Celebrating our school governors and the impact they can have

School governors are recognised as one of the largest volunteer groups in England with the ability to positively impact children’s learning and experience whilst at school.

Our Caring Professions Division is responsible for looking after both schools and charities, including volunteers, so for National School Governors Awareness Day, we sat down with Helen Bernabe, the Head of Marketing within the division to discuss her experience of volunteering as a governor at one of her local schools.

What was it that made you want to become a school governor?

My son was a pupil there and I recognised how lucky he was to be in such a fantastic school that was a part of our community. I wanted to support the school in any way I could and was already involved in the Parents Association. When the opportunity came up to apply to become a school governor it seemed a great chance to become more involved in the school. I wasn’t sure what skills I had to offer but found my experience of working in a commercial environment brought a different perspective and the skills I use at work, such as listening, questioning and analysing information enabled me to add value and provide valuable insight.

What do school governors do?

Governors are there to support the school leadership team with their strategic objectives and provide support in key areas such as safeguarding, attainment and financial management.

When you first become a governor, you get access to lots of training courses to help prepare you for your responsibilities and enable you to provide informed insights. As well as attending full governor board meetings, there are also sub-committees that feed into the main meeting, focusing on key areas such as safeguarding, finance, personnel and the curriculum. During these meetings there is always an update from the headteacher in relation to these focus areas and an opportunity for governors to question and comment on the information shared to ensure the school is meeting the agreed objectives.

Where I was a governor, we each had responsibility for key parts of the curriculum such as English, maths and science as well as safeguarding and performance data. I was the lead for maths and performance data and would meet with the teacher leading these areas once a term to discuss these areas, observe lessons and report back to the governing body. We also regularly took time to come into the school to really understand the workings of the school, rather than just attending for meetings after hours. This shared insight was a valuable part of the discussions and enabled the governing body to be an active support for the leadership team, which is an important aspect of the role.

As a parent, did it help you to understand the environment your child was spending their time in?

Absolutely! It made me appreciate how much work goes into running a school, lesson planning, safeguarding and extracurricular activity to name a few. Running a school is a big responsibility and the governors can help with providing valuable support and guidance, bringing their experience from outside of education into the school environment.

How do you think governors can impact and improve a school?

By bringing a different perspective into the school, listening and asking questions, helps the school leadership. Governors who are curious, critical and confident in asking questions is essential, as well as being good at problem-solving.

Having people from all different backgrounds and experience is also really important to help create an inclusive environment for children to learn and grow.

What was the best part of being a school governor?

Being part of a close-knit team that are working towards a common goal and seeing the school in action – I regularly spent time in the school observing (and sometimes taking part!) in lessons.

It is a great environment to provide valuable support to a school, but also helps with your own development too.

Lastly, describe your experience in three words

Rewarding, Interesting, Demanding.