About Michele Robbins (MBA)

After 12 years as an education officer I became an in independent consultant in 2000 so have spent the past 30+ years working on school improvement, helping to achieve better outcomes for children.

I have worked extensively with local education authorities, individual schools and academies, multi academy trusts, the Department for Education (DFE), the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) & SSAT (The Schools Network).

My work has taken me into Primary, secondary and special schools, British schools in Germany and Egypt. I also spent 3 years visiting Uganda for up to a month at a time, supporting the introduction of Universal Primary Education. (UPE).

This work was with the British Council with the focus on upskilling boards of governors of privately owned schools. Their engagement was needed because the state sector lacked the capacity to deal with the increase in numbers. It included training heads and governors from Western Uganda, in Masaka. A fascinating change from usual venues.

A key focus of my career has been on supporting governing boards & leadership teams in addressing and overcoming the challenges they face. In particular I spent 11 years as a tutor and assessor for the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH), achieving Lead Tutor status, and had extensive experience as a performance management consultant and external adviser.

I also devised national programmes for both the DfE and NCSL. (TRA).



support hands

Support

Providing advice & guidance at every stage of the recruitment and selection of headteachers & deputy heads.

improvement

Improvement

A comprehensive set of services to help, improve and strengthen organisations including schools & authorities.

relationships

Relationships

Providing services to help chairs of governers and school leaders build & strengthen their working relationships.

Having been a governor of 7 schools (primary, secondary & special) including chairing 2 IEBs prior to their then becoming sponsored academies, my experience is both comprehensive and wide ranging, and I understand the entire scope, and the reality, of governance. My interventions are therefore practical, and as per my various testimonials from highly satisfied clients, they and I repeatedley produce significant, and long lasting results.

My Extensive and Prestigious Client List

For the past 3 decades my greatest passion has been assessing, assisting, guiding and helping my clients deliver and achieve success in UK Education.

My Expert Credentials

Michele Robbins

Michele Robbins MBA

Proprietor

Michele Robbins, helping trusts, governing bodies and leadership teams to build strong and effective governance.

Tel: 01235 533 142

Mobile: 07802 284 378

Why should you call me?


  • 12 years as an Education Officer (Schools)
  • 30+ years freelance experience working with local authorities, schools and academies, training and advising middle leaders, leadership teams and governing boards
  • 11 years as a tutor and assessor for the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH)
  • Extensive experience as a performance management consultant and external adviser

I have written many articles, guidance documents & publications.



These books are published by Adamson Publishing and can be viewed or purchased by following these links:

Formulating the 3 year strategic plan


Customised workshops for Boards and SLTs to identify strategic priorities, set SMART objectives and agree how each is to be monitored through committees and evaluated by the board.


This four-hour session will focus on:


  • The current national and local perspective
  • Agreeing priorities and setting objectives
  • Managing the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of impact

Intent, implementation and impact


To support boards and SLTs in drafting the strategic plan and agreeing a format for implementation and monitoring of impact.



Safeguarding. The role of the governing board.


Governing boards are expected to receive training about their responsibilities for safeguarding however a recent national survey showed that around 45% had not fulfilled this obligation.


This two -hour session will:


  • Highlight the main responsibilities of governors/trustees
  • Describe a tool for auditing 12 aspects of safeguarding in schools including recruitment, child protection, interagency working
  • Provide a job description for 2 governors on each board to regularly monitor safeguarding policy and practice
  • Reporting to the board

Intent, implementation and impact


To enable all governors to be aware of the responsibilities of the board and to provide appropriate support to staff. Through a mix of input and discussion to make the expectations of governors clear and give them the tools they need to do the job.



Safeguarding audits for MATs, SATs and schools:


A comprehensive audit, originating many years ago in Merton LA, and updated regularly is provided in advance for relevant staff and governors to complete and send to me at least one week in advance of interviews.


The process models a way of schools managing self evaluation in order to foster independence rather than dependence on external support.


The report has been found to be very helpful when preparing for or following up on an Ofsted inspection.



This process is designed to cover:



  • Child protection and Links with other agencies
  • Recruitment, supervision and training of staff and volunteers
  • Children including LAC
  • Risk assessment including post lockdown arrangements
  • First aid and medical conditions
  • Behaviour and attendance management
  • Data protection
  • Parents
  • Curriculum
  • Governors
  • Allegations against staff and pupils
  • Site maintenance and security

Intent, Implementation and Impact

My preparation depends on a range of documentation relevant to each strand of the audit. Following receipt of the documentation questions are drafted to be put to a variety of groups and individuals. (* A list will be provided securely via Email).


The interviews may be planned over a full day or two half days. Following the interviews a draft report of findings and recommendations is provided, typically within 48 hours.

The final report is then negotiated to ensure accuracy. The report has been found to be very helpful when preparing for or following up on an Ofsted inspection.


The process models a way of schools managing self evaluation in order to foster independence rather than dependence on external support.

External review of governance :

are based on the features of effective governance set out in the Governance Handbook and the Governance competency framework.



  • Strategic leadership that sets and champions vision, ethos and strategy.
  • Accountability that drives up educational standards and financial performance.
  • People with the right skills, experience, qualities and capacity.
  • Structures that reinforce clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
  • Compliance with statutory and contractual requirements.
  • Evaluation to monitor and improve the quality and impact of governance.

Intent, Implementation and Impact

For MATs, following a review of each constituent academy I conclude with meetings with members of the Board. Recommendations will be offered about governance structures and systems at local and Trust Board level.


Participating schools are invited to send relevant documentation in advance and they decide the schedule for interviews of specific personnel. The interviews may be planned over a full day or two half days.


Interviews are conducted with the Headteacher, Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board, Committee Chairs and the Clerk. As with the safeguarding audit it highlights good practice and provides models and frameworks that can build further capacity.

Boards sometimes negotiate briefing session(s) for the whole board on issues such as The Public Sector Equality Duty; monitoring and evaluation including Governors' visits; leading in partneship and effective clerking.


Following the interviews a draft report of findings and recommendations is provided, usually within 48 hours. The final report is then negotiated to ensure accuracy.

The future of my consultancy

I no longer visit schools and use Zoom to communicate. Meetings can take place in a full day or split between two mornings. This means that I have reduced my carbon footprint by around 20,000 miles per year. It also means that I spend approximately 6 hours more time on the analysis of evidence gathered. Most recent client accolades you can find below relate to training and guidance carried out in online sessions via Zoom.


By using Zoom I can now re-visit Liverpool, York, Wakefield, Hereford, and many more new places beside.


I have also now completed my new programme Future proofing that was designed for the following scenario's:

  • Schools and SATs considering forming or joining a MAT
  • MATs considering status quo or further expansion

Bespoke Service Options

These may cover any of the following:


  • Mentoring chairs of boards and headteachers together/individually
  • The 2010 Equality Act
  • The role of governors in safeguarding
  • Ofsted update
  • Future proofing your MAT
  • Other specific aspects of school leadership and management identified by the SAT/MAT/School

Should you wish to discuss further aspects of a future collaboration such as commercials, or any other enquiry, please don't hesitate to get in touch below, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Client Accolades

I have a rich and long standing history of client success and satisfaction with Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. Please see below for a selection of testimonials from Governors, Headteachers, Teachers and Co-ordinators spanning the past 5 years.

  • "Michele recently conducted a safeguarding audit for our school. She was enthusiastic, professional, knowledgeable, and extremely approachable with colleagues, governors and student focus groups. She was able to quickly gauge our safeguarding practices, which she captured in her extensive report, giving practical recommendations and further signposting. We would thoroughly recommend Michele’s services to any school. "


    Assistant Principal. Safeguarding. Secondary Academy - Wandsworth - October 21

  • "Great training! Many thanks - I liked all the examples you provided along the way to illustrate what you were saying."


    Primary School Governor. Safer recruitment training - September 21

  • "Firstly, I would like to thank you for a very thorough and informative training course today. Allowing us to interact with you, asking questions and relaying your own experiences was extremely helpful to understand and process all the information. Your knowledge and expertise was useful and paramount to the success of this course. "


    Primary School Governor. Safer recruitment training - September 21

  • "You are more than holding your own! P and I were saying afterwards how incredibly knowledgeable you are as well. Absolutely use what I've said on your website if it helps. I never say anything I don't mean or stand by. Please feel free to use anything I've said."


    Primary Headteacher. Safer recruitment training - September 21

  • "Michele, thank you very much for running two successful training sessions for the GB and SLT. I really appreciated how you had customised the training to the needs of the school which made it highly relevant and thought-provoking, and provided all of us with key takeaways we can use and implement. "


    Primary School Chair of Governors - April 2021

  • "Attended your session at King Charles centre in Surbiton today on 'Getting to grips with Governance'. Just wanted to say briefly how useful I found it and that I feel much better prepared to make a much more positive contribution to my Academy Trust Board. "


    Primary School Governor - October 2019

  • "I have an enquiry about your (excellent) Safer Recruitment training course that I attended in September at LDBS. Does the course cover what is included in level 1 safeguarding training? A school where I do a bit of work asked if I have a level 1 course certificate from the last 12 months and wondered if this would suffice. I often recommend your or Helen Ridding's safer recruitment training to those requiring a sound grounding in safeguarding; of the numerous courses I've attended over the years it's been by far the most informative and useful training I've received on this important subject. In addition, thank you for sending your safeguarding audit template from Merton. Our safeguarding committee is now using it as a maintenance tool for the time between our independent biennial safeguarding audit and it is proving invaluable and extremely reassuring! "


    Governor London Primary School - November 2019

  • "I attended your session "Leading in Partnership" last month at the LDBS, having taken on the Chair role at our school three days earlier. The session was extremely useful. It really helped crystallise some of the ideas that our HT and I had been kicking around about how to improve the functioning of our GB, and now that we are starting to put some of it into practice it is very convenient to be able to blame it all on you! The reason for getting in touch is that I seem to recall that you might have some model committee terms of reference that you could share. If so it would be really useful to have sight of them, as I suspect that ours may have over time diverged somewhat from the ideal. "


    Chair of Governors London Primary School. October 2019

  • "I am sorry to hear that you will be stepping back in 18 months, (this might not now be the case. MR),you are such a force of wisdom and skill and experience - it will be a great loss! I have passed on the GB framework to my chair and will get back to you on this. The SG audit is a huge help, thank you so much. Warmest wishes as always. "


    Headteacher London Primary School - October 2019

  • "Thanks for the training last night. Hope that you got back home safely…I had some lovely feedback this morning from Oxxxx school… are you happy for me to forward your electronic powerpoint to her or would you rather I didn’t? Just wanted to check first. "


    Headteacher. London Primary School - October 2019

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5 Lesparre Close
Drayton
Abingdon
OX14 4FN


Telephone: 01235 533 142


Mobile: 07802 284 378




Company number: 05914973

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