Autumn term 2021 agenda items and how to prepare

Last reviewed on 25 August 2021
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 33632

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.

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Contents

  1. Your meetings might stay virtual
  2. Keep up to date with the latest COVID-19 updates
  3. Continue to monitor the coronavirus catch-up premium
  4. Safeguarding: check compliance with updated guidance
  5. Make sure your school is doing all it can to tackle sexual harassment and abuse
  6. If you're an academy, take care of these academy-specific items
  7. Get cyber security on your school's radar
  8. Elect your chair and vice-chair
  9. Review committees and link governor roles
  10. Approve the school improvement plan
  11. You'll have limited performance data this term
  12. Scrutinise teachers' pay recommendations
  13. Conduct headteacher appraisal 
  14. Be clear on changes coming into effect from September
  15. Get a GDPR update from your data protection officer
  16. Set your governors up with training from The Key
  17. More articles to help you prepare for your next meeting and beyond

Note: you'll likely cover some of the items below in a full board meeting, while others may be delegated to committees, depending on the structure of your governing board. If you're unsure, ask your clerk as they will be best placed to know where you'll be covering each item.

Your meetings might stay virtual

You might decide to continue with remote governance, and/or you may have some governors who still prefer to dial in virtually.

If you want to resume in-person meetings, the clerk or chair should ask your headteacher if this is possible. Your headteacher will take into account your school’s risk assessment to decide when in-person visits and meetings can resume (as explained in the April 2021 school governance update).

While a lot of coronavirus restrictions will no longer apply in September, it's worth keeping up to date with the latest state

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