a dangerous step, argues Dr Bernard Trafford
School governors: love them or loathe them, we can’t do without them. More to the point, we can’t get them.
This is a recurrent theme up and down the country. The most commonly proposed solution to the problem is to pay governors, an idea gaining traction. It would be a damaging and retrograde step.
I can hear colleagues’ howls of frustration: what else can be done when we simply can’t recruit governors?
First take a step back: ask yourself why we can’t find governors. At my privileged independent school in a leafy corner of Newcastle upon Tyne they’re relatively easy to recruit. I also advise a three-year-old free school in the poorest part of Newcastle: that too manages to do well for governors. Why? Because the West Newcastle Academy is a new school with a powerful sense of educational mission.
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