Our thanks to our associate education experts for their advice: David New, Bill Dennison, Keith Clover and Steve Ward.
Stay strategic
The health and safety link governor isn't a statutory requirement, so your role may vary.
Generally, it's your role to take the lead on the governing board's health and safety responsibilities, but be sure to keep your role strategic.
For example, you won't:
- Inspect the school yourself or decide if it's safe
- Tell your school leaders what they need to do to make your school safe
- Organise contractors
- Write policies and procedures
These things are all operational and will be dealt with by your school leaders.
Monitor key health and safety documents
Risk register: ask questions about how leaders are mitigating risks to see how well the school deals with them Incident log: ask questions about any trends you can see, to make sure