Self-evaluate, self-evaluate, self-evaluate - the mantra of self-evaluation in schools and trusts can be wearying.

But it is, of course, an important management tool for assessing where you think your organisation is and for diagnosing where improvements need to be made.

This is key because school governing boards that do this are more likely to deliver their core functions in an effective, ethical and accountable way while also ensuring compliance, delivering continuous improvements and achieving better outcomes for pupils. 

The Department for Education’s Governance Handbook also supports evaluation and outlines that boards “should regularly evaluate their own effectiveness”. For many boards, this practice is the norm. 

Of course, self-evaluation needs to be proportionate and impactful: a board that spends half of its time looking at itself is unlikely to have time to make sure that the organisation is sustainable and achieving its purpose.  

Key questions to ask

This is why, in 2015, the National Governance Association (NGA), The Key for School Governors and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Education Governance gave their endorsement to a standard set of 20 questions that school boards could ask themselves to streamline this process, and they quickly became accepted as a good starting point.   

But those questions, along with their sister set of 21 questions for multi-academy trust (MAT) boards, were well overdue a refresh and, having consulted widely, NGA has a issued a revised suite of 20 questions for single school governing boards, 21 questions for MAT boards and 16 questions for academy committees (local governing bodies), all available for free via the NGA’s website.

These new questions place a greater emphasis on the importance of governance professionals and the critical issues of board diversity, dynamics, culture and behaviours. 

For example, the question on the governance professional asks if ”a dedicated governance professional with an up-to-date job description, who supports the board with independent advice and guidance”, is employed.

Meanwhile, a question on skills is extended to include diversity and asks if succession is planned and the recruitment process designed “to ensure new board members are recruited to fill skills gaps and ensure diversity of knowledge, experience, perspectives and approaches”. 

In addition to the questions, there is accompanying guidance for each set and there is also the option of purchasing an online version, which automates the process, provides reports and includes a mentor session with an NGA governance expert.      

The need to self-reflect 

However, that’s not to suggest that this is all boards need to do. Instead, the questions should be used to augment other forms of self-evaluation. 

The critical role of the chair in leading the board is recognised in the Governance Handbook and, increasingly, the chair’s undertaking of a 360° appraisal is more readily accepted as best practice.

Online versions can make the process easy to manage and, importantly, assure anonymity to appraisers.

Then, building on the chair’s self-evaluation, is the practice of the chair appraising colleague governors and trustees each year.

Understandably, the value of this is often questioned; after all, most chairs are busy people and this can feel like just another task being piled on to them. 

But this is not only an opportunity to find out what has gone well and if colleagues feel they are making a difference, it’s also a chance to nip in the bud any issues, such as poor attendance. 

And it is something that can be delegated to a vice-chair to undertake, especially as we know that vice-chairs often feel they have an undefined and undeveloped role. 

But no matter how the board decides to self-evaluate, the process is not the be-all and end-all: the spirit in which any self-review is conducted makes all the difference.  

Everyone should be willing to participate, reflections should be honest and the resulting discussion should be entered into and valued by all, including the chair, the governance professional and the headteacher or chief executive.

Crucially, if there are no actions for improvement, it would suggest that it has been an exercise in going through the motions and, in essence, a superficial process.

When to bring in outside help 

If this proves to be the case, it perhaps shows the limits to self-evaluation - something the Governance Handbook makes clear by stating that an “objective independent external review of the effectiveness of the board can be a more powerful diagnostic tool”.

So, while self-evaluation should happen annually, NGA recommends that every three years, the board commissions an external review. 

This should be carried out by an independent governance expert with credible knowledge and experience, who can accurately diagnose any issues and make realistic recommendations. 

For trusts, being able to present such a report to members provides valuable assurance that governance is being taken seriously and any improvements necessary have been recognised. 

Whether you are self-evaluating your board, your chair, each other or, indeed, all of these - or you are commissioning an external review - just taking some time out to reflect on how well governance is working is worthwhile. 

Governance is about making decisions, and the decision to evaluate your own practice should be an important one for all boards to consider.

Clare Collins is head of consultancy at the National Governance Association