Statement of Values

Introduction

Governors Wales supports the effective governance of all schools in Wales and the professional and personal support of individual governors. It is committed to the promotion and effective management of quality provision in education and seeks to secure arrangements for governors which are both democratic and empowering. In order that these goals may be achieved, Governors Wales considers it essential that all governors have access to, and participate in, relevant and effectively delivered training for their role.

Governors Wales aims to articulate the concerns and priorities of all school governors in Wales. A network of Local Associations of Governors, and other similar groups serving local authority areas provides grass-roots debate which informs the decisions of the Management Committee. Governors Wales is invited by the Welsh Assembly Government to submit its observations concerning proposed or enacted education policy and its implementation.

Whereas Governors Wales cannot anticipate the nature of the issues and policies upon which it may be invited to comment, a set of implied values and beliefs, some of which date from the organisation’s foundation, characterises its statements, priorities and actions. Having won a position of respect and influence in the education service in Wales, it is opportune that Governors Wales should agree and publish a statement of fundamental values shared by its members and serving to inform the decisions, actions and statements of the organisation in the months and years to come.

Governors Wales believes that

1. its mission is to support the effective governance of schools in Wales and the professional and personal development of all governors irrespective of the type of school they serve;
2. its value as an organisation dedicated to the support and effectiveness of governors rests upon its independence and measures designed to safeguard Governors Wales independent status may be necessary from time to time;
3. its effectiveness is enhanced by successful collaboration and partnership both with the Welsh Assembly Government and Local Education Authorities in Wales;
4. the interests of the pupils, their parents, and the staff of a school are best served by having an effective Governing Body. It is essential, therefore, that governors have access to relevant training to equip them for their role;
5. Governors Wales supports the view that governors have a responsibility to participate in training opportunities provided for them. In order to achieve this, a minimum entitlement to training should be specified and adequate funding provided for the purpose;
6. the policies and practice of education should recognise and serve the need of the individual child;
7. the provision and management of successful learning requires the establishment and maintenance of effective partnerships between parents, schools and local education authorities, and between local and national government;
8. effective strategies for providing for the needs of individual children should recognise both the preferred choices of parents and the professional judgements of teachers;
9. the education of the Nation is best served by a service offering equality of access and opportunity to all children;
10. resources for education should be considered to be a high national priority and their distribution determined locally on the basis of adequacy, equity and assessed need;
11. the principles of fairness and equity are best served by a strategically planned, resourced and delivered education system, whose shape and characteristics are determined by locally-accountable decision-makers;
12. the education service is better-served by collaboration between schools as opposed to strategies which impose a climate of competition between neighbouring schools;
13. choice and diversity in the schools system are admirable objectives, providing that similar choices are available to all parents and their children;
14. parents, teachers and governors benefit from information relating to the performance of their school and, if valid and reliable comparators are available, the performance of similar schools;
15. the curriculum offered to pupils must secure a core entitlement with regard to the basic skills of oral and written communication and numeracy. Governors Wales endorses the design and delivery of a curriculum which provides for this entitlement and which remains sufficiently broad and flexible to accommodate the needs of the individual child and the locality of the school whilst also reflecting the distinctive history, cultures and language of Wales;
16. meeting the differing needs of individual pupils extends to recognising that individual children respond differently to the variety of strategies for teaching and learning. Governors Wales, therefore, considers that a wide variety of teaching methods, both formal and informal, directed towards the whole class, the small group and individual pupils should characterise good practice in the classroom. Equally, teaching approaches should be constantly re-evaluated in the light of practice;
17. Governing Bodies should play proactive roles in adopting and implementing policies for the delivery of the National Curriculum and for the continuous improvement of the performance of their school;
18. inspections undertaken by ESTYN should provide parents, staff and the Governing Body with a useful external assessment of the performance of a school at a particular time. School improvement requires the provision of longer-term continuous support for the management and staff of the school. Governors Wales, therefore, considers that a properly-funded system offering support, specialist local advice and in-service training opportunities, is an essential element in raising standards.

Revision 4
December 2004