Certificate in Academy Governance
Programme guide Updated for the June 2021 exam
Contents 1: Information and course overview ..............................................................................................................3 2: The study programme ...............................................................................................................................4 3: The exam ...................................................................................................................................................7 4: Exam and course rules ..............................................................................................................................9 5: Using your MyCG profile .........................................................................................................................10 6: Support and contact details .....................................................................................................................11 Appendix I – Webinar schedule for September 2020 to June 2021 ...........................................................12 Appendix II – Presenter details ...................................................................................................................13
1: Information and course overview Who is the course for? This course is aimed at governance professionals working within or in association with academy schools. It has been designed to meet the specific need for effective governance in academy schools, and focuses on the governance needs of multi-academy trusts (MATs), and how solid and consistent governance and standards can be implemented across several schools. This programme guide is aimed at students who are taking the Certificate in Academy Governance. Level The course has been benchmarked at Level 4 of the National Qualifications Framework, equivalent to the standard of study and assessment at the first year of a UK undergraduate degree. We suggest a recommended total study time of 200 hours, incorporating all the course input, wider reading and the exam.
Doggett (ICSA Publishing, 2020). This text is provided to students on the Certificate course in the form of an e-copy, available on MyCG. The ‘Certificate in Academy Governance’ is set out in four parts, each exploring key themes within the subject matter. Each part is broken into chapters, which include key learning outcomes for each part of the study text, then sets out ‘Test your knowledge’ questions and ‘Stop and think’ challenges. Delivery of the course The course content of the Certificate is based on the Study text and will consist of: • •
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Course content The course content is set out in the syllabus for ‘Academy Governance’, which is available on the student area of the website, MyCG. Study texts The syllabus content for the course is covered in the recommended study text, ‘Certificate in Academy Governance’ by Katie Paxton-
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One-hour interactive webinar sessions with live audio commentary. Q&A sessions at the end of each presentation, in which the presenter discusses questions raised in writing during the session. Two assignment tasks which will be set during the course, for which you will receive a grade, written feedback and advice on your performance. Self-study with the recommended text and text update material. Contact with our Student Experience team for queries arising in between webinar presentations.
More detail on how each of these elements work is given in the next section.
2: The study programme The webinar platform
The presenters
The webinar sessions are delivered through Adobe Connect. You will receive a link to access the sessions by email a week before each scheduled event and you will need to read the instructions on the email carefully.
The two webinar presentations which cover the course outline, study support and exam technique (Sessions 1 & 11) will be delivered by Mandy Garnham, Learning Support Manager. Mandy will host all the sessions with the presenter, Lucy Devine, for the other sessions.
To access the sessions, you will need a computer with an internet connection and the audio on with the volume up. Audio will be clearest if you listen through headphones. Please test your connection soon after registration. A reminder to do this will be sent when you receive an email with instructions for Session 1. If you are accessing Adobe Connect using a work computer, please contact your IT department if you experience difficulties when trying to connect. Webinar recordings The Adobe Connect service includes a feature that allows audio and any documents and other materials exchanged or viewed during the session to be recorded. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to the recording, please discuss your concerns with the Learning Support Manager before commencement of the course.
More information about the presenter is included in Appendix II. Tasks The practice question tasks will be set during Sessions 5 and 9, and you will be given one week to submit your answers. The task questions will support you in your exam revision but may not follow the same format as questions in the exam. However, they will be set as extended-answer 15 mark questions. These questions give you a valuable opportunity to study certain topics in-depth during the course, but also to get experience of answering a question under exam conditions. We suggest you follow these guidelines in answering the tasks: •
Analyse the question and use the study text and other sources to focus on the subject area.
How the webinar sessions work
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The sessions will last around one hour and will take the form of a PowerPoint presentation, with commentary, which is led by the presenter. You will be able to hear the presenter speaking and you can participate in the session by writing comments or questions using a chat function.
Prepare a plan for your answer. The question will be worth 15 marks, similar to Section C of the exam.
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Find a quiet place to write and set a timer for 35 minutes – write your answer in this time, referring to your plan but not to your notes or the text.
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We suggest that you type your answer to replicate exam conditions and to help you prepare for an online exam.
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Please email your answer to the Learning Support Manager, by the deadline for submission.
At the end of the session there will be time allotted for questions and answers. If you have not used the chat function during the session, you can still send your questions in at this point. After the session, we will email you a copy of the slides, accompanying material and a link to a recording of the session. We will also try to follow up with written responses to any questions which we could not cover during the webinar session.
Provided your work is submitted to deadline, you will receive feedback on your answer, including your grade, examiner’s comments and a copy of the examiner’s suggested answer within two
weeks of the submission date. There will also be a 30 minute webinar session, where the examiner will go through the task in detail with advice and feedback.
Content of the sessions
Session
What the session covers
Session 1 (Introduction to the course and study skills)
This session is intended to familiarise you with the level and structure of the course and to provide practical advice about how you should work with the study text and fit study around your work. No prior reading or study is required for this session but you should be already reading the study text.
Session 2 (Legislative and regulatory framework)
This session is based on the content of the study text chapters 1 and 2. You will need to read and prepare notes on the relevant section of the study text before each of these sessions. See the schedule (Appendix I) for details on which chapters you will need to work through before each session.
Sessions 3 to 5 (Governance)
These sessions are based on the content of the study text related to chapter 3 to 6. Your first practice task will be set during Session 5, and you will be given one week to submit this.
Session 6 (Feedback and analysis on Task 1)
This is a 30 minute webinar based on the content of Task 1 with examiner feedback and comments.
Sessions 7 & 8 (Risk, compliance and policies)
These sessions are based on the content of the study text relating to chapters 7 to 10.
Session 9 (Financial management)
This session is based on the content of the study text relating to chapters 11 and 12. Your second practice task will be set during Session 9, and you will be given one week to submit this.
Session 10 (Feedback and analysis on Task 2)
This is a 30 minute webinar based on the content of Task 2 with examiner feedback and comments.
Session 11 (Exam strategy)
This is the final session which will provide you with guidance on how to prepare for the exam and strategies and techniques for success when you are answering questions. No study text preparation is necessary for this session, though it would be useful to familiarise yourself with the sample and past exam questions prior to this session. These can be found on MyCG.
Self-study You will need to do a large amount of self-study to get the most out of the webinar sessions and be well prepared for the exam at the end of the course. Bear in mind that the total recommended study hours for the course are 200, around 20 of which will be taken up by the webinar sessions, tasks and the exam. Realistically, this means that during the course you need to aim to complete at least 6 hours of study each week. There will be advice about how to plan and conduct self-study in Session 1, but here is a summary of what you should be doing, some of which you can begin before the course starts: Have a plan for the pace at which you will work through the study text, which aligns to the webinar schedule (i.e. you should
have studied at least chapters 1 and 2 by the time you take Session 2). •
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Look at your weekly schedule and plan the times when you’ll be able to fit in ‘deskbased study’ – that is, study sessions at which you can work through the text. As you work through the text, take notes or keep some kind of record of what you study, rather than just reading the text. Use your login to the MyCG study support area to access material there, particularly content specific to this module such as the Academy Governance syllabus, sample / past exam papers and student answers. Make sure you are doing wider reading in the subject area and following up on suggestions for further reading made during the webinars.
3: The exam Exam format The assessment for the course is our exam in ‘Academy Governance. The exam will last 3 hours with 15 minutes additional reading time. The exams usually take place in the first week of June. Information on the exam timetable and key dates can be found on MyCG. Session 11, ‘Exam strategy’, will go into more detail on what the exam entails, but some basic information is summarised below: •
The exam is online and ‘closed book’ – you can’t have any books or notes with you in the exam.
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The total time allowed for the exam is 3 hours and starts with 15 minutes reading time.
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The question paper contains 19 exam questions and you need to answer all of them.
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Section A contains 20 marks, Section B contains 35 marks and Section C contains 45 marks. There are 100 marks available in total for the paper.
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Section A contains short answer questions (1-4 marks each), Section B also has short answer questions worth between 4 and 6 marks. Section C is the extended answer part of the paper and each question is worth 15 marks.
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The pass threshold is 50%.
For an example of the layout of the question paper, see the sample and past paper for ‘Academy Governance’ available on our website. The marking process After the exam, detailed procedures are followed in marking and checking your script to ensure that the result you receive is correct. The examiner works with a marking scheme which has been moderated and approved, prior to the
exam, by a review panel. The marked scripts are also checked by a review panel. Your exam result Results are usually released for the June exam in mid-August. You will get notification of the release date in advance. When results are released, you can log on to your MyCG account to receive your result. This will be expressed as a mark/100 and a grade band – if you have been successful, your mark will be 50+/100 and the grade band will be either ‘Pass’, ‘Merit’ or ‘Distinction’. Three to four weeks after release of results, you will receive your certificate by post. If you have not been successful, your mark will be shown and expressed as a ‘Fail’ grade on a scale of A – D. You will have the opportunity to re-sit at the next scheduled exam session – there is an additional re-sit fee. The Certificate course follows the same policy on exam feedback as our other qualifications. You are not permitted to view your exam script, but if you would like feedback on the exam, you can use the our script report service. For a fee, the examiner will provide written feedback on your exam performance.
Award and progression If you are successful in passing the ‘Certificate in Academy Governance’, you will be entitled to join us as an affiliated member. Affiliated membership recognises the achievement, value and capability of alumni who have successfully completed one of our short course qualifications. It is designed to enhance your professional standing with the right to use the post-nominals CG (Affiliated), the opportunity to serve on branch councils, and a commitment to continuing professional development and our
code of professional ethics and conduct. It also provides preferential access to the Institute’s knowledge and services. To learn more about affiliated membership visit https://www.icsa.org.uk/join-us/affiliated-membership.
Further details about the Qualifying Programme is available on the our website, or can be sent to you upon request.
4: Exam and course rules Exam administration and rules As part of the process for signing up to this course, you should have completed an exam registration form and will be registered for an exam in June, shortly after this course ends. If you are not sure about your exam date, please check it now. If, in special circumstances, you need to change your exam entry or have any questions concerning the exam, please contact us. You will need to let us know about changing your exam by 23 March (this deadline might change). After this deadline, your exam date is fixed and you would need to pay for another exam entry if you wanted to change it. You will need to sit the exam online at a location where you are alone in a room
either at home or work, with access to Wifi and a mobile phone. About five weeks before the exam date we will send you information about the exam including login details and the exam time. You will also have access to the ‘Instructions for exam candidates’ document, which lets you know what to expect in the exam and the exam rules. Please read this document carefully. If anything goes wrong before or during the exam which you believe may affect, or have affected your performance, please contact us as soon as possible.
5: Using your MyCG profile
When you sign up for the Certificate in Academy Governance, you become one of our students and have a profile in the secure ‘MyCG area of our website. This is where you can change your contact details we have on file for you, check your exam entry and find study support resources such as past exam papers. Select ‘Sign in’ at the top of the page.
Enter your username (your email address) and ‘Password’. If you have forgotten the password that your registered with, select ‘Forgotten your password’.
From this page you can access your profile in the ‘My details’ tab, which contains your personal and contact details. You are able to update your profile via MyCG. There is also a link to see your exam booking via the ‘Exam entries’ tab.
6: Support and contact details
If you have questions about payments, registering for exams, your exam centre or accessing any online details, please contact our Client Relations team at: enquiries@icsa.org.uk If you have questions about the study programme, practice tasks, your study progress and the exam, you can contact Mandy Garnham at: mgarnham@icsa.org.uk
If you are having problems registering for a webinar before the event, please reply to the person who sent you the information about the event (this will probably be Mandy). If you are having technical problems during a session, you will need to use the chat function in Adobe Connect to let us know.
Appendix I – Webinar schedule for September 2020 to June 2 021
Date and time
Course content / module reference
Wed 16 Sep 2pm - 3pm
Session 1: Induction Introduction to the course and study skills–delivered by Mandy Garnham
Mon 21 Sep 5pm - 6pm
Session 2: Legislative and Regulatory Framework Chapter 1 – Introduction to governance and the academies landscape Chapter 2 – Legislation and regulation Delivered by Lucy Devine
Tue 29 Sep 5pm - 6pm
Session 3: Governance Chapter 3 – Governance structures Delivered by Lucy Devine
Mon 19 Oct 5pm - 6pm
Session 4: Governance Chapter 4 – Roles and responsibilities Delivered by Lucy Devine
Mon 2 Nov 5pm - 6pm
Session 5: Governance Chapter 5 – The clerk and company secretary Chapter 6 – Meetings Delivered by Lucy Devine Task 1 set at this session
Task 1 set at this session
Mon 16 Nov
No webinar – writing Task 1 and reading for upcoming modules
Task 1 submission by 12pm Mon 30 Nov
Results of Task 1
Mon 7 Dec 5pm – 5.30pm
Session 6: Task 1 feedback and analysis Delivered by Lucy Devine
Mon 11 Jan 5pm – 6pm
Session 7: Risk, Compliance and Policies Chapter 7 – Risk management Chapter 8 – Compliance and policies Delivered by Lucy Devine
Mon 1 Feb 5pm – 6pm
Session 8: Risk, Compliance and Policies Chapter 9 – Information management Chapter 10 – Performance management and internal reviews Delivered by Lucy Devine
Mon 22 Feb 5pm – 6pm
Session 9: : Financial management Chapter 11 – Funding Chapter 12 – Financial management Delivered by Lucy Devine Task 2 set at this session
Mon 8 Mar
No webinar – writing Task 2 and reading for upcoming modules
Task 2 submission by 12pm Mon 22 Mar
Results of Task 2
Mon 19 Apr 5pm – 5.30pm
Session 10: Task 2 feedback and analysis Delivered by Lucy Devine
Mon 3 May 2pm – 3pm
Session 11: Exam strategy Exam overview, strategy and skills Delivered by Mandy Garnham
Tuesday 1 June
Exam week
Appendix II – Presenter details
Lucy Devine Lucy Devine is a chartered secretary and governance adviser. She specialises in both academy governance and Learned Society governance, and is particularly excited about the role of members in SATs and MATs. Lucy has been a teacher, a civil servant in the Department for Education (when the first stirrings of the academy movement began), a change management consultant for a large global firm, and also spent some years working in governance in post-conflict areas, such as
Rwanda and Afghanistan. In her spare time, she is a reasonably fast long-distance swimmer. Mandy Garnham Mandy is the learning support manager at The Institute. She manages and delivers a range of study support activities for students taking the qualifying programme and short course qualifications, including the delivery of study skills and exam preparation tuition. She deals with all student enquiries regarding study and assessments.