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The governing board : Monitoring and school visits

Monitoring and school visits

  • Coronavirus: strategic vs operational examples NewBe clear on how you fit into your school’s response to the coronavirus situation, so you can support your school leaders effectively while maintaining your strategic role.
  • Early Years Foundation Stage: visiting the school Is there any guidance for governors visiting the EYFS? We look at guidance in nursery, infant and primary schools' governor visits policies, including what to look at and how to feed back to the governing body. You will also find examples of questions that governors could ask when visiting the EYFS.
  • Governor school visits Read our one-page summary of governor monitoring visits so that you understand what they are and what’s expected of you. Download a copy to share with your governing board.
  • Governor school visits: a chair’s guide and template schedule School monitoring visits are central to effective governance. Our guide will help you link your board's visits to your school strategy, decide how often they should take place, and support new governors on their first visit.
  • Governor school visits: questions to ask pupils Get more out of your monitoring visits and learning walks - use our questions and advice to talk to pupils with confidence and get the insights you need.
  • Governor school visits: report templates Download and use our proformas to help you take notes and report back from your monitoring visits and learning walks.
  • Governor school visits: your how-to guide Find out what to do before your visit and questions to ask staff, and know what's expected of you with our dos and don’ts. Use our template reports to take notes on your monitoring visits and learning walks.
  • Governors' question bank One of your key responsibilities is to hold senior leaders to account for the running of the school. You can do this by asking challenging questions in meetings and on school visits. See examples of questions and what to look for in answers to help you do this.
  • How often do you go into school? See how often other governors go into school for governor duties.
  • How to hold the senior leadership team to account Providing effective challenge to the SLT is a key part of being a governor. There are several ways you can do it - read about them here.
  • How to monitor your school effectively Even the most ambitious school improvement plans won't yield results without proper monitoring. Work out the best way to organise and deploy your governors in a way that works for your school.
  • Strategic vs operational: practical examples Governors should set the school's strategy and hold senior leaders to account. You shouldn't get involved in the day-to-day, operational running of the school. Sometimes it's hard to walk this fine line, but our practical examples will help you clarify your role.
  • Top tips to get your governors on school visits Find out how you, as the chair, can kick-start your board and encourage all of your governors to be active in school life.