ABSTRACT
The notion of school governors as ‘critical friends’ has been around for some time. One of the most worrying aspects of governance is the lack of control schools have over the appointment process. Governors and there are some occasions when they are needed–exclusion panels, disciplinary hearings and so on–but unless they are properly trained and managed, they can often end up doing more harm than good. In too many schools, governor induction comprises a chat with the head, a tour of the school and attendance at a few committee meetings. Governors have to hold the head to account, but the best head teachers hold themselves to account first, making the relationship with the governors much less threatening and much more manageable. The governors’ role is therefore both external, in the sense that they are looking at the school from an objective standpoint, and internal, since they are part of the school and a key element of its leadership.
