Videos

David talks about why school websites matter to governors:-

Governors don't always keep an eye on what's on their school website - but they should. Recent changes to Ofsted and new requirements from the DfE have raised the profile of websites - and they can be used for so much more. In this video I talk about these issues.

Stephen and David discuss the National College and governor training:-

Stephen Adamson and David Marriott discuss the role of the National College for School Leadership in developing and supporting Chairs of Governors.

Stephen and David discuss dealing with complaints:-

Stephen Adamson and David Marriott talk to each other about the sort of complaints that school governors may have to deal with and the best ways of doing so.

Stephen and David discuss recognition for governors:-

Stephen Adamson and David Marriott talk about ways of giving public recognition to the work and achievements of school governors - and whether governors really want it.

Stephen and David talk about the new Ofsted regime and possible effects on governor recruitment:-

David Marriott and Stephen Adamson talk to each other about the raised expectations on governors in the new Ofsted framework and what effect this may have on governor recruitment.

Stephen talks about the information governors have to make available online:-

Stephen Adamson talks about the information that governors are now obliged to make available online to parents.

Stephen and David discuss whether school governors should be paid:-

Stephen Adamson and David Marriott question recent proposals for paying school governors in England and discuss the practical and philosophical implications of doing so.

David and Stephen discuss support and data:-

In this one Stephen and I talk about support for governors - how it's changing, what works and what might be needed in future.

David talks about for profit schools:-

In this video I talk about the pros and cons of schools being run for profit. This has been brought into sharp relief in the light of the DfE's Investigation Report on Priory Federation of Academies Trust (March 2012) where financial management went badly awry.

Stephen and David discuss skills versus representation on governing bodies:-

For the last few years there has been an ongoing debate about whether smaller, more "professional" governing bodies are preferable to and more effective than traditional stakeholder-based ones, where representation is given a higher status than skills. We think it's a rather sterile debate, say why and discuss a number of issues arising from the opposing models.

David on school governors and social media:-

Social media offers governors many opportunities for fast communication and discussion, and can be enormously helpful. At the same time, their use can seriously undermine privacy and confidentiality. In this short video I reflect on the pros and cons and suggest a way of managing the use of social media by governors.

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Thinking about becoming an academy? Wondering about the pros and cons? Not sure how to do it? These videos explore different aspects of the academy issue, drawing on the experiences and insight of Claire Emery, who has been through the process.

Claire Emery introduces herself and explains how academy trust members are chosen.

Claire Emery discusses the structure of the academy governing body.

Claire Emery talks about the governance of academies.

Claire Emery and Marya Marriott talk about how Claires Academy consulted staff and other stakeholders about the transition and dealt with any other staff issues.

Claire Emery and Marya Marriott talk about the moral dilemma facing governors considering academy conversion and about buying educational services.

It is often claimed that academies raise standards of pupil performance. Here Claire emery and Marya Marriott talk about that issue and the risks posed by the conversion process.

Claire Emery and Marya Marriott talk about how much time it takes to convert to academy status and the additional skills needed by governors in making the change.

Claire Emery and David Marriott talk through the process of converting to academy status from Claires experience.

Claire Emery discusses some of the issues facing primary schools contemplating becoming academies with David and Marya Marriott.

Claire Emery discusses issues arising from the sponsorship of primary schools as academies with David and Marya Marriott.

Claire Emery and David Marriott talk about why her schools governors chose to become an academy, especially in relation to any financial advantage and the freedoms that come with academy status. Claire discusses how real those freedoms are in practice.

Claire Emery explains why her governing body decided that the school should become an academy.

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