As further education colleges navigate growing pressures around funding, workforce challenges, curriculum reform and changing learner needs, governing boards face a common question: how do governors gain enough assurance to challenge effectively without becoming involved in operational delivery?
This question sits at the heart of Paul Lomas's approach as Chair of RNN Group. Through a combination of strategic focus, strong relationships and disciplined governance, the board has been working to strengthen oversight while remaining firmly focused on the outcomes that matter most for learners.
At RNN Group, assurance begins with a shared understanding of strategic priorities. The Group's five-year strategic plan, developed with stakeholders including learners, staff, employers and local authorities, provides the framework against which performance is assessed. Governors are encouraged to look beyond activity and ask whether evidence demonstrates progress towards agreed outcomes.
Regular strategy discussions and future-focused exercises help the board test whether assumptions remain valid in a changing environment and ensure governance remains focused on long-term impact rather than short-term pressures.
Governors need enough insight to understand what's happening across the organisation, but not so much involvement that accountability becomes blurred.
RNN Group uses several mechanisms to achieve this balance. Link governors work with leaders across areas such as safeguarding, SEND, careers, apprenticeships and curriculum. Their role is not to direct activity but to provide additional assurance and strategic insight back to the board. Task and finish groups, learning walks and governor briefings also help governors test the evidence behind board reports.
The result is richer board discussion and more informed strategic challenge without creating another layer of management.
Access to information alone does not create assurance. Governors must be able to understand, interrogate and triangulate data.
At RNN Group, performance data is considered alongside learner experience, learning walks and wider qualitative evidence. The board is also investing in governor development, helping members understand the learner journey and how key data is generated, interpreted and challenged.
Rather than viewing risk purely as a compliance exercise, the board considers how emerging risks should influence future decision-making.
For example, difficulties recruiting specialist staff are not just operational concerns. They have implications for curriculum delivery, student outcomes and the organisation's ability to meet local skills needs. This approach encourages governors to consider how risks and opportunities shape the college's future direction.
A recurring theme throughout the case study is the importance of trust and clarity between governors and leaders.
The partnership between the Chair, CEO and Director of Governance helps ensure strategy, operational insight and governance remain aligned while preserving clear accountability. Strong relationships create the conditions for effective challenge, open discussion and better decision-making.
Question, question, question, but at the right level.
Paul Lomas, Chair of RNN Group.
The RNN Group experience highlights several important principles:
• Anchor assurance activities in strategy and learner impact.
• Create meaningful routes into the evidence without undermining executive responsibility.
• Use multiple sources of assurance, not data alone.
• Treat risk as a driver of future strategic decisions.
• Invest in governance culture, relationships and continuous development.
Ultimately, effective governance is not about knowing everything. It's about asking the right questions, understanding the evidence and focusing collective effort where it will have the greatest impact for learners. As Paul Lomas puts it: 'Question, question, question, but at the right level.'
Want to explore how a board can gain meaningful assurance without crossing into operational management? Read the full RNN Group case study for practical examples, board reflections and questions to take back to your own governance discussion.
