Why have you chosen to become a school Governor?
I became a Governor as I was keen to play an active role in my children’s education. I also wanted to gain an insight and experience of the education system.
What does the role of Governor entail?
As governors, our role must be to champion the vision of the school. We are the guardians of that vision. We also provide an oversight of the school to the trust and hold the trustees accountable for the decisions and policies they make which impact on our school, its staff, pupils, families and wider community.
Do you have a particular area of responsibility at the school where you are a Governor?
I have been asked to focus on a specific year group - to build relationships with staff, pupils and parents, concentrating mainly on the general curriculum, but also considering the well-being of all those involved with the whole year group. I have now also been asked to help and advise the trust with regards to the aims and policies for our school.
How will you actively carry out your role?
My role is not judgmental - that is the role of Ofsted. However, through half termly visits to the year group and talking with staff and pupils we monitor and evaluate that what the children are being taught links closely to the aims and objectives of the school and curriculum and to consider that the resources and equipment the teachers have is sufficient for them to be able to teach effectively. The Governing Body meets once a term to discuss how the areas we have looked individually are doing and then looks at how any issues can be resolved to ensure the best education for the children at the school. Governors come from all walks of life and therefore bring with them a broad knowledge base and areas of expertise that will benefit the school as a whole.
Did you have any training prior to taking up your role as a Governor?
There is a training programme under which I have to complete eight different modules by July 2020. I have, so far done some training on safeguarding and I am looking forward to developing my skills through the training, knowing this will benefit both my role as a governor, as well as my work with schools through Rockley Adventure.
Do you think your role as a Governor will also benefit your interaction with schools as manager of Rockley Adventure?
Although I have only been a Governor for a few weeks it has already opened my mind up to what teachers have to do on a day to day basis, the role of the Senior Management Team and resources in schools. We at Rockley have always understood the importance of ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ and through my role as a Governor I can really see the effectiveness of our residential school adventure trips are for children, especially in terms of increasing independence, creativity, confidence, communication skills and health and well-being. The links to so many more aspects of the curriculum has also become apparent. All this, I hope, will enable me to promote the benefit of a residential trip with Rockley Adventure in a way that teachers and Senior Management teams can relate to. I am fully aware that a teacher’s time for extra-curricular activities is now so limited and that we must provide our Group Leaders and schools with the resources to run a school trip which are easy to access, use and deliver.