Any school governors trying to influence change

[fartyface]

There may be one already but I wonder if a thread for school governors would be helpful.

I am very frustrated with the actions of the school for which I am governor who are doing their best to keep numbers of students as low as possible.

• no nursery provision
• key worker provision only if you have 2 key worker parents
• finishing a week early to have a picnic for the leaver year.
• weekly newsletters dedicated to asking parents to only send their children if they must

There is no talk of learning; set work is links from bitesize and half the school is empty.

The remainder of the governing body is high on the support, and I don't see much challenge and I am not sure if I have any allies in the governing body - (which comprises a lot of teachers).

I'm new to the governing body having only been around 3 years, the others are all more like 10...

I'd love to get some ideas how to influence change or at least raise my concerns without being completely ostracised.

FATE- Ok you disagree.
You've put me in the box with the old fashioned, yes men, silly primary school governors not the thrusting challenging MAT governors like you.
You've misjudged me on one post and you are stereotyping me.

I was explaining to OP and others that there might be reasons it looks too cosy eg that the chair has a legitimate pastoral role with the head in case they were not aware.
I think I do give critical feedback when I need to. I certainly do not suppress dissenting voices in the GB. I massively encourage anyone who wants to get involved because I sure as hell do not want to do it all.
I have criticised the heads tone in communication and she changed that and I have pushed for more accountability to governors, meetings and written reports than she wanted but I am not going to start meddling in exactly what eg the pick up arrangements are because I don't have the time to do the heads job.

You do not accept that there could be any reason at any time, even a global pandemic, to shift the balance to support. I disagree. I do not think that makes me ineffective. And even if I am there really, really is no-one stepping up to do better.

Also FATE don't you realise that it's obvious why it's primary heads who are perceived as being 'too close' to their chairs? They don't usually have a big SLT to support them. There is often no-one else to talk to about the stress of making the right decisions about nasty safeguarding issues, complaints, staffing issues. It's a lonely job.

You can actually challenge more effectively if you listen first. You will effect more change if the challenge is coming from a person the head regards as fair then someone they regard as naive, ill informed and hostile.

Sounds about how our GB has become since the pandemic. There's always been an element of two chosen ones being the Head's ear and cheerleading squad on everything - but since then they're the only people getting an input at all on anything - any meetings we've had it's been made very clear we're only there to make it quorate and lend an aura of legitimacy to proceedings. Any questions are met with open hostility (I queried something regarding if school had checked all families could actually access what they were putting out - in terms of online and printer access etc - and the Head was fucking livid... and it's mysteriously disappeared from the minutes of the meeting!)

I'm kind of biding my time and biting my tongue at the moment - I'm not at all happy with how the usually very very good school have handled things and the way they're communicating with parents (when they bother to) is appallingly confrontational - all I've managed to achieve so far is getting some of the worst confrontational anti-parent language toned down slightly. I'm hoping things will begin to return to normality sooner or later - and if not I'm prepared to resign if required.

I'm not new to the GB, I'm normally very happy with how the school's run - I think the Head is just frightened dealing with this bonkers situation and is trying so hard to pull up the drawbridge and lock the school down they've lost sight of the other 4/5 of the kids and families on the other side of the fence and has communicated very poorly as a result.

Domina -exactly

I do see that this is hard for HTs - but that is the job isnt it. Yes there are risks, but there are also risks involved with not having children in.

I would love to see innovation here - working with communities and local businesses.

Some other public sector organisations were overwhelmed with volunteers when they asked. Schools are not even asking. And before someone says DBS, how about asking for premises / resources etc etc - whatever they need. Its the missing can do attitude.

Woke - you are exceptionally patronising. I dont think it is essential that governors lay out their credentials. But for the record I am vice chair, and if you want to learn more about optimum times to serve on Boards etc I refer you to the cadbury code for corporate governance. The role is support and challenge, not your preferred of the two.

Okay. You disagree. I am patronising and shit at school governing. It's not a huge tenant of my self esteem so I can take that. (I'm really very good at my actual paid job). I make no claim to be doing any better than trying my best at this voluntary role. I've stayed because people have appeared to want me to and out of a misplaced sense of loyalty and duty. I'm sure without even reading the Cadbury document that I should have been replaced years ago but the trouble is no-one was willing to do it. I freely admit it could be done better than I am doing it but where are the people like you ready to take it on?

People were saying that chairs are too cosy with heads and don't challenge. I gave a few reasons why that might be. I felt those were valid points that people might not be aware of if they haven't done chair training or been chair. The pastoral aspect was a surprise to me when I became chair. In my personal experience new governors often come with an agenda to challenge on something they have a personal bugbear about and often they have trouble with what is strategic and what is operational. I did specifically say I was not addressing posters on this thread but speaking from general experience. If that's patronising so be it.

I know I could do lots lots better at recruiting, inducting new governors, monitoring their performance, mentoring them, succession; planning etc etc but I'm not their line manager it's a voluntary role that I fit in around my full time work late nights and early mornings. When I go to governors meetings it's full of retired education people and harassed professionals like me who've somehow got a parent governor role and then been kept on. These legal, HR and accountancy professionals giving up their time for free with no connection to the school I have yet to meet IRL.

I suggest if the government wants professional school governance perhaps it should pay people to do it. Otherwise you'll be stuck with shitty, unchallenging, patronising, idiots like me.