Has anyone ever held a Parent Governor post at their childs school . If so what exactly did it involve and did you enjoy it ?
Son number 2s school is looking for parent governors and I am very tempted to put my name down but would like to know more of what is involved before I do :)
Lel

Hi Lel

It is quite a commitment and will involve you attending meetings of the full governing body and you will also become a member of one or more committees eg. buildings, finance, curriculum or personnel. These meetings are held in the evening in most schools. You will also need to attend some training sessions, especially at the beginning. As well as other parent governors there will be staff governors (including the Head), and other categories comprising people with no other connection with the school, depending on what type of school it is. If your son's school is a foundation school you, as a governor, would be an employer of the staff and would also own the buildings! (can't sell them though!) If you find some 'PC' type stuff annoying, then prepare to be extremely irritated at times!! On the other hand, you will find out loads about what is going on in school, some of which will probably surprise you! You would also be expected to visit classes to carry out monitoring - this is not as scary as it sounds! It can be very interesting and rewarding and will also look good on future CVs! Hope this helps and doesn't sound too boring!!

Forgot to say, you will also need to have a CRB (Criminal Record Bureau) check, which will involve you digging out documents last seen circa 1988, eg. birth certificate! :)

Definately interested - didnt know whether I would sit there looking pretty or actually DID anything ??!!
Have filled in the form so fingers crossed :)

You will really enjoy it and its great for personal development. I was a Parent Gov for 12 years, four of them as Chair of Govs. I really miss it now, I tried my hand at LEA Gov at my childrens secondary school but gave it up. Primary school governship is more more interesting and hands on, you can really make things happen.
Good luck
Diane

My husband has been a school governor since my eldest first started school, she's now 14. He moved to each school as they moved up. It does mean quite a few meetings, he's in charge of Staffing, he seems to enjoy it, say's he likes to know what is going on with the childrens school!

I've found being a Parent Governor, and now Chairman of Govs, really rewarding, although fitting it in with running my own business is at times difficult, but it's really rewarding when things you have helped implement start to show benefits in children's learning etc etc., depending on your school, we estimate the time commitment in our primary school to be 5-6 hours a term, in the evening, plus maybe one whole school day a year, which I don't think is bad in terms of the commitment you make. Good luck! Nicki

Just noticed this post, there was an article in one of Saturdays sections of the Telegraph if you can get hold of a copy. I think it was about one persons experience, sorry don't know if it was good, bad or indifferent, I'd had a few glasses of wine at the time! (I was in a hotel)

Good Luck, I'm on a committee and that is really good fun and a lot of hard work, you need to make sure that everyone pulls their weight

Hayley

I enjoyed being a school governor at my daughter's secondary church school many years ago. I was the youngest governor and something of a novelty but I think that wore off in the end as I did have my say when I thought I had something to say!!!

Go for it and I am sure you wont regret it.