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School and trust newsletters: governance roles

Find out what questions you can ask about your school or trust’s newsletter and what you can expect it to cover, so you can make sure your community is kept up to date.

Last reviewed on 22 November 2023
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 30319
Contents
  1. Stay strategic
  2. What you can expect to see in a newsletter
  3. Examples from schools and trusts

Stay strategic

It’s not your job to tell leaders what should be in the newsletter.

Instead, your role may involve:

Writing a governor/trustee specific section or newsletter

Using the newsletter to monitor engagement with parents/the wider community

What you can expect to see in a newsletter

  • Upcoming dates, such as:
    • Important deadlines (e.g. pay deadlines for school trips, university admission deadlines)
    • Events for parents (e.g. parents' evenings, options evenings, consultations)
    • Events for the whole school or trust community (e.g. fairs, sports days, dances, plays, recitals, achievement assemblies)
    • Other events (e.g. non-uniform days, INSET days)
  • Contact details, and who to contact about specific issues
  • Changes to :
    • Policies and procedures, or reminders about aspects of them 
    • School staff, trust central team or governing board personnel
  • School menus
  • Updates about local safeguarding issues
  • Relevant news and events in the local community, including from any PTA you have
  • Updates on work achieved by your:
    • Headteacher(s) or other senior leaders
    • Governing board
    • Subject leads or heads of departments 
    • Student council(s)
  • Pupil achievements, such as:
    • Examples of great pieces of work, like poems and artwork
    • Awards they've received
    • Success in competitions
  • Reports on events and trips
  • Trust-wide improvement or staff training initiatives
  • News about partnerships with other organisations

Newsletters aren't a requirement, so Ofsted won't look for one and there's no set format it should follow.

Examples from schools and trusts

Schools

Trusts

Sources

Jackie Beard is a national leader of governance, advising governing bodies in all aspects of their role. She also sits on an independent appeal panel for exclusions and admissions for a local authority. 

Fred Birkett is an experienced teacher and education consultant. He has been a governor for 20 years in primary and secondary schools and a chair of governors for half that time.

Gulshan Kayembe is an independent consultant who has experience of inspecting schools. As a consultant, she provides mentoring for senior leaders and has worked as an external adviser on headteachers’ performance management.

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