The e-toolkit enables you to review the way your governing body works to identify strengths and areas for improvement. This is an innovative provision based around Estyn’s inspection framework which will help your governing body improve its knowledge and efficiency in a streamlined way. Key documents can be uploaded easily and shared with governor members. Sections of the toolkit can be completed at any time, that suits the governing body. The annual fee is £48.99 plus VAT.
- Rhos Street School, Denbighshire – Creating a strategic framework
- Llansannor C.I.W. Primary School, Vale of Glamorgan – Strong leadership and strategic plans for school improvement
- Trinant Primary School, Caerphilly – Governing body help strengthen school improvement
- Glasllwch Primary School, Newport – Using distributed leadership to drive improvement
- Ysgol Gynradd Bontnewydd, Gwynedd – Supporting governors to fulfil their role more effectively
- Troedyrhiw Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil – Governor Improvement Groups- The impact on governors’ capacity to support senior leaders
- Thematic Report – School Governors – Acting as critical friends and the impact of governor training
- Pupil participation: a best practice guide
Barkers Lane Primary, Wrexham (2024)
Governors understand and discharge their duties effectively. They conduct monitoring observations alongside staff and join pupil progress meetings. These firsthand experiences ensure that they have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas of improvement for the school. The governing body fulfil their statutory responsibilities in relation to healthy eating and drinking. Working alongside senior leaders, they promote a strong culture of safeguarding. Governors have a strong understanding of the school’s financial situation. They collaborate constructively with senior leaders to prioritise spending to ensure that they use resources effectively to support the needs of their pupils. They make effective use of grant funding, such as the pupil development grant, to support the most vulnerable pupils. For example, the school ensures equality by offering access to extra-curricular provision for music.
Buttington Trewern Primary School, Powys (2025)
Governors are committed to the school and fulfil the role of critical friend purposefully. They have a strong understanding of the school’s context, its strengths and important areas for development, such as improving pupils ’mathematical skills. They play an active role in the life of the school, using their experience and expertise to support leaders and staff to improve provision for pupils. During a period of uncertainty for the school, governors have worked hard to prioritise the well-being of pupils and staff.
Casllwchwr Primary School, Swansea (2023)
The governing body is well informed and effective in its role in supporting the school. Members use their skills and expertise to ask professional questions and provide valuable guidance to school leaders and staff. They undertake a variety of relevant monitoring and evaluation though their sub-committees’ activities and have sound knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They value the work of the whole staff and are particularly proud of the role they play in supporting the needs of the local community. Governors make appropriate arrangements for healthy eating and drinking and support leaders to manage finances effectively in line with the school’s priorities. With the support of the headteacher, they monitor the budget prudently and support staff to ensure that they have high quality resources to best meet the needs of learners.
Coed Glas Primary School, Cardiff (2023)
The governing body is well informed and effective in its role in supporting the school. Members use their wide range of skills and expertise to provide valuable support, guidance and challenge to school leaders and staff. They value the work of the whole staff and are particularly proud of the inclusive nature of the school and the role it plays in supporting the needs of the local community. Governors make appropriate arrangements for healthy eating and drinking and support leaders to manage finances effectively in line with the school’s priorities.
Alun School, Flintshire (2024)
Governance is a strength of the school. The governing body is supportive of the school. Governors carry out their roles as critical friends of the school effectively. They are fully aware of their responsibility to promote healthy eating and drinking. Together with the headteacher and business manager, governors manage the school budget carefully. They plan the spending of the pupil development grant and other grants prudently.
Creigiau Primary, Cardiff (2025)
Governors support the school successfully and hold staff to account sensibly, where necessary. By observing sessions, talking to pupils and staff and by receiving regular reports from the headteacher, they have a sound understanding of standards and provision. This enables them to work effectively with the headteacher to set priorities for improvement. They manage the school’s resources sensibly and intelligently, promote a high attendance rate continuously and ensure that there is a strong culture of safeguarding.
Cwmdar Primary, Rhondda Cynon Taff (2024)
The governing body brings together people from a broad range of backgrounds with a wide skill set that leaders use effectively to inform the work of the school. For example, the link governor for ALN works closely with the additional learning needs coordinator and has arranged visits to other schools which has supported leaders to develop their understanding of ALN reform. Governors are highly supportive of the school and are committed to supporting staff and pupils’ well-being. They have a good understanding of their statutory responsibilities, for example in relation to their role in embedding a positive safeguarding culture. They ensure that the school has a clear policy to promote healthy eating and drinking. Governors have a sound knowledge of the work of the school and its impact in ensuring positive outcomes for all pupils. Many engage in monitoring and self-evaluation activities, for example, taking part in book looks, listening to learners and learning walks. They have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and are beginning to identify areas for development and challenge leaders appropriately.
Ferndale Community School, Rhondda Cynon Taff (2024)
Governors are passionate, reflective and well-informed supporters of the school who provide an important link between the school and its community. They have a suitable understanding of their role in ensuring that the school promotes healthy eating and drinking. Governors challenge senior leaders robustly and play an appropriate role in evaluating the school’s work and setting improvement priorities.
Gwyrosydd Primary, Swansea (2023)
Governors understand the school’s strengths and challenges well. They are aware of the impact periods of uncertainty around leadership are having on the school. Governors work well with the acting headteacher, for example through supporting the development of an extended senior leadership team. They are beginning to resume their roles as part of staff teams that are developing areas of the curriculum. Governors understand the school’s main developmental priorities and why they are a focus for improvement. They are aware of the school’s financial position and plan ahead their spending priorities. They understand their statutory duties for ensuring healthy eating and drinking and, as a result, made changes to the school’s tuckshop.
Hafod y Wern Primary, Wrexham (2024)
Governors are well informed and take an active role in the life of the school. They have a sound understanding of the progress the school is making towards achieving its current priorities as well as implementing national priorities. They act effectively in their role as critical friend and their input often has a positive impact on school improvement, for example in contributing to transition arrangements and to improving consistency in the quality of teaching and learning experiences. The governing body ensures the school complies with its statutory requirement to promote healthy eating and drinking and supports the headteacher and senior leaders well to promote a strong culture of safeguarding.
Kitchener Primary School, Cardiff (2024)
Governors know the school, pupils, parents and the community well. They are proud and supportive and have a sound knowledge of the school’s context. Governors and the headteacher place a strong emphasis on the well-being of pupils and staff and on creating an inclusive environment for learning. Governors and leaders plan and monitor the school’s budget rigorously. They ensure that the school is well resourced and that funding benefits pupils appropriately. Leaders make effective use of the pupil development grant (PDG) to deploy skilled learning support assistants. The support they provide enables identified pupils to make sound progress in their learning, well-being, and in the development of their social skills. Governors take a diligent approach to promoting healthy eating and drinking. For example, the school provides fruit to all pupils, ensuring that financial constraint is not a barrier to pupils consuming a nutritious snack at break time. Members of the governing body discharge their duties successfully through a range of committees and individual responsibilities, often bringing useful expertise to their roles. They support the school’s leaders in prioritising pupils’ well-being and in promoting positive behaviour. Governors use their skills to support leaders to manage finances effectively and to develop a strong safeguarding culture within the school.
Lakeside Primary, Cardiff (2024)
Governors support the work of the school effectively. They are knowledgeable about the school because they receive detailed information from the headteacher, take part in monitoring activities, and meet with teachers. They have a thorough understanding of their roles, responsibilities and statutory duties, including ensuring that the school has appropriate arrangements to promote healthy eating and drinking. Many governors provide good levels of challenge to school leaders, asking probing questions and holding them to account appropriately for pupil progress and school improvement. They support the headteacher to manage the school’s budget and additional funding effectively. This includes allocating and monitoring the use of the pupil development grant appropriately to support identified pupils to improve their early literacy skills and well-being.
Llandeilo Primary, Carmarthenshire (2023)
Governors have a secure understanding of the schools’ strengths and areas for development. They take an active role in school life and self-evaluation and challenge the school to ensure provision is robust. For example, governors challenge the school on provision to develop higher order reading skills and challenge for more able pupils. Governors actively support senior leaders to discharge their responsibilities and ensure staff development and well-being is a priority. For example, governors take a lead on ensuring that all statutory policies are reviewed and ratified, which allows senior leaders time to focus on developing teaching and learning. Governors monitor spending robustly and prioritise provision for pupils. Governors ensure that the school complies with heathy food and drink legislation. Governors work with school leaders to ensure a robust safeguarding culture.
Maes yr Haul Primary, Bridgend (2024)
Senior leaders and governors use the pupil development grant well to support pupils from low-income families, for example, by subsidising school trips and providing reduced cost school uniform. Governors are supportive of the school and fulfil the role of critical friend well. They have a suitable understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. The school has a positive relationship with parents, it is a welcoming environment where leaders and staff value parents’ views.
Monmouth Comprehensive School, Monmouthshire (2023)
Governors are very supportive of the school and provide suitably robust challenge to all leaders. They are proud members of the school community and carry out their duties diligently, making a positive contribution to the strategic direction of the school. They are committed to ensuring that the school promotes healthy eating and drinking appropriately.
Pencoed Comprehensive, Bridgend (2024)
Governors are knowledgeable and supportive. They are diligent in their work, committed to self-improvement, and well equipped to hold the school to account securely. They challenge school leaders effectively and support them in holding others to account.
Point of Ayr Federation, Flintshire (2025) – Ysgol Gronant and Ysgol Trelogan
Governors demonstrate a strong commitment to their role and use a breadth of expertise to support the work of the federation. They focus appropriately on evaluating the quality of teaching and learning across both schools and develop a clear understanding of strengths and areas for improvement. Governors support senior leaders well to promote a positive culture of safeguarding and ensure that effective policies are in place to promote the importance of healthy eating and drinking among pupils.
Radnor Valley Primary School, Powys (2023)
The governing body is highly effective in its support for the school. Governors are regularly involved in self-evaluation processes, undertaking monitoring activities in partnership with the headteacher, teachers and pupils. They have a good understanding of the school’s priorities for improvement and are beginning to challenge leaders successfully as a critical friend and suggest changes to better support the needs of learners. The partnership work between governors and pupils is a strength of the school. Governors make time to gather pupils’ opinions on the life of the school and their learning experiences and support them when change is needed. The headteacher and governors monitor spending plans and their impact efficiently. The school allocates its grant funding effectively to ensure equity of experience for all pupils. For example, the school uses the pupil development grant to put in place a range of measures to address the impact of poverty, such as the use of additional staff to support learning through intervention groups.
St Paul’s C.I.W. Primary, Cardiff (2023)
The governing body knows the school well and provides effective support and challenge for school leaders. Governors have an effective understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. For example, they know that the strong shared values and inclusive ethos of the school is a strength, and they monitor the impact of interventions on pupil progress. The governing body has appropriate committees in place to meet the needs of the school and its statutory obligations. Governors have a good understanding of the school’s finances, which allows them to keep track of spending and make decisions that contribute to improving provision for pupils. Governors are proactive and know the school community well. For example, they meet with parents to discuss the school’s revised relationships and sexuality education (RSE) curriculum and, as a result, answer parents’ questions and concerns successfully. Governors ensure a strong culture of safeguarding in the school and promote healthy eating and drinking effectively.
Tairgwaith Primary School, Neath Port Talbot (2024)
Governors contribute well to the school’s work and take pride in their roles. They are regular visitors to the school where they play a very active role. They have a good understanding of the school’s improvement initiatives and are particularly involved in the school’s work on building connections with the community and the pupils’ sense of belonging. Their role in evaluating the school’s progress in relation to its improvement priorities and in challenging school leaders is developing appropriately. They support leaders to monitor and use financial resources including grant funding, effectively. For example, they deploy the pupil development grant successfully to fund intervention programmes to improve pupils’ reading skills. Governors ensure that there are suitable arrangements to promote healthy eating and drinking and work well with leaders to contribute to the school’s robust safeguarding culture.
Trimsaran Primary, Carmarthenshire (2025)
Governors challenge and support leaders wisely and focus on improving teaching and learning through a meaningful monitoring cycle. Governors support and challenge the school’s leadership effectively. Together with staff, they focus on improving the quality of the environment, provision and learning effectively. Governors take part in suitable activities within the regular monitoring cycle, which holds teachers to account sensibly for the effect of their work.
Venerable Edward Morgan R.C. Primary School, Flintshire (2025)
The school’s self-evaluation processes are effective and ensure leaders have a sound awareness of the strengths and priorities for improvement. Members of the Governing Body support the headteacher and staff purposefully. They know the school and its community very well and use this knowledge effectively to target the pupil development grant in the areas where it will have the most impact.
Ysgol Bryn Deva, Flintshire (2024)
Governors understand and discharge their duties effectively. They carry out monitoring alongside staff and pupil ambassadors. These first-hand experiences ensure they have a clear understanding of pupil progress. The governing body fulfil their statutory responsibilities in relation to healthy eating and drinking and understand their responsibility in safeguarding pupils. They support leaders to promote a strong culture of safeguarding. Link governors work closely with school staff to develop a good understanding of curriculum implementation. Governors and school leaders manage the school’s finances efficiently and deploy appropriate resources to support improvement priorities. Senior leaders use grant funding, such as the pupil development grant, prudently and monitor the impact on learners closely.
Ysgol Caer Elen, Pembrokeshire (2023)
The governing body is experienced and loyal and protects the school’s interests carefully. Members have a full understanding of the role of the school in providing Welsh-medium provision for its community. They have comprehensive knowledge of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and a secure understanding of the school’s improvement priorities. They use this information effectively to challenge the senior leadership team on a number of important issues. They have useful links to specific areas of learning and experience and use their expertise to act as critical friends to middle leaders. The governing body takes responsibility for ensuring appropriate arrangements for eating and drinking healthily.
Ysgol y Deri, Vale of Glamorgan (2025)
Governors are proud to be associated with the school. They are supportive of and knowledgeable about the school’s work. Many governors visit the school regularly and participate in a suitable range of quality assurance activities, for example learning walks, listening to learners and data evaluation. They have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. The governing body provides an appropriate balance of support and challenge, and holds senior leaders to account in its role as a ‘critical friend’.
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd, Bridgend (2023)
The governing body provides strong support for all of the school’s work. Under the robust guidance of the chair and vice chair, the governing body is very knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They have a good grasp of the main priorities and play a key role in setting the school’s strategic direction. Throughout, they operate effective in their role as a critical friend and challenge senior and middle leaders on important issues, where appropriate. They fulfil their statutory role of promoting healthy eating and drinking effectively.
Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant, Carmarthenshire (2025)
Leaders, including governors, ensure that the school has robust arrangements for reviewing progress, identifying areas and the actions to be implemented to develop the school further. They have a sound understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. For example, they have identified the need to develop effective assessment and feedback practices to support pupils to develop their understanding of how to improve their work further.
Ysgol Llandegfan, Anglesey (2024)
Members of the governing body are extremely supportive of the school and know it well. The body understands and fulfils its duties appropriately. Governors contribute successfully to monitoring activity and this helps them to ensure that they have up-to-date knowledge of the school’s progress in acting on areas for improvement. Members have a sound understanding of the school’s priorities, which are based on rationale. They understand their role in supporting leaders to implement the school’s improvement strategy. Members of the governing body ensure that the school has appropriate arrangements to promote healthy eating and drinking. They use their experiences from their regular visits to challenge and support leaders appropriately. The headteacher and governors review expenditure carefully and manage finances appropriately. They ensure that financial planning and decisions about expenditure link purposefully to strategic improvement priorities. A variety of grants are used and are highly effectively to support provision and promote pupils’ well-being. The schools uses its pupil development grant effectively to ensure appropriate support for pupils.
Ysgol Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, Denbighshire (2024)
Governors understand their roles well and fulfil their responsibilities conscientiously and successfully. They contribute purposefully towards setting the school’s strategic priorities and have a clear understanding of provision and its impact on pupils’ learning. They provide an appropriate balance of support and challenge and hold the school to account on behalf of the local community. The governing body ensures that the food and drink that is provided by the school comply with legislation and has appropriate arrangements to promote healthy eating and drinking.
Ysgol Llanllechid, Gwynedd (2024) – No recommendations apart from continue on their improvement journey!
The contribution of governors is a significant asset to the school. Members are a knowledgeable and active body who take proactive action in the school’s activities to ensure the highest quality provision for pupils. For example, members of the body take part in regular learning walks to gather information and evaluate important elements of the school’s work, such as provision for science and technology. They also engage beneficially with pupils to seek their views about their well-being and the learning experiences that are available to them. They provide the headteacher with significant support but are also very willing to challenge ideas and decisions in a strategic, constructive and sensible manner. Their contribution to school life is a strong feature of the school’s leadership.
Ysgol Maes Owen, Conwy (2023)
Governors know the school well and their regular input creates systematic improvements throughout the school. They are supportive of the headteacher and hold her and other senior leaders to account as critical friends. The headteacher informs governors about pupils’ learning regularly and advises them realistically on how to improve provision, such as creating a library and nurture areas to promote pupils’ learning and well-being. Governors develop a sound first-hand understanding of the school’s activities. Alongside teachers, they undertake learning walks and discuss pupils’ work to measure its quality. This promotes a valuable understanding of the school’s current work. Governors monitor the budget carefully. They ensure that spending decisions, over well-planned timescales, are in line with the school’s priorities for improvement, such as investments in digital hardware, outdoor equipment and reading resources.
Ysgol Parc y Llan, Flintshire (2024)
The governing body is highly supportive of the school and knows the community it serves well. The diligent input of governors, through sub-committees and the full governing body, creates positive improvements across the school. For example, following a learning walk governors recognised the need to develop pupils’ investigative skills in science. As a result, the governors held the senior leadership team to account effectively as critical friends. The governing body fulfil their statutory duties well, for example around healthy eating and drinking. In addition, leaders and staff promote a strong culture of safeguarding that permeates the work of the school. Leaders manage the school’s finances carefully. They ensure that decisions on expenditure align with the school’s priorities for improvement, such as developing adult support within the classroom for pupils with additional needs. Leaders make purposeful use of funding and specific grants, such as the pupil development grant, to provide support programmes to develop pupils’ emotional, social, literacy and numeracy skills.
Ysgol Rhos Helyg, Flintshire (2025)
Governors fulfil the role of critical friend purposefully. They have a strong understanding of the school’s context, its strengths and important areas for development, such as improving pupils’ attendance and reading. Governors understand national priorities well and strike a good balance between support and challenge. Leaders and governors deploy the school’s resources appropriately to support pupils’ learning and well-being. Governors monitor expenditure of the pupil development grant closely, to ensure that pupils benefit from the additional learning support the school provides.
Barry Island Primary School, Vale of Glamorgan (2020)
Governors understand their roles and responsibilities well. They conduct effective termly and sub-committee meetings. They link, according to their strengths, to specific curriculum areas. For example, governors responsible for literacy or wellbeing foster useful links with the relevant school staff to monitor the development of their areas of responsibility. As a result most governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They are very supportive of the school and contribute successfully to the self-evaluation process through looking at pupils’ work, taking part in learning walks and through interviews with curriculum leaders. Leaders and governors monitor the budget effectively and ensure that the school secures value for money. They make prudent decisions to ensure that financial planning conforms to regulations and meets the needs of the school.
Bedwas Infant School, Caerphilly (2020)
The governing body is highly supportive of the school. Many governors undertake monitoring activities that enable them to engage fully in discussion, particularly about pupils’ wellbeing. This ensures that governors have a very good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development, enabling them to challenge the school successfully to improve standards and ensure provision of high quality.
Cardiff High School, Cardiff (2019)
Governors know and understand the school’s strengths and areas for improvement well. They support the headteacher and the senior leadership team effectively to deliver their vision for the school. They have the knowledge and expertise to challenge leaders to continually reflect and improve all aspects of the school’s work, when necessary.
Clwyd Primary School, Swansea (2022)
The governing body understands and discharges its duties effectively. Governors have a secure understanding of the school’s improvement priorities and the rationale behind these. They understand their role in supporting the school to implement its improvement strategy. The chair of governors is in charge of the adjoining children’s centre and this promotes positive collaborative working with the pre-school setting. Governors contribute appropriately to monitoring activity and this helps them to keep up to date with the school’s progress in implementing improvement work. They ensure that the school has appropriate arrangements to promote healthy eating and drinking.
Cowbridge Comprehensive School, Vale of Glamorgan (2019)
Governors play an important role in setting the school’s strategic vision. They have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and improvement priorities, and offer valuable support and challenge to leaders.
Glasllwch Primary School, Newport (2019)
Leaders, staff, governors and pupils have key roles within the school’s self-evaluation processes. Leaders have grouped staff and governors into teams based on the six areas of learning in the new curriculum for Wales. A notable feature of the school improvement process is the way in which staff collaborate with learners, parents, governors and staff from other local schools and colleges, for example as the lead school for the Pupil Participation Learning Network. This supports the school well as a highly effective learning organisation. Governors use an effective system to identify the skills of individual governors that enables each governor to use their particular skills very well in support of the school. For example, governors use their specific expertise to improve provision in Welsh, the DCF and coding skills. They provide purposeful challenge to school leaders, where needed, for example, when ensuring that health and safety is a high priority and taking part in regular health and safety checks.
Nant y Parc Primary School, Caerphilly (2019)
Governors know the school well and play a key role in ensuring an effective strategic direction for the school. Their strategic input into self-evaluation procedures is highly effective. Learning walks and regular visits to school by governors have enhanced their knowledge of the school, based on first-hand knowledge. The headteacher and senior leaders provide regular, detailed reports and presentations to governors, outlining the work of the school. As a result, the governing body has a thorough understanding of the school’s performance, enabling it to act as an effective critical friend. The headteacher and governing body manage the school’s budget rigorously and purchase resources effectively to enrich the curriculum and to raise pupils’ standards.
Oakfield Primary School, Cardiff (2019)
The governing body is very supportive of the school and governors undertake their responsibilities conscientiously. They regularly undertake monitoring and evaluation tasks and, as a result, they have a very good understanding of the school’s main strengths and areas for improvement. There is an excellent balance between support and challenge in the way governors undertake their role as critical friends and hold senior leaders to account. The headteacher and governors manage the school’s budget well. They make efficient funding decisions in order to respond to the school’s needs. The school makes very effective use of additional funding, for example, to increase resources, such as ICT equipment, and to improve the outdoor areas, which impact positively on pupils’ skills and wellbeing.
Penllergaer Primary School, Swansea (2019)
Governors contribute positively to the life and work of the school. They regularly visit the school to undertake supportive activities, for example to consider pupils’ progress in developing their digital skills to create databases. This work provides governors with a secure understanding of the school’s strengths and areas it is working to improve. Governors keep progress against improvement priorities under review. They provide the school’s leaders with a good balance of support and challenge.
Pontnewydd Primary School, Torfaen (2022)
Senior leaders and governors at Pontnewydd Primary School provide clear strategic direction for the development of the school. They work successfully with parents, pupils and staff to set the school’s vision, evaluate the quality of provision and plan and deliver improvements.The role of the governing body in supporting and challenging the work of the school is highly effective. Governors bring a wide range of knowledge, skills and experience, which they use well to support the school. For example, one governor provided chaplaincy support to pupils and staff as they dealt with the impact of the pandemic. As a result of frequent engagement with staff through their link governor work and regular visits to the school, governors have a clear understanding of the quality of provision and the challenges that the school faces. They support the school to manage and deploy its resources effectively, including the use of the pupil development grant. They work with leaders to ensure that suitable policies and procedures are in in place to promote the importance of healthy eating and drinking among pupils.
Rogerstone Primary School, Newport (2020)
Members of the governing body know the school well and undertake their roles effectively. Governors have valuable professional expertise and a varied range of interests, which they use purposefully to support the school. Governors have a sound knowledge of the school’s performance data and its strengths and areas for development. Individual governors support the school’s activities effectively. For example, they undertake regular learning walks and hold meetings with pupils to gather information about the impact of school initiatives. As a result, governors challenge the leadership team effectively as critical friends and hold the school suitably to account for its performance.
St. Philip Evans Primary School, Cardiff (2019)
Governors have a very good understanding of the school’s work and discharge their responsibilities productively. They participate effectively in setting the school’s strategic priorities and in monitoring progress against improvement targets. They undertake high quality monitoring and evaluation tasks, and hence have a very good understanding of the school’s main strengths and areas for improvement. There is an effective balance between support and challenge in the way governors discharge their role in holding the senior leaders to account.
Trinant Primary School, Powys (2019)
Members of the governing body are enthusiastic, supportive and take a detailed interest in the work of the school. They are very knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and improvement priorities. Their role in self-evaluation is well developed and allows them to contribute effectively to the school’s strategic decision-making. For instance, the member of the governing body identified as the ‘self-evaluation champion’, visits the school each month to work with staff to monitor the progress of the school’s improvement priorities. The governing body takes an active role in formulating school improvement actions and is involved directly in working with senior leaders to write aspects of the school development plan.
Ynysowen Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil (2019)
An excellent feature is the way the governing body provides constructive support, challenge and valuable professional expertise for the school. Governors have an exceptional understanding of the school’s performance, guidance and finances. They visit the school regularly and support both pupils and teachers to monitor and focus on the school’s priorities and progress. They receive exemplary reports from the headteacher about the development and progress of the schools’ plans for improvement. They know the school exceptionally well and their strategic input into all areas of school life is highly effective. Another innovative practice of the governing body’s work is that it has established a forum for governing bodies from other local schools to share and work collaboratively on good practice.
Ysgol Bryn Derw, Newport (2020)
The governing body consists of highly committed members with a variety of relevant skills and experience. The school benefits greatly from their contribution. They provide extremely effective support and challenge for the school. In addition to full governing body and sub-committee meetings, governors take part in beneficial quality assurance activities, including learning walks and work scrutiny and projects such as looking at transport issues. This project resulted in training for taxi drivers. Governors have a clear understanding of national priorities, and the work that the school is doing in relation to these, including the curriculum for Wales and the ALN Act. Headteacher reports to the governing body are strategic and highly informative, with a clear focus on data. Governors provide robust challenge.
Ysgol Brynrefail, Gwynedd (2020)
Members of the governing body are very experienced, and their expertise is used effectively to support and challenge the school. Through the hard-working committees and their valuable link meetings with departments, governors have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They play a prominent part in setting a strategic direction for the school and continue to challenge the school in order to improve the few areas in which there is underperformance. They conduct an annual review of their work in order to ensure that they contribute beneficially to the school’s work.
Ysgol Gynradd Talsarnau, Gwynedd (2020)
The school is supported very well by the governors. They also play an active part in comprehensive self-evaluation procedures, which enable them to identify the school’s strengths and most areas for improvement effectively. Their practice of monitoring and gathering evidence of the quality of provision and pupils’ achievement helps them to form a clear and accurate judgement on the standard of pupils’ work and their attainment. As a result, governors’ strategic role as critical friends is developing very successfully and enables them to challenge the school about its performance conscientiously and effectively.
Ysgol Tregarth, Gwynedd (2020)
The governing body is very supportive of the school’s work. Through effective co-operation with staff and discussing examples of pupils’ work, governors have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They use this information thoroughly to make decisions when setting a strategic direction for the school’s work. This enables them to hold the school to account and help to set a clear strategic direction to develop the school as a very effective learning community.
Ysgol y Foryd, Conwy (2019)
The governing body is highly supportive of the school. Many governors undertake monitoring activities that enable them to engage fully in discussion, particularly about pupils’ wellbeing. Teachers or small groups of teaching assistants regularly join governing body meetings and share aspects of their work. This ensures that governors have a very good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development, enabling them to challenge the school successfully to improve standards and ensure provision of high quality.
01443 844532 / 029 2075 3685
[email protected]
Sam MacNamara – 07943 887275 / Jane Morris – 07957 969708
