Overview The Governing Body’s Role in School Improvement

The Governing Body’s Role in School Improvement

Firstly, let’s think about why we have governing bodies in our schools. Your governing body’s prime function isto ensure your school improves the education it provides for its pupils.

• As governors you and your colleagues are required to:

• take a strategic role in the management

• act as a critical friend to the headteacher and the school

• ensure accountability

To achieve this you must:

• receive information about and be involved in the analysis of the school’s performance

• compare it with past performance, national averages and similar schools

• establish what the school’s strengths and weaknesses are

• decide the main priorities for improvement

• set targets and timescales

Once you have done this, your head teacher and staff, with the support of governors, will produce a schoolimprovement plan (SIP), or school development plan (SDP), that sets out the priorities and targets anddescribes in detail all the actions to be taken to achieve the improvements. This plan will be considered andapproved at a governing body meeting.