Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Help me with my application to be school governor please

35 replies

suwoo · 08/05/2011 20:50

I will be honest from the outset... I want to apply to boost my own CV for when it comes to me applying for the GTP in two years time. If the GTP doesn't exist then as is rumoured I will take whichever route is available to become a secondary English teacher.

It is so competitive these days so I want as much on my CV to set me apart from my competitors. I have school placements and voluntary work lined up but being a school governor (albeit primary) would be the icing on the cake.

I will be ringing the head tomorrow (she knows me as a mother who is interested in her dc's education). What sort of things should I be saying?

Thanks

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

TeamLemon · 08/05/2011 20:52

Is it a parent governor post?

Original poster

suwoo · 08/05/2011 20:59

Yes it is.

OP posts:

Original poster

suwoo · 08/05/2011 21:23

Bump please.

OP posts:

TeamLemon · 08/05/2011 21:27

You'll probably need to get voted on, if there is more than one nominee. Have you asked some parents to nominate you?
You'll need to gear your personal statement towards gaining the parental vote, so say what they want to hear.
Having said that, do remember though that as a Parent Governor you won't be at the meetings as a parent rep. You will be expected to take on roles and responsibilities, help make decisions etc without canvassing parental opinions.
My DH is a parent governor and there are quite a few meetings and lots of reading to do.

angelpantser · 08/05/2011 21:28

Is it a recent vacancy? If it is one that the school has tried to fill previously without success then the Head may be very glad of your offer.

The Head will be looking for someone who can commit to meetings. You will most likely be asked to sit on a governor committee as well as the main governing body. These committees cover areas such as the curriculum, finance, premises, personnel, health and safety etc. If you have experience in any of these areas let the Head know when you speak.

Good Luck

IndigoBell · 08/05/2011 21:38

It's not the heads decision. If there are more applicants than positions the parents vote, else you're automatically elected.

Parents who know you will vote for you. Parents who don't know you but know the other candidate will vote for them. And parents who know neither of you will either not vote or decide on some arbitrary criteria.

So don't sweat it. Put down the normal stuff about caring very much about the school and your childrens education, and then just hope things go your way.

nailak · 08/05/2011 21:38

it depends id anyone else wants to do it, if they dont then you automatically will et the spot.

Original poster

suwoo · 08/05/2011 21:51

IIRC there were 5 or 6 candidates the last time there was an 'election' so it stands a chance there may be similar. I have 3 DC and work in the community so am fairly well known by the other parents.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

OP posts:

BeerTricksPotter · 08/05/2011 21:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AnnieBesant · 08/05/2011 21:57

We have sponsored GTP students for the past few years. This really would have made no difference to their application. Don't know whether it would make a difference to the training partnership.

AnnieBesant · 08/05/2011 22:00

I think as a governor you need to show that you are interested in all the children's education. I'd have a think about the children who are not like your own, and how the school works with and for them too.

Original poster

suwoo · 08/05/2011 22:07

BeerTricksPotter- exactly. Thats why I am asking what I can say as my genuine reasons are detailed in the OP. I would, if elected, do a grand job though. I don't do things by halves.

Thanks for that AnnieBesant, what sort of things would support an application?

OP posts:

Original poster

suwoo · 09/05/2011 09:34

Ive been to see the Head this morning and I have the forms. I am really excited about it now, and would really love to be elected. Now I am at uni and have some spare time seems perfect.

Any tips as to what to put in the teeny box for my personal statement? I have three children at (and due to be at) the school, I am active in the local community. I have a strong interest in the curriculum. What else?

OP posts:

Panelmember · 09/05/2011 09:56

Remember that you would be there to be a representative parent, not to be a representative of parents.

What you have said so far sounds good, but Annie Besant is right - you shouldn't be doing this to further your own children's education (that sort of interest is better promoted through the PFA) and need to make it clear that you're doing this for the school. Mention any skills that you could bring to the governing body - have you got experience of finance or HR, for example? General organisational ability? The governing body has many responsibilities in law and does serious work, so you need to show that you appreciate that it is not just a talking shop and you will bring appropriate expertise to it.

Original poster

suwoo · 09/05/2011 10:08

Thats very useful thank you. Yes to organisational skills and some financial and tenuous HR skills. Thanks for the reminder, that I am doing it for the school, I will keep that at the forefront of my mind. The governers were rated as outstanding in the Ofsted inspection (the school was put into special measures- but is now good with some outstanding features twelve months later) so the Head understandably wants to maintain this standard.

What about my passion for literacy within the curriculum? It is a tiny box to fill in- like maybe 30 words or something. It needs to be concise and effective.

OP posts:

Panelmember · 09/05/2011 10:19

Yes, I'd mention your interest in literacy and also say how you will make a personal contribution to raising standards and the continuing improvement of the school.

BeerTricksPotter · 09/05/2011 10:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Elibean · 09/05/2011 11:21

I am a parent governor, and had to fill in that teeny tiny box - getting it short enough was hard!

I would put your passions down, how you feel about the school/the children, your links to the community. Skills too, but IME (suppose it depends on the school and the parents thereof) people voted more for genuine passion to help the school than they did for shiny CVs.

Also, are you involved in the school in some way already? PTA, or reading with the kids? Those count for a lot too, as they show (as oppose to 'tell') commitment to the cause!

Good luck, both with your application and your future GTP app.

Original poster

suwoo · 09/05/2011 11:37

Thank you Elibean. I was more active when my eldest was little but not in recent years though. I am well known at school .

I think I will go with my passion for literacy/the curriculum and my interest in the children etc. Would you squeeze in about me being at uni/doing english/future teaching plans?

OP posts:

admission · 09/05/2011 15:47

You have an interesting dilemma here. If you say you have a passion for literacy then is that of interest to parents generally? It certainly will be to the head and to the rest of the staff who potentially will think that you are wanting to change everything to do with literacy in the school. Add in then that you are at uni, doing english and want to be a teacher and I think that you are shooting yourself in the foot with your application.
A governors role is strategic, it is not operational, and therefore you should, to me, be concentrating on saying 3 children at school, want to help the GB continue to ensure that the school moves to outstanding and your commitment to the local community.

Original poster

suwoo · 09/05/2011 17:20

Great, thank you, Admission. I assume GB stands for governors board? You just scared me to death as they are the Head's initials. I thought you knew me!

OP posts:

DanFmDorking · 09/05/2011 18:05

Include the skills and talents you can bring to the school.

... your ?deep and abiding interest in all aspects of Education?.
... If you are involved with the PTA then include it

Also, I would include something like ?because my youngest child is ?x?yrs old I?m going to be involved in the school for the next ?x? years?. Parents are reluctant to vote for someone whose youngest child is in the last (on next to last) year because they?ll leave after a short time.

You should think of the Governor meetings as meetings that you MUST attend and arrange your social life around them. You should attend the training sessions that your Local Authority provides. School Governors are the biggest volunteer organisation in the UK. We estimate that it takes up about 35hrs per year although, of course, it depends on how involved you want to be.

Good Luck

jgbmum · 09/05/2011 18:37

Good luck with your application.

If you are unsuccessful, you could talk to the Head about joining the governing body as a co-opted governor. Our school has a couple of these, and as far as I know, the only practical difference between the elected and the co-opted, is that the co-opted governors are not able to vote - but can still have their say on a topic before the vote!
However, I am willing to be corrected on this?

BeerTricksPotter · 09/05/2011 18:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Elibean · 09/05/2011 18:54

GB = Governing Body (I imagine us a some sort of huge, but attractive, spider with many legs )

I think you can truthfully say something about your passion/interest re Education generally - it clearly is something close to your heart - but mentioning Literacy, that specifically, may not work for you. I mentioned it as one of my interests, after I was voted in, and then discovered we had a Named Governor for Literacy in charge of a Curriculum/Policy Committee - far more experienced than me! My interests come in handy, and I've joined that committee, but it wouldn't have helped me with votes.

Flip

1 2