Emma Hawker talks about matching volunteer governors to schools
Governors for Schools is an education charity that matches volunteers to the schools that are right for them. Emma Hawker talks about how they listen carefully to both sides to ensure that the best match is found and that it works for everyone.
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Emma Hawker talks about matching volunteer governors to schools
Governors for Schools is an education charity that matches volunteers to the schools that are right for them. Emma Hawker talks about how they listen carefully to both sides to ensure that the best match is found and that it works for everyone.
@SchoolGovNet
For more Insights and many more useful videos, please subscribe to the NetSupport channel.
Russell Prue: Listeners, my next guest line in the studio is Emma Hawker. She is the Impact and Training Manager for Governors for Schools. And as an ex-governor myself, I was very pleased to welcome her to the studio. Emma, welcome to the studio!
Emma Hawker: Oh thank you so much. It's really fantastic to be here and lovely to see lots of really interesting people around and enjoying the Bett show.
RP: Brilliant. What are you here for?
EH: So, I would really love to share with everyone a little bit about school governance. So, as you said, I'm from Governors for Schools and we're an education charity that helps to match up volunteers who are interested in school governance with schools who really need their skills. So we're very proud to do that. We've been doing that for a long time now – more than 20 years. We're very proud of the bespoke matching system that we have.
So we really listen to what schools need from their volunteers. We really listen to our volunteers and the skills that they've got to bring and maybe what they're looking to learn as well. And then we try and find the right match so that everyone's happy.
RP: Is there a national shortage of governors?
There are lots and lots and lots of schools who really, really need school governors. And it can really vary, I'd say, particularly in those areas that are struggling a little bit more – rural areas they especially struggle for governors – but everywhere really everyone's kind of always looking for people with the right skills.
RP: Of course. Can I ask: what's the main barrier? Is it time, commitment, fear? What's the main barrier for folk to get involved in?
EH: You know, I think it's a little bit of both and also a little bit of not quite understanding what the roles is all about. I know there are lots of people who think, well, I don't have any children, I can't be a school governor. I would like to dispel that myth. You do not have to have children in school to be a school governor. But lots and lots of volunteers don't have children. They just want to give something back their school community and so that's what they do.
RP: Well said, just really, really good. And it's not just about cold tea and soggy biscuits. There's a whole lot more. You know, it was an amazing experience. I love about– I really appreciate the way you said 'learning' because think it is a two-way learning road as well to develop yourself. And again, it's a community spirited activity, isn't it?
EH: Absolutely, I think there's so much that volunteers can get from, from giving. Obviously, you get that lovely feeling of having done something good for the young people and their families in your area. But it's an absolutely fantastic way to upskill yourself as well.
So for example, I have had the opportunity through governance to chair meetings and kind of learn some of the new skills that come along with all of that. And it's not an opportunity that I would have naturally had in the workplace. So I really like that I've been able to learn something new – and the next time I might go for a promotion or another role, I've got that that I can bring in, so actually I've got this experience of governance.
RP: And would you use that on your CV?
EH: I definitely would. I think it's a really fantastic skill to have on your CV. Haven't receiving. There are so many things that you love your governance. So all those kind of chairing skills, keeping people on board, that real high-level strategic directional, thinking, problem solving, lots of really fantastic stuff that you can learn through governance.
RP: Different specific committee access, so you can get yourself onto a particular type of–facilities and building, if finance is particularly your expertise, you can, you know, use that. If health and well-being was an activity you were particularly interested in, you can get yourself on those sub-committees. I guess now that would add enormous value to your CV.
EH: Absolutely. So you hit the nail on the head there, Russell. There's so many different ways that you can bring those skills to governance. So we do often try and work with organisations, with people who can bring finance skills, maybe HR, legal skills, all sorts of things. Because actually that governing board needs a whole diverse range of views and skills and perspectives to give kind of the best that they can for that school community.
RP: Brilliant. If you've collected all your resources, where can folks go to meet with Governors for Schools? Have you got a website – where should we go?
EH: We do have a website, so: governorsforschools.org.uk. So it's 'governors' for (the word 'for,' F-O-R). So, governorsforschools.org.uk.
There's lots of information there about the role, what it involves, what it's like, how you can apply. There's also a whole range of training materials that we provide to help people get going once they're in that role. So if there's lots of people thinking, "I want to give back. I'm not too sure about all of this," they can find lots of information on what the role means, the time it might take to commit, the kind of skills that we're looking for, what they can learn from it. And also the kind of support to help them get up and running.
RP: And there's no better time to think about that than this year's Coronation Day, folks. This is a perfect day to push yourself forward, volunteering, giving back to the community. It can't all be done on one day of course, but you could certainly make a job of going to the website on this day and putting yourself forward for someone registered. So do you hold a registration – do you order register for folks? Or do you actively get involved, like kind of a booking people up with the right thing or is it just resources on the site? You actively get involved in it?
EH: We do. So, we offer a bespoke matching service. So we ask our schools to fill out an application telling us what they're looking for from the volunteer. We ask our volunteers to fill in an application – just gives us a better idea of their skills – and what kind of school they're looking for. And then someone goes through all of that information, reads personal statements and works out what we think the best fit might be. We work with the volunteer all the way through to make sure that they're happy with everything. We make some suggestions. When we think we've got to the right place, we connect the school with a volunteer. And there's still no pressure. It's kind of: have a conversation, see if it's the right kind of fit. And then once everyone's happy, we say, 'OK, now you're in the role, this is what else we can give you to support you, get you going, help you be effective from day one.'
RP: It's like dating for governors. Or even a recruitment agence. I love it. Fantastic. Congratulations. Hope you get an influx of visitors!
Folks, there's a national shortage. Get yourselves over to the website and register! Emma, Thanks for joining us.
EH: Thank you.