Editor’s note: this article is longer than our usual posts but we wanted to include a diverse set of opinions and perspectives on the concept. Remote governance, or flexi-governance, is a model of school governance that allows for at least a minority of board members to attend meetings remotely.
Fortunately, highly traumatic events are not a common occurrence. But, when they do happen they can have devastating and long-term consequences for those affected. School staff are particularly vulnerable, working in stressful conditions and being exposed to a wide variety of potential sources of trauma in the school community beyond…
The mental health and wellbeing of school staff and their pupils is closely linked. If teachers and school staff work in an environment where wellbeing is prioritised and they feel supported and valued, their pupils will also reap the benefits. So how can schools go about this,…
This guest blog from Stonewall discusses why it’s important that schools have a particular focus on LGBT pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, and the role governors can play in ensuring this happens. In the context of the Coronavirus pandemic, schools and colleges have had to find new ways of…
Wellbeing has been a big issue in schools for a long time, and rightly so. But the events of 2020 have put mental health and wellbeing at the forefront in schools, with lockdown, grief, uncertainty, and changes to our way of life all taking a toll on…
Like many universities, the majority of Durham’s staff is now working from home. We have been forced to postpone or cancel our upcoming events for our School Governor Network. To enable our governors to keep in touch, and keep the network alive, we have created a Microsoft Teams space…
Lucy Goodwin is a governor at Evelina Hospital School in London. Here, she shares her experience of being on the governing board of a school that’s based in a hospital building, providing children in hospital with an excellent education. “I’ve been a governor at Evelina hospital school for around a…
Mary Isherwood OBE is the headteacher at Camberwell Park School in Manchester, which is a primary special school. Mary talks about the need for good governors on the board, and the challenges the school faces. “Camberwell Park is a special school for pupils of primary age who…
Mark Twigg is a governor at a special school in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. He shares his experience of joining the board without any specific experience in SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) and the impact he’s had on the children and their experience of education. “I’ve been a governor…
Phil Martlew is a governor at the City of Liverpool College. “With semi-retirement on the cards, I was thinking about what I could do to keep myself busy using the skills I’d gained in business. I’ve worked in the private sector all my life so I wanted to give…
Paul Montgomery is a governor at Humberstone Junior School in Leicestershire. He shares his motivations for the role and talks about the difference governors can make to children’s life chances. “I knew I needed to do something to keep my brain active since retiring recently. Being a school governor…
Langford Primary School is in a deprived area of London, sandwiched between very affluent areas. Five years ago, the school was Inadequate. At the end of last year, Ofsted visited and judged the school Outstanding. We asked Chair of Governors, Dominic McGonigal, to give us the inside story. How…