As both a Governor and a school
volunteer you may imagine the roles would be completely separate but there is
overlap and the roles inform each other. Today, as I do on most Thursday mornings,
I went into school as a Library Volunteer. I am a professional, chartered
librarian with an MSc in Information Science, I volunteer so the school
can benefit from my skills in library and information management.
Chatsworth is fortunate to have an amazing bus as the school library and I am
keen to develop the library to encourage the children to enjoy reading and
develop information literacy skills. The library catalogue is an incredible
resource, listing the books in the school’s library as well as many online
resources which have been checked as being both safe and child friendly so do
please make use of it to develop interests and help with homework https://u014837.microlibrarian.net/?ad=true
My tasks in the library vary but I do enjoy chatting to the children making use
of the library and working with the Year 5 pupil librarians!
This afternoon I returned to school
in my role as a Governor to attend a meeting of the School’s Finance Committee,
the Committee is accountable to the Governing Body and monitors the school’s
budget and questions how the school is spending money on resources. A key role
of a governor is overseeing the financial performance of the school and making
sure its money is well spent hence this Committee is a vital part of the
governance of Chatsworth.
The roles of governor and volunteer
may seem different but they inform each other. As a volunteer I see the school, staff and pupils on a weekly
basis in a more informal setting and this of course informs my knowledge and
views of the school helping me to be more effective in my role as a governor.
Ann Sylph, Community Governor, 29
Jan 2015