Sam is the NGA's Deputy Chief Executive and previously worked as NGA's Director of Policy and Communications. He oversees NGA's policy, research, advocacy, external affairs and advice and guidance work.
Sam specialises in several areas, including Ofsted, school accountability and multi-academy trusts. He is the lead author of NGA's guide, Governing a Multi Academy Trust and authored and co-authored NGA's policy and research reports Moving MATs Forward, the Mature MAT system, Ofsted and governance and NGA's annual governance survey reports.
We were able to catch up with him prior to the Schools & Academies Show for him to share his insights on the topics of the importance of trustee training, development, and diversity in school and trust governance.
What do you see as the key challenges facing school and trust governance in England today?
According to the Annual Governance Survey 2024, the top five challenges remain the same as in 2023: balancing the budget (60%), support for pupils with SEND (37%), attendance (32%), staff wellbeing and workload (22%), attracting high quality teaching staff (21%). Whilst the top five have remained the same, support for pupils with SEND has jumped to second place, increasing by 13 percentage points.
Balancing the budget has risen by eight percentage points in 2024, and 16 percentage points since 2022 and is the highest on record since we have asked this specific question. This financial strain is not evenly distributed across the education sector, with nursery and primary schools reporting more challenges. An overwhelming majority of these institutions – 69% of nurseries and 67% of primary schools – are grappling with balancing the budget as their top concern, possibly due to their smaller size and the impact of falling pupil numbers.
Other points to note are education recovery decreasing again from 8% to 5% in 2024, down from 25% in 2022 and behavior and exclusions nearly doubling since 2022 (8% to 15%). Just outside of the top five, falling pupil numbers (19%) has increased by six-percentage points in 2024.
In just two years, the proportion of boards identifying SEND support as a top challenge has surged from 22% to 37%.
Attendance also featured in the top three challenges for boards in 2024. While national data suggests an improving trend in school attendance, our survey tells a different story. The number of respondents citing attendance as a top challenge has climbed from 28% to 32% over the past year, topping the list for secondary schools, even ahead of balancing the budget.
The issue of falling pupil numbers has increased over the last three years to become the sixth most cited challenge overall, with nearly a fifth (19%) of respondents flagging it as a major concern.
2. Diversity as a Strength
How important is it for governing boards and trust boards to reflect the diversity of the communities they serve?
From “Increasing participation” report –
Evidence shows that celebrating difference and diversity and being inclusive enables organisations to best serve the people they want to make a positive difference to.
Diverse and representative boards can help to build the confidence of the community and provide role models for all children and young people. Setting a culture for equality and diversity to thrive is a critical role of the governing board.
By committing to diversifying itself and changing its behaviours, the board will set an example and be a catalyst for achieving diversity and equality at all levels of the organisation.
Benefits for boards include better problem solving and decision making; being more aware of current and upcoming opportunities and challenges; and reducing risks because of fewer blind spots across the group. It also helps to avoid ‘groupthink’ which can otherwise lead to a lack of questioning of information, assumptions and decisions; and an insufficient challenge of executive leaders.
From NGA’s annual governance survey 2024 –
Respondents aged 60 and over has reached its highest levels since the survey began, with over half now sitting in this category (52%). Only 9% of governance volunteers are under 40, with a mere 1% under 30, continuing the significant underrepresentation of younger perspectives in school and trust governance.
Of those surveyed who disclosed their ethnicity, a stark 95% identify as white, underscoring the stubborn lack of ethnic diversity in governance roles and the risk that boards are often not reflective of the communities they serve.
3. Challenges to Participation
Are there systemic barriers that still prevent people from underrepresented backgrounds getting involved in governance, and how can these be addressed?
From “Increasing Participation” report –
Through focus group research with governors and trustees from underrepresented groups, NGA’s annual governance survey 2021 and a review of research and insight from other sectors we found a number of barriers to boards diversifying including:
- Closed recruitment practices
- Lack of visibility of governance
- A lack of priority given to the issue
Transforming recruitment processes – how and why boards recruit – can have a significant impact on increasing the participation of underrepresented groups and increasing the diversity of thought on governing boards.
From NGA’s annual governance survey 2024:
Of those surveyed who disclosed their ethnicity, a stark 95% identify as white, underscoring the stubborn lack of ethnic diversity in governance roles and the risk that boards are often not reflective of the communities they serve.
Employer support is lacking. Only 29% of respondents now receive paid time off for governance duties, down from 43% in 2015, potentially affecting the ability to attract and retain volunteers from diverse professional backgrounds. [acknowledgement is needed that this isn’t representative of those from an ethnic minority backgrounds’ employment but this barrier will extend to all sectors of society too].
4. Looking Ahead
What does the future of school and trust governance look like to you? How should training and development evolve to meet that future?
Governance in the sector is really quite unique from anything else – a whole system of frontline, responsive, contextually aware accountability, through the generosity and motivation of volunteers wanting to make a difference. To make that difference, boards have to have the confidence that they know their schools and communities well. The reality is society is demanding more from schools than ever before, at a time when funding pressures are leading to a whole new level of concern and anxiety.
The persistent financial pressures highlighted in NGA’s Annual Governance Survey 2024, showed budget concerns at an all-time high of 60% (up 16 percentage points since 2022), and so governance will increasingly require sophisticated financial stewardship and an enhanced strategic mindset when it comes to financial decision making. With other huge obstacles facing the sector, from SEND support, falling pupil rolls in primary, poverty increasing among pupils and attendance and behaviour challenges, the future of governance is about having the courage and knowledge to make the best, most crucial decision making possible.
Training and development is more important than ever, although so to is understanding the community and having a passion and commitment to serve. Governance training should actively reflect the individual needs of each school or trust, not necessarily just following a national mindset. The diversity challenges show we need targeted development opportunities that reach beyond the current demographic profile and to make governance more accessible. So training and development also needs to be proportionate, easy to access and not overwhelming. It is a fine balancing act, but one NGA can help the sector to achieve.
5. Final Word to Trustees
What’s your key message to both new and experienced trustees about their role in shaping the success of schools and trusts?
To both new and experienced trustees: Your governance role is more crucial than ever in navigating the complex societal issues facing education today. The Annual Governance Survey 2024 highlights the increasing pressures around finances, SEND support, attendance, and staffing – all of this requires strategic oversight and careful stewardship from people from all walks of life, from vastly different backgrounds, skillsets and life experiences.
Remember that good governance is all about balance – providing robust challenge and meaningful support to school and trust leaders – everyone has something to bring to that journey. Your ability to ask insightful, simple, profound, contextually relevant questions will significantly impact the outcomes for children and young people more than you know.
For new trustees, don't underestimate the value of your fresh perspective and the questions you bring. For experienced trustees – your generosity and commitment continue to astonish us, and NGA and others are committed to both making governance more visible to the public and political eye and celebrated more widely.
The education landscape is constantly changing, and your commitment to ongoing learning directly translates into better outcomes for pupils. Whether facing budgetary constraints, SEND provision challenges, or attendance issues, your informed governance makes the critical difference between a school or trust that merely survives and one that truly thrives.
