How to address tensions between governors and members of staff

What was the issue addressed?

A teacher complained about governor, who has a child at the school. The governor then complained about teacher’s professionalism.

What happened?

The issue came to me as Chair. I followed the complaints procedure and noted ALL conversations. It basically boiled down to personal differences which morphed into a disagreement about school performance. Both parties refused mediation. The teacher remains at the school as there are no issues with their performance. The governor’s child is also doing well.

I wrote a delicately worded letter to both parties recognising their difference but, asking them to act professionally. The teacher has since been attending counselling sessions which are helping.  I worked within the governing body but in close communication with Human Resources at Local Authority level.

The issue hasn’t been fully resolved.

What lessons were learnt?

What did I learn? Sometimes, the jump to an official complaint is made too quickly. In future, I would always ask for parties to attend a mediation meeting. BOTH parties were wrong to launch official letters so soon.

The Local Authority HR help was good.

Reflections…

Have there ever been tensions in your school between a member of staff and the governing body?

How would you seek to bring reconciliation between a governor and member of staff?

Have your say…

Have you had experiences similar to these? What do you think about the situation described?