OPTIMAL SCHOOL GOVERNANCE has developed SMART – the SCHOOLS MISSION APPRAISAL REPORTING TOOL.
SMART is an original ground-breaking assessment tool that authentically evaluates a school’s effectiveness in achieving its most fundamental purpose – its mission, vision and values.
We know that whatever gets measured tends to get done in schools, and anything that is left unmeasured is likely to be neglected.
SMART shifts the key question from “what CAN be measured?” to “what SHOULD be measured?”
OPTIMAL SCHOOL GOVERNANCE offers an extensive range of workshops that are tailored to the individual and distinctive characteristics of each school and its board. We offer pre-accredited NESA workshops, CIS-affiliated workshops, and bespoke workshops tailored to the specific unique needs of our schools, boards and clients.
Developing and implementing an effective, robust strategic vision is one of the most powerful ways in which a board can guide the direction of the school. We work with school boards to extent required to meet individual needs, supporting the board by providing whatever level of external expertise is required.
One of the most powerful ways that boards can ensure they are ‘adding value’ to a school’s effectiveness is to undertake our low-stress, non-threat, research-based performance reviews. Our reviews help boards identify areas where improvements could enhance the board’s outcomes and productivity.
OPTIMAL SCHOOL GOVERNANCE supports school boards by conducting effective searches to recruit heads, interim heads and other senior positions.
Successful school leaders and their boards, like all successful people, never achieve their goals alone. That is why it can be helpful to have an ongoing, supportive ‘critical friend’ or ‘mentor’ who is external to the school, who is therefore fearlessly and politically neutral, someone who knows the school who can offer support and confidential advice as required.
We conduct Performance Reviews for all Senior and Middle Management positions, including (among others):
Principal
Deputy Principal
Head of Campus
Chief Finance Officer
Head of Department
Head of Boarding
Year/Grade Co-ordinator
Head of House
Whatever their size or ethos, schools can be complex, diverse, messy places. What could go wrong? According to anyone who has ever worked in a school, the immediate answer is always – plenty! When crises arise, it can be extremely useful to have immediate access to the wisdom of an external, politically neutral, highly experienced school leader and board specialist. That’s us!
Click on the white title of each service listed below to read more detail.