Does Governance Matter for School Improvement?

The governance of schools reconstituted by the Conservative Education Reform Acts of 1986/88 has been the subject of review since the turn of the century, with questions raised about the roles and responsibilities of governing bodies. Do governors as volunteers have too many responsibilities? Do they contribute to school improvement? Do they matter? This paper reports on a national study of governance and school improvement in Wales. It presents original data that shows an association between good governance – especially the practice of scrutiny – and the performance of schools.