School trusts are complex and agile organisations. The proposition of governance should therefore be a live conversation and boards should monitor and improve their performance continually. This updated toolkit outlines our 20-element assurance framework including guiding questions to consider and descriptors of what strong and weak assurance would look like in a trust at board level. Updated September 2024.
Overview of frameworks and when to use them
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Framework |
What is it? |
When to use it |
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A high-level, developmental assurance tool aligned with CST's Building strong trusts and the DfE’s Trust Quality Descriptions |
To test elements of the trust's strength across seven domains: governance; leadership; high quality, inclusive education; school improvement; workforce; finance and operations; and public benefit Can be used to inform growth strategy |
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A deep dive into the activities and functions that influence strong governance performance, to be used in conjunction with guidance, Governing a School Trust |
To test the strength of a trust’s governance |
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A deep dive to help a trust understand its current capacity to support and drive school improvement |
To build and strengthen current capacity and potentially to grow capacity to support more schools |
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A voluntary, sector-led code which sets out the principles, desired outcomes, and recommended practice for effective governance |
To test the principles of good governance and the behaviours, commitments and practices that inform them |
