School governance in 2019

Funding, support for pupils with special educational needs, and staff workload and wellbeing were the three key concerns unifying school governors and trustees, according to the School Governance in 2019 report. The report reveals the views, experiences, practice and demographics of almost 6,000 school governance volunteers from schools across all types, phases and regions.

The findings in this report are the result of an online survey carried out in May and June 2019. The survey was open to anyone who governs in state-funded schools in England. Many thanks to all those who took the time to share their views and experiences.

Read about the key issues facing schools and trusts in 2019 and read more about topics including:

Opinions on the government's performance
Challenges facing schools across different regions, phases and school types
Staff wellbeing and workload
Governance as a volunteer role
Multi academy trusts
Accountability
Clerking

The National Governance Association (NGA) ran an annual survey of school governors and trustees in partnership with TES between 2011 and 2019. The aim of the survey is to gather the views of those who govern in order to inform and shape education policy and, in the absence of official data, to provide an overview of the state of school governance in England. 5,923 governors, trustees and academy committee members shared their views in the 2019 survey.