Job Description

Essex County Council has embarked upon a programme of change for provision and services with the ambition to profoundly improve the outcomes and life experience of children and young people with any disadvantage. Our vision is for an inclusive system which identifies and assesses need at an earlier stage and which provides appropriate and impactful support without such high dependence on Essex County Council's statutory services. We have a responsibility to deliver effective services and support in the most cost effective and impactful way.

The ECC Statutory Intervention Governor role will support the Local Authority in discharging its statutory responsibilities with regards to the Department for Education's (DfE) statutory guidance Schools Causing Concern. The Local Authority is required to ensure that, through enactment of its statutory powers of intervention, rapid, robust and sustainable improvement occurs within LA Maintained schools causing concern.

In line with DfE Schools Causing concern guidance, as well as the ECC Standards and Intervention Moderation Board Terms of Reference, Essex schools requiring statutory intervention, in the form of a Strategic Intervention Board or an Interim Executive Board, require additional governance expertise and experience to ensure rigorous, robust and sustainable improvement. Essex resource statutory intervention through the procurement of professional governance members.

The role will work with LA Maintained schools in statutory intervention to lead the school through a rapid, robust and sustainable improvement against the areas of weakness identified. The role will require coordinated teamwork and governance of school needs, for a fixed period, with clear KPIs that will form the measurable outcomes of the exit strategy for the LA Maintained school in intervention. The role may include a requirement to Chair a statutory intervention board. In addition, the role may require the need to undertake independent investigations.

An ECC Statutory Intervention Governor will conduct themselves professionally and in accordance with the principles of standards in public life as determined by the Nolan committee, and with reference to 'The Good Governance, Standards for Public Services' document produced by the Independent Commission for Good Governance in Public Services.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

• Impactful experience and expertise as a Governor or Trustee, of a primary and/ or secondary school, is essential.
• Extensive understanding of primary and/ or secondary school effective provision and current government strategies, particularly in relation to disadvantage, SEND and high quality provision, is essential.
• Evidence of significant contribution to successful improvement in an organisation, is essential.
• Significant knowledge and understanding of the Ofsted framework for schools and experience of intervening and tackling under performance in schools, is essential.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area, is preferable.
• Impactful experience and expertise of school Leadership experience, of a primary and/ or secondary school, is preferable.
• National Leader of Governance and/ or National Leadership in Education qualification is preferable.

To express your interest in this role and arrange an informal chat to discuss, please contact Stephen.Chynoweth@essex.gov.uk