The Role of a Governor & Visit to the School

Date: 5th Mar 2015 @ 7:29pm

Hi my name is Lee Baines and I have been a school Governor since the Autumn term 2014. I thought I would write a few words to briefly explain what the role involves and provide information on a recent visit I undertook.

What does a Governor do?
To quote the BBC's website
'School Governors are volunteers who help to run the school. Most schools work with a group of school governors - together they’re called the 'governing body'. They’re involved in decisions about all aspects of managing the school – such as running buildings and budgets, supporting staff and setting standards of school discipline.
Governors also help to make big decisions about the school’s long-term goals. They support headteachers, but also ask questions and make sure the headteacher is taking the school in the right direction.'

Basically we are there to try and ensure correct decisions are made and the headteacher has a clear strategy/vision for the progress of the school. We are not there to, write policies, determine what/how subjects should be taught, and look after the day to day running of the school. The headteacher and staff are responsible for this. Governors monitor, evaluate and question, where neccessary, the above.

School Visits
The Governors have agreed to monitor certain subjects/topics and the two I have chosen are Health & Safety and Computing.
On the 04th March I visited the school for the afternoon to discuss these topics with the appropriate staff members.
For computing I discussed the numbers of computers available to school, how they are distributed between classes, maintenance procedures and security updates. I then observed a computing lesson and asked the children their thoughts about computing as a topic.
Following this I then conducted an internal and external review of the premises to ensure there were no serious health and safety concerns for the children and staff. This involved a walk around the play ground at lunchtime where many children took great pride in showing me their 'red noses' and not from the cold wind!
Once both reviews were complete I discussed my findings/thoughts with the head teacher and teaching staff involved. Overall everything appeared to be acceptable, a few comments were noted and will be reviewed. If further actions are required resulting in a change in policy, these will be presented to the governing body to conclude the best course of action.

It was good to see the school working effectively, dealing with the day to day issues that children present. All staff were helpful and friendly and the children's behavior impeccable, something the school and parents should take great pride in.

I had an enjoyable day but with a purposeful agenda.

I hope this has given you a brief insight to what the role of Governor involves.