Top tips to get your governors on school visits

Boost your board's engagement with school life with these simple ways to encourage them to go on school visits.

Last reviewed on 19 March 2024
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 36316
Contents
  1. 1. Make school visits an expectation
  2. 2. Have a visit schedule
  3. 3. Give each governor a responsibility
  4. 4. Make visits easier using our resources
  5. 5. Offer mentoring to newer governors
  6. 6. Organise a governor day each year
  7. 7. Include informal visits and events in your schedule
  8. What to do if governors still aren’t participating in school visits

1. Make school visits an expectation

Visits are the bread and butter of a governor's role. Get your governors on board by explaining how valuable visits are for your work as a board, and for supporting school improvement. 

Include it when you recruit new governors

Have school visits as an expectation in all role descriptions when you recruit a new governor. Use our templates to help you do this, and store them in a folder on GovernorHub so they're easily available for your governors.

Make it clear as part of induction

Be upfront about what you expect from the start. Explain that visits allow you to develop a meaningful understanding of the day-to-day running of your school, which allows you to ask better questions and to monitor effectively. 

Find out more in our article about how to induct new governors effectively.

For all of your governors,