An account of the workshop on Saturday at Birmingham

	Advice for the headteachers and governors of maintained nursery schools An account of the main points from a workshop led by Early Education, the National Association for Small Schools and the National Governors Association. The focus of this workshop was on the role of governors in supporting the strategic development of nursery schools in a time of budget cuts and uncertainties. It covered:
the sources of support and advice available to heads and governors how governors can respond strategically and practically to threats of amalgamation, federation or closure prevention is better than cure; the role of governors in strategic planning for survival and building support from communities and local authorities. Governance is firmly based around having the right people around the table and them understanding their various roles and responsibilities. Good chairing and professional clerking make a big difference too. Maintained nursery schools benefit most if the Chair stays in post for a maximum of 6 years before moving on to another school to new challenges and skill sharing. All governors need to know about every aspect of their school and support good relationships based upon trust. It is never safe to assume someone else covers that area. Concurrently governors need to ask challenging questions of the school and hold courageous conversations, which are in the best interests of children. Being aware of a successful school's institutional modesty and sharing your school's strengths and achievements with the press, councillors and Members of Parliament by inviting them in to see the school in action. Advertise the nursery school's specialism for early years with a specially trained headteacher and high quality professional teaching staff who are more expensive because of their levels of training. They are paid above the living wage as a direct result unlike some PVI settings. The recruitment of governors is therefore crucial and particularly as nursery schools face up to another reconstitution of their governing bodies during 2014-15. Hence evaluating the present governing body by carrying out a skills audit and taking time over the recruitment of new members is very worthwhile. This review will clearly need honesty and not defensiveness. Governors can really benefit from understanding their code of conduct (available from www.nga.org.uk) as well as expecting to participate in training and continuing professional development. Specific assistance can be acquired from clare.collins@nga.org.uk All governors need to work together especially in these challenging days when nursery schools are under threat. It is really beneficial to carry out a SWOT analysis and developing a plan for future options having considered very possibilities such as federation, diversification with the inclusion of 2 year olds, reception aged children etc. Consider applying for any available money for special groups of children and consider widening the age range of the school. Look at how your school can become a Teaching School or possibly an Academy. Governors need to be fully appraised of the following factors: Understand in detail the 5 stage statutory procedures for school closure as it quite rapid-hence knowledge of the clear guidance from the DfE is critical. (DfE School Organisation January 2014) Make sure that the information, which must appear is all there Understand the LA's power and the rights of the school Develop your armoury and understand that being outstanding is of key importance as it makes it far more difficult to start closure procedures. Therefore use the frequent inspections to celebrate your quality Ensure you have excellent self-evaluation Ensure your evidence of data, strengths, quality, costing's is ready and available at short notice Ensure you keep a trained early years headteacher Ensure you have clear evidence of vulnerable children's progress and evidence from social care and health sources too Ensure you use external evidence of evaluation, Ofsted and other inspection reports, parental and community engagement Distribute your evidence to everyone especially parents> Develop a strong parent body with a clear voice and are an action force to challenge closure. Make sure that parents understand their right of access to a local school place of similar quality Engage with the unions that due process has been followed Clarify all details from the LA about costing's, consultation periods, minutes of meetings, documents are also critical as they may well be economical with the truth! Ask for all the LA's evidence of why they see closure as the only option. Other ideas to explore: Be political write letters to councillors, MP's and the press Call in the oppositions support for your case at Overview and Scrutiny meetings of the local council Ask questions via Freedom of Information requests-it keeps them very busy! (Learn more from www.whatdotheyknow.com) Some LA's carry out a war of attrition so support each other and the headteacher Talk to other nursery schools, which have survived and learn from them. Go back to July newsletter