Parent Governors

[twinmummy24]

hey all,
just wondered if any of you know what is involved in being a parent governor, my DTD's teacher approached me this morning to see if i would be interested in becoming one but i have no idea what it involves

TIA
twinmummy

It depends on what the atmosphere is like at your particular school.
Being very blunt:
do you know any of the other current governors (staff, community, parent, LEA?) Are they reasonable ppl? Does the HT seem like a decent sort?

You get tonnes of support from the LEA with practicalities so sometimes it's just a rubber-stamping job. Other times it's all internal politics & power cabals & nobody cares what you have to say, anyway. So I would check the current crew very carefully. Paperwork & policies to get to grips with, otherwise.

A parent governor is the same as any other governor - you don't represent the parents' viewpoint, you just happen to be a parent.

Being a governor depends very much on the particular school, and the head. You get to know (to some extent) how the school works from the inside. There are lots of training courses you can go on (or at least there were - lots being cut in the current funding squeeze).

Lots of threads on here about governors - have a look through them - they give a fair cross-section of what being a governor is like.

If you take on the role of a parent governor, you'll need a clear exit strategy.

Good advice:-
A parent governor is the same as any other governor - you don't represent the parents' viewpoint, you just happen to be a parent.

Being a Governor varies slightly from school to school. The main thing is ?time and commitment?. You should think of the Governor meetings as meetings that you must attend and arrange your social/work 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.

Governors deal with Budgets, Policies, Targets and things which are 'a step away' from the 'day to day' running of the school.
Any question like 'My child doesn't ... isn't ... can't ...' is not for a Governors meeting.

School Governors do not run the school; they are there to take an overview and see that it delivers.

Some useful sites: ukgovernors and Governor Line and Being a school Governor

I enjoy it and I've learnt a lot. I like being involved with the school and making a contribution - watching and learning how others deal with and solve problems. I have gained in self confidence and speaking up in meetings. On the other hand sometimes one can get involved with sacking/redundancies and discipline matters.

I?m sure you can Google ?being a school governor? yourself but:-

The Role of a School Governor

1 To Provide a Strategic View
2 To Act as a ?Critical Friend?
3 To Ensure Accountability

Good Luck

Governors are usually appointed for a defined period - 4 years in our case - so there is an automatic end to your term of office, should you not need/want to stand down earlier than that. You can remain a parent Governor for your period of appointment even if your child has left the school.

Yes, you can stand down at the end of your term, but there's the inevitable guilt trip if no candidates for replacements are forthcoming.

Scholes have you had that eperience? It's a shame if so.

For the benefit of the OP and others thinking about becoming a Governor that is not the case at our school - and possibly others I hope.

We have Govs that take on a further term because they want to. I (I'm currently a Chair of Govs) always look at whose term is coming to an end and ask them what they would like to do - and then take the necessary action - plan elections, notify PCC if Foundation Gov etc. We have also had Govs step down early due to other commitments/change in circumstances. I would hope no Gov who has stepped down from our Gov Body would feel guilt tripped about their decision.

Not me, but DH who was Chair of Governors. The same happened to the parent governor who took over the role. I'm afraid it's now a case of sitting very firmly on hands when volunteers are sought.

I've taken on a key role in the primary school PTA committee this year, purely because I know I have the perfect get out as DC3 is in his last year there. I did five years on the nursery PTA.

I'm a Chair of Governors too, and was originally a parent governor, and I have a policy of not guilt tripping when people want to leave.

It's an interesting role, you certainly get to see an in depth look at the school and how it is run.

I would ask about training, I wish I had. I went on an initial new governor study day but because our school have chosen not to subscribe to the LEA training I can't access further courses and I definitely think I would benefit from it as this is a new world for me.

Luckily our chair is a wonderful man and I feel able to ask him anything about the role. Our HT however, well I'm seeing a side of her that is sometimes not so pleasant.