptick in safeguarding concerns over the past year, this figure climbs to 38 per cent.

6. Recruiting and retaining governors and trustees

Finally, it isn’t just about the issues boards are making decisions about but the act of governing itself.

While the majority continued to say the role was manageable, 77 per cent of respondents said that the challenge of recruiting and retaining governors and trustees had reached an all-time high. Perhaps nothing emphasises this issue more than the finding that in excess of a quarter of respondents said they were considering resigning.

If that figure were to be replicated at a national level, we would be in for a catastrophic problem. 

The voices of governing boards in 2023 resonate consistently - all in all, the situation isn’t good enough and satisfaction with the government’s performance on education is at an all-time low, with fewer than one in 10 expressing satisfaction.

Sam Henson is director of policy and communications at the NGA