Monday, September 15, 2008

Poor governance again: under-achieving governors to blame for poorly performing colleges

The new Ofsted review of colleges' improvement has noted: "Ineffective governance and management lay at the root of many weaknesses seen in underperforming colleges."

It is sad that some governors do not get it. Ofsted found governors who were so absorbed by the financial position of their college that they didn’t pay enough attention to the success of students. As a Chartered Accountant (and someone who has seen the mess left by colleges lacking financial viability), I see the importance of finance - but it is only a means to an end.

The report also found that some governors and managers also avoided making difficult decisions.

The report also noted: "There was no culture, understanding or acceptance of accountability - these managers were not constructively self-critical and frequently looked for something or someone to blame when things went wrong or improvements were not forthcoming.

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