With schools now really bedding in for the spring term, I feel there is a renewed ambition to ensure that even more children have a good or outstanding education.

But the need for high-quality governance and leadership has never been greater if we want to achieve more high-quality school places. There are three core functions for governing boards that, if implemented well, can help schools do better for pupils.

The first is to articulate a clear vision, ethos and strategy. This will define the culture, values and beliefs of the school and inform how time, effort and money are allocated. Making sure everyone understands the vision and purpose of the organisation is critical, and the best boards work hard to ensure that staff, children and parents are all aware of and engaged with the strategic goals and beliefs that underpin the education being delivered in classrooms.

A very public ambition to achieve excellent education outcomes for all children should underpin the strategy, which should also be driven by the specific needs of parents and the community.

The second and third core functions are about holding leaders to account for delivering the strategy in terms of educational outcomes, and making sure money is well spent. Boards should provide the challenge and support school leaders need to perform to their potential.

To take a strong strategic lead and create a culture of robust accountability, boards need to ensure that they have all the right skills, knowledge and experience. Boards need people who know how to oversee the move from strategy to delivery, and who understand change management, performance management and marketing, and who can monitor finances.

Engaging parents

I would also highlight the importance of engaging parents, as many bring not only their valuable perspective as parents but also professional expertise. There is no doubt that there is a clear link between effective governance and delivering high standards of education.

As we move into the second half of the academic year, there are four questions that boards need to test themselves on:

1. Are we delivering on our strategic goals and are they raising standards?

2. Do we know that our improvement priorities are the right ones?

3. What does the current performance of our school(s) suggest that we need to focus on for the next 12 months?

4. What challenges do we need to anticipate over the next five years?

To support better governance, the Department for Education has recently published an updated version of the Governance Handbook. It has been restructured around a new helpful summary of the six features of effective governance. We have also published a new Competency Framework.

Sir David Carter is the national schools commissioner