to think the Chair of Governors should reply to emails from parents?

[Bugattimum]

I was involved in a group at my child's school, which was put together to tackle a particular issue (parking.)At the first meeting, the CoG appointed herself as chair, insisted that all attendees sign a confidentiality agreement and code of conduct, and refused to let the meeting progress until everyone signed. I felt bullied into it, but signed and then the following day resigned.

I emailed the CoG to express my disappointment in the way in which this had been handled and how offputting it was to parent involvement, but she didn't reply. So I emailed again, asking had I missed her reply, but no, still nothing.

It's so frustrating, off putting and arrogant. I think she should have the courtesy to make even some sort of a cursory effort but to send nothing is rude. AIBU?

Frustrating to get no kind of reply, yes. What did you hope would happen? If it's not a governor issue as such then is there any reason why somebody else couldn't have chaired the meeting? Chairs don't usually appoint themselves. Is it purely the confidentiality requirement that you object to? I don't really understand that stipulation, but there may be issues at your school that need to be treated sensitively.

Sounds like YANBU but you haven't mentioned timescales. Most Chairs of Governors I have encountered have full time jobs and fit the (unpaid) CoG role around this. Depending on the school, CoG can often be fighting fires and it may just be that of all the things the CoG HAS to do, replying to you may come far down on that list.

It would be unreasonable to expect an instant reply but I would have expected a reply within 7-10 days. So I don't think YABU, but you might be

What's the time scale between now and first email?

First email 19th June, second email reminder on 30th June.

Yes I objected to the confidentiality part. Aside from staff and governors no one had ever been asked to sign before, but the CoG decided this was mandatory after she took exception to me and another parent speaking to our local council. (We made it clear we were just parents, not representing the school of course.) It is essentially a gagging order which I am deeply uncomfortable about. And now there are only two parents left and one if them is stepping down shortly, which is I'm sure what CoG wanted!

I think the Chair has seen this as a "sub-group" of the main governing body and has therefore treated you like co-opted governors with the same code of conduct applying. This may not be the case at all and she has made an assumption too far (propbably out of habit?).

I don't think it is unreasonable for her to expect confidentiality -it would impede frank and honest discussions if people were worried about being quoted out of context etc- and if she knows you have previously spoken to the council then it is a risk that she has idenified.

But yes, I think she should have replied by now (assuming you were not rude or offensive of course!)

I was (as always!) politeness itself. And I agree that confidentiality is important under certain circumstances. However it was the heavy handed approach and being forced to sign which I found unacceptable especially as it'd never been demanded before. Also the idea of being told off for speaking as an individual to my constituent representative, doesn't sit well with me either.
She was a terrible chair too, sadly. Talking over people, pushing her own agenda points, shutting down contributors that didn't agree etc and letting others ramble about irrelevancies.
Apparently she was uncontested when she stood for CoG which is a shame.

It all seems a bit oddly behaved for a CoG. This is not a governor's role at all.

School governance is guided by the Nolan principles (of standards in public life), but you don't have to sign any confidentiality clauses...

BrokenButNotFinished
School governance is guided by the Nolan principles (of standards in public life), but you don't have to sign any confidentiality clauses...

Agree, it is usually in the terms of reference/code of conduct that where confidentiality is required, all members should respect this but this would surely change from meeting to meeting and a recap of which aspects were deemed confidential would occur at the end of the meeting. She sounds a little confused power mad.

There's no massive queue of volunteers waiting to take on such a responsible and time-consuming role, unfortunately. I have endless respect for our brilliant CoG.

You spoke to your councillor before the meeting took place, is that right? I can see why you wouldn't want to be silenced, but equally, Posing has a point when she says your Chair probably wanted to ensure other people felt free to speak without fear of being quoted outside the meeting.

Brecon and Posing, what can I do?

Does anyone perform the role of Clerk/Secretary to the Governing Body? If so, I would send communication via them. If not, codes of conduct will often stipulate complaints against the Chair are dealt with by the Vice Chair. And maybe ask how often the Chair is appraised too...

Brecon is right - being a Chair is a tough, demanding role and there are not a lot of people that will put themselves forward for what is basically an unpaid job with deadlines, stress, targets etc. That said, a poor Chair will usually result in a poor governing body and that's no good for anyone.

I'll look into that - I'm friendly with the previous vice chair, who as it happens doesn't have a good word to say about her.
It's a lovely warm Faith school but the governors are appointed by the Diocese and are there until they decide to go. To be accepted you have to have been recommended by the local clergy and her particular chap refused to recommend her because he knew how obstructive she is. I don't even think she means to be, but she absolutely resists ALL change and refuses to even engage.

I'm very glad I stepped down. I think I can affect far more by being an outside commentator than attempting to work within her controls.