The Parent Governor Elections

Today after School, I was standing in the School office looking over the Chairman of the Parent Governors shoulder as he split the submitted votes for the newest Parent Governor in to two piles. One with my name on and one with the other nominees name on. The piles looked to be the same size and from my rough counting there were slightly more in the pile for the other nominee.

I was gutted.

I put my name forward to be Parent Governor a few weeks back, after a friend was talking about how we have to volunteer, we have to put ourselves out there if we ever want to make a difference. It's all well and good standing in the School playground complaining about the School, but what good does it do?

I nominated myself, I got a friend to second me. I got told that another parent had volunteered. I wrote a statement to go out to parents, telling them how fantastic I was. I had a friend suggest I just write "I'm amazing so vote for me", I had other friends read what I had written and made suggestions in the end I wrote this.


Hi. I’m Pippa, a Self-employed Mum with two students at this School, my son Big Boy is in Reception and my daughter Top Ender is in Year Four.

I’d like to be a Parent Governor as I believe that our School needs more parent involvement and support. I want to help all our Children to reach their maximum potential and to have our School not only reaching, but exceeding all the targets set for it and I want to make our School more a part of the local community.

I have many skills and strengths that I can apply to the role of Parent Governor, which will enhance and complement the existing Governors. I’m a great communicator, I have good organisational skills, I work well as a member of a team and having a background in IT and Project Management gives me many other professional skills.

I have in the past served on a Church Council and I’m well known in the local community for my Media skills, which I believe the School can benefit from. As I’m a very hands on Mum, I understand the importance for parents to know they have a voice in their Children’s education.


I thought that it got across what I wanted. That I want to make our School great, that I want to make sure that all the parents are involved in the School and their Children's education, that all the Children at the School reach their potential so that they can go on to be Policemen or Pilots or Singers or Bin Men or Florists or Stay At Home Mums like me. 

It seemed that, that wasn't what the other parents wanted. And that was fine, my full support would go to the other nominee in their new position. I was just about to take the Children home so I could cry into my Sorelle and then the Chairman said I'd won. The pile with slightly more slips in was mine.

I'd won.

I suppose now the real stress and worry begins, so who has some words of advice for me in my new role?