Have you ever thought about being a School Governor?  I certainly hadn’t until I was invited to come along to a governors’ meeting three years ago.  My only experience of governors was as a parent a number of years ago – they seemed to be a group of invisible people who had some kind of involvement in running the school; I had very little idea of what they actually did!  That first governors’ meeting three years ago was fascinating even though people were using a lot of abbreviations and terms that I didn’t understand and something made me say ‘yes’ – and I was accepted.

And so my commitment and interest in the school began.  I was offered excellent training; in fact training is available all the time on a whole host of subjects to help you in your role.  I also discovered that I had some knowledge and skills to contribute, because of my previous employment.  But, perhaps the best thing for me was that I discovered that governors work as a team: we all take part in decision-making and we can ask as many questions as we like at meetings to make sure everything that needs to be answered and done is.

As part of our role we regularly visit different classes and see how plans are put into practice through talking to the pupils and staff and watching them in their lessons.  This can include sampling school dinners (a very tasty experience!) and watching school assemblies.  I’ve really loved seeing how pupils at the beginning of the school year have developed by the end of it, whether that’s in Early Years or in Year 6, all as a result of what’s been put in place to assist the teaching.  Particularly exciting at the moment is the building project; a time of noise and disruption to come, but with results that will greatly benefit the development and learning of so many more children who join St Nicholas’.

If I was to sum up my understanding of school governance in simple terms I’d say that we’re the ones who decide the direction that the school goes in through supporting the Head Teacher’s decision-making.  We’re interested solely in whether what’s being planned is in the best interests of the pupils; then we focus on the results of these plans rather than the detail about how the plans are carried out – are they working and what improvements can be made?

I’ve learnt a great deal about what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ in education; I’ve enjoyed being able to contribute to strategies that ultimately benefit every pupil who attends our school; and I’ve met some lovely people along the way.

Elizabeth Goodridge, Co-opted School Governor.