{"id":1230,"date":"2018-01-10T17:46:49","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T17:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ezekiels.co.uk\/eylan\/?p=1230"},"modified":"2018-01-10T17:46:49","modified_gmt":"2018-01-10T17:46:49","slug":"digital-governance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ezekiels.co.uk\/eylan\/digital-governance\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Governance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by me. Hedgehog provided by @hedgehoghugh CC BY-SA<\/p><\/div>\n

School governors are a bit like hedgehogs. Our activity is mostly misunderstood, we can have a much bigger impact on the world than you might think<\/a><\/strong>, and we are busiest at night.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Stretching this simile even further (with apologies to the <\/span>Hugh Warwick, stand-up ecologist, author, and friend to both hedgehogs and Ezekiels)<\/span><\/a> I fear that, unless governors adapt and evolve faster than our snuffling friends, we too will become endangered and squished by passing technology and Policy! For those also looking for a way to survive, I think we\u2019ve found an adaptation that works for us, and might work for you.*<\/span><\/p>\n

Post Summary:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Through using digital tools in the cloud, governance at Larkrise Primary School has been made more effective and easier to manage. Though we’d recommend it, this is not about the technology, but about a shift in culture. There is more we could do and would love to connect with others using\u00a0similar approaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Post in Full:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Why change?<\/b><\/p>\n

It has been <\/span>a year since I wrote<\/span><\/a> about our plan to evolve and adapt to improve governance at<\/span> Larkrise Primary School<\/span><\/a>, and our reasons for choosing <\/span>MS Office 365<\/span><\/a> (O365) as our platform. \u00a0We moved to O365 to tackle major issues with using Google Drive as an ad-hoc document store, including: eSafety\/confidentiality for governors; better administration\/coordination with our clerk and between committees; \u00a0improved communication with SLT; and better integration with staff tools. <\/span><\/p>\n

What did we do?<\/b><\/p>\n

We set up <\/span>Groups<\/span><\/a> for each committee, (this was before <\/span>Teams<\/span><\/a> had been fully developed in O365), with a similar structure in each, using common language – giving all governors introductions and access to all areas and to all the services. I ran a series of sessions modelling and enabling live collaboration in writing and commenting on documents. Chairs of committees, including Chair of Governors, modelled failing and persisting with O365, and asked SLT to share on the cloud rather than emails or hard copies. This forced a major change in behaviour and quickly improved communication between staff and governors, reducing misunderstandings and reducing workload.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where are we now?<\/b><\/p>\n

As 2017 closes, we now have all committee papers (agendas, minutes, reports, data) posted before meetings, with invitations to review, comment and edit. All three of our committees work more effectively through working online, asynchronously and face-to-face. Our excellent clerk makes great use of the calendar, conversation threads and prompts us into action!<\/span><\/p>\n

As many of you know, the really detailed, hard work of governors happens throughout the year, not just at Full Governing Body (FGB) meetings. We work on governor business when we can, before work, at a stolen moment during the day, and after the kids have gone to bed. We reflect this reality by doing and recording all this work in O365 – spreading out our effort to when it suits us. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why should you try this?<\/b><\/p>\n

The benefits are clear:<\/span><\/p>\n