Parent Governor? What does it involve...

[winnie]

practically?

TIA

@Jeannie88 please don't take the role on if you don't have time to do it properly because that will put additional burden on other governors. You will need to:

1. Attend every meeting (ask to see the schedule - ours are at least 1 per month in term time).
2. Spend several hours before each meeting carefully reading papers and preparing questions.
3. Volunteer for additional "link governor" duties, such as for SEND or finance or curriculum. Some roles are heavier than others, but most involve making visits to school to talk to staff and students, once or more per term.
4. Attend training and read widely about education issues in order to perform the role effectively.
5. Be ready to be held to account by Ofsted for the school's performance. You can't say "I'm just a patent governor". Parent governors have the same level of responsibility as any other governor.

If you don't have time for all that then join the pta instead.

Worth adding that if the school is an academy, read the Scheme of Delegation to see what is the spmit of responsibility between the Trust and the Local Governing Body. This can vary widely.

*Split not spmit

Thank you, yes I was concerned how much the role would entail and that's why I didn't volunteer when it was offered to everyone. It was only when they asked me directly, as I have a background in education, I felt I would like to do it to support the wonderful school but also hesitant because I would like to don't properly. Youre right, I appreciate your advice and now I know how much extra time ot will take maybe now isn't the right time and the last thing I would want to do is make things more difficult for others. Thanks again. X

Sorry far too many typos!

@Jeannie88
The role of governor isn’t just about support either. If there are issues you really need to make changes. Neither is it about meetings. These are not the work of governors. It’s what goes into the reports, the monitoring and amending the SIP that takes the time. Yes the Head will do a lot but governors have responsibility for strategic planning and vision which does involve a lot of data evaluation and ensuring action is taken when necessary. If you don’t have time it's best to leave it for now but meetings are the tip of the governing body iceberg.