School governors out there...

[HumanityConfirmed]

Could you tell me a bit about your role please? I am considering this but I don't have a strong professional background and lack confidence. I have worked in education (support roles) for the past 5 years though.

I'm a clerk on two bodies, they love people with classroom experience to join the children and learning committees. You're meant to be a critical friend to the school, so ask questions and ask how they can prove xyz. Feel free to pm me any questions

It's a great experience, but a lot more work than I thought it would be. You do need to have time during the working day to do meetings/ chat to the kids etc which I find hard as I work full time, so sometimes have to take holiday to do my role effectively. As PP says, the role is about being a critical friend, so raising concerns/ tracking issues in a supportive and collaborative way. Also happy for you to message me if you want to

It is a big commitment if you do it properly and can take up alot of time, you will have to undertake training. It can be a thankless behind the scenes job but also very rewarding.
A good governing body will have a broad range of members who all bring different experiences and outlooks.

In the last three months I have

-attended 2 meetings

• sat on an interview panel for y4 teacher
• heard 2 parental complaints
• attended another meeting about cost cutting, redundancy and reducing budget deficit.
• safeguarding training and a safeguarding audit
• attended a governor visit where we looked at the effectiveness of non-streaming in yr 4 and 5 for numeracy
• gone over our data with a fine tooth comb
• attended a permanent exclusion hearing for another one of the schools in our MAT.

So it can be busy, and its not always easy but there is a real sense of being part of something that is worthwhile, and you can really up-skill if you take all the training opportunities offered to you.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate your answers and your offers for further information which I will be taking you up on!