RUNNING A PTA – School governors and the PTA
Different kinds There are several types of governor:
governors and the PTA
School It’s sometimes seen
as a conflict of interest, but having a governor on the committee can actually help you work better together
Parent governors are elected by a ballot of parents, staff governors are elected by the staff, and co-opted governors are appointed based on the skills, experience or perspective they can bring to the board. Depending on the type of school, there may be other types of governors and trustees too. For example, a local authority- maintained school will have a local authority governor, and a voluntary aided school will have foundation governors who are there to preserve the school’s religious aspect. At most schools and trusts, the headteacher also has the right to be a governor. Elizabeth Collin says there’s no
W
ithin the school community, there are many groups working towards the same goal:
achieving the best education for the children. But it can be difficult for each to comprehend the other’s motivations and actions. Connecting with the governing board can help the PTA understand the school’s requests and priorities, avoiding frustration and disengagement. Elizabeth Collin from the National
Governance Association (NGA) says: ‘The overarching role of a governing board is to ensure the wellbeing of the children in the school and enable them to achieve to the best of their ability. Governors and trustees are responsible strategically for long- term goals and setting the school’s culture and values.’ There are three
core functions: l Developing a vision and
strategy. Identifying what the school wants to look like in five years and planning how to get there
26 SPRING 2023
pta.co.uk l Overseeing the financial performance of the school or trust,
making sure the money’s well spent l Holding the school leader to
account to ensure that all children get the best possible education. The NGA believes there’s also a
fourth function: ensuring the voices of pupils, staff, parents and the school community are heard. Most local authority-maintained
schools have a single governing board. At Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) there’s a board of trustees, and most MATs have local governing bodies operating as local, school- level committees of the trust board.
reason someone shouldn’t be a school governor and also on the PTA committee: ‘It’s a common misconception, particularly about parent governors, that they are there to be the voice of all parents, and that’s not the case. There isn’t really one parent voice – they’re there to bring their experiences as a parent at the school and their unique perspective and knowledge of the school to the board. So having someone on the board who is also part of the PTA can be a good opportunity for the governors to engage with parents and bring in that person’s perspective, but they aren’t there as a representative of the PTA.’
Life as a governor
Being a governor has helped me develop a wider understanding of the needs of the pupils
on the PTA Sian Broughton joined the PTA committee when her son started in Reception at Althorpe & Keadby Primary School in Scunthorpe, and became an elected parent governor six months later. ‘It was a low point in the PTA’s life,’ she says. ‘At the AGM, only one parent committee member was continuing and no one else wanted to stand up. From just the two of us, we’ve now grown to nine committee members. When I heard about the opportunity to join the governing board, I actually thought it suited my skills better.
WORDS: CAROL ROGERSON; IMAGE: AJIJCHAN/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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