Parent Govenors

[thirdistheonewiththehairychest]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone who has been a parent Govenor at their child's primary school would mind sharing their experiences?
There is a vacancy at my child's school and I'm considering applying.

Is it an academy? I'm a company director registered with companies House which no one told me about. 6 years in. It's very rewarding. Very demanding at times but that is very spread out. It's given me experience of SMT I would never get at work. I interviewed for the HT for example

I think it can be rewarding but it depends on the board, the school and how much you are prepared to engage with it all. I think if you throw yourself into it and do some training and read the meeting packs it is a good thing to do to get experience of boards and help children.

Ok thanks. It's not an academy. I think I will probably go for it. It's encouraging that neither of you had any horror stories!

There should be a 'job' description, and someone available to chat with before you commit. It's time consuming (in bursts) and it may take you a while before you feel you're up to speed.

Prepare yourself for the fact it’s a strategic role so you have no say in the operational running of the school. There’s a lot of policy reading and rubber stamping. A mistake that some parents make is that they think they’ll be a parent representative, ie, voicing parents comments and thoughts. It’s not that. You are part of a strategic team, giving your input as a parent. A representative parent, rather than a parent representative.

Everyone I know who has done it enjoys it but says it's more work and time than you might initially think.

I agree with this. I was a parent governor of a school with some challenges (was appointed just as it got a requires improvement ofsted rating). Lots of parents expected that the parent governors would take their comments/views to the Head/Governors etc and report back. Explaining the subtle difference between being a representative parent and representative of the parents was tricky. I often got caught in at the school gates and asked to deal with minor issues/complaints etc and some parents were less than polite when I explained that they needed to speak to the teacher/Head. But it was very interesting to get an understanding of the strategic issues the school was facing and rewarding to be a 'critical friend' to the head as she got things back on track. It took up a lot more of my time than I expected though.

I do get to voice parents concerns at my school. Either on single one off issues or as a collective voice. But it's just informing the HT who actively seeks this out and welcomes this unique POV. Its only when its relavant. Unless a disgruntled parent seeks me out. At our school we are very active, there's no spare capacity to just be there as a box ticker. I have sat on expulsion boards, I have witnessed our chair being instructed to sack a HT. I have seen a HT close the school against the boards protest during covid. Its very hands on. I wasnt confident for a long time but I absolutely would no hesitation now on saying anything that has to be said to anyone at any level. Luckily I feel very passionate about the school and my child left years ago. I have no direct benefits of the schools success. It's just a very important place to me.

It certainly can be a very busy role, depending what’s going on in the school, and governors have an important roll, supporting the head, and being a critical friend. Interesting that your head encourages you to voice parent opinions. It’s certainly not the roll of any Governor to be engaged in operational matters, but maybe your head asks you to share information as a trusted parent, rather than a governor. As you say, you would never get involved in any matters, just pass them on.

I enjoy it, it’s more time consuming than just a few meetings. If you don’t have a specific role e.g. safeguarding, then we have half termly meetings, plus a termly visit in school time plus training. I’m safeguarding governor so I’ve got a bit more. I find it rewarding and fascinating, but also challenging, I’ve been on dismissal panels, through Ofsted etc.
You will come across lots of misconceptions especially on here! I‘m forever commenting on threads going use the complaints process, don’t go emailing the whole governing body, you won’t get anywhere. Plus a few rogue governors who comment on threads, saying well I’d want to know about this….. (Well yes you might, but only at the appropriate steps in the procedures!)
You may find it different in different governing bodies, but we’re a small one and therefore everyone plays an active role and gets stuck in, if it were a bigger governing body, I think some people may feel like you’re just rubber stamping things. But my experience is certainly positive.

Some official reading about the role - governors Bible!

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925104/Governance_Handbook_FINAL.pdf

Also check out the National Governor Association and Modern Governor.

I did it for a year, I'd recommend having a decent chat before committing to find out the level of commitment and time the school expects, the sort of roles they currently have and the sort of skills they are short of. They can make a world of difference and many do fantastic work, but truth be told I felt like it took advantage a bit of those passionate about making a difference. Sure volunteering isn't paid, but i was doing a lot and applying professional knowledge beyond what I thought fair. I volunteer for the PTA now and love it. Hard to say really if you'd enjoy it, but worth exploring.

@thirdistheonewiththehairychest
I wasn’t a parent governor, but I was a governor for many years.

As others say, you are not a representative for other parents. No complaints come through you. You are there to make a contribution as a parent.

The Government produces a Governance handbook - it’s a downloadable tome but covers everything. Try and have a look. It’s the bible.

It makes a huge difference if the GB is well run and effective. Everyone needs to be trained and pull their weight. It does take some time to get up to speed, especially with data interpretation and any specialist role you might take on, eg send governor, PP governor etc.

A parent governor should not directly report views of individual parents. They have no mandate for this. The role is strategic. Parental opinions are almost certainly operational however a parent governor has a unique position to think as a parent. This is what’s required.

There can be big decisions such as choosing a new head, but your main role is to question data and info you are given by to ensure the school is the best it can be for the Dc. The school must have a strategic vision and improvement plan and governors should monitor them. You might performance manage the head. The term “critical friend”, I think, is outdated. Governors are tasked with having a professional business relationship with the head. Governing boards should ensure they appoint governors with suitable skills - so think about what yours are.

Definitely ask for a meeting with the chair to see how they run the GB. Look at minutes. Talk about what they do and how they do it - so realistic commitment, meetings and visits to school, training, committees you could be on etc. Try and find out about how they cover the 6 key features of effective governance - if you know what they are, you are on your way!!