Do school governors have perks?

[itsraining2024]

Parent governor at my child’s school gets to pick her kids up 5 mins earlier than everyone else and from a different side entrance. I’m not sure if this is normal. We all have other children to pick up and get late. I’d understand if she was a school teacher.

Oh, give over.

Someone on the internet asked a question. I responded with something that happened to me, to answer that question from my perspective.

I can’t control what other people do with that, but I do hope that they have enough sense to realise that everyone’s experiences will be different. It’s really not my problem.

I’ve been chair of the PTA at two of my children’s schools for years. PTA chairs have a bad rep. It didn’t put me off because I am able to live my own experience, not be swayed by something I read on line.

Are you also going to tell the poster who told us about her dad having an affair with the headteacher that will make people think that all head teachers shag governors?

No, and in fact I made sure I kept very clear lines between governor interaction and parent interaction. The only 'perk' I got was a 2 minute warning if my daughter was likely to walk down a corridor, so that whichever staff member I was with could shove me into an office or a cupboard, so she didn't see me. She has SN and didn't cope with seeing me because it made her want to come home.

No, but one at my kids school was the biggest gossip and no idea why they chose her.

Not at any school I know but I saw a social media post where a US school were auctioning a “skip the car line” pass for minimum $500. Parents queue in their cars and an adult brings out your child just in case you didn’t know.

If a parent governor, most likely she got the most votes from fellow parents.

Quite possibly was also the only one willing to do it.

I met Prince Richard while I was a school governor. I wouldn’t count that as a perk though.

Was this a long time ago?

Prince of which country?

None whatsoever. Just a vast amount of unpaid work and responsibility. In my many years as a governor there was not so much as a coffee offered.

Prince of the U.K. The late Queen’s cousin - the Duke of Gloucester.

About 10/15 years ago. He came to the school for something. Can’t remember why.

We had free use of the breakfast club when having to come in early for governors meetings at 8am. (Breakfast club was undersubscribed so it was not messing with ratios or taking another parents slot)
I guess that was a perk but it was just to allow governors to attend early meetings that staff preferred. I didn’t need to use breakfast club other than for those meetings so I would not say it was a ‘perk’ as such.

Front row seat at the leavers play (but only because I was coming straight from a meeting), I do get invited to a lot of other in school events as well, which I try to go to as I enjoy them but overall think I get more perks as a parent helper - first offer to go on school trips etc.

No free or front row tickets and we had to buy our own biscuits! In fact we used to have a whip round from our own pockets to buy the staff some treats on Ofsted inspection days.

Dh has been a governor at various schools and says the only perk, and it's been across all the schools, is a front row seat at all performances.

People here have such strange ideas of what governors get priority on. I remember someone complaining that their dc's teacher was leaving part way through the year and "it wouldn't have happened to the other form as there's a governor's child in it."
Yes, the teacher would have been refused to leave definitely.

For what it's worth ds had 8 different teachers through infants. The other form had three. In his form there were two, and later three, governors' children. The other had none. But according to that poster the school would have refused maternity leave, sick leave due to cancer etc.

I am a school governor and I am here to confess that today I got a perk. My first freebie perk in 11 years of being a governor.
I visited a careers fair in school to learn how school prepare our young people for the world of work. One of the companies showcasing their apprenticeships gave me a free biro pen and a logo bug (one of those pompom with eyes and ribbon). You too can get this, sign up a governors for schools. Form an orderly queue.

At our old secondary school which was quite small. The governors walked in like they were business associates and they all went out to eat to celebrate every half term.

I mean, you too could go out to eat with other parents from the school...
No, there aren't any perks. In my school you don't even get front row seats 😂

How does one “walk in like a business associate?” Just so I can tell if I was doing it in my years as a governor.

Oh, I just remembered. When we were having a marathon 5 hour plus governor meeting one evening, the Head popped out and got a load of fish and chips for us to share. We all gave her the cash for it, though. Other than that and a few biscuits that one of the other governors used to kindly provide out of her own pocket, I never ate with my fellow governors. They were nice enough people but I found that the hours and hours of meetings on and off line each month was enough of their company.

Thats really funny.

I would hope they looked professional and business like. They have big decisions to make sometimes. They are collectively liable to the value of the whole school budget if things go wrong.

Celebratory eating is unusual if paid for by the school. What's not unusual is a group of people working together on something to go out and get to know each other socially

Now clearly not all governance is good, and not all governing bodies are strong and doing thier role appropriately- but many are.

I might walk into the school as if I were a business associate. I'm not really sure what that means tbh, but I let myself in with my swipe card, sign in and greet staff on familiar terms. Why wouldn't I, I've been working alongside them for many years. Does the swipecard count as a perk, I wonder? It isn't of any use to me unless I'm giving up my free time to attend meetings.

Our Board does go out for a meal once a year. It helps to foster good working relationships. We all pay for ourselves.

What does that mean? How does one walk like a business associate? They should look professional. And lots of people who know each other socially or professionally go out for Christmas meals. What does that have to do with anything?

No reserved seats at plays or anything at our school.

Dh normally went in wearing shorts and t-shirt. On a good day when I'd done a clear out he might have avoided a t-shirt with holes in it.

Why don’t you join as a Governor yourself and find out😉