This session will focus on why good governance in our educational institutions is so fundamentally important to success. It will compare the experience of charter schools in the U.S. and school trusts in England to draw out common themes and principles that underpin effective governance.

Our experiences in both the U.S. and England demonstrate that school systems benefit from:

• Alignment and a shared conception of quality – being true to the concepts of alignment and subsidiarity by co-creating accountability frameworks with school leaders and agreeing what ‘quality’ looks like
• Intelligent accountability underpinned by professional trust – thoughtfully designed metrics that measure what we value, underpinned by contextual information and trust in professional judgement
• Good governance – effective, ethical and accountable governance is crucial to building long-term resilience in our school systems