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.

Last reviewed on 5 October 2021
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 35344
Contents
  1. Listen to 'pupil voice' on your visits
  2. Questions to ask during learning walks
  3. How to arrange pupil panels for a monitoring visit
  4. Questions to ask pupil panels 

Thanks to Jackie Beard, Gulshan Kayembe, Vicky Redding, and Fred Birkett, our associate education experts, for their help writing this article. 

Listen to 'pupil voice' on your visits

Governor school visits are an important part of your monitoring function as a governor. They give you an opportunity to shine a light on the 'pupil voice' and find out about their school experiences.  

Broadly, there are 2 types of visits you might make as a governor:

  • Formal monitoring visits are where you discuss the progress of the school in a particular area with the relevant staff member
  • Learning walks are where you'll go around the school with the relevant staff member to get a feel for a particular area. You're likely to talk to a range of staff members and pupils

Together with staff feedback and parents' feedback, you'll get a