Leading Governance e-learning: Holding to account: how to question and challenge

Get to grips with how education works in England. This module breaks down the structure of the school system, what schools must provide, and where governance fits within it. You’ll learn what the Key Stages mean, the difference between a maintained school and a trust, and how the school year is organised. Ideal if you’re new to education or just want a clear concise overview.

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What exactly does a governing board do? This module explores the core purpose of governance and covers: what the expectations are of governors and trustees; the different types of schools and boards; and how delegation works. This module is essential for those who are familiar with the education system, but new to the role governance plays within it.

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What makes a great board? This final module pulls everything together, looking at how boards work as a team, the roles of the chair and governance professional, and how to hold leaders to account. It’s a great way to round off your induction and step into governance with purpose and confidence.

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Governance is all about staying focused on the big picture. This module explains how boards set the vision, stay on-track, and make sure strategic leadership drives improvement. Whether you're brand new or need a refresher, this module will help you understand what strategic governance really looks like in action.

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What are your legal duties as a governor or trustee? This module introduces the key areas of compliance, why they matter, how boards can meet their responsibilities effectively through monitoring - and what happens if you don’t. It offers practical guidance to help you stay on top of the essentials and avoid pitfalls.

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Two of the governance core functions are focused on supporting the senior executive leader and their team through robust accountability. This means asking challenging questions and even having a courageous conversation when necessary. It is relevant whether monitoring school improvement strategy or checking on compliance matters. Understanding what is expected and how to do it effectively is therefore critical part of the governance role.

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For those governing, Ofsted inspections can be an intimidating aspect of the role. This module aims to alleviate any concerns you may have ahead of an inspection by developing your understanding of the inspection framework, how Ofsted inspects schools and the role governing boards have in the process. It will also explore how you can best support your school before, during and after inspection.

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If you are governing in a MAT – or in a maintained school or single academy trust that is considering forming or joining a MAT – this comprehensive module will build your understanding of the fundamental areas of effective governance, and provide you with accessible, engaging support that will help you to address the challenges you will face and give you the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others.

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Governing at a local level within a multi-academy trust is a unique challenge that many people are still getting to grips with. This bitesize module will help you navigate the challenges of governing in a local setting, explaining how the local tier fits into a broader trust structure, the roles and responsibilities of governors on academy committees, and more essential tips and guidance.

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Monitoring visits are a vital part of overseeing school performance. This short module shows you how to approach visits in a strategic way, from planning and enacting them to linking them to improvement plans and reflecting on what you’ve seen. Great for those preparing for their first visit or looking to sharpen their focus.

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To truly understand the effectiveness of your school, the acid test is the extent that the organisation supports each and every pupil to reach their potential.

Your board are expected to know how to judge if your school is doing this and to address areas where it needs to improve in a strategic way, holding the school and its leaders to account.

This module has been designed to ensure you have all the relevant knowledge needed to carry this out and provides an approach to using various key information sources to provide an accurate benchmarked assessment of how well your organisation is supporting its pupils' achievement.

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Every school organisation should use its resources to ensure that pupils' outcomes are as good as they can be.

This module explores the frameworks, policies and procedures which regulate school resources and demonstrates what is expected of you and your governing board to ensure regularity, security and solvency and how to anticipate to avoid some typical pitfalls.

Governors and trustees provide insights into meeting the challenge of how to make tight resources go as far as possible. You will gain a clear idea of pupil and other premiums and what your governing board can do to ensure spending has the impact on pupil outcomes that it should. Various tools and approaches for developing financial efficiency in your organisation will be highlighted.

To consolidate your understanding, you will evaluate the effectiveness of a governing board in relation to a school struggling to balance its budget and work within its compliance frameworks.

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