School Governor

[OrangePineapple25]

Worth it or a headache?

Next year my youngest starts school this year and I’ll have an extra day free (sort of - I’ll likely pick up more work) but still will be slightly less pressured.

School are advertising for a new Governor. I’m a solicitor so probably have some skills (not necessarily legal but generally) that might benefit the post?

Also thinking whilst I’m PT it might be experience that boosts my CV?

Any experience?

It is a very interesting role and can take up a lot of time. depending on what sub committees you join.
I've done it for 20 years.

I was a governor at my kids’ school and thought it would be a good way to CV boost my skills during a SAHM period of life. I’m also a solicitor so similarly thought I’d have some skills that would be helpful. On my board there was 4 current or former solicitors so it seems to attract that type 😂

It was incredibly interesting and also slight depressing to see the state of funding, behaviour etc in school but it is a really time consuming endeavour in terms of the initial training and also in order to really understand the school and the role so that you can do a decent job. Plus I found the schedule for meetings was very fixed and inflexible so I found I was having to organise a lot of childcare for meetings which was why I ultimately stepped down.

I was a school governor. It wasn’t that much work. A meeting once every half term, then whatever else came up.

I find it very rewarding, though it is more work than you ever expect. Particularly if you are in the Ofsted window or need to be involves in recruitment of a new Deputy or Head, all of which I have done during my two terms so far!

I find it hardest to navigate other parents expectations, as in they think you are a "representative" of their concerns etc. and come to you with trivial matters as they don't understand the role. Also find it hard when there is moaning in the whatsapps and you want to bite back with hiw hard everyone works behind the scenes that the don't see!

If you are a parent governor, you have to make it very clear that it’s not your role to take on their complaints. It’s a strategic role, to act as a critical friend with regard to the school as a whole, the strategy for the future, long term planning and results.

I think, if done properly, there is more work that a termly GB meeting and some committee meetings. You should be abreast of all policies, the future plans for the school, the finances and anything else that’s strategic. You need to be aware of the development plan, SEND, what Ofsted will focus on etc.

It is very rewarding and gives a real insight into the challenges faced by schools, particularly in terms of finance.

Keen not to become a jack of all areas of law advisor but don’t know enough about the role to know if that’s a realistic prospect.

I found it more time consuming than I expected but I ended up on lots of group and leading 3 areas. It was fascinating, i formative, interesting, frustrating and productive. Ofsted was scary but we worked amazingly well as a team.

Do something you have an interest in e.g. area of curriculum, finance, link to SEND, link to PTA etc.

Your employer should give you some time for this as it is a public duty. Slightly different but I am a trustee and our chair is keen that employers release us so it is not all done in our own time.

They’ve also not listed a legal background as someone with desirable skills so maybe they already have some!

I’m self employed.

Oh, it is. Can also be frustrating trying to explain for the 20th time that the Law doesn't say that to a Head or Chair who is convinced that reality is determined by what they say it is.

I don't think wanting to improve your CV is a good or noble motivation.

It’s about strategic oversight of the school’s educational performance and spending public money so you don’t necessarily have to have any specialist skills. Just curiosity, integrity and an interest in the school doing well for the best interests of the children.

Governing bodies vary a lot. I spent around 15 years on one where the majority of governors who stuck around had backgrounds in education and finance. No legal bods at all, though the clerk was a great guide. I found my role involved a lot of background reading to ensure I stayed abreast with changes in legislation.

Interesting that you’ve picked that out despite it clearly being secondary to what I spelt out in my third paragraph.

I've been a governor for years. It's interesting. The amount of work depends on the amount of extra responsibilities that you take on board.

Be aware that most of the meetings will probably be in the evenings.

I do it but not at a school where my DC are or ever were. Because of that I tend to do the PX stuff and leave the more fluffy stuff to parents
I enjoy it and its not too onerous, not sure it helps my CV but thats not why I do it anyway

It doesn't really matter
Schools need Governors and as long as someone doesn't have a terrible ulterior motive then they should be gratefully accepted

I’m a solicitor and chair of governors! You won’t be asked to give legal advice. However I think solicitors tend to make good governors for lots of reasons - used to following process, interpreting policies, absorbing lots of information and data quickly, asking probing questions etc.

I didn’t find it at all difficult to balance being a normal governor with full time work. And overall it’s rewarding and you get a much greater insight into the running of the school than you do as a parent. Being chair has been significantly more challenging, as I’m called upon for a lot more things. So I say go for it but don’t get sucked into becoming chair at some stage!

@Squidgemoon thank you, that’s really useful. You’ve listed skills I guessed were valuable.

I would really like to forge a closer connection with the school too. As we’ve got another 6 years there!

I assume that was directed at me? I’m fairly sure that most of the things we do involve at least some degree of self-interest, so not sure why doing what is, frankly, a fairly thankless task and volunteering my free time to support my child’s school is actually a bad thing. But each to their own 🤷🏻‍♀️

Also frankly, have a well paid, but relatively undemanding day job where I WFH independently so I think I might enjoy the challenge.

As a parent governor, specifically, I’d say a key consideration should be whether the school is a fairly steady ship. I have a few friends / family who are parent governors at their children’s schools and have found it a really valuable experience. I am a parent governor at my child’s school and have not found the same.

Can’t go into too much detail as it would be outing (and would then break confidentiality) but I joined the governing body about 18 months ago and it has been a deteriorating situation ever since. It is now at crisis point and other governors are voting with their feet. The other parent governor and I feel completely stuck as our children are at the school, so we have a personal stake that the others don’t. I’ve made positive contributions during my term so far but I wouldn’t have joined if I had known what I was stepping into.

@MimPimMim im sorry that’s been your experience. I imagine that’s increasingly the case in the current climate. I don’t know - but wonder if as school resources become more stretched more responsibility is pushed onto Governors that were previously tasked to members of management at the school? Obviously when things are fraught you’re going to get more contention and therefore unrest. I might be completely wrong as I’m just assuming here!

I hope things settle down for you.

Being a governor is what you make of it. As someone mentions above, you may get away with just turning up to the meetings (mine are half termly) but that is not effective governance. To be an effective governor it takes a lot of time and effort.

Learning about how the education system works, what you are holding the school to account for, what best looks like.

There are school visits between meetings which have to be documented, training sessions on both general governance issues and whatever is your specialist governor role is. If OFSTED arrives, the governing board are also inspected. There can be appeals panels, recruitment panels, sub committees. The governing board should have a presence at school events.

Being a governor is a legally accountable role; how well the school is governed is assessed by OFSTED. You aren’t governing well if you are only attending meetings.

I’m in my third term as a co-opted governor at my children’s school (namely I applied when the advertised a role to fill a skill set need, rather than having been elected as a parent).

I love it but it easily takes 45 plus hours an academic year.

You also have to have quite a thick skin - some parents either think it’s just like being on the PTA, others think you can fix everything!

I wouldn’t give up!