Talk to me about role of govenor / parent govenor

[Inclusionreally]

Could someone please fill me in?
Role and experience of things?

Thanks

I am a parent governor, have been for a few years.

There is quite a bit to learn about the function of a governing body, legal responsibilities etc. We have about 6 meeting a year, 2-3 hours each. I also visit the school as a governor.

Meetings are confidential.

At times it feels like the government thinks governors are all activists trying to seize power, whereas in reality I just want to make a contribution.

Parent Governor.

Do it if you....

Genuinely want to help/give something back.

You have worthwhile skills to offer.

You are willing to learn and have plenty of time to give.

You can put your own (school/ parent) issues to one side and look at the bigger picture. Not everything will benefit your child/children.

Don't do it if....

You think it will benefit your own child/children.

You want to be "in the know".

You find it hard NOT to gossip.

You want to feel important among parents or have "one up" over others.

You are not willing to learn and give up your time.

If you think you know more than the head!

I am a governor, but not a parent goveernor. Many years ago, I ran courses for parent governors though as part of my job. It is quite a difficult role. I agree with much of the posts above. Do not become a parent governor if you want to promote something for your own child, eg your child has SEND and you are campaigning for them to have more TA time. There is nothing wrong in ensuring all SEND children in the school make good educational progress. You need to be able to challenge the Head in a friendly and supportive manner, so do not go in"all guns blazing". It is always worth remembering that most schools fail Ofsted inspections on the teaching and learning element of the inspection. To get a flavour of what Ofsted are looking for in a governing body, have a look at their seb site and the Ofsted Inspection manual.

It takes a lot of time and doing training is absolutely vital. I have noticed that the attainment and progress data has moved on so much from my previous experience of governorship. Think about what skills you have to offer. Are you interested in the quality of teaching and learning, data interpretation, school finance, premises, health and safety, SEND, Pupil Premium children, HR and performance management and are you willing to train for one or two of these roles in particular if you are not up to speed?

You must remember that you are not a parent advocate in the sense that the parents cannot tell you how to make your decisions and you do not have to canvas for opinions before or after decisions are made. You can of course listen to parents, but the whole governing body should do this, not just you. It is highly unlikely that any governor or the head will do something that outrages the parents, but you must remember that you support the decision of the governing body in public, even if you do not totally agree with it. If it is a deal breaker for you, then resign.

Being a governor can take several hours a week, or several hours a month depending on your willingness to visit the school and get involved. Governing bodies have committees and these can meet once or twice a term as well as the full governing body meeting once a term. School visits and training will take up more time. An iminent Ofsted inspection also ramps up involvement.

I strongly believe everyone has something to offer and your school should have an induction pack for new governors and help you settle into the role. Most people find it can take several meetings before they feel confident. Your LA should offer induction training and this gives you a chance to meet other new governors and experienced trainers so you can ask questions of them. Lastly, go for it!

Thank you so much your replies have been amazing.
I did put myself forward but retracted it. I thought it may be to give a parent view and to help from that side of the fence and as I have an interest in sen children (and the fact they have had appauling sen in the past) I wondered if I could help.
Was told it was basically as per above and so I said I wasn't cut out for it as I would find it hard not to be a parent at all times.
The only niggles I have is the lack of knowledge around sen issues and some comments made by the governor - children are our customers and we cant keep putting money into sen as there are other children who need the budget for other things.. I would be too frustrated by this way of thinking as they are children not targets or results and sen children are disabled, they need help :(

I've been a governor (parent) for 4 years and have just started my second term. Governing is a strategic role. So you are looking at the overall strategy to meet the requirements of OFSTED and the needs of the children.

If you want to be a Governor you need to be able to see the needs of all the children and put aside your particular passion. However, you can look at the data and if there is low attainment for a particular group of children, you can ask what is being done to raise it.

yes thanks lougle. Don't have the energy to do this role as im fighting for help for my two dc's so decided that's where I need to focus my time and energy. 10% of the school is sen due to the last head not supporting sen and lots leaving so now we are in minority and not a focus now either. I will help sen kids on ground level I think offering my time to support day to day I think and to help mine at home cope with the demands of a mainstream academic school :(

According to MN you become a governor to:

1. Make sure your dc get all the main roles in plays/sports teams/anything else and all the awards
2. Stop your dc's class teacher leaving (for a new job) mid year
3. Hear all the staff gossip
4. Get inside information about your dc's friends/their parents
5. Deal with anything other parents are not happy with which the class teacher has already dealt with

Reality is somewhat different. Dh has been a governor at infant, followed by now secondary, for nearly 10 years in total

1. Takes lots of time, and you get lots of stuff to read through and absorb. He probably has between 1 and 3 meetings every term time month before you start looking at courses he goes on, issues arising requiring research/phone calls... it takes a huge amount of time.
2. Meetings at all sorts of times-you also will probably need to at least occasionally go into school during term time.
3. You do get stuff that is confidential. Dh doesn't tell me or anyone else things that he is told.
4. Look at exciting things such as health and safety round the site. (dh did put out that the best way of reducing incidents at infant level would be to replace the playgound with something soft!)
5. When the government announces a new initiative you ned to find out about it, and learn enough to be able to make sure the school is working well with it only for it to be scrapped 2 years later
6. Looking out for all the children (dh has been involved in decisions that he has known are not good for our dc, but are best for the vast majority)
7. As chair of governors he did things like appraisals of the head. And no that wasn't a case of "you're brilliant" it was, with a group coming out with ways the head could improve, sometimes stuff that wasn't most comfortable for the head.
8. Lots of spam emails. Currently he gets weekly updates from a "bespoke guttering company" which is determined to clean the gutters of the school. They have so far been asked three times to stop sending them, but they just change their email address and send them agan. There is no way they will use them if they're the last company in the area now, but that's not discouraging them.

The only bonus dh has noticed for being a governor is that he usually gets reserved front row seats for productions.

I would also say (from experience) that if there is something you are wanting to push the school on for your dc then you are best not being involved in that area as a governor.
We've come up against that. Where something (in dh's subcommittee) has effected our dc negatively. When that comes up, I have to deal with it, not dh, even though he's better at doing that sort of thing, because it comes very different from a governor than a parent.
And even though we're getting feedback from other parents that they feel the same way, he can't deal with it as well as if he wasn't personally involved. Luckily they are rearranging this next year, but he'd have pushed much harder for it to be changed mid year if either dc wasn't involved (and he was a governor) or if he wasn't a governor and was just pushing as a parent.

10% SEN still puts you in the 2nd quintile of schools with SEND pupils. That means few schools have more SEND children than you do.

As a parent, you can look at the School Development Plan to see if the Governors do maintain a focus on SEN. You can look at Governing Body minutes and agendas, including any Committee papers where SEN is discussed to see what the governors have discussed regarding SEN. You can see what progress SEN and other children make by looking at the Ofsted Data Dashboard for your school - just type in X School Ofsted Dats Dashboard and you will find all the information.

The school will have a SEND governor - hopefully not a member of staff - and you can ask to see them about provision in the school for the SEND children and what progress these children are making. It is their job to ensure the SEND provision enables children to make progress and should be challenging the Head on this topic. Some SEND governors are willling to meet regularly with a number of parents (a forum) to discuss provison and progress. Some elements of school work go on and off the school development plan and it may be your school has other very pressing needs too. You will be able to see what these might be from the dashboard information. It is natural to want to focus on your own children but it cannot be done at a Governing body meeting. I wish you well in your support of your children.

Sorry - Ofsted Data Dashboard

Thank you so much. I will absorb and ask more of how I can help my two so thanks all, great info!

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.

In all types of schools, governing bodies should have a strong focus on three core strategic functions:
a. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
b. Holding the Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
c. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

Sometimes one can get involved with sacking, redundancies and discipline matters.

Some useful sites: UK Governors Forum and Governor Line and Being a School Governor and Governors for Schools

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.

I’m sure you can Google ‘being a school governor’ yourself but briefly:-

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