Becoming a school governor (info please)

Zziggi

I wonder if there are any MSErs out there that are also school governors?

I'd like some information about what it REALLY involves and what the pitfalls are of it. If you read the blurb that the LEAs produce then you would think that it is a bed of roses and of course, nothing ever is. I would like a more realistic take on what it involves.

The background to the situation is that I have been asked if i would become a school governor (technically a "community governor") and i am giving it due consideration. I am not the sort of person who likes to take on tasks without knowing what i am letting myself in for, so I am turning to you guys.

Some of my questions are:

• What is the difference between a community governor and a parent governor (other than the obvious)?

• How much commitment is needed?

• I understand that there are governor training sessions/days provided by the LEA and that these are COMPULSORY for governors to attend - is this correct?

• I understand that being a governor can carry with it legal responsabilities (especially if the !!!!!! hits the fan) - what are these? I'm not against taking on responsabilities and being "responsable" but i draw the line at taking up a voluntary position which can then heap legal problems & sanctions on me when things go wrong! (e.g. employment law if recruitment goes wrong, Health & safety when accidents happen)

• What's it really like being a governor?

P.S. I know the school has probably only asked me because they are desperate. Rarely do schools find people falling over themselves to become governors and this school most certainally doesn't! I know of people who just become governors for status & to network. I'm not like that and can't stand people who do! If i take on a job, then i try to do it well so I'd be taking it seriously. Also, what concerns me is that i am definitely NOT a "yes-man". I'm quite happy to be a "critical friend" but i am not the sort of person that will be swayed and agree to things because of group-pressure and because everyone else agrees. My worry is that if i became a governor then i would actually cause divisions rather than add to the governing body. I just wonder whether in cases where there is a good & capable Head running the school, in reality what school governing bodies wants is "yes-men" to just rubber stamp the Head's ideas but they are desperate for a bum-on-a-seat so are asking anyone to be a governor.

Nicki

Zziggi wrote: »

I wonder if there are any MSErs out there that are also school governors?

I'd like some information about what it REALLY involves and what the pitfalls are of it. If you read the blurb that the LEAs produce then you would think that it is a bed of roses and of course, nothing ever is. I would like a more realistic take on what it involves.

The background to the situation is that I have been asked if i would become a school governor (technically a "community governor") and i am giving it due consideration. I am not the sort of person who likes to take on tasks without knowing what i am letting myself in for, so I am turning to you guys.

Some of my questions are:

• What is the difference between a community governor and a parent governor (other than the obvious)?

A community governor can be sacked by the governing body but a parent governor cannot. Otherwise powers and responsibilities are the same.

• How much commitment is needed?

Usually 2 meetings per term minimum, plus additional committee meetings, depending on how your governing body is structured and which committees if any you choose to sit on. You might also be asked to become involved in things like recruitment, head teacher appraisal, disciplinary appeals etc on an ad hoc basis

• I understand that there are governor training sessions/days provided by the LEA and that these are COMPULSORY for governors to attend - is this correct?

No - but it would be a good idea to attend training if you can.

• I understand that being a governor can carry with it legal responsabilities (especially if the !!!!!! hits the fan) - what are these? I'm not against taking on responsabilities and being "responsable" but i draw the line at taking up a voluntary position which can then heap legal problems & sanctions on me when things go wrong! (e.g. employment law if recruitment goes wrong, Health & safety when accidents happen)

Its corporate liability not personal in most cases. Provided you act in good faith to the best of your abilities, you should be fine. If you set out to be fraudulent however, then yes personal liability will attach!

• What's it really like being a governor?

Rewarding and frustrating in equal measure. You may get flack for unpopular decisions and are expected to uphold the party line publicly even if you personally didn't agree with a decision made by the majority.

P.S. I know the school has probably only asked me because they are desperate. Rarely do schools find people falling over themselves to become governors and this school most certainally doesn't! I know of people who just become governors for status & to network. I'm not like that and can't stand people who do! If i take on a job, then i try to do it well so I'd be taking it seriously. Also, what concerns me is that i am definitely NOT a "yes-man". I'm quite happy to be a "critical friend" but i am not the sort of person that will be swayed and agree to things because of group-pressure and because everyone else agrees. My worry is that if i became a governor then i would actually cause divisions rather than add to the governing body. I just wonder whether in cases where there is a good & capable Head running the school, in reality what school governing bodies wants is "yes-men" to just rubber stamp the Head's ideas but they are desperate for a bum-on-a-seat so are asking anyone to be a governor.

I'm not a yes man either in a school with a strong head. We have different skills and views however which complement each other. Whilst we don't always agree, a different perspective has always been helpful to the head and its never come to a point where there's been a falling out. In the event of disagreement sometimes governors win and sometimes the head does.

Savvy_Sue

If there is a good and capable Head running the school, the last thing they want is a bunch of yes-men, IME.

It's the weak and incapable who generally can't cope with ANY disagreement.

Fortunately there aren't many of them out there.

As I haven't been a governor, I can't help a lot beyond that, except to say that parent governors are elected from among the parents, and community governors aren't, but either come 'by request' (like you) or it goes with their day job (perhaps just by tradition). For example, a vicar might be a governor at a school within the parish, or a local councillor might be governor of a school within their ward. When they move on the next incumbent may be asked / expected to take over where they left off.

Good for you for thinking about it. The more people who care about schools where people aren't falling over themselves to help out, the better things get!

maman

Presumably you must have some link with the school/community to be asked. It's often the case that schools are desperate because they must have a governing body by law and they have to go looking if volunteers do not flood forward. It goes without saying that many schools are in areas where they do not have lots of community minded people putting themselves forward. Most schools could probably cope extremely well without governors but it's a question of accountability and legal requirements. Agree with what has been written above about minimum time required but you can make it more if you have the time to get to know the school and visit in the school day. In some schools governors are tolerated and the school operates in spite of them. In others the governors can be a real asset and the Head can truly delegate tasks to them. I fear the latter are in the minority. To the OP, it depends how community minded you feel!

LondonDiva

I'm filling in an application form to become a governor and have been stumped by the supporting statement bit that asks - why do you want to be a governor?

So far, I have: it seems like a good idea to do something in an area I'm always moaning about, I'm interested in the area and I'd be good at it...

No wonder I still haven't sent in the form. Anyone good at bumpf?:(

Savvy_Sue

You have the time to commit to it, you have expertise in x, y and z which you would like to share with the school, and you want to see change.

Is this community or parent governor? If parent, then a little bit about your children, how long they've been there, why you chose this school over others etc.

x, y and z could be fundraising, human resources, management, computing. I'm struggling to remember what you do for your day job - health? - but you always seem to write good sense, so maybe something along the lines of "seeing to the heart of a problem and expressing possible solutions in simple terms".

Unless there's fierce competition, that's probably not a hugely important part of the form, but it does give you a chance to show the school where they could pick your brains etc.

Does that help get you further along?

Surfbabe

Is it a secondary school or primary school? There is a lot of difference in the amount of work involved between the two - My husband has been a primary school governor and I am a secondary school governor so i speak from experience!!!

squashy

The school is run by the Governors to all intents and purposes, ie the headteacher is answerable to them. They are there to ensure that the school is doing everything correctly, from admissions and appeals to the school finances. So yes it IS a responsible role, but a rewarding one. You can push for hange, question decisions made and put forward ideas. A governor should act as a "critical friend" to the headteacher so it is not all power-crazy stuff.

Have a look at the stuff on this local authority webiste:

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/governors/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=2

Nicki

Surfbabe wrote: »

Is it a secondary school or primary school? There is a lot of difference in the amount of work involved between the two - My husband has been a primary school governor and I am a secondary school governor so i speak from experience!!!

I think it depends on the size of the school and the personality of the head more than whether its primary or secondary to be honest. I'm a governor of a primary school and chair of governors of a secondary, which are of similar sizes and there isn't a huge amount of difference between how much time I spend at each (though there was when one of the schools had a different head).

The time I quoted in my first post was the minimum commitment by the way. I probably spend at least 10-12 hours a week supporting my two schools spread over the school term (some weeks more at one school than the other depending on what the need is) but I don't work at the moment. Other working governors get by on what I've previously quoted and there are shades in between.

LondonDiva

I do work in health (evil manager shush!) It would be for a community governor & I think I'd be allocated to a school if I specified my area of choice - secondary would be my preference.

I did want to be a magistrate, bu tthought I'd build up life experience slowly first!

thanks for the suggestions

Diva:)

gairlochgal

I am an LA governor on a primary school. I do critical friend for my day job and they wanted me to strengthen that aspect of the GB. I find it pretty frustrating to be honest. It's a solid school but that's down to the head not the GB. The GB just rubber stamps decisions, fails to ask useful questions, gets distracted by trivia. I've been doing it for 18 months and have made some progress but not a huge amount. It's 3 steps forward 2 back. Overall I would recommend it though. Even when the GB is driving me crazy, the issues are fascinating.