Considering being a Governor?

Ever thought about being a Governor, but not quite sure what is involved?  Please read on for more information.

 

GRANTA GOVERNORS AND WHY WE NEED YOU TO

CONSIDER BECOMING A PARENT GOVERNOR


1. Granta Governors

At Granta, we have a Governing Body made up of individuals from the school staff, local community, local authority and parents of Granta students. The main purpose of a school governor is to be a critical friend of the school.

Please don’t be put off by thinking that you need to have specialist knowledge or experience. Enthusiasm and interest are much more important to start with, and there is training and support available to help you throughout your term of office along with a governor mentor to help you when you start.

You will be joining a long established Governing Body and will be supported by other Governors with many years of combined experience. Our Governing Body plays a central role in the management of your school:

• setting targets for raising standards of educational achievement.
• monitoring progress towards meeting these targets.
• finding the right balance between supporting and challenging the performance of the school as a whole.
• deciding strategy, policy and future development plans.


The more effective a Governing Body we have, the better the likelihood of Granta successfully meeting the challenges ahead.

 

2. What is a Parent Governor?

Parent Governors are vital to a Governing Body as they ensure the highest priority is given to the concerns and issues considered most important to our parents.

Parent Governors remind the Governing Body of how matters under discussion and decisions being taken will be seen by parents. Parents are shrewd judges of how well their children are being taught and what the atmosphere is like in a school.

Parent Governors do an excellent job in ensuring that a Governing Body is kept in close touch with parent opinion. A good team of Parent Governors can strengthen the relationship between the Governing Body and the school’s parents.

Granta currently require 2 more Parent Governors to join our Governing Body and we would be delighted to hear from any parent who has:

• an interest in the performance of our school.

• an enquiring mind and the confidence to ask questions and join in debate.

• the equivalent of 2-8 hours per term to spare.

For anyone who has taken a break from work but intends on going back at some stage, becoming a School Governor is an ideal way to refresh or develop the workplace skills much in demand by employers e.g. team working, analysis, problem-solving, implementation, communication. Being a Parent Governor can be enjoyable, stimulating and rewarding. Schools are interesting places and education is a high priority issue. This could be your opportunity to share in the debate and the process of decision making. Serving as a Governor will give you a good understanding, and keep you well informed about current education policy and practice. Being a School Governor has esteem and standing; Governors are holders of public office.

If you are interested but would like to know more before committing yourself then why not first have an informal chat with one of our existing Governors or the Headteacher. Please phone the school office on 01223 896890 and they will pass on your contact details either to Lucie Calow or to me, Caroline Ilott, Chair of Governors.

We would be delighted to welcome you to one of our meetings so that you can see for yourself that we are not a formal, stuffy panel of high powered directors but rather a group of dedicated ordinary individuals who have Granta’s best needs at heart.

All Granta governors appreciate that having special needs children is a full time job in itself and we therefore offer to pay for childcare to cover the time you need to attend meetings/training etc and also offer transport costs if this is appropriate. Each case will be looked individually and in total confidence.

Please do think about joining us. We welcome new people with fresh ideas – it is what keeps Granta going from strength to strength!


Caroline Ilott
Chair of Granta Governors

Forest Schools
Healthy Schools - Cambridgeshire
The Duke of Edinburgh Award
School Games Gold 2015/16
$2A05
SSCO