Welcome HEADTEACHERS AND CHAIRS WORKING TOGETHER WORKSHOP

What are the issues – Twitter

Question Is the Chair the Headteacher's line manager? The Headteacher is not accountable to the Chair, but to the governing board. The Chair is not the Headteacher's line manager. The Headteacher is not accountable to the Chair, but to the governing board. The Chair is not the Headteacher's line manager.

Getting the Relationship off to a Good Start Understand each other's roles Be clear about the difference between the role of the Chair as the leader of the board (strategic) and the role of the Headteacher as leader of the operational team. What does this look like?

The Roles Overall responsibilities. HeadteacherGoverning Board Runs the school on a daily basis Reports to the board on the school’s performance and advises the governors re next steps Is the main influence on the governing board’s decisions Participates in board discussion as a member of the board Determines the aims, ethos and priorities of the school Delegates the authority to run the school to the Headteacher Holds the Headteacher to account for the school’s performance (support/challenge) Is accountable to monitor and review, and to report school’s performance to stakeholders

Getting the Relationship off to a Good Start Understand the Boundaries The boundary between the Headteacher’s and Chair’s role is not always well defined and clearly understood by school leaders and governors. There is often a grey area. What does your grey area look like?

Get to Know Each Other Understanding each others' motivations, and what the aspirations and concerns are for the school or academy really helps to focus the relationship on delivering the best possible outcomes. What could this look like for you?

Building the Relationship It is important to communicate more rather than less. This helps to build trust and ensures there are no surprises. What could you do differently to improve communication?

Building the Relationship Challenge and support Chairs need to encourage challenge of the Headteacher where necessary, but should also make sure they actively support the Headteacher. Headteachers have a tough job to do, and they need to know that during good times and bad, the Chair is with them, supporting them. Do we encourage governors to challenge well and appropriately?

Bridging the Gap Get to know each other – Do you hold informal meetings? Explore your expectations of each other Identify the priorities for the school on which you will work together – Have you established how the governing board will monitor these priorities? Establish the style and pattern of your meetings – Are meetings smart? Establish a pattern for the work of the governing board for the coming year – Do you meet to discuss the agendas?

Bridging the Gap Rules for a successful relationship: Accept the need to follow agreed practices (Terms of Reference) Accept one another’s strengths and weaknesses Respect one another, and the difficulties faced in each other’s role. Share responsibilities and workloads – Regular meetings Do not break confidences (Code of Conduct) Be loyal to the school

Suggestions for Working Together In agreeing how best to work together, consider the following question at all times: Do you both have an agreed understanding of what you need to do to support each other in carrying out your respective roles, to improve the education of the pupils?

Suggestions for Working Together Agree on the frequency of informal meetings The frequency of informal meetings between the Chair and the Headteacher may differ depending on respective working arrangements and preferences, the size and phase of the school, the issues facing the school and the time commitments of both. But a schedule does make a difference…..

Suggestions for Working Together Set informal meeting agendas and take notes An advantage of having an agenda and taking notes at these meetings is that the meeting is likely to be more focused. Having a record of the meeting enables the Chair and Headteacher to reflect afterwards and decide what should be shared with the governing board. Does the clerk have a role in any of your informal meetings? How about the vice-chair?

Suggestions for Working Together Possible items for an informal meeting agenda What are our priorities as set out in the school improvement plan? Which of these priorities needs to be discussed now, if any? Have any other issues arisen, either internally (Headteacher, staff, pupils, governors, parents) or externally (local authority, other schools, central government)? Do these need to be discussed? (Chairs) How can I support the Headteacher in the above?

Suggestions for Working Together Share information with the governing board The Chair's relationship with the Headteacher must not exclude the governing board. Careful thought should be given to which information needs to remain confidential between the Headteacher and the Chair, and which should properly be shared with the governing board.

Suggestions for Working Together Agree to a ‘no surprises’ rule Chairs and Headteachers may want to give each other notice of issues that they are going to raise at a governing board meeting.

Suggestions for Working Together Contact each other in emergencies The Headteacher and Chair should be available to each other in emergencies, but must also respect each other’s privacy and work-life balance.

What could make a difference Open Discussion What do feel are the barriers to better working together? How can we overcome these?