12 thoughts on “Aren’t school governors normally parents?”
Flatcap Army
they don’t have to be – sometimes they’re local concerned citizens/activists/worthies/prodnoses (delete as applicable) and I know a few people who have stayed on as governors long after their kids have left the school. I have a nagging feeling that the chair of governors of our local primary was a retired unmarried lady with no kids, although I may be doing her a disservice
john77
What Flatcap Army said. I remember in my youth a spinster lady who almost immediately after retiring as a teacher was elected to the local council and as a school governor.
monoi
In our catholic state school, you have foundation governors (nominated by the diocese), parent governors, staff governors and 1 LEA governor.
Apart from foundation, a normal state school will have a mixture.
I became a governor when I was a parent (like most), now I’m a foundation governor and will stay on when my child leaves at the end of the year.
Not many prodnoses/activists/worthies, as in none, but people with various backgrounds giving up some of their time to help out. It is not so easy to find people willing to do it by the way, which is one of the reasons I’m staying on.
Rolo Tamasi
“Normally”
Martin Davies
I have been a school governor without kids.
Ideally the board is a mix of skills, backgrounds and views. Reality is more to do with time. The meeting times usually suit parents who aren’t working more than those working full time or with a business.
Richard
There are categories I think.
There are parent governors who have to be parents and are voted on by the parents (if there enough volunteers to need an election).
But there are also other categories who don’t have to be parents; some appointed by the county council, some by the church it’s a church school; I think there are also staff representatives. Plus some are just local do-gooders who are appointed by the other governors
Richard
Is this Murphy? Good grief, the thought of him having influence on children’s education? Did he object to them learning neo-liberal maths?
Noel Scoper
Ritchie again laughably claims to be an entrepreneur.
The CV shows he was either the hired help, or anything he set up he’s now ashamed of as it was dodging taxes.
Andy H
The guidance on the make up of governing bodies differs by the type of school and has been changing for ‘normal’ council run schools over the last couple of years.
I’m a governor at a local school but not the one my kids go to. Can be useful to have a couple of non-parent governors to cover complaints, expulsions, disagreements between parents etc where the governors making a decision need to be seen as independent. Happens more than you would think at my school 🙁
Paul
It’s not a requirement. Actually sometimes parent governors can be a handicap because they bully and manipulate and so on to get their child the best teacher or to arrange things to suit what they want. Parents sometimes don’t get they’re supposed to represent all parents not just their child.
Governors also want people with experience of accounting, H&S and of course education amongst others so they can track what the school is doing.
No. My mother was governor at one school (which neither of her children attended) for 35 years (including 10 as chairwoman) until she resigned.
Governing bodies are made up of parents, teachers and independents.
Andrew Duffin
They may be parents in the sense of having children, but they are also “professionals with the right skills” as explained recently by The Guardian, and for those people, having the right skills (it means the right views) completely over-rides any responsibility they once had to the children in the school.
That’s why actual parents are being eliminated: so that they don’t keep butting in with ignorant unfashionable opinons, which they might hold on account of not having “the right skills”.
they don’t have to be – sometimes they’re local concerned citizens/activists/worthies/prodnoses (delete as applicable) and I know a few people who have stayed on as governors long after their kids have left the school. I have a nagging feeling that the chair of governors of our local primary was a retired unmarried lady with no kids, although I may be doing her a disservice
What Flatcap Army said. I remember in my youth a spinster lady who almost immediately after retiring as a teacher was elected to the local council and as a school governor.
In our catholic state school, you have foundation governors (nominated by the diocese), parent governors, staff governors and 1 LEA governor.
Apart from foundation, a normal state school will have a mixture.
I became a governor when I was a parent (like most), now I’m a foundation governor and will stay on when my child leaves at the end of the year.
Not many prodnoses/activists/worthies, as in none, but people with various backgrounds giving up some of their time to help out. It is not so easy to find people willing to do it by the way, which is one of the reasons I’m staying on.
“Normally”
I have been a school governor without kids.
Ideally the board is a mix of skills, backgrounds and views. Reality is more to do with time. The meeting times usually suit parents who aren’t working more than those working full time or with a business.
There are categories I think.
There are parent governors who have to be parents and are voted on by the parents (if there enough volunteers to need an election).
But there are also other categories who don’t have to be parents; some appointed by the county council, some by the church it’s a church school; I think there are also staff representatives. Plus some are just local do-gooders who are appointed by the other governors
Is this Murphy? Good grief, the thought of him having influence on children’s education? Did he object to them learning neo-liberal maths?
Ritchie again laughably claims to be an entrepreneur.
https://twitter.com/RichardJMurphy/status/711673497332928512
The CV shows he was either the hired help, or anything he set up he’s now ashamed of as it was dodging taxes.
The guidance on the make up of governing bodies differs by the type of school and has been changing for ‘normal’ council run schools over the last couple of years.
I’m a governor at a local school but not the one my kids go to. Can be useful to have a couple of non-parent governors to cover complaints, expulsions, disagreements between parents etc where the governors making a decision need to be seen as independent. Happens more than you would think at my school 🙁
It’s not a requirement. Actually sometimes parent governors can be a handicap because they bully and manipulate and so on to get their child the best teacher or to arrange things to suit what they want. Parents sometimes don’t get they’re supposed to represent all parents not just their child.
Governors also want people with experience of accounting, H&S and of course education amongst others so they can track what the school is doing.
No. My mother was governor at one school (which neither of her children attended) for 35 years (including 10 as chairwoman) until she resigned.
Governing bodies are made up of parents, teachers and independents.
They may be parents in the sense of having children, but they are also “professionals with the right skills” as explained recently by The Guardian, and for those people, having the right skills (it means the right views) completely over-rides any responsibility they once had to the children in the school.
That’s why actual parents are being eliminated: so that they don’t keep butting in with ignorant unfashionable opinons, which they might hold on account of not having “the right skills”.