Survey of local governors associations May 2016
We last surveyed local associations in May 2014. Since then the pace of change in governance and schools more generally has been rapid. This survey was designed to help us understand how this multitude of changes has affected associations and what the NGA can do to help support you in supporting governing boards. There were 51 responses to the survey from 41 local associations. This represents roughly twothirds of associations that are members of NGA. Many thanks to all that took part in the survey. Contents Characteristics of local associations... 2 Subscription fees... 3 Local association services... 4 Strengths and areas for improvement... 5 Members concerns... 6 Relationships with partners... 8 Conferences and meetings... 9 NGA services... 10 Suggestions for future work for NGA... 12 National Governors Association 2016 1
Characteristics of local associations 80% of respondents said their local association had been in existence for 10 years or more. None were brand new but four reported that their association had existed for between four and six years. The size of local association executive committees appears to have reduced since the previous survey in 2014, when 73% had between eight and 15 people on their executives. This year, 45% had between one and seven people and a further 45% had between eight and 15 people. 55% reported having more than 80% of schools in their local authority in membership (including 28% that had all schools in membership). This is slightly fewer than in 2014, when 63% of associations responding had more than 80% of schools in their area in membership. Maintained schools make up the majority of most local associations membership, but all respondents said that their association included the governing boards of a mix of school types. There was a large range, with one association estimating 20% of their members were governing bodies of maintained schools and another giving an estimate of 95%. This is likely to be a reflection of the variation in the proportion of schools that are academies in different local authority (LA) areas. Roughly what percentage of your members are the governing boards of: 80.00 70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00.00 Stand-alone maintained schools? Maintained federations? Stand-alone academies? Multi academy trusts? National Governors Association 2016 2
Subscription fees Around two thirds of respondents associations charge subscription fees. The majority of fees were between 10 and 30 per year. Four local associations charged between 50 and 60 and one charged 90. A small number of associations differentiated their fees according to pupil numbers or phase of school. There doesn t appear to be a relationship between the amount charged in subscription fees and what proportion of schools are members (the survey asked associations to select a range for the percentage of schools in their area in membership; the graph below plots the upper limit of the range selected against the subscription fees of the association). 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% What proportion of schools in your local authority (LA) are members of your association? 0% 0 20 40 60 80 100 For example, one association does not charge a subscription fee has 80-99% of schools in their LA area in membership. Another association charges 90 per year but this does not appear to have affected take-up: they also have 80-99% of schools in membership. When asked who collects subscription fees for the association, almost half (48%) of those who answered the question said that the LA does so on their behalf. 29% do so themselves and 23% have another method of collection (examples given include via a local headteachers association and via a local independent schools services company). National Governors Association 2016 3
Local association services Almost all (97%) local associations provide their member governing boards with representation on LA committees, working parties etc. This is exactly the same proportion as in 2014. The least common service was a governor magazine, which is provided by just four of the associations who responded, two of which produce services jointly with the LA. The majority of local associations do not charge for any services above their existing subscription fees. A minority of associations charge for specific services: governor training, annual conferences, briefing sessions, and termly area meetings. The majority of local associations communicate with members through emails (87%). 22% of associations use social networking sites such as Twitter. 16% of respondents use hard copies of information to communicate with members, but all of these also use email. 26 local associations (58%) report having a stand-alone website, while 9 (20%) have a page on the LA website. One third of associations communicate with members through LA publications. Which of the following services do you provide for your members? Governor magazine Monthly newsletter Recruitment of Page on the LA website Governor training Termly newsletter Recruitment of Termly area meetings Helpline or advice Stand alone website Annual conferences Briefing sessions Representation on LA 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Provided for an additional charge Provided free Not provided National Governors Association 2016 4
Strengths and areas for improvement Asked what their association does well, the five most commonly cited activities were: communicating with the LA (80%) representing governors /trustees views to the LA (73%) facilitating discussions at meetings (68%) running conferences or specialist seminars (68%) monitoring and challenging the local authority s service provision (64%) Asked about areas that associations would like to improve, the most commonly cited were: recruiting active volunteers for the association (75%) gathering opinions of governors/trustees (70%) communicating with governors/trustees (60%) providing networking opportunities for governors/trustees (50%) running well-attended meetings (50%) 53% of respondents said that there was something that their association would like to do but could not. Examples given included engaging more governors in the association s work (10 respondents), creating or improving a website (5 respondents), providing training (2 respondents), and improving collaboration with multi academy trusts (2 respondents). The most significant barrier was a lack of time and capacity within the association, which was a problem identified by two-thirds of respondents. One-quarter identified lack of funds as a barrier and lack of knowledge within the association was a problem for less than one in five. Asked what key problems are encountered in the day to day running of their local association, time and capacity was the most popular responses once again (77% of respondents), followed by a lack of active members (63% of respondents). Distance between volunteers (19% of respondents) and funding (14% of respondents) were a problem for a minority of those answering. National Governors Association 2016 5
Members concerns Asked What are the main issues of concern for members of your association?, the most frequent response given was changes to the funding formula which was highlighted by 74% of respondents. This has risen up the agenda since 2014, when 58% identified this as a key issue, likely due to the government s commitment to and ongoing consultation on a new National Funding Formula. The next most frequent response was recruiting senior leaders, identified by 63% of respondents (a similar figure to the 65% that described this as a key issue in 2014). Changes to assessment were identified as a concern by 56%; this was not included as an option in the 2014 survey. The most frequent response to this question in the 2014 survey were closing the attainment gap (89%), Ofsted inspections (73%), and improving attainment (69%). Concern about each of these seems to have fallen slightly in the two years since: in the most recent survey the proportion citing these issues had fallen to 51%, 49%, and 37% respectively. 44% of respondents identified changes to school structures as a main issue of concern for their association s members. When asked to identify the main issues for members going forward, academies or academisation was ranked first by 17 respondents and second by a further six, likely reflecting recent government policy announcements. What are the main issues of concern for members of your association? Premises Underperforming staff Safeguarding Changes to rolls/school places Ensuring best use of resources Publication of performance data Performance management Behaviour and exclusions Governance training Services for children, e.g.health services Improving attainment Support services for schools Special educational needs Changes to school structures Changes to curriculum and qualifications Partnerships and collaboration Ofsted inspections Closing the attainment gap Attracting high quality teaching staff Changes to assessment Recruiting senior leaders Changes to the funding formula 0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% National Governors Association 2016 6
In response to the question What impact do you anticipate the recent education White Paper will have on your association?, a range of responses were given: Little change as many or most members are already academies Likely increase in requests for help and support from governors Reduction of LA role will threaten association funding or membership New activities e.g. setting up a partnership company (with schools and LA as members) to take over most school-improvement functions from LA National Governors Association 2016 7
Relationships with partners Around half of respondents said their association has a formal partnership agreement with the LA (e.g. through a memorandum of understanding). 86% of respondents said their LA asks the association to provide members for committees, groups, the Schools Forum, or other. This figure was 100% in 2014. 31% of respondents said their association receives funding from the LA and 63% said they receive other benefits in kind, such as meeting rooms or administrative support. 14% do not receive any support from the LA and 6% do not currently receive LA funding but had done so in the past. Almost all respondents associations have regular meetings with their LA Director of Children s Services (or equivalent). Around half have regular meetings with headteacher groups. 12 respondents associations meet 1-2 times a year with the regional schools commissioner (RSC) and 9 meet at this regularity with Ofsted regional representatives. The average rating given for the relationship between local authorities and local associations is approximately four out of five. This is the highest of any partner but lower than the average rating given in 2014 which was 4.5 out of five, which may reflect increasing pressure on LA resources or increasing number of academies. This is the first time that we have asked local associations about their relationships with RSCs or Ofsted regional representatives. The average ratings given were 1.7 and 1.9 respectively, and for each approximately a quarter of respondents answered don t know. This likely reflects that the majority of associations do not have regular meetings with these partners. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being poor, 5 being very good), how would you rate your association's working relationship with the following: Local authority Other education partners Headteacher groups Other teaching unions Ofsted regional representatives Regional Schools Commissioner 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 National Governors Association 2016 8
Conferences and meetings Responses indicate that approximately three-quarters of local associations hold an annual conference. Six charge an attendance fee but the majority provide this as part of membership. Within those that hold an annual conference, almost half do this in partnership with the LA. 85% of associations hold briefing or training sessions for all governors to attend. The most popular frequency for these was two to three times per year (58%). 16% hold these four to five times per year and 12% hold these six or more times per year. Attendance at briefings or training sessions varies widely between associations: On average, how many people attend your association briefings/training sessions? Less than 20 20-50 51-75 76-100 Over 100 Don't know National Governors Association 2016 9
NGA services NGA offers a wide range of services to local associations and we are glad to see that core NGA communications such as the weekly e-newsletter and Governing Matters magazine are rated highly. Weekly e-newsletter Governing Matters magazine Website The Chair's Handbook Welcome to Governance National conferences/agm Guidance Centre Regional meetings and conferences Termly bulletin Speakers at local events Consultancy and Training Service 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 Satisfaction rating Importance rating The average ratings for importance of and satisfaction with speakers and local events is lower than in 2014. Though the majority gave a rating of four or five out of five, a handful of people gave a rating of two and one person gave a rating of one. Local association is the only category of membership that has access to free NGA speakers for events and we always endeavour to fulfil requests where diaries allow. We would welcome more detailed feedback from those who are less satisfied with this service so that we can ensure all associations needs are met in future. The service which scored lowest for both importance and satisfaction was the Consultancy and Training Service. This is probably because this is not a membership service and therefore many local associations do not have direct experience of it; almost half of respondents had never used it. NGA would welcome conversations with any local associations looking to broaden the training offer for governors in their local area. The termly bulletin was launched in September 2014, replacing the monthly bulletin board. In 2014, the ratings for importance and satisfaction were 4.0 and 4.3. In 2016, these have both fallen slightly to 3.6 and 4.0. This may be due to the reduced frequency. 90% of respondents use the termly bulletin and the proportion using it as intended (by forwarding it to other members of the association or to all governors in the area) has risen substantially from 11% in 2014 to at least half currently. National Governors Association 2016 10
Answer Options Response Percentage* I don't use it 10% I read it 67% I forward it to my governing board 41% I forward it to other members of the association 52% I forward it to all governors in the area 10% *does not add up to 100% because respondents could select multiple answers We are considering ways to make the termly bulletin as valuable as possible to local associations. We asked whether the bulletin should include an opportunity for local associations to share practice and 90% of respondents agreed this would be beneficial. 60% of respondents would be interested in contributing and therefore this is something we will continue to explore for next academic year. National Governors Association 2016 11
Suggestions for future work for NGA Respondents suggestions for additional services NGA could provide: Promote partnership working between schools Sharing of ideas from associations One respondent mentioned developing independent reviews of governance, which is a service NGA does currently provide through the consultancy and training service. Issues that respondents would like to see NGA taking up on their behalf reflected the issues identified earlier in the survey: academisation, funding, recruitment and retention of senior leaders, changes to curriculum and assessment, and the status of governance. National Governors Association 2016 12