When I first started working in education governance, a lot of the conversation was about compliance. Were the minutes done? Had the skills audit been completed? Were declarations of interest recorded? These things matter, and they still do, but governors today are being asked to do something considerably more demanding than tick boxes.

The role has grown in complexity. Boards are expected to scrutinise financial forecasts, interrogate SEND provision, understand data, navigate complaints, and hold leaders to account across an increasingly wide range of areas. The expectation has shifted, and for many governors, especially those who came in a few years ago when the ask was simpler, that shift has not always been accompanied by the right support.

Triangulation: seeing the full picture

One of the things I find myself coming back to when I work with governing boards is triangulation. A headteacher report is useful, but it is one perspective. Governors who rely solely on what they are told in the room are working with incomplete information. The most effective boards actively seek to corroborate what they hear: through governor visits, through conversations with staff and parents, through the data sitting behind the headline figures.

A board that triangulates is better placed to ask the right questions, and better placed to support a headteacher who might not always have the full picture themselves.

Holding to account

Scrutiny is the word that comes up most often in governance training, but it can feel like a slightly cold concept. What I see working in practice is boards that have built enough of a relationship with their headteacher to ask hard questions without it becoming adversarial. Accountability exercised well feels more like a professional conversation between people who are on the same side, with high expectations of each other.

Where it goes wrong is usually where the relationship has broken down, or where governors have never quite understood that holding to account is part of the job. Oversight means something. A board that nods everything through is not supporting its headteacher; it is leaving them exposed.

Recruitment and the support gap

The recruitment challenge in governance is real and it is not going away. Finding people with the time, the skills, and the willingness to take on a role that has become significantly more demanding is hard, particularly in areas where schools are already competing for the same small pool of community volunteers.

What gets less attention is what happens once people are recruited. A new governor who has not been properly inducted, who does not understand the governance framework, who has never seen a good board in action, will struggle to contribute meaningfully. Investing in that early support makes a significant difference to what a governor can offer, and to whether they stay.

Where CEP comes in

At Croydon Education Partnership, we work with schools and trusts across South London to strengthen governance at every level. That includes clerking services, training, external reviews, and direct support for chairs and boards navigating something complex.

Find out more about our governor services at croydoneducationpartnership.org/services/governor-services.

About the author

Sarah Amissah

Education Governance Strategic Lead, Croydon Education Partnership

Sarah has worked in and around education for over a decade, supporting schools, federations, and multi-academy trusts across South London to strengthen governance at every level.