School governors are vital for the healthy running of a school - Ruth Evans encourages Christian parents to consider offering their time and skills in this most important of roles
“If you want something doing, ask a busy person.”
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the earliest printed version of this old adage is attributed to Reverend W. J. Kennedy in 1856 who was the Inspector of Schools for Lancashire and the Isle of Man in Britain. As someone working in schools in the north of England who would like to try to persuade you to add something to your busyness it gave me boldness to ask you: I know you’re busy but please consider becoming a school governor.
UK school governors make up one of the UK’s largest volunteer network, with over a quarter of a million people taking on the role of governor for a school. But why does this matter to you?
As Christian parents we have a direct interest in the schools our children and young people go to
In the schools your children and young people are in there will be somewhere between 20 and 1500 children or young people who are kept busy each day by any number of adults who are educating and supporting and doing admin. Those paid adults are then overseen by a governing body – a group of adults who have a responsibility to offer strategic guidance to the leadership team of a school. This includes planning the strategic direction of the school, overseeing financial performance and ensuring that money is well spent, holding the school leadership to account, and ensuring that the well-being of school members is being prioritised among all the other aspects too.
Those governing bodies are made up of people from a whole range of backgrounds, skill sets and interests. Some will be parents, some will be appointed by the local authority, if it is a C of E, Methodist or Catholic school some will have been appointed as ‘Foundation governors’ through the local church.
Taking on the role of governor also means that you can pray more wisely about issues that are impacting your community
As Christian parents we have a direct interest in the schools our children and young people go to – we understandably want the experiences of our children in school to be positive ones, working towards that of course would mean that same level of excellence and positivity for all the other young people in that school too. It might be that you make a deliberate choice to be a governor of a school your own children are not at, but still with the same heart for benefitting all.
There may be specific areas of interest that you know you might be able to help with – there are specific governor roles that all schools have, and then additional optional things. Maybe you have an interest in health and safety, or experience as a safeguarding officer for your church? There’s a governor for that! Or perhaps you work in finance, and really understand all the spreadsheets and numbers? There’s a governor for that! Maybe you have a heart for the disadvantaged and want to ensure that children with SEND are well advocated for? There’s a governor for that! Maybe you have an ability to keep meetings to time and an interest in ensuring all voices can be heard? There’s a governor for that!
Hopefully, as representatives of Christ, we serve our communities with integrity and compassion
School governors have the opportunity to encourage school staff (particularly the leadership team of a school), share their expertise and build a healthy atmosphere for both staff and pupils. When looking at the ‘vision statement’ for a school you can hopefully see what matters to the leadership of that school, and governors should have a part in setting that vision.
Additionally in C of E and Methodist schools everything they do has to be underpinned by a ‘theologically rooted Christian vision’, and where you may be looking at a school that has very few actively Christian staff that can be a difficult thing for staff to fully grasp.
We know, because Jesus modelled this behaviour, that we have a role in serving the needs of our communities. We have the opportunity to serve as witnesses to Christ’s compassion, through action. Taking on the role of governor also means that you can pray more wisely about issues that are impacting your community. These may well not be things you can share more widely (matters discussed in governing body meetings have a high degree of confidentiality), but imagine if you had two or three Christians on a governing body, they would be able to meet to pray together about those things, and for the benefit of the whole local community. As parents we also often know some of the ‘backstory’ of the families in our community so can add those aspects of knowledge together to pray even more fully.
Read more:
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Hopefully, as representatives of Christ, we serve our communities with integrity and compassion, praying that we would let our ‘light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16). Each time we are serving in our community we want to be reflecting the Father to them, here are some of the reasons we, as Christians, are well placed to do this:
- We care about the communities that we live in, and want them to be the best they can be.
- Children and young people are a vital part of our communities, and we recognise the value the Lord places on those who might otherwise be overlooked.
- We know that people are given a wide variety of skills and gifts, and understand the importance of each person being involved – 1 Corinthians 12.
- We want to put our faith in to action
If this has made you pause for thought then why not pray about it first, and then approach a local school and ask if they need any new governors, or, if you specifically want to help a church school, contact your local Diocesan Board of Education and ask if they have any schools in need of a foundation governor, they will be so glad to hear from you!
