governance good practice guide

putting quality improvement into practice

introduction: which self-assessment approach is right for you?

Governing boards use a number of different frameworks against which to measure and improve their performance and the impact they have on the performance of their college.

There is no one right framework – the important thing is to select an approach that meets your specific needs.

Some frameworks measure overall performance and some just measure aspects such as leadership and management, learner responsiveness, customer service, people management, culture and ethos. Some focus on the systems and processes used to ensure quality, rather than the quality outcomes.

Boards may need to use a variety of frameworks to address different aspects of quality, based on an analysis of their current quality 'position'.

The approach will change as the college's quality 'position' develops, so governing boards need to keep the appropriateness of the selected frameworks under review.

Some of the frameworks and approaches can be very labour intensive, and require years rather than months to bed down and become an established and effective tool.

Before selecting an appropriate approach, the first step is to analyse your current quality position. You need to understand this if you are to meet your quality needs fully.

Go to the page on board performance

It is always useful to ask people from organisations who have had real-life implementation experience of the various frameworks.

Go to the page containing sample frameworks and practical tools in FE