Why did you become a school Governor?

I had seen campaigns and thought this was something I could do to help a school and develop my own skills. I sat on it a bit and then came back to it as an outcome for some coaching I was having. When I first arrived, I had never heard of the school and knew very little about special education. You learn fast and within a year I became chair!

What are you involved in as a Governor?

During my time as chair, the school has moved site, increased from 75 pupils to over 160, had a huge increase in staff and refreshed our Senior Leadership Team. This was all completed while maintaining our good Ofsted rating and also being able to vastly increase and improve our offer for our children. We also managed to do an amazing job for all of our school community during Covid.

I am involved in setting the strategic direction of the school and overseeing a multi-million-pound budget. As chair, I also oversee safeguarding, health and safety issues, disciplinary and staff issues, facilities management and much more.

There are some downsides, such as having to get involved with staff disciplinary issues; this can be difficult but it has to be done and there is excellent support available.

What do you get out of the role?

An immense amount.

Southgate is a special school and lots of the children have had a poor experience of education before they come to us. Watching all of the children discover their potential either in the classroom or on our excellent outdoor learning programme, and then seeing them develop is amazing. As a governor there are opportunities to perhaps put yourself into situations you might not experience in your current job or home circumstances, and it will give you the chance to develop new skills.

As I noted, I became chair very quickly as the situation required some changes and in the beginning I felt I was blagging it at times and contributing very little. However, I grew into the role and really enjoyed the experience and opportunities. After we moved and expanded, Ofsted arrived. I thought we were good and had done a decent job, but when the inspectors said we were still good and were well on the right track, I did get a bit emotional and it was a huge personal confidence boost.

I am very lucky that I am part of a very talented and passionate Governing Body. We have a fantastic Head Teacher, an amazing Deputy Head with an excellent staff team which includes leaders, teachers, teaching support staff, business staff, support staff and families and carers who all contribute. They all keep the show on the road and are brilliant.