National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) Organisational Management and Governance Syllabus

What does it mean for a governing board to 'challenge and support', and why are both needed?

Challenge means asking probing, evidence-based questions to test leaders' decisions and performance; support means providing encouragement, expertise and resources. Both are needed so the board is neither a rubber-stamp (all support) nor adversarial (all challenge); together they drive improvement and accountability.

What is the role of the clerk (governance professional) to a governing board?

The clerk provides advice on governance, constitutional and procedural matters, ensures the board works within its legal framework, manages information and records (agendas, minutes, papers), and supports the chair. They are independent of the headteacher and protect the board's integrity.

What is the difference between internal accountability and external accountability for a school?

Internal accountability is the school's own systems (governors holding leaders to account, performance management, self-evaluation). External accountability is being answerable to outside bodies and the public, e.g. Ofsted inspection, published performance data/tables, and the DfE/ESFA for funding and standards.

Name the four key judgement areas in the current Ofsted education inspection framework (EIF).

Quality of education; Behaviour and attitudes; Personal development; and Leadership and management. (Early years and sixth-form provision are graded separately where applicable.) An overall effectiveness judgement is also reached under the graded framework.

What are the typical Ofsted grading descriptors used for each judgement?

Grade 1 Outstanding, Grade 2 Good, Grade 3 Requires improvement, Grade 4 Inadequate. Inadequate may be split into 'serious weaknesses' or 'special measures'. (Note: reform is moving toward report cards/toolkits, but the four-point scale underpins the EIF.)

What is the difference between a Section 5 and a Section 8 Ofsted inspection?

A Section 5 inspection is a full, graded inspection under the Education Act 2005 resulting in published graded judgements. A Section 8 inspection is a shorter, ungraded inspection (e.g. of good schools, or monitoring) that checks the school remains good; it can convert to a full Section 5 if standards appear to have changed.

Within 'Quality of education', what three elements does Ofsted examine?

Intent (the curriculum's ambition, design and sequencing), Implementation (how the curriculum is taught and assessed) and Impact (the outcomes pupils achieve, including knowledge gained and progress).

Who has the primary legal duty for health and safety in a school, and under which Act?

The employer holds the primary duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees and others. The employer is the LA for community/maintained schools or the governing body/trust for academies and voluntary-aided/foundation schools.

List the five steps of a risk assessment as set out by the HSE.

1) Identify the hazards. 2) Decide who might be harmed and how. 3) Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions (control measures). 4) Record your findings and implement them. 5) Review the assessment and update as necessary.

Give the standard formula used to rate risk in a risk assessment.

$$\text{Risk rating} = \text{Likelihood} \times \text{Severity}$$ Each factor is typically scored on a scale (e.g. 1-5); the product gives a risk level (low/medium/high) used to prioritise control measures.

What is RIDDOR and what types of incidents must be reported under it?

RIDDOR is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. Employers must report to the HSE certain work-related deaths, specified/major injuries, injuries causing more than 7 days' incapacity, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences (near misses).

What is the 'hierarchy of control' for managing health and safety risks?

In order of preference: Eliminate the hazard; Substitute it with something safer; Engineering controls (isolate people from the hazard); Administrative controls (procedures, training, signage); and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as the last resort.

In school estates management, what is a condition survey and what is the difference between planned (PPM) and reactive maintenance?

A condition survey assesses the physical state of buildings to inform investment priorities. Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) is scheduled upkeep to prevent failures and extend asset life; reactive maintenance is repairing things after they break. PPM is more cost-effective and reduces risk over time.

Distinguish between revenue funding and capital funding for school premises.

Revenue funding covers day-to-day running costs (staff pay, utilities, consumables, routine maintenance). Capital funding is for the acquisition, construction or significant improvement of fixed assets (new buildings, major refurbishment, long-life equipment). They generally cannot be mixed without rules; capital cannot fund recurrent revenue costs.

Name common sources of capital funding available to schools/academies for premises.

For academies/MATs: School Condition Allocation (SCA) for larger trusts, Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) for smaller trusts/standalone academies, and Devolved Formula Capital (DFC). For maintained schools: LA-managed capital programmes and DFC. The DfE School Rebuilding Programme funds major rebuilds.

What does GDPR/UK data protection require regarding the lawful basis and the data protection principles?

Processing of personal data must have a lawful basis (e.g. public task, legal obligation, consent). The UK GDPR principles require data to be: processed lawfully, fairly and transparently; collected for specified purposes; adequate and limited (data minimisation); accurate; kept no longer than necessary; secure (integrity and confidentiality); with the controller accountable for compliance.

Does a school need a Data Protection Officer (DPO), and what is their role?

Yes. Schools, as public authorities, must appoint a DPO. The DPO advises on data protection obligations, monitors compliance, advises on Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), and acts as the contact point for the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and data subjects. They must be independent and report to the highest level.

What is a Subject Access Request (SAR) and what is the standard time limit to respond?

A SAR is a request by an individual to access the personal data a school holds about them. The school must respond, normally free of charge, within one calendar month of receipt (extendable by up to two further months for complex or numerous requests, with notification).

Within what timeframe must a notifiable personal data breach be reported to the ICO?

A personal data breach that poses a risk to individuals' rights and freedoms must be reported to the ICO without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of it. High-risk breaches must also be communicated to the affected individuals.

What is a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and when is it required?

A DPIA is a process to identify and minimise data protection risks of a project. It is required when processing is likely to result in a high risk to individuals, such as large-scale processing, systematic monitoring, or use of new technologies (e.g. introducing a new pupil tracking or biometric system).

What is a business continuity plan (BCP) and how does it differ from a crisis/emergency plan?

A BCP sets out how the school will maintain or quickly resume critical functions after a disruption (e.g. IT failure, loss of building, pandemic). A crisis/emergency plan deals with the immediate response to a sudden incident (e.g. fire, intruder, death). BCP focuses on continuity/recovery; the emergency plan focuses on immediate safety and response.

In business continuity planning, what do the terms RTO and RPO mean?

RTO (Recovery Time Objective) is the maximum acceptable time to restore a critical function after disruption. RPO (Recovery Point Objective) is the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time (how far back the last good backup must be). Both set targets that drive backup and recovery arrangements.

What is a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) in continuity planning?

A BIA identifies the school's critical activities, the impact over time if they are disrupted, the resources they depend on, and the maximum tolerable period of disruption. It prioritises which functions must be recovered first and informs the recovery strategies in the business continuity plan.

What is the difference between a deficit recovery plan and a balanced in-year budget, and who must approve a maintained school deficit?

A balanced in-year budget plans expenditure within available income for the year. A deficit recovery plan is a multi-year plan to eliminate an accumulated deficit. A maintained school must obtain the local authority's agreement (a licensed deficit) to set a deficit budget; academies are not permitted to plan for a deficit at all.

What is 'top-slicing' or the GAG pooling arrangement in a MAT, and what does it fund?

Top-slicing is where a MAT retains a percentage of each academy's General Annual Grant (GAG) centrally to fund shared services (HR, finance, school improvement, central leadership). GAG pooling is the fuller arrangement where the trust pools all academies' funding and redistributes it according to need across the trust.

What does 'staff deployment for maximum impact' involve, and what evidence base often informs it?

It involves matching staff skills and time to the areas of greatest pupil need, optimising class sizes and teaching loads, and effective use of teaching assistants. Evidence such as the EEF (Education Endowment Foundation) guidance informs decisions, e.g. deploying TAs to add value rather than replace teacher input.

What is the role of a register of business/pecuniary interests for governors and trustees?

All governors/trustees, members and senior staff must declare relevant business, financial and personal interests in a published register. This manages conflicts of interest, ensures related-party transactions are conducted at no more than cost, and maintains transparency and propriety in the use of public funds.

What are 'related party transactions' in an academy trust and what controls apply?

Related party transactions are dealings between the trust and individuals/organisations connected to it (e.g. a trustee's company). They must be conducted transparently, at no more than cost ('at cost' rule above a threshold), declared, and reported in advance to the ESFA above set thresholds to prevent conflicts and misuse of public money.

What is the difference between a hazard and a risk in health and safety terminology?

A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm (e.g. a wet floor, chemicals). A risk is the likelihood that the hazard will cause harm combined with the severity of that harm. Risk assessment evaluates the risk arising from each hazard and the controls needed to reduce it.

What is the difference between a single converter academy and a sponsored academy?

A converter academy is a school (usually previously rated good/outstanding) that chose to convert to academy status, often retaining its character and possibly forming or joining a MAT. A sponsored academy is typically a previously underperforming maintained school placed with an external sponsor/trust to drive improvement, often following intervention.