It’s vital for governors to be included in all key communication that relates to school life. We do this by ensuring they are each on the contact list to receive the weekly newsletter, and by providing them with specific invitations to events such as open days, parent forums, vision/curriculum evenings, Inset days, and so on. We also have a dedicated governor page on our website with information about the governing body and its committees.

The governors themselves also compile a termly newsletter with key information for parents. This may include a spotlight on a new parent governor, or an important message being reinforced on an issue such as attendance or uniform expectations.

Each of our governors is a subject link governor, too. This means that he or she takes an interest in one area of the curriculum and, if this subject is a key area for development in the school development plan, they will be involved in further developing and promoting it in school, under the lead of the teacher. This may involve anything from sharing an action plan, to being part of a book trawl or taking part in a learning tour around school.

Furthermore, we try to refine the governor role by assigning one to each of our five classes. The class governor will be invited to key assemblies, trips and events over the course of the year. 

Jane Tailby is headteacher at Middle Barton Primary School in Oxford