Disappointingly, the Department for Education has announced that, in September, Inspiring Governance will no longer receive funding to carry out its vital recruitment and awareness-raising work for the governance role.
This decision marks the end of any government financial support for school and trust governance, leaving an already strained workforce - one formed of volunteers - to fend for itself.
A critical component
While school governance is not the most visible aspect of education, it is one of the most critical. Effective governance is crucial in upholding standards and driving improvements for children and young people.
At the National Governance Association (NGA), we see governors and trustees ensuring our schools and trusts are well-managed, that leaders are held accountable and focused on delivering quality education to our children, and what happens when this goes wrong.
The capabilities and capacity of governing boards are hampered if they don’t have an effective skills mix, or enough people around the boardroom table to undertake the duties required of them.
Recruitment and retention of these volunteers is already facing its biggest challenges to date, according to our annual survey, and surely this will be even more severely compromised without government funding.
Relying on volunteers
Our education system relies on the selfless dedication of over 230,000 governors and trustees volunteering across England.
These unsung heroes freely give their time and expertise to ensure that our schools enable their pupils to achieve the best outcomes they can.
But more than dedication is needed to sustain effective governance.
The NGA goes the extra mile however we can to support this, but governance needs more resources, training, and support - all of which are now at risk due to ever-increasing pressures on school and trust budgets, and government decisions like the one to withdraw funded support for recruitment and induction of new talent into these critical roles.
The ramifications of this lack of funding to support one of England’s biggest volunteer workforce are vast.
Despite hollow assurances to the contrary, it undervalues and undermines the efforts of those currently involved in governance and worsens the recruitment crisis, potentially discouraging future volunteers due to a lack of support.
Need for alternatives
As the leading advocate for school and trust governance, the NGA is responding to this situation with urgency. We are writing to the secretary of state and exploring further alternative avenues to support governing and trust boards.
Our commitment to advocating for those who govern and the young people who depend on them for a quality education remains steadfast. However, the NGA alone cannot fill the void left by the government’s withdrawal of funding.
Sustained government investment in school governance is urgent, necessary and obvious.
In our manifesto for schools and trusts, we urgently appealed to the DfE and any future government to reconsider their stance on funding governance support.
Vital roles
Governance is not a luxury; it is fundamental. It ensures the responsible use of public money, the accountability of schools to their communities, and the provision of equal opportunities for every child.
This demands funding school governance initiatives and programmes and committing to robust support mechanisms that effectively empower governors and trustees to fulfil their vital roles.
In the end, the strength of our education system lies in the dedication and expertise of those who oversee them.
Let us remember the invaluable contribution of volunteer governors and trustees and ensure they have the necessary resources to underpin their essential work. Our children deserve nothing less.
Emma Balchin is co-chief executive of the National Governance Association
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