REFLECTIONS OF A SCHOOL GOVERNOR NICK WRIGHT
W
hen our Editor Fr Richard asked me to pen a few words about my experiences as a School Governor I readily agreed but it has turned out to be more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Essentially, how to make it interesting with a few personal anecdotes, coupled by necessity with some rather dry, factual, legal requirements. Obviously, schools come in all shapes and sizes and each one will face different problems at varying times. There is one constant – the next problem is just round the corner. A Governing Body with a broad range of skills sets is absolutely essential in any type of school to support the Head and give strategic direction to the Senior Leadership Team. These life skills include detailed knowledge of financial management and governance, property matters, integrity, education in the round, health and safety, safeguarding and wellbeing, understanding special educational needs or disabilities: the list goes on but both local authority and diocesan courses are available to support you. I am a Foundation Governor of Wardour Catholic Primary School, primarily by virtue of being a Trustee of Wardour Chapel, a private chapel attached to Wardour Castle in the diocese of Clifton. Uniquely, for a state school, the Bishop of Clifton does not own the school as it predates the formation of the Diocese and as such is owned by the Chapel Trust. This article will therefore focus on my experiences and responsibilities as a Foundation Governor in a small Catholic rural primary school but this can be read across to other primary and secondary schools whether they are state run or independent. In addition to the Foundation Governors, who form the majority of the body, we have a Local Authority Governor, a couple of Parent Governors, a Staff Governor and of course the Headteacher. The chairman allocates governors to various sub committees such as resources, education, Headteacher’s performance management and property matters. These sub committees then support the Full Governing Body. Chairmanship appears an almost full-time job and I am sure the outstanding Chair of the Ampleforth Trustees, Edward Sparrow, will know just what I mean! Foundation Governors in Church Schools are appointed by the Diocesan Bishop and are expected to follow Diocesan guidance. They are specifically appointed by the Bishop to ensure that: • The distinctive nature of the school is promoted, developed and evaluated; • All aspects of school life are conducted in accordance with the trust deed of the diocese and Canon Law;
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