- to be a good team member, loyal to majority decisions;

- to be aware that a governor’s role is not to involve themselves in the teaching process or the management of the school day by day;

- to set aims and targets and good policies to achieve them;

- to establish sound systems to monitor them;

- to promote good communication with, and accountability to, parents and community;

- to respect the professional knowledge and experience of teachers, while expecting them to value our contribution;

- to spend all the time I can getting to know the school, both by reading and by observing classes at work;

- to encourage all colleagues to do the same;

- to take an interest in teachers’ welfare and working condtions;

- to share their enthusiasms and prai se effort and achievement;

- to be discreet with privileged information about staff and children which being a governor may give me, while encouraging maximum openness in decision-making;

- to be responsible in reporting meetings;

- to encourage the school to listen to parents’ views, welcome their support and give them clear information;

- to be a good ambassador for the school;

- to be critical when necessary within its walls but always loyal outside;

- to be concerned for all children, especially those who have greater needs, and to take a long-term view;

- to start each day afresh, alwaysremembering what a difficult job it is to run aschool.

As a head I will try:

- to value the fresh perspective my governors bring to the school and remember that a school needs it;

- to respect them and to remember that professional knowledge and skills are not the only kind;

- to accept that they care about the school and not question their motives, believing that even if the odd one has mixed motives, trust is the way forward. People can grow. Why else am I a teacher?;

- to share everything about the school with them, good and bad;

- to give them the information they need to carry out their functions, and to try to write and speak in plain words;

- to encourage them to ask challenging questions;

- to welcome their interest and urge them to become more involved in watching the school at work;

- to help them with their team-building problems;

- to eschew the bad habit of tabling papers, which dimin- ishes quality of debate and puts individuals on an unequal footing;

- to start each day afresh, with high expectations and trust.