Executive Performance Management: Time for change.

In the ten plus years NGA has been supporting CEO and headteacher performance management we have helped boards develop their practices in appraisal meetings, but we see the need for significant cultural change in the way boards approach performance management of their executive leader that extends beyond the annual appraisal meeting.

Blog

21/05/2026

Imagine you’ve just got a new job. It’s a real step-up on the career ladder. Your new employer sends you a congratulatory email; HR sends you a contract and a start date…you’re all set! Then on your first day, there is no one there to greet you, no one to provide an induction, but there is a nice email from your boss saying good luck, shout if you need anything! Later in the year, you ask about targets, expectations and how you will be assessed in the role and are told:

“We meet in December to discuss targets. Let us know what you think they should be. And don’t forget to ask for support if you need it!” This has been the reality for many new headteachers and MAT CEOs.

Why now?

It’s interesting to see how the academy system has matured over the last 15 years, from the days of very little guidance for MATs to the current White Paper, which suggests MATs are the educational ecosystem of choice for all schools.

At NGA, we have already set out our position on MAT governance with our latest thought leadership report, ‘Governing in 4D’, urging the new trust quality descriptors, which will be the basis for the new trust inspections, to provide clear minimum expectations for each of the four dimensions of governance - members, trust board, local governance and the executive leader.

Accountability and clarity are essential as the education system enters a period of significant change. MAT inspections, SEND reforms, a growing number of founding CEOs reaching retirement and being replaced by new leaders, MAT mergers and expansion, rising litigation involving parents, staff, leaders and those governing, alongside increasing concerns about wellbeing, workload and mental health, are all creating new pressures and complexities for trusts and their boards.

I believe strong governance is a key ingredient of a better education system, not the problem, a necessary evil or just a resource needed to deal with parental complaints, grievances and disciplinary investigations and panels.

"I believe strong governance is a key ingredient of a better education system, not the problem, a necessary evil or just a resource needed to deal with parental complaints, grievances and disciplinary investigations and panels."

What’s wrong with executive appraisal today?

School and trust executive appraisal today has developed from the established maintained school headteacher appraisal approach of setting three objectives in an autumn term meeting, often in December after all other employees have had their appraisal meetings.

With no CEO standards, many years without NPQEL programmes and immature trust quality descriptors, it is no wonder that CEO and executive performance management is not where it should be.

What is needed is:

Providing our executive leader with an annual performance management process with regular touch points during the year for review and reflection, not just an annual appraisal meeting
Performance management aligned with the establishment’s strategic direction, the expectations of the role and the development needs of the incumbent, not a formulaic approach
Executive performance management, which follows the annual strategic cycle and is considered part of the strategic preparation for the coming academic year
Support packages for executive leaders, which are an expectation, not just provided when requested
The option for 360-degree feedback to capture evidence of critical qualities like people leadership, organisational development, vision communication and cultural growth.
Processes and policies that recognise that the approach to performance management and pay could be different for the executive leader
Benchmarked pay that is transparent and clearly defensible

Over the past year, we have tried through our executive appraisal support consultancy service to introduce a number of these elements, but we’ve reached the conclusion that to affect the significant cultural change needed in executive performance management, we need to offer a different kind of support to board: the Executive LEAD Framework.

"School and trust executive appraisal today has developed from the established maintained school headteacher appraisal approach of setting three objectives in an autumn term meeting, often in December after all other employees have had their appraisal meetings."

NGA’s Executive LEAD Framework

Recognising that changing culture is one of the hardest things to do, we wanted to develop a support package for boards that coaches them through the first year of implementing this improved approach, which is based on the principles of Leadership – Effectiveness – Accountability – Development (LEAD).

As with any improvement journey, we begin support by facilitating an honest evaluation. We look at the organisation's culture, relationships, policies, and practices, and create a custom action plan to develop the board’s executive performance management system to grow and support its executive leader. We look at the executive role description (you would be amazed how often one doesn’t exist) and consider how well the board understand the competencies and development needs of their executive. We believe it should be accepted that most headteachers and CEOs are ‘learning on the job’, and that systems and processes should recognise this by building in development support and time for the executive. The executive leader role is a high-stakes, high-profile role that is fundamental to the success of a school or MAT. We must invest in developing the person in this role to minimise the risk of under-performance or, worse still, failure. We owe it to our pupils and our staff.

Imagine a complete support package for boards to develop their executive performance management. That’s what we can provide through our talented consultancy team, who bring experience, vision and passion to this new service.

We have worked with our trusted partners and sector experts to bring all the elements together, including:

A continuous performance management process
360-degree facilitated review for executive leaders
Executive leader job description
Pay benchmarking
Executive coaching
Wellbeing support
Culture and relationship analysis

But this is about more than a set of tools or services. It is about raising expectations of governance. If boards are serious about accountability, leadership and long-term system improvement, then the way we support and challenge our most senior leaders has to change. Not incrementally, but fundamentally. Executive performance management cannot remain an annual exercise. It must become a continuous, strategic responsibility at the heart of effective governance. Because when we get this right, we do more than improve processes. We strengthen leadership, we build more resilient organisations, and we create the conditions for better outcomes for children.

The case for change is clear. The responsibility to act now sits with boards.