School Governor

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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?

You have to be very clear about the difference between strategic oversight and delving into the operational side. As a parent, it is easier to question how things are done compared to critiquing the overall strategy that drives them. My LGB has a lot of parents and this can cause issues if they don’t understand their role. It is absolutely not about rewriting policies. This is operational and the responsibility of SLT.

I have done it for 30+ years and found it both fascinating and rewarding. Yes, there are times when you give input from your day job which is helpful, for me it was Finance, HR, dealing with local government and safeguarding (I am old and have had a varied career). Mostly it is about a fresh pair of eyes, telling a school that they do not have to stay in their lane and they can engage in innovative thinking to ensure your pupils can get the most out of their education.

I’m a governor at my son’s primary school and a trustee at a secondary school.
I started as a parent governor but moved into a LA governor role.
I was approached for the trustee role as I have a particular set of skills.
It’s very rewarding, particularly the work at my son’s school. It can be time consuming at particular times of the year but you usually get all of key dates in advance.
Im fortunate that my employer encourages us to take on this role so some of it can be done in works time.

Lol

There are challenges. The very strong head ruled with a rod of iron and expected the governors to rubber stamp. I often challenged her when appropriate and it did not go down well at all. Three of us left in the end.

Actually, you will find that policies like this are handled centrally by either the Academy chain or the LA and will need to be agreed by Unions and Legal Departments. For the most part policies tend to be the more or less the same due to their national application, eg Complaints, Safeguarding, Finance. The ones that are tweaked locally will tend te be site specific, eg Lettings policy, Menopause Policy.

@CantHoldMeDown I was not criticising you, nor denigrating your expertise but merely explaining that on a complex (and I suspect you will agree with me) area like sex and gender, a school would not wish to go out on a limb but would rather stick with a national policy which will offer protections which a locally sourced policy would not.

Based on previous experience, I would not expect to see a policy in writing before September at the earliest and in practicality not before the before next year, once consultation with Unions and stakeholders has been undertaken plus the legal input. If I am honest that is what most companies are doing, more of a wait and see rather than rushing in blindly.

I would never be a governor in a maintained school again or where my children go. When it goes wrong and relationships break down it’s awful when you have kids there.

Have you considered looking at the likely secondary school your kids will go to. Most schools need extra governors- not all will advertise as they are looking to specifically gap fill.

I suggest this as I suspect as a solicitor you will get more interest/experience doing panels and looking at issues connected with bigger sites / staff numbers than you would get at primary. Also as a secondary governor I am enjoyed it more before my daughter moved there and am looking forward to having my hands less tied next year as she leaves this summer!

Thank you.

This thread has been really helpful. Thank you everyone I’ve read all your replies.