Governor removed child from school

[Schooldinners1]

AIBU for more traction. Governor at our primary stepped down and removed her daughter from reception. What would you make of this? There's been a bit of chatter.

Fuck all to do with you. Steer clear of gossip, it’s unfair.

I’ve seen that is many organisations (sports, hobbies etc) where someone who has taken on a role leaves the role in the organisation and when they have a problem they move their child, it can be a problem in the organisation but it can also be a problem with the parent. Impossible to say.

As with other parents changing school they have made the decision which is best for their child.

nothing to do with anyone else and certainly not something that should be a source of gossip

Maybe got sick of the gossipy parents

Definitely something scandalous going on. You should speculate and share your wildest theories with parents at the school. Be sure to present them as fact to be most helpful.

My dad was chair of the board when, in my last year at that school, I left after one term to go elsewhere. He had to tell the headmistress that the behaviour from the boys in the class was appalling so I wasn’t staying.

Very much not your circus, not your monkeys. There are always many, varied reasons for such changes.

Everyone survived. And, if she is ever in the area, he is happy to serve her a whiskey and she is happy to drink it.

Wooptie fucking ping. Nae yer business is it?

I think it's just the concern of them being a parent as if it's something that would be concerning to other parents too.

Maybe they are in the process of moving house.

Maybe a parent is being nasty because of their role as Governor, so removed child as a precaution.

Maybe they feel uncomfortable because after stepping down as Governor due to new work shifts, people are gossiping and posting on sm and generally making their life unpleasant so removed their child to start fresh elsewhere.

It could be anything.

There's a primary school near me that is hemorrhaging pupils like crazy because it is so mismanaged. 7 have left in year 1, and I've heard of 3 in reception, and a few more in the upper years.

I'd suspect if the family have moved to a nearby school then the governor has uncovered a practice that she didn't like, or her child has been failed.

Well they seemed to be quite judgemental and now it seems they decided things weren't to their standard.

So it makes sense that others are thinking is what your child has not good enough after inspection?

They've moved their child to a school around the corner 3-5 minutes away.

I would guess they didn't get their first choice school last year but have been offered it now and decided it is still early enough to change over.

Quite possibly a personality issue, unrelated to standards or safeguarding.
Other parents will have no more information than you, so don't get drawn into gossip. Or create any.

This thread could be about me except it was a couple of years ago and it was my son not my daughter

I moved him because, strictly with my parent hat on, he wasn't getting a good enough education and was having lots of supply teachers in Reception. I felt it was an important year and he needed stability. The teacher went off sick mid year and it wasn't clear if/when she would return.
There was another local school that had spaces in Reception and much better staff retention so I moved him.

Although I was a governor and committed to the school, my first priority was my child.

The school then asked me to step down as a governor as they felt it would upset other parents if I stayed (I wasn't actually a parent governor so could have stayed).

Dh was a governor at dc's school.
DD1 had had a (generally popular) teacher who I knew wouldn't suit dd2 at all.
There were two forms a year so she had a 50/50 chance of having them. Me and dh discussed what we did if she was allocated this teacher and we decided we felt strongly enough to move her. Dh felt that if we did that (we had no other dc at the school then) then he would also resign from being a governor as he wouldn't feel right being a parent governor at a school he'd removed his dc from. However we would still have applied for ds to that school.

We hadn't decided whether I (not dh because of being a governor) would have a quiet word with the head and let her know about dd. As they mixed the classes up, it wouldn't have been hard to make sure dd2 didn't have this teacher and it wouldn't have effected anyone else. But equally well, we didn't want it to sound like a threat, or blackmail-it wasn't meant to be one, simply what we'd decided.
Thankfully before we'd made the decision, that teacher announced her retirement, so we never had to decide.

There was no point we thought it wasn't a good school.

Yes I think rightfully so the concerns were over standards or safeguarding so I don't think people are talking out of turn to be concerned over that.

And that should be used on so many threads!!

My parents moved me when my brother was bullied. My father was a governor, he thought it was only right to resign as his kids were no longer at the school.

I would say it's personal and none of your business really.

This - would you prefer that they stayed as a governor with no stake in the school. If you want to know more about the school put yourself forward as a governor. From interacting with a number professionally it’s a difficult, often thankless task. If there was gossip about a former governor I’d probably resign myself if I was on the board.

It's hard to come up with a reason for somebody who is a governor moving their child to another school just down the road that doesn't reflect badly on the school. But there might still be one.

@Schooldinners1 Was the parent a very new governor? (Might well have been, if their child was only in Reception?)

Maybe it's all about them: perhaps they fell out with the HT without especially good cause and decided to throw their toys out of the pram and flounce because of that.

Or maybe it has something to do with their child personally; I was a governor for many years and would still recommend that school for the vast majority of children DESPITE them utterly failing my own child - resulting in serious anxiety and school-based trauma. I could and still can see both sides of that particular situation. If your own child is really struggling then it's a hard line to walk as a governor and I wouldn't blame someone for throwing in the towel if it was still very early days. Much easier to start afresh and just be a parent, not a parent governor.

Or maybe they uncovered, with all the extra information they were privy to as a governor that isn't available to parents, a serious issue that made them no longer feel it was a safe/suitable place for their own child to be educated. You'd hope they would take follow-up action on this, if so, but people often do what's easy rather than what's right.

Ultimately you won't know unless you actually ask the former parent/governor. But even then you'll only get their side of the story. And school won't talk to you about it, so you'll never get their side of the story.

Apply for the governor vacancy and find out what’s going on from the inside

Parent governors can stay too. They are entitled to serve out their term even if their child leaves.

Op, this is really none of your business and it's such a shame, but inevitable, that parents will gather and make up rumours when they are not privy to the facts.
Parent governors are entitled to see out their term of office, even if their child leaves the school. That's usually a 4 year term and they can be really effective governors.
Some parent governors are really only on the board to feel they have an "in" on the things that affect their children, and in the hope they can use their influence to have things in place that are good for their child (they should get a big wake up call on that one!). A lot of parents have no further interest in the school, or being a governor, when their children are no longer there so they step down.
Governors resign all the time for many reasons, so this really isn't a big deal.

I was a school governor for many years.

Parent governors have the same rights and influence as any other type of governor. So even if their child leaves, they can still stay on and see out their term if they have a passion for supporting the school.

Not every school is a good fit for every child. That doesn't mean it's a "bad" school. Some schools cater particularly well for SEN children, others are a better fit for academic children. Others may have a better sports provision.

Our school was outstanding for SEN - and I really do mean outstanding. But some pupils who were at the top of their class and very gifted academically could have done better elsewhere. Sometimes we saw those children moved to another school, and honestly, it was probably the right decision. That's no reflection on the school where I was a governor.

OP, your posts sound very judgemental. If you have an issue with the school or you have concerns about safeguarding etc, then you absolutely need to raise them. But base your decisions on facts, not idle speculation about the actions of another parent.