Eight workshops are focused on different aspects of governance and leadership.
- What are we supposed to do?
Format: Workshop on site
Duration: 1 day
Participants: All board members
There are two elements in this workshop.
Session One: Purpose and structure
We begin with a focus on the purpose and structure of a school board within the school’s statutes, culture, and organisation. It addresses fiduciary, legal, and ethical stewardship, clarifies roles and responsibilities, and explores governance models alongside the board’s strategic and generative roles in shaping direction and future-focused thinking.
Session Two: Functioning
Here we examine effective board operations—meetings, committees, and decision-making—alongside the critical partnership with the Head of School (HOS), emphasising role clarity, trust, and accountability.
The workshop concludes with a plan that not only formalises the board’s understanding of purpose, structure and function but also outlines development.
2. How do we work together?
Format: Workshop on site
Duration: 1.5 – 2days
Participants: All board members
There are four elements in this workshop:
Session One: Foundations of Governance
We begin with a summary of Unit 101: a review of the board’s core roles and responsibilities, its philosophical approach to governance, and key frameworks for policy and accountability.
Session Two: Building an Effective Board
This session explores how boards nurture productive and collegial relationships, and the skills needed to fulfil fiduciary, strategic, and generative responsibilities. It also considers how board composition and experience can be leveraged to strengthen overall effectiveness.
The day concludes with a plan to ensure that agreements reached are captured in policy and future practice.
Day 2
Session Three: The Role of the Board Chair (with Chair only)
A focused look at the additional responsibilities and leadership expectations of the board chair in supporting effective governance and discuss some of the challenges that can occur.
Session Four: The Board–Head of School Partnership
An exploration of how the board and Head of School work together effectively, with emphasis on clear roles, aligned goals, strong communication, and accountability, supported by practical scenarios.
By the end of the workshops, participants will have a clear understanding of the expectations of a board member, while the Chair will have a deeper insight into the leadership responsibilities of the role. A clear understanding of the importance of the relationship with the Head of School, along with agreed ways to support and strengthen that partnership, will help nurture a long, productive, and positive working relationship.
3. The Special relationship
Format: Workshop on site plus virtual meetings, as needed.
Duration: 1 day
Participants: Board Chair and Head of School
At the heart of every successful school is the partnership between the Head of School and the Board Chair. This pivotal relationship is grounded in trust, shared understanding, and a commitment to working as a cohesive team. It requires clarity of roles, alignment in approaches to governance and leadership, and an appreciation of the motivations that shape each leader’s work.
A productive and collegial relationship must be intentionally developed, built on a clear sense of purpose and direction, contextual awareness, humility, openness, and mutual respect. These qualities help ensure a strong professional rapport is developed so enabling both leaders to navigate complexity and challenge with confidence.
This session invites participants to reflect on their current context, deepen mutual understanding, and strengthen professional practice. It culminates in the development of a plan to further enhance the partnership and concludes with a consideration of effective approaches to evaluating the Head of School—ensuring accountability while supporting growth.
Session One: The Board Chair
Session Two: The Head of School
By the end of the day, both participants should have a clear understanding of their respective roles and responsibilities, their respective beliefs and working styles as well as, most importantly, how they will develop the relationship further collaboratively and effectively.
4. Foundations of decision-making
Format: Workshop on site plus virtual meetings, as needed
Duration: 1 day
Participants: Board Chair and Head of School
Articulating the beliefs and principles that underpin the school provides the essential starting point for this session. From there, we explore policy development, implementation, and review, ensuring a coherent framework that supports ethical, legal, sustainable, and responsible decision-making for both the board and school leadership.
Participants will consider practical approaches to developing or auditing a policy manual and examine how clear principles guide not only governance but also the development of procedures and practices at the operational level.
Through real-world scenarios, policies are tested in practice, strengthening confidence in their application.
The session supports participants in reviewing existing policy frameworks and planning for the continued development and alignment of policy and practice.
5. How do we find the right head of school?
Format: Meetings on site plus virtual meetings
Duration: 2 days
Participants: Board Chair and members, Head of School and SLT, teachers and staff, students and parents
The most important job of the board is to appoint the head of school. By getting to know your school’s heart, culture and aspirations a tailored profile for the school leader can be drawn up.
A site visit provides the opportunity to understand the school and its needs. By spending time discussing the hopes and fears of various constituency groups, a profile of the preferred school leader can be shaped. Following board agreement on next steps, I will assist with creating an advertisement, posting and collating applications. I will undertake screening, following up on references and conducting interviews with potential candidates. The aim is to deliver a short list of suitable candidates for the board to interview.
Assistance with the interview process or onboarding of a successful candidate is also offered.
6. Belief, Promise and Planning?
Format: Workshop plus virtual meetings, as needed.
Duration: 1 day
Participants: Board and Head of School and SLT, teachers and staff, students and parents
What does the school promise? A school’s guiding statements should provide a clear and shared sense of purpose, reflecting both its values and its community. In this workshop, we consider how these statements can be developed or reviewed so they are thoughtful, relevant, inspiring and well understood. Participants will be encouraged to reflect carefully and realistically on their school and the process involved.
We then look at how these guiding statements inform strategic planning. The session explores practical approaches to setting direction and translating priorities into an annual plan, including clarifying responsibilities, timelines, and key actions. Boards and heads of school will be invited to think constructively about what is both aspirational and achievable.
Finally, we consider how progress can be monitored over time, including the use of goals and key performance indicators. The workshop will touch on how boards and school leadership can maintain oversight and alignment throughout the year.
7. How are we doing?
Format: Workshop plus virtual meetings, as needed.
Duration: I day
Participants: Board and Head of School and SLT
Reflection on practice and effective planning for growth and development is a critical part of leadership, yet many boards and heads of school play lip service to this.
This workshop establishes a clear, transparent approach to evaluating both the board and the head of school supporting continuous improvement, informed decision-making, and sustained school success.
It explores the foundations of effective governance and leadership—aligned with the school’s mission, values, and definition of success—to develop practical, evidence-based evaluation frameworks and tools. Roles, responsibilities, and structures are reviewed to ensure alignment and accountability.
Session One: Board Evaluation
Participants develop criteria to critically assess board performance across structural, functional, strategic, academic, relational, and behavioural dimensions. Measures of success, evidence sources, and best practice standards are considered, leading to a coherent, practical, and adaptable evaluation model aligned with school priorities.
Session Two: Head of School Evaluation
Participants define criteria for evaluating the HoS, enabling both the board and HoS to assess performance across structural, functional, strategic, relational, and behavioural areas. Key leadership dimensions include strategy, educational leadership, operations, community engagement, school culture, and professional behaviours. Measures of success, evidence sources, and best practices are addressed.
The workshop clarifies for both the board and head of school evaluation processes, responsibilities, and evidence use, resulting in a rigorous, practical, and adaptable model aligned with the school’s priorities.
8. Raising Quality
Format: Pre audit online followed by two days of meetings on site and virtual meetings, as needed.
Duration: 2 days
Participants: Board Chair and members, Head of School and SLT
How do you know the school is doing well and how could you raise quality further? Schools often benefit from following an accreditation framework to support development. This two-day workshop covers the fundamentals of thinking and doing which can help ensure school success at any time.
Prior to the workshops, the board and leadership will be asked to complete a top-level audit of current quality, based on the school’s understanding of their practice. This will be used to shape the two days.
Session One: Guiding statements, leadership and management.
We look at how the guiding statements manifest themselves in the school. We examine the board and school leadership structure and functioning, policy, strategic planning, finance, risk assessment and generative thinking.
Session Two: Academics and Student Life
In this session, we consider the organisation of the academic, pastoral and co/extra curricular programmes the policies that govern practice, resourcing, support mechanisms and safeguarding, the reality of everyday life, the culture, assessment, standards and innovation across the school.
Session Three: Academics and Student Life
Elementary/Primary and Secondary specific discussions.
Session Four: Human Resources, Facilities and communities
This session focuses first on the teachers and staff, their employment, organisation, evaluation and training.
The facilities are then reviewed, in particular safety standards. The school community and the interaction with the school is then considered.
Drawing on experience of different frameworks, we will look at how to approach the analysis of standards and provide evidence then plan and build a culture of development.
