Going to become a school governor soon

[FairTurtle]

I've wanted to do this for ages, and finally have the time. My application was recently successful, and I'm going to start at a local primary school in the next few months. Reasons for doing it: it genuinely seems interesting, I've been having a prolonged quiet-ish period at work so have the time, and I'm hoping it might help with career development.

Just posting on here to ask if anyone else has done it, and any advice they might have. Or any insights/experiences to share? Thanks!

I have no experience, but I’m following because I have just applied too.

I've been a teacher governor. From a teacher's perspective, I appreciate someone who read policies, asks questions, gets involved within school/ at events where possible. I don't appreciate nitpicking over grammar or minor details.
Time is precious in schools so be punctual and get to the point. If you're in classrooms, be thankful and complimentary to the teachers. It's a really tough job and unless you're a teacher, you have very little idea of what you're watching so try not to judge.

Well done, schools need committed governors. I was a governor for 11 years across various schools. It's a lot of hard work, but worth it to see school improvement.

Yes agree that being a school governor is a tough job and an important one. Schools are grateful but not everyone will be able to show that to you.

Thanks all! I'm quite excited to get started, but a bit nervous too. I think I might be on the younger side (am 30) to be a governor, though I'm told a lot of younger people are doing it nowadays.

I've spoken to one of the governors on the board, who's acting as a sort of mentor, but still not entirely sure what it is I'll be actually doing, in terms of the work.

I was a governor for four years then chair for 2 when my children were at primary school.
I was surprised at how much actual liability governors carry so my main advice would be get a real feel for what everyone else is like in terms of skills and commitment ( met many who never even read agenda before meetings) and develop mutual trust. Don’t volunteer for committees on things you do not have a clue about ( if a small GB you may find yourself in charge of some pretty important stuff like finance or insurance ). Appreciate all the staff and be vocal in this. Ask for help and advice. Be on time. Read the papers. Answer emails.
And enjoy! In my time I got to support a school going from RI to outstanding on OFSTED and also recruited a head teacher.
I am now joining my NHS trust as a governor based on my positive experiences.
well done for going for it and good luck x

I was a governor from aged 35 - younger people are really important as they have ‘skin in the game’ My main issue was the meetings clashing with bed/ bath times and getting childcare

I'm governor at two schools and I really enjoy it. It is a lot of responsibility but there is training available and it seems positive that they've got a mentor in place for you.

I’m currently a governor and it’s rewarding but you hold quite a bit of responsibility. Ask questions, do your reading and attend training courses. We’re made to really feel part of the team at the school, I’m a governor at and I love going in and seeing what’s going on and seeing what the head tells us comes to life. I’ve also gained lots of experience in wider things to help me - panels, audits, meetings, finance training. Don’t volunteer for anything specialist until you’ve done it for a while e.g. safeguarding governor!

It's great. You need to like reading, analysis and asking difficult questions supportively. Gave me great experience of being on a board which helped me advance my career

I am one and have been for approximately 12 years. Generally it has been a positive experience although I am embroiled in something at the moment that is making me rethink continuing. For something that is a volunteered position it can get quite personal at times, eg, clashes of opinions in meetings.

@FairTurtle I would recommend joining the Facebook group School Governance Network UK. There are lots of experienced governors on there who can help to answer your questions.

Is it an academy or an LA-run school?

Undertake any Ofsted training going.
Ditto safeguarding training.
And even if you're not the SEND governor, do some SEND training too as all aspects of school life is adjacent to good SEND practice.
Be kind to teaching staff.
Be curious and humble; make sure you understand what you are looking at and extrapolate any unintended consequences of proposed changes or actions.

Hi well done, it’s a very important but sadly quite thankless role.
i am a chair and would say that there is a learning curve but you will hopefully find that you improve as a person and even professionally having been a school governor. Above all else I do it for the children and keep that at the forefront of my mind when times are hard.
my advice is get stuck in. Do all the available training. Attend every possible event and speak to people, staff, parents, most of all children. If your school is in a network or academy trust, make the most of any networking opportunities.
it is a big responsibility but can be fun.
you might find there are tough times and situations and you’re questioning what you are doing, but it is worth it and if you focus on driving improvement then it’s so worthwhile.

I did it for 4 years. It is a lot of work and time, but rewarding.

It is a commitment, though. Although, as it is unpaid, they can’t make you turn up to meetings, it is a real bore when governors don’t, especially if the committee then becomes non quorate. Also expect to have to scribe and write up minutes of some meetings.

Normally there are about 4 committees and most governors are on at least one. I am assuming that you are bringing some expertise and you would naturally fit with one committee.

I would advise that you start by observing a few committees and then join at least one. From there you may look to chair a committee.

As others have said, there is training available to help.

In my experience, it takes a while before you feel comfortable in the role.

That's not because the other members of the Board are unwelcoming, but because there's so much to learn. In fact, the governor who mentored me told me not to expect to fully understand what's going on for at least a year.

Education is a different language to what I'm used to, there's so many acronyms, reports, local authority roles, types of inspection and visit. The head and teacher governor live and breath these terms but they were completely alien to me!

Take all the training you can. There's loads available from our council, most of which can be accessed fairly conveniently.

Get to know the SLT (senior leadership team) and business manager. And the admin team are great sources of advice.

I was a governor for two years and found it one of the hardest things I've ever done. This was because of the state of the school, which had a judgement of Requires Improvement at the time. I wouldn't now recommend a novice governor starts at a school with significant problems; hopefully yours hasn't. You ask about what you'd actually be doing; things we did that might be relevant to you included scrutinising budget reports, responding to strategic plans made by the head, looking at attainment data, being part of recruitment panels, and looking at children's exercise books. I found Nigel Gann's book Improving School Governance very helpful.

I did find it a worthwhile experience, particularly in giving me confidence to question things I didn't understand or which seemed strange, and I would consider being a governor again.

One thing which was helpful was sitting in on a governors' meeting at a better performing school. The LA set this up for me at my request when I'd been a governor for a few months and wanted to get a sense of how things should or could be done.

I’ve done it at two primary schools. I’ve enjoyed it, be a critical friend, generally I back the school leadership, I’m not there to be awkward but wjll
ask questions to understand and in explaining it they justify their decisions and thinking. There are a couple of governors groups on fb which give excellent advice. Appointing a new HT was an interesting process, things need to be done by the book. I’ve taken learning out as well as putting in. In one of the schools it was a challenge to get people to stand and to turn up. In the other everyone turns up, there are pre-meets of non staff govs before some meetings, it’s so good to have engaged governors. If you’re not going to show at 9/10 meetings done do it.

I'm a chair of governors and there's some great advice here. For me keep the children at the forefront of everything you do & every decision you make. Agree that it takes at least a year to really get up to speed with what's required so don't put too much pressure on yourself. Be visible & really get to know the school & build relations with staff & senior leaders.
If you're part of a trust you're likely to have less responsibility than if you school is an LA school.

We normally say it takes a year to really get to grips with being a governor so don’t be put off if you find it daunting to start with.
Your role will be different depending whether state maintained or an academy school.
But it is a responsible position for someone who is just a volunteer.

I was a parent governor for 6 years. Found it very rewarding but quite time consuming. Would love to do it again when my full time job is less demanding.

Thanks all! This has been super interesting, and I'm excited to get started. I've ordered the book mentioned up thread, and will do the training on Governors for Schools (through which I applied for the role).

More selfishly, I wonder if a role like this could help with career advancement? I'm a civil servant, and am a team leader in a fairly high-profile policy team. Work is quite slow these days (which is fine, and suits the governor role), but I would like to think I am still building up useful skills/experience elsewhere.

@FairTurtle ,

What are you doing in the civil service?

The committee structure is normally: Quality of Education, Finance and Audit, Safeguarding and Pay and HR (it can vary a bit).

Which of these can you contribute skill and experience to, do you think?

I would go into it with the idea of giving something back as opposed to adding to your CV. However, it is experience of working with some quite senior people and will benefit you as a senior manager as the type of meetings and committees can be similar.

(You are welcome to PM me if you have more specific questions).

Thanks @Newbutoldfather. Oh, absolutely. I wanted to volunteer to indeed give something back, but was also thinking strategically about whether it might also be a useful career development activity (in general terms, obviously the content is totally different to my day job). I'm a policy adviser in the civil service, working for a major government department. I've also done some public affairs stuff in the past.

This.
It is not a post to take lightly. It is a huge time commitment as well, all the reading of policies. I was due to become a governor of DC’s school but when I looked at some simple policies and asked questions of the DBS process, the staff didn’t understand the process. I walked away, there was too much broken for me to feel comfortable.