governance good practice guide

national standards for governance

The word 'standard' is used to cover a range of things.

For example, it is used to describe a set of principles or a general code of practice as in the Good Governance Standard for Public Services (GGSPS) and in the Combined Code of Corporate Practice (CCCP) for listed companies.

Click here for information on the GGSPS.

Click here for information on the CCCP.

Each occupational sector operates to an official set of National Occupational Standards (NOS), as defined by its sector skills council (SSC) in consultation with each sector. These national standards are used for a number of purposes.

For example:

• the national awarding and examining bodies base their qualifications on the NOS
• organisations (including colleges and other further education providers) use them for recruitment, planning, workforce development, succession planning, self-assessment and improvement purposes
• national development organisations such as the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL), colleges and other learning and skills providers use them to develop training and assessment programmes.

These standards - the National Standards - are the definitive benchmark for each sector.

The sector skills council (SSC) for learning and skills is Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK).

LLUK is responsible for the development, quality assurance and promotion of the NOS for the whole of the post-compulsory FE system.

This encompasses further education (FE), adult and community learning (ACL), work-based learning (WBL), higher education (HE), youth work, and library archives and information services across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

LLUK was formed in 2005 and is responsible for workforce planning and development in the lifelong learning sector. It has replaced the work previously undertaken by the Further Education National Training Organisation (FENTO) and has inherited its National Standards - including those for governance.

LLUK is currently reviewing its NOS for leadership and management across the learning and skills sector and the outcome will have implications for a future review of FE Governance National Standards (GNS).

Shared understanding and clarity in the role of governance and the responsibilities of chairs, governors, clerks and principals are a prerequisite for the review and revision of GNS.

The Governance Good Practice Guide (GGPG) is playing its part in informing the current national debate regarding governance role and responsibilities - initiated by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) as part of its response to the FE White Paper: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances.

Click here for information on the White Paper.