The pro-forma provided through the link on this page forms part of an on-going research project designed to support school governors in Wales. The project is funded by HEFCW & conducted by WISERD, Cardiff University.
We would like your help in creating case studies or reflections based on your experience as a school governor. These could relate to issues you have addressed as a governing body or individually as a governor. Problems may have been resolved successfully or hard lessons learnt through things not going to plan. Whatever the situation, if you think other governors could find it interesting, we’d like you to describe it.
https://socsi.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bKKlE5n2qh7f1qZ
Questions and prompts are here as suggestions. Please keep in mind the level of detail a fellow governor would need in order to understand the descriptions provided. If you have more than one case study to offer, please complete the form separately for each new topic.
Please also use the space to tell us about issues you would like to hear about.
Below is a list of topics that governors have told us they would like to hear about from their colleagues working in other schools. Please have a look at the list and consider providing information about your experiences of one or more of these:
- What makes a good Chair
- Encouraging governors to be more active
- Challenging questions to Headteacher (HT)
- Governing body (GB) meetings – keeping to the agenda
- Addressing concerns about staff and other issues within school Dealing with complaints
- How to understand education and data better
- Governing body structures
- Effective school visits
- Governor responsibilities
- How to be a critical friend
- Role of committees
- Staffing issues (HR)
- Appointment of staff
- How to engage better with teaching staff Issues with PTAs and relationship to GBs
- Managing school finance
- Redundancies
- Communication with parents
- Contributing in GB meetings Educational jargon
- How to cope with financial shortages
- How to recruit a more representative GB
- Safeguarding issues
- School & educational structures
- Strategic focus rather than operational
- Admissions
- Buildings and premises
- Confidentiality issues
- Dealing with bullying and harassment
- How policies & initiatives impact school
- How to best use PDG funding
- How to improve working environment within a school
- How to make a difference in your school
- How to manage sickness of HT
- How to relieve pressure on HTs and staff
- Interviewing – recruitment
- New curriculum changes
- Performance management
- Recruitment of parent governors
- Relationship between GB and HT
- Role of vice chair school closure
- School inspections
- Time management in role
- Variations between LAs and GBs
- Whistleblowing
- Working with a challenge advisor
Link to case-study pro-forma: https://socsi.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bKKlE5n2qh7f1qZ
School Governor Reflections Resource 