Governance Support

Specialist, high quality advice to support Governors.


Our service includes a combination of expert, high level, strategic support for Governors, from supporting Governors recruitment, induction and training, through to organising and supporting meetings effectively, efficiently, confidentially and professionally.

The Challenge for Governance

Governors have always had a vital role to play in supporting schools and the new OfSTED Framework recognises this with a much sharper focus on governors and governance. Inspectors will specifically evaluate how effectively governors, or those with a similar responsibility, challenge and hold senior leaders to account for all aspects of school's performance. Inspectors will seek evidence of governors' impact across nine areas of activity:

  • ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
  • contribute to the school's self-evaluation and understand its strengths and weaknesses
  • support and strengthen school leadership
  • provide challenge and hold the head teacher and other senior leaders to account for improving the quality of teaching, pupils' achievement and pupils' behaviour and safety
  • use performance management systems, including the performance management of the head teacher; to
  • improve teaching, leadership and management
  • ensure solvency and probity and that the financial resources made available to the school are managed effectively
  • operate in such a way that statutory duties are met and priorities are approved
  • engage with key stakeholders
  • use the pupil premium and other resources to overcome barriers to learning, including reading, writing and mathematics.

If Governors fail to demonstrate that they are sufficiently robust in holding the school to account for pupils' achievement, the quality of teaching and the effective and efficient deployment of resources then leadership and management as a whole are likely to be judged to be inadequate.

A changing educational landscape also sees many schools moving to be part of managed groups, federations or chains, with an overarching board and chief executive officer that assume some of the responsibilities formerly shouldered by the individual school governing body. In the case of such extended management arrangements, inspectors will seek evidence of the impact of the overarching board and its staff and the school's local board, committee or governing body.

To challenge effectively and support improvement, governing bodies need the right information and regular training. It isn't always obvious sometimes what this information looks like or where to go for training that will meet the individual needs of your own school. This is not getting easier as an increasing number of schools are becoming independent of their local authorities and local authorities are struggling to maintain the provision of high-quality governor support in the face of budget reductions.

This is where Avec Governance can take some of the strain. Our experienced Governance Partners will work with you to review your current governance practice and, in light of this, develop with you a programme of activities that will help to ensure that you more than meet the new OfSTED framework criteria.

Latest News

Schools North East Patrons Dinner 15th March 2018

We are looking forward to the annual Schools North East Patrons Dinner on Thursday 15th March 2018 at The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle.  More details can be found here: http://www.schoolsnortheast.com/m/patrons-dinner/ Read More >

Christmas Greetings

On behalf of everyone at Avec, we would like to wish you a very happy holiday. We look forward to working with you in the coming year! Merry Christmas! Read More >

New Team Members!

Avec now has a team of 35 and we are delighted to welcome Lisa Thompson as our Senior HR Partner, Anne Aspey to our Governance Team and Sophie Bainbridge who will be working in our busy new office in Newton Aycliffe. Read More >