As schools tentatively throw open their doors for the first time since the March Covid shutdown, Governors for Schools turned their focus on anti racism and diversity on governing boards.
Hannah Stolton, CEO of Governors for Schools welcomed a diverse panel for a discussion on diversifying governing bodies. As a member of a network of governors and a former Chair of Governors, I know that recruiting governors is a never ending activity and broadening the demographic of volunteers can be an added challenge.
Josephine Okokon, headteacher and governor, recommended the individual approach to bring people on board. “Think about what people are adding to the community as well as their leadership skills,” she advised.
Raj Unsworth is an advisor to a headteachers round table group and has been a governor in many settings, from schools in the proverbial ‘leafy’ areas to challenging inner cities. “In each case, I was usually the only black or brown face in the governing board,” he said. He pointed out that multi academy trusts have more flexibility in their governance structures than maintained schools, including reducing the number of parent governors or eliminating them altogether. “By phasing out the parent governors, you remove a common route for BAME governors into governance,” he warned. In his view, governing boards should reflect society in general NOT just the profile of a particular school. “It’s important for all students to see BAME governors in leadership positions,” reminded Raj.
Adrian McLean, a parent governor explained that ‘word of mouth recruitment’ tends to perpetuate the existing make up of the board. Personally, he said that he rarely encountered other black males in governance. “Schools can be intimidating places and if you have had negative experiences at school yourself, you may not be motivated to go back as a governor,” he said. His advice is to approach community leaders from a range of backgrounds to either take part themselves or to recommend others they know. “Put ads up in places you usually wouldn’t consider, like the local gym. Ask yourself whether you really require previous educational experience or a degree to be a governor? Offer training and mentors to bring people on board,” suggested Adrian.
Governor Rosemary Hoyle advocated establishing a “culture of everyone”, encouraging boards to have honest discussions about their diversity and to perhaps appoint an equality, diversity and inclusion link governor.
Sharon Warmington, founder of the National Black Governors Network warned that racism in secondary school could be subtle but still obvious. Black students may find themselves automatically placed in low achievement groups, or being given careers advice with limited aspirations, which happened to her at school. “Just the presence of black governors and leaders in school makes a huge difference,” she said. “That could be on websites, photo boards or at school events and in the staff.”
Key things to remember:
- Avoid tokenism
- Diversifying your governing body is NOT lowering the bar – it is about widening your reach and being more inclusive
- Reflect your school’s ethnic make up at least, but strive to represent society as a whole
- Reach out to professional networks e.g. Black Lawyers Society, BME groups at banks, black churches
Overall, if you want to inspire *all* your students, remember you cannot be what you cannot see!
KatieGee 