Meetings

The agenda can be the difference between an efficient, productive meeting and one that rambles on. Find out how to prepare, draft and finalise your agenda so you can run efficient meetings.

Here's a rundown of the headline issues you're likely to cover in your full governing board or committee meetings this term. Read on to understand each issue, and feel prepared with links to further reading and questions to ask.

Download our template agenda for curriculum/standards committee meetings. Get help with deciding what to include, so your meetings run smoothly and your committee is focused and can monitor effectively.

Getting the minutes right is essential to your role as a clerk/governance professional. Read our top tips for taking and writing up notes, then use our handy template and checklist to save valuable time.

As a clerk/governance professional, learn how to send, amend, approve and file the minutes (including committee minutes) for maintained schools and academies.

Understand how to make minutes confidential and what to do if you've had a breach. Get to grips with the rules around releasing confidential minutes to Ofsted inspectors or in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

There are no rules on when you should call an extraordinary meeting of your board. See examples of when other schools and trusts have needed this type of meeting and be clear on the process for convening one, so you can meet your requirements.

Learn what it means for a meeting to be quorate and how to calculate a quorum to make sure you have the votes you need to get business done.

Wellbeing and workload issues affect governors, too. Read on for practical steps you can take to protect your governors and make sure your board is working at peak efficiency.