Concerns over childhood obesity are never far from the headlines. Pupils today experience increasing stress in school from a number of sources – with exams being just one factor. As governors, what part do we play in this? While there isn’t just one simple solution, the School Sport and…
Sally Barrett volunteers as a governor in Wythenshawe, South Manchester. “I recently retired from teaching after 33 years and during my time in education had various roles – working my way up to headteacher. I had experience of being a staff governor and also as the headteacher on the governing…
“I’d been thinking about becoming a school governor for a while. I hadn’t been a governor when my daughters were at school and had always regretted it – but as a single parent with a career, I didn’t have the time. Approaching retirement, I wanted to give something back…
Carol Shutkever is a trustee of a multi-academy trust in Hertfordshire. “Stepping down from my full time role as a lawyer to do part time consultancy got me thinking about local charity work. I’d previously been working very long hours but now with some more time to spare, I…
This article on academy trustees has been updated. Click here to view the updated version. Multi-academy trusts (MATs) make up an increasingly large part of schools across England. But many people don’t know how MATs are structured, who academy trustees are, and how they…
Phil Martlew is a governor at the City of Liverpool College. “With semi-retirement on the cards, I was thinking about what I could do to keep myself busy using the skills I’d gained in business. I’ve worked in the private sector all my life so I wanted to give…
This year, we’re celebrating 20 years of Governors for Schools. Ahead of our birthday party at London’s Guildhall, our CEO Hannah Stolton reflects on our journey and looks ahead to our plans for the future. In 1999, struggling inner-city schools took part in a government pilot scheme inviting business…
Fridolin Wild is a senior research fellow at Oxford Brookes University. He has been a governor at Oxford Spires Academy for six months. Why did you decide to become a school governor? I work at Oxford Brooks and I received an email from the university about becoming…
Honey Clarke is a governor for Quercus Federation (Northiam and Hurst Green Church of England Primary Schools in East Sussex). Honey runs her own management consultancy business after building a successful career in Human Resources. She talks about the professional experience she brings to her schools and why now was…
Yvonne Barker-Layton is a MAT trustee at Educate Together Academy Trust in Bath. “We all know how schools are struggling with funding and managing tight budgets. But most people don’t do anything to help, often because they don’t know how. My son’s school had a new headteacher…
With the launch of our new campaign Challenge Accepted, our CEO Hannah Stolton explains why we’re calling for experienced professionals to volunteer their skills as governors or trustees – and how we’re doing it. Diversity on governing boards is important. We’re continuing to see people of different ages, professional…
Paul Montgomery is a governor at Humberstone Junior School in Leicestershire. He shares his motivations for the role and talks about the difference governors can make to children’s life chances. “I knew I needed to do something to keep my brain active since retiring recently. Being a school governor…