Who'd be a school governor anyway?

In a bid to encourage more people to become school governors, schools minister Michael Gove has said

“The thing about being a governor is that it’s not just a touchy-feely, sherry-pouring, cake-slicing exercise in hugging each other and singing Kumbayah.

“The whole point about being as governor is that you ask tough questions. How are our children doing? Is money being spent wisely?"

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/school-governors-must-be-tougher-insists-michael-gove-9379763.html

In my best Michael Rosen style, this is my letter to Mr Gove.

Dear Mr. Gove,

Having spent 6 years as a school Governor (latterly as Chair of Governors) I can assure you Mr. Gove, that the Board of Governors I was part of, took our role seriously and we all tried to be as professional as possible. The Governors' Support team from the local authority emphasised to us the need to challenge and question. (Due to cuts by your Government and implemented by the local Tory run council, the Governors Support team and training was greatly reduced, by the way.)

But Mr Gove, now for the reality check. If you are expecting that level of professionalism and the confidence to challenge, then you are expecting a certain calibre of person to become a governor. In fact that is a point made by Emma Knights, chief executive of the National Governors Association who notes that the majority of school governors all have a professional or management background.

And whilst I wouldn't want to discourage anyone who doesn't have that kind of background from becoming a governor, the reality is that given the kind of scrutiny that is expected, "ordinary" people may well be put off. (That was the experience I saw at the school where I was governor. Several parent governors stopped being governors as they were put off by the amount of paperwork they had to read and digest.)

It is hard to say how much time I had to give as a governor. Probably as a governor it amounted to something like 4 hours a month. But as chair I spent this amount of time each week. I would frequently be called in to the school to sign papers, or for special meetings over and above those scheduled. I had a fornightly meeting with the Headteacher. And during an OFSTED inspection, I had several meetings with the lead inpector as well as having to be part of the team that picked up the pieces afterwards.

And, by the way Mr. Gove as a volunteer I would have expected some politeness and courtesy from the Inspector. I didn't receive this and neither did the staff. The complaints I made about the inspector afterwards, were ignored. The complaint being dealt with by other inspectors who clearly were going to circle the wagons around their colleague.

Being a governor was rewarding certainly - especially during the times when I was able to interact with students at concerts, presentation evenings etc; but I wouldn't rush to become a governor again. The constant moving of goalposts by you Mr Gove means it is hard to keep up. And, quite frankly, it was demoralising to see the teachers wilting under the constant drip, drip of criticism.

Must go. Sherry to drink, Kumbayah to sing.