Governor Visits to School Making the most of school visits and getting to know your school Welcome

Aims To understand why visits to the school by members of the governing board are important To understand how whole-school agreed protocols can make visits by members of the governing board more effective To look at how visits are recorded, to inform the governing board’s next steps and provide evidence of impact

Why do governors visit? “If governing bodies are to monitor and evaluate the school’s work they need to visit the school. When handled well, these visits build up trust and respect between staff and the governing body, and they allow governors to monitor the school’s work in a way that is far more supportive than if they just attend meetings ” (Ofsted) Governor visits work well when the focus of the visit is agreed in advance and is understood by all involved.

Governor visits are important: To increase the governing board’s understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. To show to staff and pupils that the governors are interested in the life, work and achievements of the school. To enable governors to see evidence of school policies, strategies and approaches, as part of the governing board’s monitoring role.

Types of school visit It is important that your governing board maintains a profile at school events, for example by attending school fairs, concerts and plays. Formal visits to the school, i.e. those “commissioned” by your governing board where governors are acting as representatives of the governing board, need careful planning.

Purpose of school visits Formal visits should have a clear focus and should be linked to priorities in your school improvement plan. They are part of the school’s self-evaluation process; providing the opportunity for governors to see the school’s policies and strategies in action. A visit may also focus on how the school’s vision, values and ethos impact on the daily life and work of those in the school community.

Planning a Programme of Visits Your board should do this at the start of the year and in line with the priorities on school development plan. The key question is: How are we going to use our governor visits this year to support our monitoring of current key priorities?

Planning a Programme of Visits To consider when planning a visit programme: How many visits – and at what points in the year? How frequently will each governor visit? If there are barriers preventing some governors from visiting, how will these be overcome? Do governors want to establish a link with classes, or subjects leaders… or in another way? How will new governors be included?

Other considerations Do governors want to agree a list of suggested questions, or common themes to look out for? How will governors seek the views of pupils? Are there circumstances where it would be sensible to agree an approach in advance; eg what will the governors do if they see something that concerns them? Will there be an agreed protocol about governors visiting their child’s class?

Your school visits policy / protocol A written policy/protocol, shared with governors and staff, ensures that the boundaries and expectations around school visits are clear to all. Do you have a policy / protocol? If so, when was it last reviewed?

Your school visits policy / protocol A well-written policy / protocol will outline why school visits are important. It will highlight the key requirements of the process and what the mutual expectations and requirements are. And it will specify what will happen before, during and after the visit. What do you think should be considered before and during the visit? What might some potential barriers be?

Before the visit Visits should be pre-arranged. Who will be involved in setting up and communicating the visit? Visits should start and end with a short meeting with the Headteacher. Why is this important? For class visits, the governor should know the staff names, what lesson is being taught and how they are going to be involved in the lesson. How will this be arranged? Some protocols have a ‘what if…?’ section. Can you think of some ‘what if…’s you’d like to include?

During class visits Try to meet with the staff before the lesson starts. What would they would like you to do during the lesson? Be mindful that you are in their professional space and your presence will alter class dynamics. Establish whether it’s ok / when it’s best to talk to pupils, ask about their work, look at books etc Write down your recollections of the lesson as soon as possible afterwards, to help you with your report. Remember and follow the school’s procedures and protocols whilst in school. Safeguarding awareness.

Please bear in mind… Governor visits are not about making judgements on the quality of teaching and learning. This is the role of the Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team, as part of their line-management of the staff (including their performance management). Of course, the governing board is entitled to a clear view on the quality of teaching and learning, and improvement strategies that have been adopted. This will be reported to the governors by the Headteacher.

After the visit Thank the staff, and any pupils you may have met, for hosting your visit. Have a short debrief with the Headteacher. WRITE A VISIT REPORT for the governing board. Confirm the protocol for sharing the report. (Usually - share it with the Headteacher first, then the board; and the Head will share with the staff.) Visit reports feed into the board’s discussion and are evidence of your impact as a governor (gold-dust!)

Visit report template (see handout) The report should record the key findings of your visit in relation to the monitoring objective(s) that were set. Who did you meet and what did you see / discuss? In terms of the key priorities – how did what you observed / discussed provide evidence that the school’s approaches and strategies are proving effective and that milestones are being met? Are there any particular issues to be brought to the board’s attention via your report? What are the next steps / the follow up to this visit?

Reporting at governor meetings It’s a good idea to have a standing agenda item for governor visit reports. The board should triangulate its findings from governor visits with the other information it receives (eg from the Headteacher’s report, subject leaders’ presentations, survey findings, performance data etc) Do all these match up and support each other? All these ‘inputs’ need to feed into the governor discussion, so that informed decisions can be taken.

Quiz (Part 1) When undertaking a school visit, should governors 1.   Question  Do  Don’t  Maybe  1.  Arrive unannounced      2. Agree the purpose of the visit with the governing body and the headteacher 3. Prepare carefully 4. Give praise where it is due 5. Go in like an inspector 6. Sit at the back making notes 7. Talk to the teacher while s/he is teaching

Quiz (Part 2) When undertaking a school visit, should governors 8. 9.   Question  Do  Don’t  Maybe  8.  Leave the lesson without making any comment      9. Discuss any issues that arise with the headteacher 10. Shadow a child for part of a day 11. Visit during an Ofsted inspection 12. Try to attend special functions 13. Develop links with a class, year group or subject area 14. Involve the staff you worked with when drafting your report to the governing body

Recap Ensure your governing board agrees / has agreed an appropriate policy/protocol and that this is shared with the staff. Plan a programme of visits across the year to monitor the current key priorities. Visit objectives to be clear. Agree visit setting up, debriefing and reporting arrangements. Give visit reports due weight at governor meetings to ensure they are being used to inform the board.

Any questions? A model school visits protocol document can be found online in the Governor Resources section of the RBWM Education Standards website – or will be emailed to you on request (see address below) For this, or other school governance support please email: Rebecca.Walker@achievingforchildren.org.uk