Would I enjoy being a governor?

[Undecidedthiswinter]

There’s a currency at my DS’s school. I’m a fairly corporate person, and think I could bring a bit of “business strategy “ if that makes sense.

it does seem to be a lot of extra work though!

I think it depends on which school you get. When I did it the school was criminally unorganised, all the governors had been there since dinosaurs roamed the earth and a 2 hour meeting easily took 4 because of all the nonsense! It was a massive waste of time and I resigned after two years as it was clear my face didn’t fit and quite frankly I had better things to do. The head and chair were very pally and a lot of things had clearly been decided by them in advance of the meetings. However a friend does it and she has a much better experience, the school uses an online platform, timed agendas etc.

Id definitely ask if you can observe one, or have a look through paperwork from the last few.

I don’t think it’s something to add to your load if you have a busy life.

I’m a COG for a secondary which is part of a MAT. Because of this a lot of what the governing board might do (particularly finance) is subsumed into the Trust board. It’s not a bad thing but understanding the parameters of what you are joining is key.
I very much enjoy my role, particularly around supporting the wellbeing of the Head and senior leaders which is a woefully neglected area in many schools. it takes up a lot of my time but that is my choice. When I was a straight Governor it was only a few hours every half term.

Observe a meeting. Chat to the other governors. Then decide.

I did 8 years in a primary school and a few years before that in another primary school. I eventually stopped because I found the meetings and reading endless policies boring. It also felt like we were there to rubber stamp the head's decisions. But it did take me 8 years to get to that point.

I also felt that some of the beliefs about behaviour were becoming dogmatic and harmful. Some of those were imposed by the local authority, but the head seemed to have drunk the koolaid on it too.

Currency or vacancy?!

I think it's a huge amount of paperwork and responsibility to be a governor. Are they due an Ofsted?

A governing board should consider reports and minutes from the committees as well as business it must agree. No meeting should ever be beyond 2 hours unless something very difficult is in front of you. Timing agendas makes no difference if the chair is appalling! Governors pally with the head is also dreadful and no governing body should expect the head and staff to attend for an extra 4 hours. I do not think a few hours a term is right either. Academies don’t mean more hours. All meetings should have a clear focus and governors must read everything before the meeting.

Plus what decisions are there at full GB? I’ve rarely seen GBs take votes. It’s good practice to electrically send questions to the head in advance after receiving the heads report and they answer on a revised report. This way governor scrutiny is documented. Yes, it takes time but it keeps meeting focussed and timely.

I’ve done it as a parent governor and as a co-opted governor. I felt that unless you had the time/inclination to be at the school constantly and/or you have been a member of SLT you were very much at the mercy of what the head wants you to know.

@MrsFaustus What system did you have to report pupil progress? What assessment data did you see? What evidence did you gather about pp funding and progress and Sen dc progress? If you, as governors, don’t insist on robust systems and reporting, you are part of the problem. Strategic decisions rely on robust data so you have a responsibility to get it. Ofsted would blame you for not knowing about your school if you didn’t because you could not do your job. Why didn’t you all expect better? Plus you could have ensured it was a target for the head in terms of performance management.

If you have a good Clerk, the Governor challenge is recorded within the minutes

I agree with your questioning.
Good governors are able to triangulate the evidence shared with them (data, reports, staff, pupil, parent voice) spot patterns and gaps, ask questions and see for themselves evidence to hold school leaders to account. They need great people skills, to be organised, have some time in the school day and be tenacious in following things through.

A bit like a detective!

They are accountable including for safeguarding children. They are grilled by OFSTED and can be vilified locally and in the media if something goes seriously wrong.

This is a great organisation for information and support.

https://www.nga.org.uk

It can be rewarding depending on the school. You really can help improve outcomes in some places. In others it can be a bit of a talking shop.

Do you know if it is a maintained school or a local governing board in an academy? It can be quite different in terms of time and the type of decisions that can be made.

I think people know about the meetings, but you generally have to visit the school during the day once a term and you will have do safeguarding, prevent and cyber security training.

Vacancy! Silly autocorrect

I did it and really enjoyed it. I would recommend it to others.

I did it for 8 years and I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. A lot of it felt like rubber stamping, whatever the challenges and the pace was incredibly slow compared to most businesses.

Is it part of an Academy Trust or is it state maintained school as governor role will differ.

School may have governor minutes on the school website so you can see what sort of thing gets discussed

My husband is a governor at my school (fully declared) and other than attending quarterly meeting for two hours, for which he reads the paperwork before, there is no additional workload. The Chair of Governors probably averages two hours per month.

@countdowntonap So he never visits the school to report on the improvement plan? Never speaks to staff? Never does training? What reading up does he do on any topic? No governor should be doing that little! How does he eventuate anything?

@RememberDecember You are not running a business though. The head is operationally in control. Why did your governors not set direction and challenge the head to meet targets? The model you describe is simply not being a modern governor. What evidence did the head give you in terms of school improvement?

I think the whole governor model is outdated and not fit for purpose, where else do we rely on unpaid volunteers from the community to hold the institution to account and set strategic direction?

The entire charity sector which is a HUGE sector has this model with trustees.

I love it. I have such detailed insider knowledge of my DCs school, and love having a professional relationship with their Head based on high mutual trust. It is a privilege to support such a fantastic team and school.

Retired CoG here and agree as well x

I agree, especially given the high stakes of safeguarding and of OFSTED inspections.
Far too much time needed and too big a pressure when expected to be for free.
Some people are supported by their own employer though, given time in their working day, which helps.

I’ve supported boards with headteacher recruitment, such a huge decision to make. Great when the board are experienced and skilled, more difficult to support them when they don’t want change or aren’t objective.

@AngelpoiseLabel The day to day operation of safeguarding is the responsibility of the lead member of staff. It’s not for the safeguarding governor to know each case. The governors must know the school
is following procedures and policies so monitoring is vital, but not every detail. Training will be clear about how governors should do this and safer recruitment etc.

It's an onerous role.

I was one for two years and did not find it enjoyable. The school was having a really hard time and the governors were struggling to stay afloat (we had issues about governor recruitment and retention), let alone support the school effectively. The experience of inspection was painful for governors as well as staff. My input probably made things worse, and I have regrets about it.

If I were to consider doing it again, I'd want to talk to existing governors before deciding, and of course look at the data and inspection reports, and think seriously about the trajectory the school was on. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. LA support was not helpful.

I did find it developed my confidence in asking questions, even if they feel like stupid ones.

I will add, as you work in data, as do I - don't fall into the trap of trying to analyse their data for them. They should be presenting it to governors and able to report on their own strengths and weaknesses. May be obvious, but because it was something "my" school struggled with, I overstepped initially and had to pull back.

I was a diocesan governor and hated it. At the time I was a SAHM but DH was obviously at work and meetings were always 5pm and could frequently last three hours. It was always difficult with childcare. Obviously it will very much dep Nd in the school, the head, the rest of the board and the CoG but i found it unrewarding and onerous. I left and pursued other voluntary roles that I feel I add much more value to.