Anyone A School Governor?

[allie5]

DD started school in January this year, and since then, her proper teacher has been "off sick" for all but 3 weeks of term. They have had supply teachers since February.

DD could read before she started school (albeit quite simple books) and I expected her to progress quickly once she started school. Its now Easter and she can hardly read much more than at Christmas....Im sure this is to do with the inconsistances with the teaching.

Ive spoken to the various teachers involved, but dont get much feedback.I realise its hard for them, when they barely know the names of the children!

I have been thinking that rather than just whinge about problems all the time, I could maybe do more from the "inside". One of the other mums is a "parent / governor" and has said she will nominate me as there is a vacancy.

I wondered just how much good you can do as a Governor? I am tempted to give it a try. Its a very small school, and most of the mums and kids know each other, which is lovely. A lot of the mums of the children in Reception are concerned at the situation with the teaching and want me to bring it up at the next meeting....eeeeek. This concerns me a little, as I dont want to do it JUST to tackle this particular issue (though it is my main concern at present).

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Allie

 

[natalielongstaff]

i am a parent governor and i love it, the vacancy i filled coincided with the appt of a new headteacher and since then our school has gone from strength to strength.
we have valuable input on the standards of teaching ( we check marking etc) and also some of the teaching staff are themselves governors so you get to know them much better.
i go to meetings about once every 3 weeks but then i am on two commitees ( health and safety and school improvement, i steered clear of the finance one tho)
most importantly parents sometimes find it easier to approach me rather than staff direct and its great to help resolve issues they have.
hth please ask me if ive not covered everything

 

[lagunn]

had the same problems as you allie ....so i took my kids out of school and they are now being educated at home...

 

[Verity Chambers]

HI Allie. I am a reception teacher myself, so understand your concerns. I think that if you are really concerned about your child's progress you need to talk to someone at school. Is the teacher back? If so you need to set up an appointment with her to talk through your concerns. if not talk to the head teacher or head of the key stage. it is so important for good communication between parents and teachers. I really encourage "my parents" to talk to me as soon as they have a problem or concern.

As for your questions about being a governor, I know that the parents at our school who are governers find it rewarding and great to be a part of the school. However, it is quite a responsibility, with frequent meetings, which some are not expecting.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have any more question or want to chew my ear about your child's progress.

Love verity.xxx

 

[Danauk]

I am a teacher governor for my primary school and am also on the senior management team. I enjoy my job and governors role very much. As a governor you get to understand the politics behind the running of a school which I find interesting. You will probably find, as I did that problems can not be solved as simply as you might think but there are reasons why situations have to be delt with in certain ways. You are right to bring your concerns to the attention of the head (regardless of being a governor or not), who is probably already aware of them. If the head does not know when the regular teacher is returning it is hard for them to book constant supply teachers. Equally if they do know when the teacher is returning it is often hard to employ a teacher for just a term or get the same supply teacher to fill in until the regular teacher is back. We have had this situation at my school and we have delt with it as best as we can. We were lucky that we managed to get one of our regular supply teachers to work full time for us until the regular teacher returned. However we knew from the start how long he would be off for. Perhaps your head has not been so lucky in finding someone to do this. I understand how you must be feeling as the foundation stage of a childs education is so important, but I agree that rather than moaning about it in the playground. Perhaps in the mean time a few of the parents (maybe 2 or 3) could ask the head for an appointment to discuss the situation. At our school we encourage parents to do this.
If you have any questions about being a governor feel free to PM me.

 

[Miffy2003]

Allie - I've no advice on the Governor part but if I was unhappy with any aspect of Amber or Erin's education I would have no hesitation in asking to see the Head.

By the time you get appointed (assuming you were) more time goes by without Jess' education being addressed.

 

[Frances999]

DD started school in January this year, and since then, her proper teacher has been "off sick" for all but 3 weeks of term. They have had supply teachers since February.

I totally agree with Karen. Time is precious regarding education, do not hesitate to talk to the headteacher and stress your concerns immediately. I find it very worrying to read that "they have had supply teachers whilst their "proper" teacher has been absent. I believe consistency is vital, particularly in the first year of school and I, personally, would be particularly angry that no adequate provision was made for the teacher's sustained absence.

 

[AlisonB]

If I were you I would ask for an informal chat with the head to find out exactly what they expect of the (parent) governors. My term as a governor has just finished and while I enjoyed it and found out much more about what makes a school tick I wouldn't stand again.
Schools are very different - ours did not want as much input from the governors - certainly not anything like Natalie's experience. There was a very definite barrier there 'them and us' I felt. At times it was a little bit of a battle to be accepted! We were also advised by the head not to get involved in 'disputes' but instead to get the parents to go direct to the Head.
I went into my term as a governor with real rose tinted specs hoping that I would be able to make a contribution to the life of the school but it wasn't to be. Maybe if I'd had the opportunity to have a chat with the head fist to find out her expectations of the governing body, I would have been more realistic.

Reading all that back it sounds very negative I know - I was just hoping for more. The school is very good - very oversubscribed, inclusive of kids with physical disabilities and visual impairment, and gets quite good results....but they keep the governors at a distance! (Oh, and we weren't really allowed to bring up specific problems with our own kids' classes in meetings - that had to be done on aone to one with the head!)

 

[Hilary]

I have been a governor at our local primary school, and am currently clerk to the governing body. I enjoyed my time as a governor but I'm quite glad to now still be involved in governing body matters without the responsibility of decsion making!

I think that you should consider standing as a parent governor only if you would be keen to do so without your current concerns about your DDs disrupted schooling. It is a rewarding role but also takes time and commitment and it's usually quite a while before new governors feel they are knowledgeable enough to make much of a contribution.

If any parent has any concerns about their child's progress, our school always emphasises that the first point of contact should be the class teacher (not easy in your case!), then the Head, and only then should the matter go to the governing body if it hasn't been dealt with satisfactorily. It's not fair on the staff to be presented with a complaint from a governing body meeting without being given an opportunity to put things right, or explain the reasons why things are as they are.

Good luck with both your DD's schooling and your decision about becoming a governor

 

[UKDEB]

I was a Co-opted Governor of my daughters' school when they were younger. The Head Teacher was very capable and pretty much ran the show, but I found it quite frustrating in that nothing ever seemed to happen. At each meeting we would discuss precisely the same issues - nothing ever moved on. In my employment (banking) we discuss an issue, agree an action plan/timescale and then monitor/feed back. It is inconceivable that we would be discussing the same issue for 12 months! I was forever suggesting that individuals take responsibility for those tasks which they were best equipped to handle, but the Head was not one to relinquish control. I was treated with respect, but it was quite clear that it was her school and she would not accept interference. Alison's experience pretty much mirrors my own.

Being on the Board will give you the inside track, but it won't necessarily give you any more influence than simply being a parent. That is to say, you may have a better understanding of the problems the school faces, but you will possibly end up more frustrated than ever.

 

[AlisonB]

Being on the Board will give you the inside track, but it won't necessarily give you any more influence than simply being a parent. That is to say, you may have a better understanding of the problems the school faces, but you will possibly end up more frustrated than ever.

I thought I was the only one that felt like this! LOL

Thanks for saying it better than I could Deb!!

 

[UKDEB]

I thought I was the only one that felt like this! LOL

Something which was made very clear to me from the start, Alison, was that the School/Head had no option but to accept the appointment of a Board of Governors, but that did not mean it was welcomed. As I said, we were all treated with respect (and I was amongst some very distinguished colleagues, including the Head of my secondary school!), but there was no question about who called the shots. I was co-opted (i.e. I was invited by the Head Teacher), but I still got the message loud and clear!

 

[1sttimer]

I am a newly appointed community governor for one of the local primary schools in the area that I work. I would agree with everything that’s already been posted here. If you are interested in supporting the whole school I would recommend taking up the post of governor, although if like me you get on too many committees it can be a little bit time consuming. I would take up the suggestion of talking to the class teacher, if that fails, which is likely in your situation I would approach the head of KS1. If that fails, take it up with the Deputy and if that fails the head. From what I have heard you get listened too if you follow all the right channels. Good luck, I personally am very lucky my son gets so much help from his primary I’m hoping he might make Brain Surgeon (will pay for further trips to Disney!!)

 

[Astrid]

I was appointed as a Church Governor and then Chair of Governors at my children's infant school and served for two terms.

I completely agree with what UKDeb and AlisonB say. I found being a Governor and Chair very fulfilling but was also frustrated at the amount of time it took to get things completed from being brought up at a Meeting and then finally being implemented. The amount of paperwork and red tape that often needs to be adhered to is amazing!

I would also agree with Hilary. It is extemely important in my opinion to have two very separate hats if you become a Governor, one as a parent with concerns about your child's personal schooling and one as a Governor.

As stated, I think your best course of action would be discuss your concerns with the Headteacher or your child's teacher, or the Chair of Governors. It could be some time before a vacancy occurs and then there is no guarantee that you will be appointed as a Governor.

I wish you the best of luck.

Astrid