“You learn to lead with confidence, build consensus, and inspire others to achieve common goals.”
‘The benefits of being a school governor’, Governors for Schools
Boards Wales takeaways:
- Schools are an essential community asset that deserve good governance
- The act of serving as a school governor contributes positively towards your local community
- School governors gain significant experience in different skill sets, potentially improving their employability
My local school
My children came back from school this week bearing voting forms for parents to select new school governors. After reading through the statements of the four candidates, I came to the following conclusion: all four candidates are outstanding. The school is lucky to have competition for the positions.
All of the candidates have children in the school. Two of the candidates are teachers, which I find mind-boggling. They are presumably dealing with their own kids in the morning, dealing with everybody else’s during the day, then their own afterwards. And they want to add additional school governance to the list! Hat off to them and to everyone else who volunteers with their own rich life experience.
Of course, not all schools are in this position, and there remain some schools with vacancies. Given the importance of school governors, I have created a page to help people find opportunities within their own local authority.
What is a school governor?
School governors are an integral part of the overall good running of a school. They are volunteers who support the decision-making process in the school, making a significant contribution to its overall performance.
The role of governors includes:
- Holding the senior management of the school to account
- Investigating complaints about the school
- Helping deliver strategy and good financial management
You don’t have to be an expert in all of these things – particularly if you have other skills that the school could benefit from – to start your journey in school governance. However you should be keen to learn and to bring your judgement to bear. There may be opportunities for you to undertake training on certain aspects of governor duties or responsibilities.
Things to be aware of
As with any Board, there are a few things you should be on the look-out for if you join as a new school governor.
- Group-think. The arch-enemy of good governance, this is when people coalesce quickly round a conventional or shared approach without challenging assumptions. A diverse board or committee can lessen the likelihood of group-think by broadening the range of experiences that inform thinking
- Don’t assume that old hands know it all! Even though you are likely to be joining an exceptionally motivated and talented team, that doesn’t mean that everyone will be on top of relevant policy.
- It’s important for new board members to listen; but don’t defer to others *just* because you’re new. Your own experience may be just as relevant to a particular issue as people who have been governors for years.
This post is the personal opinion of David Clubb. I haven’t been a school governor, but I’m currently volunteering in my local primary school to help out with the digital champions class (Dewinau Digidol).