NGA Outstanding Governance Award

At a ceremony at the House of Commons on 21st May 2019, the School received a Highly Commended Award from Lord Agnew, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System, for Outstanding Governance in a Single School. The award was one of the National Governance Association’s (NGA) Outstanding Governance Awards 2019.

The NGA is the national membership organisation for state-funded school governors and trustees in England, and the awards run every 2 years to recognise the very best practice in school governance nationally and celebrate the role of governors. The NGA note that “Our finalists lead the way as exemplars of good school governance and have met rigorous judging criteria to reach the final.” In order to be considered for the award we had to provide a detailed case and a supporting statement from someone independent. Two judges then visited the school to question us on our practice, and inspect evidence.

The finalists in the Outstanding Governance in a Single School category had been chosen because they demonstrate the eight elements of effective governance, and have gone beyond the basics of their role to have a significant impact on the education provided to students in their schools.

The judges noted that Hoe Valley School is a demonstration of what a group of dedicated parents can achieve having turned our vision into reality and created a brand new school.  They were impressed that the board has consistently shown excellent capability to strategically manage all aspects of the school, utilising our experience and enthusiasm to best effect, and that trustees have not been afraid to make difficult decisions.

Below is the full statement from the judges

“Demonstrating what a group of dedicated parents can achieve by setting up their own free school, this board has turned a vision into reality. The board took the early decision to strategically oversee the development of the permanent site, allowing senior leaders to focus on ensuring an excellent standard of education. The permanent site opened in September 2018, four months after the school was deemed Outstanding by Ofsted. An indicator of the board’s success in engaging stakeholders throughout the project was an oversubscription for the third year of entry to the school. Trustees have not been afraid to make difficult decisions and the judges were impressed that board has consistently shown excellent capability to strategically manage all aspects of the school, utilising its experience and enthusiasm to best effect. “