Over the past academic year, governors from more than 1 in 4 schools across England and Wales used The Key for School Governors at least once. Among them were seasoned chairs with years of experience under their belts and newcomers attending their first meeting, and we’re delighted that such a range of governors are reading our articles.
Here are the questions behind the ten most popular articles from the past year:
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Do you have a calendar of significant dates for governors?
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Are there examples of tools to audit the skills of governors?
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How should the governing body plan its work over the course of the year?
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What can I ask to probe the quality of teaching and learning in my school?
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What's been happening recently in the school sector?
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What are the 20 questions for governing bodies?
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What questions might inspectors ask governors?
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Is there guidance for governors visiting schools as critical friends?
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What statutory documents must my school have in place?
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Is there a proforma for a governing body self-evaluation using Ofsted criteria?
What will this coming year’s big questions be about? My money’s on reconstituting the governing body: it’s a task still facing many schools ahead of the 1 September 2015 deadline, and we’re already getting more questions about it from our members. However, Oliver, one of our senior researchers, thinks governors will be asking us a lot more about performance-related pay. We'll have to wait another twelve months to see who wins the wager.