Woodbank Primary School

Mr Parsons - Vice Chair of Governors

It was in 1992 that I was asked by a local councillor if I would be interested in being appointed a school governor, nominated by the Local Authority. This
was a time when budgets were being delegated to schools to monitor and control and the number of governors was to be expanded. I agreed to my name going forward and subsequently heard that I had been appointed as a governor for Woodbank Primary School. Despite being told that the job entailed attending three meetings a year, I soon found out that this was not true. The governing body is organised into a number of separate groupings each allocated a certain function. My background is in finance and I was able to contribute advice when financial
issues were discussed. The role of a governor, however, is more than  just controlling budgets and I have found over the years that I have been able to
bring my views on other issues into the mix. Despite having been nominated by the local authority, I have never adopted a political stance in my views and decisions. The governing body is really not that sort of forum. I hope I have taken a pragmatic, common sense view in decision-making. I have really enjoyed my time as a governor. I have seen many changes over the years and am proud in feeling that I have made some contribution to that change. I would encourage anyone who wishes to help their community to volunteer to be a school governor.