We think becoming a school governor is an important and rewarding thing to do, but we wanted to hear our volunteers’ thoughts. So we recently asked our volunteers how they found their experience with Governors for Schools, and the responses have formed part of our Impact Report which we’ll be launching in January.

To say thank you to our volunteers for taking part in our Impact Survey, we entered every respondent into a prize draw to win £1000 for their school. Patricia, a governor at Meadow View Primary School in Rotherham, was chosen at random as a winner. We caught up with her to find out how the school decided to spend the money.  

School Governor

“Meadow View Primary has over 250 pupils, a brilliant headteacher, Karen Smith, and a committed staff body. I’m proud to be a governor here. There are around 15 languages spoken at the school which can be challenging, but the children are all enthusiastic about learning. I couldn’t have asked for a better school to govern at – I’ve loved helping improve education for the children in my community.

“When I told Karen that the school had won £1,000, she was delighted. It was a huge surprise and her immediate reaction was just ‘wow!’ Karen and the teachers have decided that they want to spend the money on something that will benefit the children – they’re determined that it won’t get caught up paying the electricity bill! Instead, they’re planning on holding either a science skills or a circus skills workshop next term for all the children.

The best thing about being a governor at Meadow View is feeling like you’re making a contribution to the community. I love meeting the children and seeing how much they’re enjoying the school. You can go to all the governor meetings you want, but visiting the school and seeing how much the children are enjoying their time there reminds me why I got involved.”