purpose of providing a good education. In simple terms, the governing board
should always ask itself, ‘Is this really worth it?’. In many cases it will be, but the development of an ‘additional funding culture’ will take some time.
The benefits that good governance can bring The board’s main role is to ensure that there is a sensible and achievable strategy that is properly thought through and can offer should include: A strategic and enabling approach – For many schools, income generation is new, particularly at a more strategic level, and this will need the support and leadership of the governing board. Contacts must be avoided (or at least managed) but it is likely that governors and trustees will have contacts within the community – in business, law, marketing, fundraising, etc. – which could be helpful in all sorts of ways. Expertise – Apart from the general management and strategy development, governing boards may, depending on support in terms of business and project planning, legal frameworks, etc. There seems little doubt that if a
Writing a strategy
Guidance on writing a fundraising strategy can be found online at
funded.org.uk
school organisation has a sensible plan for generating additional funding, then with the support of the board, the staff, the pupils and the community, this is more likely to be successful. If one can embed the plan as part
the expertise to use the asset or will this mean costly training or even the recruitment of a new staff member? Whatever the scale of the additional
funding proposals, an effective governing board will want to be assured that implementing the proposal is a prudent use of school time and resource. What might seem like an innocuous idea to hire out school premises to generate £1,000 for new library books may have legal implications that need to be managed. And it might leave an already overburdened Headteacher or School Business Manager tearing their hair out. Seeking additional funding must not impact upon the organisation’s core
of a larger school vision, then this can bring further positive momentum. Take Okehampton College: its school vision of carbon neutrality (achieved after eight income through a range of sources (electricity supply, consultancy, prize money), which means it can afford eight additional teachers on a sustainable basis, and also provide advice to the community and to other schools.
Get the board ‘on board’ A governing board is likely to be more supportive of plans to generate additional income if it is asked to review, in good time, a well-thought-through plan that addresses relevant areas. This will be everything from ‘why and how much?’ (i.e. what are we going to use
it for?) to ‘have you considered all compliance implications and what, if any, professional advice does the school need?’. Ultimately, your board will want to be reassured about the following: showing income to be generated
Resource needed to develop and implement proposal
Cost of investment/resource needed, Risk management Compliance (all aspects) Availability of suitable skills and expertise
External professional advice, where necessary
Project planning and monitoring Evaluation. A well-drafted proposal with an
executive summary will enable your board to give proper consideration to your income generation strategy.
What can you do now? Think about whether you need to develop a strategy for generating additional income. If you think your governing board
may need additional expertise then, if it hasn’t done so recently, it should consider completing a skills audit. The audits developed by the NGA can be found at
nga.org.uk/Guidance/ Workings-Of-The-Governing-Body/ Governance-Tools/
Skills-Audit.aspx. If you do decide you need to recruit
a new member of the board, why not consider using the Inspiring Governance service, which can be found at
inspiringgovernance.org/ governing-boards.
Paul Aber is Head of Training Development at the NGA. His role includes developing NGA’s training offer to schools and academies in all formats, including e-learning, blended learning and face-to-face. Paul has experience of governance in both maintained and academy contexts including mainstream and special schools and as Chair. Prior to this, Paul was Centre Director at the University of Law in York. A former solicitor, Paul has also worked at the University of Westminster, City University and The Law Society.
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