Late August is often treated as a planning window: finalising priorities, confirming enrolment assumptions, reviewing staffing, checking estates readiness and preparing for the first meetings of the new academic year. But for boards, it should also be a governance reset point.
Questions emerge like: Do we have the right skills, expertise and diversity of thought on our board? How can our board be strengthened to address whatever challenges the next 12 months bring like navigating financial pressures, workforce challenges, changing learner and employer needs, inspection expectations, estates risks, regulatory scrutiny, and the continuing importance of inclusion and community confidence?
The question is not whether these pressures exist, but whether boards have the capability, capacity and perspectives needed to respond to them effectively. These are some points coming through from my discussions with boards, and I’m keen to make sure they have Education Training Foundation’s support as their champion for good governance in FE.
Before the new academic year begins, chairs, governance professionals and senior teams may want to ask five questions.
Are there gaps in finance, audit, risk, estates, digital, safeguarding, quality, curriculum, employer engagement or local stakeholder insight?
Do committees have the expertise, confidence and capacity to provide meaningful challenge, rather than simply receive assurance?
Are upcoming vacancies being planned for early, or will the board be forced into reactive recruitment later in the year?
Diversity of background, lived experience, knowledge and perspective are core elements of effective governance. If membership does not broadly reflect the learners, employers and communities the organisation serves, boards should ask what insight may be missing and how future recruitment can address those gaps.
Recruitment is only the start. Induction, development and ongoing support are essential if governors are to govern with confidence.
The new academic year will bring fresh priorities, but also familiar pressures. Enrolment decisions will shape income and delivery. Staffing challenges will affect quality and resilience. Estates and digital investment will require careful judgement. Inspection readiness will depend on more than preparation; it will depend on whether boards understand the quality of provision, the lived experience of learners, and the effectiveness of leadership decisions throughout the year.
Good governance is not about having every specialist skill represented on the board at all times. It is about knowing where expertise is needed, when to seek it, and how to ensure the board can ask informed questions, interpret assurance and make sound decisions in the interests of learners, staff, employers and communities.
For many boards, late August is the right moment to move from a vacancy-led approach to a capability-led approach. That means looking beyond who is leaving and asking what the organisation will need from its board in the year ahead, and this is where my work at Education Training Foundation in governor, trustee and non-executive recruitment and championing good governance helps organisations take a strategic approach to board renewal and convening an inspiring governance community of governance professionals that might also shape DfE thinking on sector change. Beyond filling vacancies, the focus is on identifying future governance needs, addressing priority skills gaps and widening participation so that boards are equipped to govern confidently in a changing environment.
As the new academic year begins, please get in touch if you are asking yourself what more can I do to make sure my board has the capability to govern what’s coming.
As ETF’s Sector Governance Champion, Cezanne Ritchie-Hutchinson works with sector leaders and governance professionals across the FE and skills sector to champion effective governance, share insight and support stronger boards. If you would like to discuss the themes raised in this blog or explore how ETF’s governance work could support your organisation, Cezanne would be happy to have a conversation. You can contact Cezanne via email: Cezanne.Ritchie-Hutchinson@etfoundation.co.uk.
