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Is there an upper age limit for governors?

Bully of a head

Can a headteacher select or bar staff from standing for staff governor posts?

Clearer guidelines on a governing body's role in staff promotion

Protecting staff - a governor's duty of care

Can parents remove a governor?

Governing body's involvement in internal promotion

Independent school governors (14/08/06)

Chair of governors is forcing us to vote for his preferred candidate

How long can a person serve as a governor? (02/08/06)

How to elect a staff governor

I am being investigated over an assault (02/08/06)

I have a grievance against the head, chair of governors and HR (02/08/06)

Overseas-trained teacher without QTS for deputy head? (02/08/06)

Will acting deputy head face redundancy? (02/08/06)

Can we have two co-chairs of governors? (19/07/06)

Governors in the staffroom (19/07/06)

LEA governor interfering in governor business (19/07/06)

No training for child protection governor role (19/07/06)

Parent governor with criminal past (19/07/06)

Procedures for parent governor elections (19/07/06)

Spouse of staff as chair of governors (19/07/06)

What are the general pros and cons of confederation? (19/07/06)

Will the governing body support me if I refuse to teach classes over 30? (19/07/06)

Defending against an appeal of entry (03/07/06)

Finding a sympathetic ear (03/07/06)

Governors' roles on disciplinary panels (03/07/07)

Headteacher's right to vote? (03/07/06)

No quorum, no head (03/07/06)

Teacher governors at teaching post interviews (03/07/06)

Threat of closure (03/07/06)

Updating school policies (03/07/06)

What's the point in sitting on this committee? (03/07/06)

Can school staff chair governor committees? (07/07/06)

Asking the right questions - key points? (30/06/06)

Can a headteacher become a teaching staff governor? (30/06/06)

Claims of harassment by head (30/06/06)

The right to a clear complaints procedure (30/06/06)

Agencies will not register me without a QTS (06/06/06)

Can a governing body decide that they won't have a staff governor for a period of time? (06/06/06)

Can a staff-governor chair a governors' committee? (06/06/06)

Collusion in sacking (06/06/06)

More discussion on a previous Q&A about references (06/06/06)

No confidence in the governing body over redundancy (06/06/06)

Providing support for parents with concerns (06/06/06)

Should a governor sit on an interview panel if there is a conflict of interest? (06/06/06)

Concern over feeder primaries (05/05/06)

Governor ready to be a deputy head? (05/05/06)

Governors' minutes (05/05/06)

What are the rules regarding the election of a teacher governor? (05/05/06)

What's the standard time frame for electing a new teacher-governor? (05/05/06)

When can governors see references? (05/05/06)

Books about school governors for reception age children (06/04/06)

Complaints against the head - follow-up question (06/04/06)

Governors' concerns about new headteacher (06/04/06)

Is a cluster group the first step towards federation? (06/04/06)

Mistrust and unhappiness with a headteacher (06/04/06)

Parent-governor vs. the music co-ordinator (06/04/06)

Re-starting the staff council (06/04/06)

What is the evidential burden of staff investigating offensive material in a pupil's possession? (06/04/06)

A headteacher's line manager (22/03/06)

Can a headteacher also be the Special Needs Link Governor? (22/03/06)

Can a part-time member of staff be chair of governors? (22/03/06)

Can a support-staff governor post that gets no nominations be offered to a teacher? (22/03/06)

Should parent governors be part of the staffing sub-committee? (22/03/06)

Grievance issued against primary headteacher (08/03/06)

Minuting disciplinary meetings (08/03/06)

Preparing for my first governor role (08/03/06)

Reviewing literacy lessons (08/03/06)

School of concern (08/03/06)

SENCOs and CPD (08/03/06)

What is the Church of England's Barchester Fund? (08/03/06)

Who is eligibile for community governor? (08/03/06)

Students on appointments panels: just tokenism? (08/03/06)

Complaints against the head (25/01/06)

Induction pack for new governors (25/01/06)

Information needed about governor vacancies

Teachers and students to become associate governors (25/01/06)

Can a school employee be a vice-chair? (05/01/06)

Can parent governors work part-time in their school? (05/01/06)

How do staff register a vote of no confidence in the head? (05/01/06)

Why wasn't I informed? (05/01/06)

Conditions where the LEA can over rule a Governing Body’s vote (05/01/06)

Advice for teachers facing disciplinary proceedings (05/12/05)

Concern over headteacher's cloak-and-dagger approach to new school structure review (05/12/05)

How do I become a deputy headteacher? (05/12/05)

Intimidated by the governors (05/12/05)

Our Board of Governors is not performing properly (05/12/05)

What to do when teachers act unprofessionally? (05/12/05)

Can a parent governor work full time in the same school? (16/11/05)

A doomed appeal - how can I get a fair hearing? (16/11/05)

Can the conduct of a head influence a panel's judgement? (16/11/05)

Have you been asked to be a governor but feel unsure? (16/11/05)

Vote of no confidence - What next?

Advice for governors with specific curriculum links (16/11/05)

How to handle a parental complaint over alleged child restraint (16/11/05)

Questions to ask when interviewing for a deputy head



		Reviewing literacy lessons (08/03/06)



		Question: I am a new governor at a Kent Primary school. I have been asked to watch and review two literacy lessons. What points should I look for and comment upon? Joan Sallis replies: Firstly I would say don’t be too ambitious to acquire specific expertise. You can’t become an expert in teaching literacy and it would be highly threatening to the teacher if you could. That is the danger of this sort of attachment, remember. Just a few highly specialised words can set up the defence mechanisms. Asking questions is often the best start. Let the teacher demonstrate his or her skills by replying to a few general questions. The areas in which to judge a lesson are (a) the teacher’s lesson plan; (b) how children are grouped (e.g. on fast or slow tables); (c) what texts and materials are used; and (d) the teacher’s own success criteria. Look out for how attention is maintained for 30 or more minutes; whether the teacher regularly stops to make sure everybody is still attentive and up to speed; how it is made more interesting by being interspersed with active moments; whether there is the right degree of praise (important but not so much as to debase the currency – children spot that); what sort of summing up there is at the end; and how much use of the sort of illustrative material which children relate to. This is all just to get your own mind working a bit – please don’t approach the task in too formal or challenging a spirit.

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