Parents are undoubtedly the engine that keeps school governing bodies running. Their enthusiasm, passion and commitment is an inspiration to me - and, I suspect, to many other people in schools around the country.
And yet. And yet. There is always one. Someone who ruins it for everyone else. The person who gives all other parent governors a bad name. I am, of course, referring to the Sniper.
You’ve probably met a Sniper and, if you’re a governor, you’ve probably had to endure several of their monologues. They’ll sit silently through any discussion on high-level data or budgets and then BAM. There’ll be a word or phrase that they can tangentially link their moan for the term to.
There is an easy way to tell a Sniper: they have a (possibly genetic) inability to distinguish between problems and petty gripes.
Literacy levels are low for boys? That’s a problem. The canteen running out of tortillas before your daughter’s best friend gets there (there were other options, but Alicia just loves Tortilla Tuesday)? That’s a petty gripe. Guess which one I don’t want to have to listen to at 9.30pm on a Thursday evening? Well done that woman, award yourself a taco. And then feed it to your daughter’s best friend if that will make you happy.
It might seem like nitpicking on my part to call this behaviour out, but there is a serious point behind it. Governors have a finite amount of time; they are volunteers, after all. Every second wasted on pointless, pernickety and (quite often) personal vendettas is a second that could have been spent on more productive matters. And I suspect that this sort of behaviour is the type that gives governors something of a bad reputation among teachers, which doesn’t help when trying to build a relationship between the governing body and the school staff.
Luckily, our chair of governors is a parent on a mission and has come up with a way to combat our Sniper before they can even get going. On the day of each meeting he sends out an email. “Everything we talk about tonight should be linked to our School Improvement Plan. If there’s anything else that you think needs addressing, please email me beforehand.” He’s then able to shut down any meaningless discussion by referring back to his very clear structure for the meeting.
It seems to me that he’s worked out the key to stopping a Sniper: making sure that you’re the one who shoots first.
The writer is a primary governor in the South East of England
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