A Word from the Governor

Charlotte Rowley, Foundation Governor, St Joseph’s College, Stoke-on-Trent

The Foundations of Being a Foundation Governor!

How it All Began

I am honoured to be a Foundation Governor at St Joseph’s College in Stoke-on-Trent, officially commencing my role last year (2023). The school is a wonderful place – full of joy and compassion, together with high expectations and above all, faith. A place where a sense of community and family has always permeated throughout. It is a unique school, which encapsulates the charism of the Christian Brothers. It is evident that whenever anyone ever visits, the faith and generosity of Edmund Rice are the pillars of this school and faith in action is embedded through everything St Joseph’s does – within the curriculum, outreach, extra-curricular and the day-to-day routines and norms.

I was fortunate enough to attend St Joseph’s between 1999 and 2006, returning in 2011 to complete my teacher training at the school. It is undoubtedly down to the amazing teachers and leaders that I was inspired by as a pupil, why I too entered the best vocation in the world – teaching and educational leadership. I feel that it is now time to give something back to a place that means so much to me.

I look back with such fondness at my memories from school, but it was also down to the outstanding teachers that I had that I was also able to look ahead in readiness to the next stages in my education journey and future career. I was excited for what doors my education opened for me. St Joseph’s made me feel excited to learn, full of anticipation and most of all passionate about wanting to teach others and instil a love of learning within the young people in my care.

Effective Governance

Governance is a big commitment, and you have to be truly dedicated to the school to take on such a role. Being organised and ensuring that you read up on all documents is absolutely necessary. Having empathy for the work and preparations that school leaders and also the clerk have undergone to be able to present information in an accessible way for us is important. Having passion for the strategic direction, supporting the staff and above all, the pupils in the school are key and crucially, working with the headteacher and senior leadership team to achieve the vision and ethos is integral.

The phrase ‘critical friend’ is often used and appears to be oxymoronic, but this is also a key element of the role of the governor. Standing alongside the headteacher and staff, but also at the same time, not shying away from providing appropriate challenge and occasionally asking difficult questions to help to ensure that all pupils are having the best educational opportunities is crucial. Such challenge enables effective and accurate monitoring to take place and as a result, school evaluation and priorities are accurately drawn. You therefore, need to be confident to speak out, ask questions and contribute to the strategic planning of the setting, but in addition, listen to others, read all reports prepared and research the school to get the whole picture of where they currently on in their journey of growth (and this can mean different things for different educational settings of course).

Above all, acting with integrity, transparency and also collaboratively are so important. There is a difference between challenge and putting staff on the spot. Yes, governors have to hold leaders to account, but so much more can be achieved when there is effective teamwork, unity, and togetherness. This is undoubtedly the case at this school.

The Whole Picture

I think it is important, as well as attending full board and link governor meetings, to engage with the events within the school community. It can mean such a lot to staff and pupils to have governors’ visibility at school shows, prize evenings, fundraising events, Masses, as well as learning walks and lesson drop-ins. This level of engagement proves a sense of pride and reflects a genuine passion and interest in the community and learners. As well as this, participating in a range of events can give an overarching view of the school and again, lead to a clearer and broader view of every aspect of its building blocks and make-up. Knowing and experiencing different aspects of the school add validity to comments and feedback that you give, as experiencing the ethos of the school and living it out add weight to such contributions.

Remembering the ‘why’

So overall, what are the main ingredients within a governor role, the key strands to the ‘job description’?  I always say that anyone is education should come back to the root, the why and never forget the reason we are there – always of course, keeping our young people at the heart.

Ultimately, governing boards and school leaders working together can be very powerful indeed. This effective partnership can create the best education of for the whole child and help to provide them with the best opportunities and lasting memories of their school career.

Governors can help to contribute to and sustain the culture of the school – a sense of ambition, drive, enthusiasm, and excitement. If governors are passionate, it can remind leaders of why they do what they do, even despite the challenging, fast-paced sector that education is. Bouncing ideas around a table, discussing next steps of the school developmental stages, overcoming challenges and hurdles all seem that little bit easier when you have people willing to contribute and share freely and openly. I am always so inspired to hear governors’ views and ideas – particularly when there is a rich wealth of experience and different professional backgrounds, everyone adding a different ‘layer’ to the tapestry of the school.

As well as this, when we truly stop and reflect, governors really can help to pave the way for the children’s educational future. Now, that’s something to be proud of, but more than that, it’s a reason to feel truly blessed. What an hono0ur to be able to help to shape a school and contribute, even in what may seem a small way, to the next steps for our young people, growing and empowering future generations.