Many headteachers are not going to like this, but...

...the balance of power in schools needs to shift considerably from heads towards the board/governing body.  If governments and local authorities want and/or need schools to look after themselves more, then it's essential that their boards assume more power.

We simply don't have enough headteachers who can run things on their own, with little need for a powerful board.  In fact, we don't even want to encourage such lone ranger leadership, as it so often leads to dodgy ideosyncratic decisions and financial improbity. 

To start with, governors need to have more control over how money is spent - in reality, not just theoretically.  They need to make decisions to spend some money on equipping themselves with the necessary information, knowledge and skill to be able to perform as a board that has complete responsibility for how well the school is run.

Governing body agendas are going to have to be led by the governors, too.  I know that this sounds obvious, but at the moment they are set for the most part according to standardised models provided by local authorities or by the senior leadership. 

Governing board agendas should focus on setting the development plan, monitoring evidenced progress in reaching the targets in the plan, setting the budget and monitoring progress against it, deciding on capital requirements and how they will be financed, closely managing risks, checking the performance of the head.  And little else. 

The sooner governing bodies realise the need to move in this direction, the more quickly they will be able to take the appropriate level of responsibility to ensure their schools reach and maintain outstanding standards. 

The governing body runs the school, with the head acting as their principal agent to do so.  The head reports to the board.  The main role of the governing body is not, in fact, simply to support the head.  Governors need, to my mind, to be much more demanding of the head.

By taking on more authority and accountability in this way, governing bodies will actually lighten the burden on the head, who will no longer be in such an isolated position of responsibility. 

In short, the balance of power needs to shift towards the board/govening body.