Headteachers and Governing Bodies: A match made in heaven?

Once upon a time, I heard a psychologist talking on the radio about what makes a happy marriage. You’d think the answer might take up several volumes. Not true.
“What can you do to guarantee a happy marriage?” he said.
“Marry a happy person”, he answered.
At this time of year when hundreds, maybe thousands, of governing bodies are appointing a new headteacher, it’s worth reminding ourselves that the relationship between governors and the headteacher is critical in the success of a school – whatever model of school it is. Much hard thought goes into the nature of this relationship and how to ac... Read More

There’s nothing that money can’t buy

Except anything worth having

There’s a problem with teaching. Some teachers just aren’t good enough. They’re not working hard enough, they’re not sufficiently talented, their ‘results’ just aren’t up to the mark. Can we quantify this? Well, we’ll do our damnedest, although it’s very difficult to put your statistical finger on it. Never mind. We’ll solve whatever the problem is. We’ll pay people more to get the results we want, even though we’re not quite sure how they’re doing it. That’ll sort it.
There’s a problem with school governance. 350,000 volunteer... Read More