Informed by head about impending 188 notice at sub-committee meeting,

I then informed 1 or 2 staff (trying to be transparent + supportive really, afterall, I am representing them !)
At full governors meeting, head had asked chair to state that no-one should be divulging info. about 188's, too confidential, etc.

I thought meetings about public employees spending public money should be in the public domain ?
Is this naive of me?

tom clancy:

It should have been made quite clear to you when you took up your role as a staff governor that the discussions at any and all governors meetings are strictly confidential.

I'm not sure that that is strictly correct, Tom.  Anyone can attend a Full Governing Body meeting (and on rare occasions this has happened) so unless there is some way of stopping 'visitors' from discussing what they have heard at the meeting it can't be a confidential meeting.  Parts of the meeting can be made confidential and those parts should be minuted seperately (part two or confidential minutes) and visitors asked to leave.

I would have thought that fact that the school was considering making staff redundant would not be confidential (although I can understand why that approach might be taken).  But discussing who will or won't be getting a section 188 notice would be strictly confidential, particularly if they had at that point not been issued.

tom clancy:

It should have been made quite clear to you when you took up your role as a staff governor that the discussions at any and all governors meetings are strictly confidential. In the normal course of events, once the minutes of the meeting have been signed off as a true record, they are in the public domain.

Your motivation may have been laudable, but you were wrong to take the action you did.

That is not correct.              The general rule should be that most items on the agenda are open.  The GB meeting agenda should be posted on the noticeboard or web site.

We allowed two  Y12/13 pupils to be observers at GB meetings, and the chair asked for their contribution on appropriate matters.  But when an item came up about staff or confidential items they were asked to leave the room for that item.