My viability as a potential school governor was called into question due to my pregnancy

[TeamCatal]

4 months ago I contacted a school in the town that I was moving to in order to discuss the possibility of becoming a governor. At the time I was almost 5 months pregnant.

Delays with the house move and the summer holidays meant that I wasn't able to get to meet the head or Chair of Governors until today (21st September). My pregnancy has obviously advanced in the meantime and I'm now 37 weeks pregnant.

The very first question I was asked (by the female headteacher) was, given the "imminent happy event", being a governor at their school going to be a viable option for me given the time commitment involved (2 evenings per term). The headteacher was aware of my pregnancy prior to our meeting.

At the time I was very calm and responded that I wouldn't officially take up the position until January, in order to be fair a) to my unborn child and b) the school.

As an ex-school leader I am more than aware of the workload involved in being a governor. My intention was to be a very hands on governor, as I do believe that the role is an important one in holding the head to account. I do not believe that a couple of two hour meetings during the term, and the occasional morning in school, is going to be an issue since both hubby and I work for ourselves from home.

It's only as the day has gone on that the severity of what she said really dawned on me. Am I over-reacting in thinking that, had I walked into an actual job interview rather than an informal chat, to ask such a question could not have been asked, given that she already knew of the pregnancy?

If I had been in the meeting as Chair and my head teacher said that I would be grasping her neck with both hands. That is an outrageous question to be asking in the circumstances.
There are to my mind two possible explanations. Firstly the head teacher has no comprehension of the equality acts, about discrimination and life in general outside school. Or secondly it was a very deliberate attempt to put you off joining as a governor. Does she know your background, fears having someone on the governing board who might ask too many awkward questions and used your pregnancy to put negative thoughts in your mind rather than come out with the real reason. I would suspect the latter is the real answer and that therefore you might like to offer your services to a school that will more appreciate your experience and capabilities.

It is not the business of the Head, Chair or anyone else to question your parenting arrangements! Would they ask a soon to be father? Of course not. If you get to be a Governor, sort them out with HR training on how to interview!!! It's just awful this happens in this day and age.

I do not think you are entirely aware of the amount of work required to be a governor though. Two meetings a term is very low. Most governors are on committees as well as the full governing body. To be effective you must undertake training. You do not need to be "hands on". In fact you shouldn't be. That is not your role. You are there to ensure that the children make good progress and you monitor standards and set objectives. You may well be a performance management governor for the Head after training and you will be interpreting a lot of data provided by the school.

You are a governor and not an extra pair of hands in the classroom. Classroom visits should be agreed in advance and be part of your monitoring role. You could monitor maths, literacy, part of the school improvement plan, safeguarding, health and safety, pupil premium, SEND etc. You cannot just pop in when you feel like it. The days of a "hands on" governor have disappeared. It is a professional role and you should treat it as such. It's a great thing to do though, so give it a go, and be realistic.

Thank you for your comments! I do appreciate them :-)

I'd forgotten to mention the sub-committees - when considering taking up the position of governor I had factored those in, I just forgot to mention them in the original post (first time posting a thread!) and by "hands on" I did not mean literally an extra pair of hands in the classroom and by no means did I expect to just be able to "pop in". I meant in the sense of sitting on the subcommittees and prearranged visits etc but you do make very valid points. Being a good governor is a LOT of work but it is work I am very happy and keen to undertake.

As an ex-teacher and school leader I am very aware of the professionalism and training required to be a governor, but I was very saddened to get the impression that the headteacher today saw governors as being a hindrance rather than a help. She kept saying about how all GB decisions were all "unanimously agreed".... that also set alarm bells ringing! Apparently there's always a lot of agreement on everything, which doesn't ring right so I do think there was an element of governor bulldozing going on. Also, I kept picking up that she was contradicting herself.

I still think that being a governor is a great role, and a vitally important one. I was just shocked to be asked whether my pregnancy made me a suitable candidate! TBH, there was a number of issues which I spotted which made me think twice about the school, not just the initial question. I will keep on looking for the right school, I will continue to be realistic about the role and I won't be put off by one bad apple :-)

Wow. Two evenings a week? Come on. Some women go back to work full time after two weeks!

Just to clarify that that is to say that head has her, well head up her own arse.

Sounds like that school really needs a governor such as you would be. The head teacher probably had good reasons for (successfully, it seems) putting you off!

That's a real shame for you and the school, but maybe there are other schools in reach of your new home that would appreciate a governor with your interest (that's a good start) and any skills that you may have to offer. I hope there are lots of heads with a more positive attitude.

I'm a parent governor and recently we have had issues with a lack of commitment from some of the other parent-governors on the governing body. That said, the woman who had a 2nd child shortly after becoming a parent governor (after invitation because she was sort of talent spotted when helping other parents to answer a council consultation document) is by far the best of the others - there was a spell when she wasn't able to get to meetings but she has returned and is taking on an extra role.

the severity of what she said really dawned on me

Really ? Over-reaction, much ?

You are doing quite a lot of big, life changing things - having a baby (Stressful and time consuming), moving house (Stressful and time consuming), moving areas (stressful and time consuming) - at the same time. It seems sensible to me for someone to check that you are aware of the time the school is looking for someone to commit, before they take on the role, and commit to training necessary (as well as DBS checks etc), before adding to all that stress with the Governor role and then having you withdraw.

Even if you are offended by it, it is hardly a "severe" thing that someone has raised it with you. If you think that is a 'severe' situation, you might end up being a bit shocked about the realities of life for some dc once you become a Governor.

Sexist crap (and yes thats possible from another woman). Its for you to decide whether you can make the commitment of time work. What about all the men who work long hours and dont get home till 8 or 9? Do they get asked about their time commitment or indeed any actual knowledge of their children's school experience?

It is not a good picture painted by the Head in my view. As a Governor we rarely vote on my GB. We state opinions and come to an agreed position. A bit like cabinet Government. The Head is challenged at the meetings, especially on progress data and the improvement plan, but a lot of challenge is done by monitoring visits and performance management. Therefore when the Head says the Governors agree, she may be saying they don't actually vote. We work closely with the Head and really nothing is so divisive that we cannot agree a way forward.

Also, Governors set the ethos and improvement goals for the school. There is not much for Governors to disagree about really in a well run school. They must challenge the Head and in the past I have found the biggest barrier to doing this is poor quality information from the Head coupled with unreliable data. If you can trust the Head, you can all move the school along successfully. It really isn't adversarial.

Try another school and see if it feels different. Feeling you don't fit in is no fun. (Been there and got the t shirt). Go where you can be part of a professional team and where everyone pulls together for the children.

I agree with Admission. The things you have said suggest that this may be a school where the governors simply rubber stamp whatever the head decides, in which case the head may not want someone on the governors who has the experience and knowledge to challenge her properly.