ABSTRACT
Full staff meetings are likely to be a common feature of most primary schools. Other regular meetings may include staff who are part of a Key Stage, paired year group, year group and/or subject team. Other meetings may take place on an ad hoc basis. It is likely that the degree of formality with which meetings are conducted will increase with the size of the team involved. Thus in very large primary schools there may be a quite rigid approach to meetings, whereas in very small schools informal discussions at lunch breaks may well turn into unplanned meetings. Certainly, meetings are essential to the effective operation of any school or team but far too many take place that are unproductive or even dysfunctional. Newly appointed middle managers are all too aware that over the years they have attended many meetings which they regarded as a waste of time and which they were resentful of, given all the other things they could have done with the time. Organising successful meetings can be a demanding aspect of middle management and one that is sometimes a source of considerable stress to the inexperienced.
