Our governing body has become very good indeed, working with a head who shared information, made decisions after consulting us and the staff - not before - let us in on difficult situations and valued our abilities, skills and experience.

We were always made to feel part of the solution rather than part of the problem. As a result, our loyalty to the school is absolute and our admiration for the staff is boundless. We are the school’s best advocates in the outside world and we are all prepared to put in time and expertise.

In any school where the governors outnumber the teaching staff, this is a valuable asset. Other heads please copy.

We start the new year with a new headteacher so naturally we are a little nervous. Life will never be quite the same again.

But if heads get the governing bodies they deserve, the converse is even more true. She is stuck with us, with all our prejudices, foibles and unreasonable expectations. We chose her from a strong field and after an exhaustive sifting and interviewing process. If we got it wrong we can only blame ourselves.

Wish us luck.

Joan Dalton