Over the past five years Andy has facilitated over 40 Board retreats and specific Board training events. He is committed to understanding where a board is collectively and individually in reference to governance practices and the challenges facing the organisation.

Our work in governance focuses strongly on the three very different modes of governance - fiduciary, strategic, and generative. From this theoretical perspective, retreats and workshops lead to a refined understanding of the roles and responsibilities of individual Board members and the dynamics of them operating as a team.

These events are carefully planned with meaningful outcomes yet with a good dose of fun and engagement.. Working with individuals who give up their time to support the school means the time must be well used and lead to better understanding, greater awareness and plans or commitments moving forward.

The Education Consortium is often engaged to review and revise Board Policy Manuals. This review considers the relevancy and currency of Board policies, working closely with the Board and School Leadership to ensure alignment with the articles of association, laws of the host country, and the values the organisation holds itself to.

This work usually involves the separation of policy from procedure and results in the creation of an additional document titled a Governance Handbook, which includes all governance procedures and processes. The development of, or refinement of, other procedural handbooks such as a financial procedures handbook and operational handbooks can also be delivered, alignment of Board policies with operational procedures.

Governance tools, such as Board evaluation and Head of School Evaluation instruments complete with defined processes and procedures, are highly valuable in supporting many of the operational aspects of Governance. We can share a variety of models or tailor these instruments to best meet your needs.

Boards who are committed to best practice and continual improvement have found it valuable to engage The Education Consortium to examine current governance practices, providing critique, and suggestions to improve their performance. Additionally, development of a practical and sustainable model for ongoing evaluation of governance practices can be provided by our consultancy.

Typically a Governance Audit/Review will focus on how the Board operatives from four key perspectives:

1. Efficiency and effectiveness of systems and structures in place around governance, including committee structures

2. Board and Leadership relations

3. Board communications

4. Ability of the Board to work at Fiduciary, Strategic and Generative levels

A key fiduciary responsibility of the school Board is overseeing the short and long-term financial viability of the organisation. In most international schools well over 70% of an annual budget is allocated to salaries and benefits. As a school do you have this right? We can help by reviewing and benchmarking salaries and benefits and make short and long-term recommendations to place the school in the best position in the utilisation of its resources.

Another critical role of the school Board is the hiring and retaining of their one employee, the Head of School. The Education Consortium can support a Board in this work through benchmarking of salaries and benefits, contract deliberations and long-term contingency planning.

Evaluating risk and compliance is challenging for any institution but is a process that must be engaged with critically and methodically. The Education Consortium can provide training, assistance with developing risk and compliance matrices, in addition to analysing risk and developing guidelines to address perceived risk and compliance issues. Further, we can support with the development of oversight procedures at the operational and governance level, to meet a Board’s fiduciary responsibilities.