Most schools have access to the same basic ingredients: learners, teachers, parents, governing bodies, buildings, policies, and budgets. Yet some schools become extraordinary while others remain ordinary. What sets apart the greatest SGBs? asks Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of school governing body association FEDSAS.

Imagine for a moment that we could design education from scratch. What kind of young people would we want to leave our schools after 12 years? What knowledge and skills would they possess? What values would guide them? What contribution would they make to society? If we had a blank canvas, what would we paint?

What fascinates me about painting is that an artist does not need hundreds of colours to create a masterpiece. Every landscape and every portrait emerge from just a few basic colours. The difference lies in the vision of the artist. 

The same is true of schools. The difference lies in what we choose to create with what we have been given. School governance is not primarily about policies, budgets, and meetings; it is about shaping the future. The greatest school governing bodies create five things exceptionally well.

They create a compelling vision

An SGB that does not know where it is going will eventually drift wherever circumstances take it. Many meetings focus on operational matters, which are necessary. But this should never become the main conversation. 

The greatest SGBs spend more time discussing the future than the past. They ask questions about the kind of learners they want to develop, the values that should define their school, what success should look like ten years from now. 

Have we become so focused on marks, sporting achievements, and public opinion that we have forgotten the main purpose of education? The greatest schools are not simply producing successful learners, they are producing exceptional human beings. 

They create a healthy culture

Culture is what happens when nobody is watching. You can have excellent policies, beautiful buildings, and strong academic results and still have a toxic culture. An SGB shapes culture, whether intentionally or not. The greatest SGBs understand that governance is ultimately a moral responsibility. They do not merely ask: What is legal? They also ask: What is right? What is fair? What serves the best interests of learners?

Schools spend countless hours developing strategic plans, vision statements, and improvement plans. These are important. But strategy alone does not build a great school. Every decision communicates culture and values: the way we handle discipline, the way we allocate resources, the way we treat staff, parents, and learners, the way we respond to pressure. Over time, these decisions create either a culture of excellence or a culture of mediocrity. The greatest SGBs know that people will remember how the school made them feel, what it stood for, and what behaviour it rewarded.

They create strong relationships

In his famous article What makes great boards great, Prof. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld studied some of the world’s most successful boards. His findings were fascinating. Great boards are not distinguished by the qualifications of their members, they are distinguished by the quality of their relationships. 

The same goes for schools. The greatest SGBs are not rooms full of experts, they are communities of trust. People can disagree without becoming disagreeable. The focus remains on the mission. Not on personalities. Not on politics. Not on agendas. Many governing bodies become trapped in conflict because individuals become more important than the institution. 

The quality of a school will never exceed the quality of the conversations taking place in its governing body and in the management team. Healthy conversations create healthy governance. Healthy governance creates healthy schools.

They create with courage

One of the greatest myths in governance is that harmony is the goal. It is not. The goal is truth. The goal is wisdom. The goal is making better decisions for children. The greatest SGBs put difficult matters on the table, allow respectful disagreement, ask hard questions, make decisions, and take responsibility. When governing bodies avoid difficult conversations, problems grow, trust declines, and conflict increases. Sometimes the bravest decision is simply to address the issue.

Have we confused excellence with success? Are we still schools that happen to play sport, or are we becoming sporting institutions that happen to offer education? Extracurricular activities must remain a servant of education and never become its master.

Are we preparing learners for tomorrow? The future is sitting in our classrooms. Artificial intelligence and technological changes are reshaping the world. Technology is not the threat. Irrelevance is the threat. Schools must teach learners how to think, solve problems, collaborate, and lead. As technology becomes more powerful, the value of being human becomes even greater.

Are we preparing our teachers to prepare the learners for tomorrow? We need to ask whether we create enough opportunities for professional growth. Too often schools keep talented people trapped in an endless cycle of activities, events, and administration. Great governing bodies understand that teacher development is not an expense; it is an investment. If we want better learning environments, we need better working environments.

They create a lasting legacy

Perhaps the most important question any SGB can ask is this: What will remain when our term comes to an end? Most SGB members serve for only a few years. Schools, however, endure for generations. Many leaders focus on immediate success. Great leaders think differently. They build institutions that will continue to thrive long after they have left. Jim Collins, in Built to Last, speaks about the difference between telling the time and building a clock. Telling the time is about solving today’s problems. Building a clock is about creating systems, structures, and leadership that will continue to function long after you are gone.

The legacy of great school governance is not measured by the number of meetings we attended, the policies we approved, or the decisions we made. It is measured by whether the school is stronger, more sustainable, and better equipped to serve its learners because we were there. 

The greatest SGBs build clocks. They invest in future leaders. They strengthen governance systems. They protect institutional values. They ensure financial sustainability. They develop facilities that will serve future generations.

The greatest SGBs know their communities. They understand their parents, their learners, their staff, their challenges, and their aspirations. They do not try to be all things to all people. Instead, they focus on becoming the very best school for the community they serve.

Too often, governing bodies see themselves as victims of legislation, bureaucracy, or politics. The greatest SGBs reject this mindset. They understand that they remain responsible for the future of their schools. SGBs are not powerless spectators, they are custodians of a constitutional vision of children’s right to basic education. 

The greatest SGBs do more than govern a school. They protect a vision, they develop people, they shape culture, they build partnerships. And ultimately, they create the conditions in which every learner, every teacher, and every family can flourish. That is not merely governance. That is nation-building.