Julie Palmer, Chair of Governors, Howden Junior School, East Yorkshire Howden Junior School has around 215 pupils and is a two-form entry maintained school in East Yorkshire. Our mission statement is ‘championing excellence – nurturing aspirations’ and our four key values – chosen through collaboration with our school community –…
Vinny Wagjiani, Chair of Governors, Leechpool Primary School, West Sussex Leechpool Primary School is a community primary school with around 400 pupils, located on the outskirts of Horsham. We ensure pupils, families, staff and governors embrace values including: 1) Reflection, 2) Resourcefulness, 3) Relationships, 4) Responsibility, 5) Risk-Taking and…
How can governors support neurodivergent children to thrive? How can schools prepare children for an increasingly digitised employment landscape? What are some of the most rewarding aspects of becoming a governor? In this fascinating and wide-ranging interview, we chatted to Felicia Johnston, Assistant Project Manager at Haringey Council, to discuss…
Wondering what it’s like to join the governing board of an independent school? What challenges does the role involve? What are the advantages of volunteering within the independent sector? To find out the answers to these questions (and more), we caught up with Manu Gupta, who has been a governor…
We recently caught up with Adam Youngman, trainee Solicitor at Allen & Overy, who volunteers as a school governor in his spare time. Adam has kindly shared with us some of his views about school governance and why careers education is so important in our society. Adam is one of…
Meet Hannah Stolton, CEO of Governors for School, and chair of governors at a village primary school in Essex. Hannah talks about why she became a governor all those years ago, what’s kept her in the role, and why others should consider volunteering as a governor. The best…
Dominic McGonigal is a trustee of Governors for Schools and a chair of governors at a school in London. He shares his experiences of volunteering both as a governor and as a trustee, the time commitments the roles demand, and why being part of a board is a great thing…
This guest blog is by Simon Hill, a co-chair of a Primary School in South London, a parent to two sons in Years 8 and a Year 10, and a freelance consultant and coach. On Tuesday, I came off a call with the Headteacher in my role as co-chair of…
Denise Maloney has been part of virtual governing board meetings since before the country went into lockdown and face to face meetings were no longer possible. Denise talks about the tools she has used with her boards so all boards can make virtual meetings a success during these challenging times.
Ruth Boaden is a governor at Camberwell Park Specialist Support School, Manchester. Ruth shares her experiences of governing at a special school, and how she got involved. “I’m a governor at a special school in Manchester. Our pupils face a lot of challenges but the staff know the children well…
Lucy Goodwin is a governor at Evelina Hospital School in London. Here, she shares her experience of being on the governing board of a school that’s based in a hospital building, providing children in hospital with an excellent education. “I’ve been a governor at Evelina hospital school for around a…
Mary Isherwood OBE is the headteacher at Camberwell Park School in Manchester, which is a primary special school. Mary talks about the need for good governors on the board, and the challenges the school faces. “Camberwell Park is a special school for pupils of primary age who…