POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Policies are one of the main tools for governing bodies to use in carrying out their responsibility for setting the strategic direction of the school. Policies provide the framework for the way in which the school should be run.
It states in the Guide to the Law for School Governors:
The governing body must exercise its functions with a view to fulfilling a largely strategic role in the running of the school. It should establish the strategic framework by:
• setting aims and objectives for the school
• adopting policies for achieving those aims and objectives
• setting targets for achieving those aims and objectives.
What Policies should the Governing Body have?
Governing bodies are required by law to have certain policies and others are recommended as good practice for all schools. Governing bodies must ensure that those policies required by law are in place and have been formally approved by the governing body (as recorded in the minutes of the governing body or committee meeting if power to approve has been delegated).
Schools may have additional policies to those that are statutory that enable them to achieve the aims and objectives of the school and to promote high standards of educational achievement. It is beneficial to keep the number of policies to a minimum to enable them to be reviewed on a rolling basis. There is no requirement for all policies to be reviewed annually and approved policies do not need to be re-examined or ratified by the full governing body if approval has been delegated to a committee.
Not all policies need to be signed off by the governing body but all members of the governing body should have a list of the school’s policies and know where to access them
Some policies and documents can include a number of different policies, eg, the Health and Safety policy may include premises management and first aid.
The DfE has published a list of statutory policies for schools on their website http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/statutory%20policies%20for%20schools-%2010%20october%202012.pdf and Westminster has also produced the attached list of policies and documents that should be in place, identifying those that are statutory. This can also be found on the Westminster governor website http://webfronter.com/westminster/governors .
Who is Responsible for Policy Development?
The governing body and headteacher each have key roles and responsibilities in relation to school policies. The governing body is responsible for ensuring policies are in place, not for planning and formulating every one. “Governing bodies should only decide the principles deciding school policies and should delegate drafting of the remainder of policies and all procedures to school leaders” (NGA). For policies to be effective, it is important that both the governing body and the headteacher work in partnership. Governors should try to limit the amount of time they spend on policy by delegating this responsibility to committees or the headteacher.
It is good practice to involve others within the school that will be affected by the policy. Consulting those who will be affected by the policy will make it more likely that they will feel “ownership” and the policies are much more likely to be effective.
What should a Policy include?
Most governing body policy documents cover both policy and procedure. They will include:
· A statement about what the governing body wants to achieve
· How this may be done
· The process for monitoring and review
· Information the governing body needs to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy (usually provided by the headteacher or other school staff).
Model policies should not just be adopted wholesale – governing bodies need to ensure that the policy has been adapted to fit the circumstances of their particular schools.
All policies need to be assessed to ensure they meet the requirements of the Public Equality Duty.
What is the difference between Policy and Procedures?
A policy is a guiding principle used to set the direction in an organisation. Policies are clear, simple statements of how the school intends to operate. Policies do not need to be long or complicated.
Procedures describe how each policy will be put into action in the school.
Policies and their accompanying procedures should reflect the values, approaches and commitments of the individual school.
· Policies guide decision making, while procedures guide staff into action.
· Policies reflect the mission statements and objectives of the school, while procedures are practical applications of these policies.
The attached Policy Clock illustrates the difference between policies and procedures. It shows the strategic responsibilities of the governing body (upper half of the clock) and those that are the operational responsibilities of the headteacher and staff (lower half of the clock).
The policy clock is from the NGA Welcome to Governance guide 2012-13 and was adapted from copyright 2005 Henry H Brickell and Reginal H Paul, Curriculum and assessment Policy 20 Questions from Board Members, ISBN 1-57886-209-4, which was developed from American Boards of Education, the equivalent to our governing bodies.