Governance Foundations

Effective practice for boards

As we outline in our ECIS Effective Governance quality standards and in our tome Governance in International Schools, trustees and governors, in partnership with the head of school, play a critical leadership role in international schools. Effective practices, policies, and behaviours at the governance level comprise an essential part of the foundation of stable and strong international schools, and that holds true whether we are considering not-for-profit or for-profit governing boards.

To venture into the world of international schools is to recognise the immense responsibility that comes with education; namely, to provide transformative experiences of learning that will empower young people to serve as promising change-makers, key influencers, and leaders around the world. Although trustees and governors of all types of international schools must pay attention to the operational bottom line, they must acknowledge that they serve as the custodians of the growth and development of young people, an awesome undertaking.

Schools confront issues such as risk management, planning for innovation, and fundraising that are sometimes not as clear as similar functions in typical corporations. What remains clear, however, is that there is no difference in the fiduciary duties and responsibilities of those comprising the governing body. ECIS Governance Foundations allows you to examine a number of key roles fulfilled by the governing body, with due attention given, where needed, to any distinctions between not-for-profit and for-profit boards.

The duty of care and stewardship that comes with serving on the governing body of the school cannot be understated; it is of immense importance, when we consider the lives we are preparing. Yet members of the governing body need to be careful that they do not spend all their time in the fiduciary mode of governance, focusing exclusively on finances, integrity, compliance, and legal liabilities. Boards need to get it right, of course, yet to hold the school ‘in trust’ for others necessitates that board members exercise the strategic and generative modes as well, ensuring a healthy and strong school for years to come. There are few more rewarding experiences in life.

Modules

Module 1: Board Service

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What are the roles and responsibilities that come with serving on a Board, and how does a Board fulfil them?

This module is indexed to ECIS Effective Governance quality standards 1.4 and Schools With Share Capital addendum. See also Governance in International Schools: Chapter 1 (Introduction to the World of Governance), and Chapter 2 (The Board and School Ownership).

Module 2 Board development

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How does one develop a sustainable Board?

This module is indexed to ECIS Effective Governance quality standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.9, 1.10, and Schools With Share Capital addendum. See also Governance in International Schools: Chapter 1 (Introduction to the World of Governance), Chapter 2 (The Board and School Ownership), and Chapter 10 (The Board and Evaluation).

Module 3: Exemplary practice

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What does exemplary practice at the Board level look like?

This module is indexed to ECIS Effective Governance quality standards 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, and 1.10. See also Governance in International Schools: Chapter 1 (Introduction to the World of Governance), Chapter 5 (The Board and Communications), Chapter 6 (The Board and Crisis Management), Chapter 7 (The Board and Operations), Chapter 8 (The Board and Its Committees), Chapter 9 (The Board and Conflict).

Module 4: Leadership Development

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How does the Board work with, develop, and sustain the Head of School?

This module is indexed to ECIS Effective Governance quality standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, and 1.12. See also Governance in International Schools: Chapter 2 (The Board and School Ownership), Chapter 3 (The Board and the Head of School), and Chapter 10 (The Board and Evaluation).

Module 5: Scenario planning

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How do the Board and Head of School operate in partnership to plan the future success of the school?

This module is indexed to ECIS Effective Governance quality standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.9, 1.10, 1.12, and Schools With Share Capital addendum. See also Governance in International Schools: Chapter 4 (The Board and Strategic Planning).

Module 6: Duty of trust

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

In what ways does the Board hold the school ‘in trust’ for the school community?

This module is indexed to ECIS Effective Governance quality standards 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.9, 1.10. See also Governance in International Schools: Chapter 1 (Introduction to the World of Governance), Chapter 2 (The Board and School Ownership), Chapter 5 (The Board and Communications), and Chapter 7 (The Board and Operations).

Module 7: Accountability

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How does the Board support and promote progress and success, on behalf of the school?

This module is indexed to ECIS Effective Governance quality standards 1.1, 1.3, 1.9, 1.12, and Schools With Share Capital addendum. See also Governance in International Schools: Chapter 1 (Introduction to the World of Governance), Chapter 2 (The Board and School Ownership), Chapter 10 (The Board and Evaluation), and Chapter 11 (Final Review).

Module 8: Recognition of quality governance

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How might the Board demonstrate its commitment to quality governance in an international context?

This module provides details on actions that a school can take to attain the ECIS Quality Governance kite mark.

NOTABLE FEATURES

Online course is mobile-friendly as well as desktop-friendly: you can use any device to take the course!
Highly interactive quizzes to check for comprehension, with immediate feedback.
Our course allows you to identify whether you need a specialist to attend to areas of governance education, based on your understanding of the essentials. No more wasting time!

TIME REQUIRED

It takes approximately 8 hours to complete this interactive, eight-module course.

CURRICULUM

Course content, case studies, and assessments are all indexed to our ECIS Effective Governance quality standards, and were created by ECIS in consultation with three recently-retired heads of international schools with combined leadership experience of more than 60 years on five continents, in a variety of cultural contexts. Our case studies represent an amalgamation of real governance challenges and opportunities, the names and details of which have been altered to correspond to a fictitious school, World International School, whose board journey we follow and analyse according to our governance standards.

FREE ACROSS ALL LEVELS OF SCHOOL MEMBERSHIP PACKAGES. LEARN MORE
THIS COURSE CAN ALSO BE PURCHASED & COMPLETED VIA THE LINK BELOW.

Advance governance webinars

The Advanced Governance Webinars move the conversation about governance beyond basic training for new governors/trustees. We focus on four areas that are critical to success, but and also have the potential to create significant problems when done poorly. Each is a stand-alone webinar, but we suggest that you view all four as a complete package. The goal is to offer information which will lead to thoughtful conversations in your board room and inform good governance practice in a new way.