Member Story : Gillian Darwood

Although I had extensive experience in the Further Education sector, school and academy governance operate within a different statutory and regulatory framework. I felt it was essential to develop my knowledge and skills properly in this sector, both to be effective in my role and to ensure that the advice I gave to trustees and senior leaders was robust, informed and appropriate. The Certificate in Academy Governance qualification was practical, relevant and directly applicable to the challenges I was facing.

Focused on outcomes for pupils

The course was delivered online apart from the final examination, which made it very manageable alongside a full-time role spanning two education sectors, as well as family commitments. The qualification reinforced the importance of governance as stewardship. Not simply compliance, but ethical leadership, transparency and accountability for public money and pupils’ outcomes.

Helping school leaders develop risk management skills

Schools are not traditionally used to thinking in explicit risk management terms, and developing this mindset, particularly around strategic and sector‑wide risks, took time. By embedding risk considerations into board reporting and decision‑making, trustees have been better able to understand and scrutinise the strategic risks for the organisation.

Perhaps most importantly, the qualification developed my professional judgement, understanding not just what good governance looks like on paper, but how to apply it proportionately in complex, real‑world situations.

Leading with confidence

As the Trust grew, the qualification gave me the credibility to lead governance across the organisation. Effective governance has been a cornerstone of the Trust’s development, with four previously failing secondary schools now rated ‘Good’ or better by Ofsted, alongside strong outcomes in primary schools. In each case, the contribution of governance has been recognised by Ofsted.

As I approach the later stages of my career, my only regret is not moving into governance earlier. I would strongly encourage anyone starting out to consider governance as a career – it simply wasn’t a profession I knew existed at the start of mine!