Advice on personal statement - parent governor

[Feenie]

Right, have no idea what to put. I am actually a staff governor at my own school, and have been for many years, but I want to get involved in the same at my ds's school (he is in Reception) and a post has just come up.

If I was elected, I would have to resign as governor at my school, obviously, as I don't have the time to do both.

What on earth do I put in my personal statement? I have no idea how to write one as a parent . Can anyone help please?

It's really weird reading this, no-one wanted to do it at my sons' school. I didn't even have to apply properly really as it was only me. And we still have two vacancies for parent governors.

At my sister's kids' school it's like a big popularity comp!

It's so nice that people want to be involved.

I did this in October, sympathies, personal statements are a challenge

I put my current involvement in the school (PTA, reading with kids) and how I feel about the school and its people. I also put a line about my background and what I thought my areas of strength were (communication, seeing the bigger picture).

When I saw the other statements (there were 7 for 3 posts) the ones that actually got sthe posts were the ones that came across as warm, passionate about kids/the school - skills were important too, but I would say they came second.

Mind you, that would fit the ethos of the school - I imagine it depends a lot on that.

Good luck!

Feenie, btw, MNing counts as 'communication'

Oops, just saw you've already handed in - hope you win!

Thanks, Elibean

Do you know what happened yet, Noahandthewhale? Our ballot papers came today - there are just two of us! Feels quite scary, eek!

I found this thread as I am really interested in applying to become a Governor at my DS's school.

Can I just ask how it went for Feenie and Noahandthewhale?

Very useful thread. I am considering this. I would also like to know the outcomes but it is an old thread isnt it.

I also wondered, and not just because our candidates are promoting themselves on Facebook...

IT is interesting this has been resurrected because some of the things mentioned in it are actually wrong! No parent governor represents the views of other parents. They have no way of gauging them accurately and they have no mandate from parents. They act exactly the same as any other governor so do not put down that you will represent parents.

Parents do like to feel they are voting for someone who will do something tangible for the children, but in reality this is wishful thinking! School governors set strategic objectives, monitor performance of the children and the staff and a whole host of other management functions. Of course, the children are at the heart of it and governors should be passionate about improving the school, but the reality is that preparation for Ofsted inspections and school improvement will be what you do. Data interpretation is a massive job these days. Relating this role to the experience in the classroom is problematic. The job of the head is the day to day management of the school. You will monitor policies, but you won't write them. You will agree a budget but you won't get to say how much of it is spent on books. You may not even be involved in appointing teachers. So what will you do for the children? Think strategically.

Be clear that you know what a governor does and how you skills relate to it. All governing bodies should do a skills audit, so you could speak to the Chair to see what skills are missing. Lots of governing bodies now have professionals on board who really know their stuff, be it accountancy, educationalists, building specialists etc. Sell your skills to the parents. Look at the schools 5 year plan and see where you can help. Understand the role of the head and the role of the governor.

In a competition, people who are known get voted on. If there is no competition, the school will appoint you. If you want to get known, join the PTA and volunteer in school..