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Post by serrakunda on Jun 4, 2014 17:42:48 GMT
Be very naughty and put my name forward for school parent governor and put a few rockets up them?  |
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Post by ham on Jun 4, 2014 17:48:11 GMT
Go for it
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Post by serrakunda on Jun 4, 2014 17:55:14 GMT
I'm so tempted but I don't think I'd get the flexibility from work to attend the meetings and training
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Post by kstar on Jun 4, 2014 18:36:17 GMT
It would be amazing though. Governing bodies need parents who tell it like it is! We have too many who are Yes Men (or women) and just agree with the head instead of holding them to account.
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Post by ham on Jun 4, 2014 19:00:41 GMT
Enquire how flexiable the post is.do you need to attend every meeting and can you limit your interests so don't get involved in the sub group meetings
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Post by chotimonkey on Jun 4, 2014 19:35:09 GMT
Aren't most meetings evenings? Ours always were... An extra time commitment you might not need, but it would be so good!! I'd be cheering you on!
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Post by serrakunda on Jun 4, 2014 19:48:14 GMT
Unusually the meetings are in the afternoon. It's a minimum of one three hour meeting per term, as it's such a tiny school I doubt they have many sub groups. It's 'interesting' to see an emphasis visual impairment issues. We are an academy, sponsored by RNIB, but I would say very few, if any of the children have serious visual impairments. A number, including Simba, wear specs, but if they had significant issues they would be at the RNIB school, not one for kids with MLD and autism.
If I didn't work, or was staying with my current line manager who is super flexible, I think I'd give it a go, but really not sure how the new job is going to pan out.
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Post by leo on Jun 4, 2014 21:57:13 GMT
I thought that there was actually a legal requirement for an employer to give time off for any employee who was a school governor? I may be wrong but we used to have several 'businessmen' on our Governors and that's what they used to say!
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Post by serrakunda on Jun 4, 2014 22:17:29 GMT
Yes you are allowed time for public duties, but they can choose not too pay you, though you would think working in the dept for education they would be supportive. But I'm finding it hard enough at work at the moment with a very understanding line manager, I'm moving to a new assignment where I'm very uncertain about the manager. We have a very interesting performance management system where it's very easy for them to make life difficult for you if they don't like you.
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Post by cowgirl on Jun 4, 2014 22:55:28 GMT
A friend of mine left being a school govern as he said the majority knew what they wanted & it was a closed shop.
He felt he was there to make up the numbers.
His feeling anyway.
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Post by moo on Jun 5, 2014 5:39:34 GMT
As a parent governor of four years I would say go for it.... ( I would be amazed if work refused to pay you it is 1 meeting per term 4 per year )
BUT sadly like cowgirl says it is a very much done deal most of the time governors are wheeled in to vote on something that chair or head have already decided.... Course that is feverently denied but soo not true!?, it is tuff coz some la governors just are yes men & that then leaves it very tuff for the ones who ask appropriate Q's & do the job right!?!.... They are then outvoted but the yes men iykwim.... But it is bound to be political & if you go in eyes wide open then that's o.k.....
Happy pondering you would be brilliant just what any board so desperately needs....
xx. moo. Xx
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Post by littlemisscheerful on Jun 5, 2014 6:52:21 GMT
It often sounds to me like you have enough on your plate (did you go for the allotment) and it might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Aren't you trying to move schools? If Simba does move schools, I think it would as well to expect some teething problems (and be delighted if there aren't any).
It's not so much the time that the meetings take, but the mental energy of having to juggle something else!
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Post by larsti on Jun 5, 2014 14:06:26 GMT
My first reaction was...go for it! But I do agree that you don't need the (possible) hassle with work and also to spemd time on yourself. There will be another opportunity. That's my tuppenceworth!
On the other hand....one afternoon a term? Maybe a good idea after all.
Larsti (firmly sitting on the fence!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2014 16:42:01 GMT
I seriously considered it. But as I had already seriously annoyed the CoG as a parent (the feeling was entirely mutual) and Buster only had two terms to go at the school and I was facing the prospect of a tribunal to get his statement sorted (didn't actually get that far in the end!) it seemed likely to end up as an unnecessarily emotionally draining exercise, which I just didn't need!
Now if a parent governor place comes up at secondary, it may be a different situation . . .
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Post by serrakunda on Jun 5, 2014 18:21:59 GMT
As I just had to make a further complaint about school transport and challenged them this week about pupil premium spend, I don't think they'd have me.
I'm not looking to change school at the moment, all the angst about mainstream/special is about secondary, we have to have forms in by October. Visiting three schools over the next few weeks
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Post by monkey on Jun 5, 2014 20:42:26 GMT
As a Parent Governor I think you're voted in by other parents not by the school - I might be wrong. In my case no one else showed an interest!!!
I've been a Governor for just over a year and I volunteered specifically with a view of being able to make a difference to the kids with SEN.
I'm not sure that I'm going to get anywhere close to that but the tiny step that is positive is having been able to build some relationships with some of the staff.
It is a big commitment and one that I probably haven't got time for.
Most of the other Governors are either self employed, retired or work from home so I'm lucky that there are other Governors available to do things that need doing during school time.
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Post by milly on Jun 6, 2014 0:00:50 GMT
I wouldn't. But then I have been a teacher governor twice and they were among the most boring experiences of my life. Not to mention the most frustrating as you have no real power.
Probably worse for a teacher as one can't criticise or challenge one's boss in public. But mostly found the issues very tedious - not heart of the matter at all.
Also I have found it just too much to do it all - trying to keep up with work, parenting, housework, social life, keeping fit etc etc - trying also to add extra things on top has been a step too far for me ( have done it but now backing off)
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Post by corkwing on Jun 6, 2014 6:59:58 GMT
Hi, Serrakunda -
My experience was that the 1 meeting a term was just the start of it. Before each meeting there was a pile of paperwork to read, which was another couple of hours. They also wanted us to come into school a couple of times a term to look at things and show a presence. True or not, we were told that it helps the staff to feel that they're supported by the governors and is also something that OFSTED look at to see how good the governance is. For these sorts of visits, one governor had a look at safeguarding, another at buildings, etc. Just for an hour or so. And then write up a log of the visit afterwards. And they'd have liked us to turn up at school events, such as end of term assemblies, prize givings, sports days, etc.
Then there was training. Couple of nights for initial training. Another night for pupil premium training. More training - some online - if you specialised in any other areas.
The meetings themselves I found boring and very, very rarely actually discussed any real issues. The governing body is in charge of policy: the head is in charge of implementation. So we did a lot of looking at policy documents, budgets, statistical analyses of exclusions, attendance, exam results, etc. We debated updating the school computer network and servers and whether to buy or rent. We discussed whether a tree should be pruned, felled or left alone. We didn't look at what the staff should do if pupil X does Y again - that's the head's job. To be honest, I'm not sure that my being there made any difference whatsoever.
In some ways I'd have preferred more meetings because, with only one per term, we spent so much time on the statutory stuff that there was none left for more general discussions.
I resigned after 4 terms as I didn't feel that I had the time and energy to commit to it fully.
All the best with your decision,
Corkwing
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2014 9:26:31 GMT
I agree with the other posters. My ex was a governor for 4 years and there is a lot more work that goes on behind the scenes. There is a lot of reading to do and they do expect you to turn up to all sorts of school activities to show your face (only benefit is you do get a front row seat at concerts etc). There are loads of sub committees that you end up being on with extra meetings and in my DD's school, the meetings were usually in the evenings as most Govenors worked. I quite often had the head teacher etc sitting around my dining room table while I had to sit in the living room as these meetings were "confidential". It did get my kids off to bed on time though when they knew HT was coming round.  We live next door to the school and for smaller meetings it was easier to have them at my home rather than the school. It does give you a good insight into how the school is run etc, but over all is a lot more work than you might think initially which is why if you are stressed at the moment, it might just add to that stress, and 4 years is a long commitment, especially if Simba is moving onto secondary in 2 years? |
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Post by gilreth on Jun 7, 2014 12:36:10 GMT
I've been a governor at a local secondary school for 9 years in November - and am managing to keep up with it since Sqk arrived. Does help that we are now an academy so have lost a lot of the individual sub-committees - just 5 meetings a year for me to attend (12 in the past). Admittedly I am not on trust board so have the minimum number of meetings. However I do find it worthwhile and am nominated to handle PP & SEN stuff which fits right in with my interests. However I have an employer who encourages us to be involved in community and lets me take whatever time I want out of work (well as long as I don't go when I am supposed to be teaching students)
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Post by serrakunda on Jun 7, 2014 12:55:16 GMT
If Simba had more than a year to go and if the useless super head wasn't leaving at the end of term, I would give it more serious thought, I don't think because of the nature and size of the school, 70 children, they are overrun with sub committees, but given that I'd probably just be getting to grips with stuff when Simba is moving on it's probably not worth the effort
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We live next door to the school and for smaller meetings it was easier to have them at my home rather than the school.