Leading Governance: notes on chairing a board well
A partnership programme for chairs and aspiring chairs of school and college governing bodies.
Chairs at the centre of the work
A governing body is only as effective as the conversations its chair makes possible. The chair sets the agenda, keeps discussion focused, and makes sure that every governor has a fair chance to speak.
Caption: The room where a board makes its decisions, and where a chair's habits become visible.
Leading Governance is a partnership led by The National Governors' Association and the Eastern Leadership Centre. Together they run a programme for the people who guide governing bodies, helping chairs and aspiring chairs build the skills that a board depends on.
The programme is nationally recognised in its design and locally delivered, so the learning fits the schools and communities where governors actually work. This site describes how the programme is built, who it serves, and what it hopes to change.
Keep reading
Updates about the programme, its partners and the practice of chairing appear on the blog, where we write shorter notes as the work develops.
Skills a board can practise
The programme focuses on leadership skills that can be practised in ordinary meetings. These include planning a meeting around the questions that matter most, challenging evidence without making colleagues defensive, and summarising a debate so that a decision is clear.
Participants also work on the quieter parts of chairing, such as preparing for difficult conversations with the headteacher or principal and supporting new governors through their first year.
- Plan agendas around the decisions the board must make
- Test the evidence behind a proposal before it is approved
- Close each item with a clear and recorded outcome
- Support new governors to contribute from the start
Children and young people in view
Every governing body exists for the children and young people it serves. The programme asks chairs to keep those pupils in view, using their experiences to test whether policies are working in practice.
Caption: Notes and plans that turn a board's intentions into actions for pupils.
Governance that improves outcomes
Good governance is not an end in itself. The programme links the work of the board to what happens in classrooms, because a governing body that asks sharp questions about attainment, attendance and wellbeing can help leaders act sooner.
Improvement depends on steady attention over time. Chairs are encouraged to review how their board uses data, how it hears from pupils and families, and how it checks that its decisions are carried out.
A national frame, delivered locally
The programme sets a shared national standard for what a chair should know and be able to do. Local delivery then adapts that standard to the particular pressures of each area, from rural federations to large multi-academy trusts.
Caption: Governance work done side by side, with papers, notes and a clear shared purpose.