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Waterman Primary
Waterman Primary
RL: As a Teaching Assistant, how does that go with you being Chair of Governors, who presumably has to say to the Head on occasion, hold on, what about this?
Becky: Yes, I have had to do that and it is hard, but then we are all good friends and as friends you should be able to say to someone why are you doing that. Most of the time you ask the question, “Why?”, which is our job as a Governor, and the answer comes, because it works and I can show you this data, or it’s been proved that this has happened because of this, so it’s just being able to ask that question.
Sometimes it may be, how long do you give until it works and you have to give things time to impact, but on the other hand, if three years down the line there is still no impact, something has to be done. But staff are so good here; they see what is working and what is not and change it themselves, and so our role is to simply monitor really.
RL: How did you originally come to be a Governor?
Becky: I came up for my son’s parent conferencing and I got on very well with the teacher – it has always been a very friendly and open school – and she happened to mention that they needed parent governors, and asked very nicely. I thought, well, plenty of parents will stand at the gate and moan and plenty will stand and be quiet, but really you need to stand up and be counted. Actually I’ve always thought this school could be something amazing, so I wanted to be part of that, so as a parent I said yes.
It has been hard and it is hard work. Often it almost goes undetected, and it is a job you have volunteered to do and there is no financial gain, but it is very worthwhile. This school is in my heart and it has been for a long time, and I’ve always had this vision that we will be there and be the school that everyone wants to go to, and I can see that day coming now, when we’ll have a waiting list and that will be so good!
Parental Support
RL: Is there a PTA in the school?
Becky: Yes, we have a great group of parents and they organised the Summer Fete this year, which was the first one for a very long time and it was a great success. They call themselves FLOWS - Family League of Waterman School. We have a Christmas Fare coming and they also have a coffee mornings and I make cakes for that. We are a family school and we will be a family school as long as people get involved. They are really good; they are raising money, raising funds; it’s great.
Past, Present & Future
RL: When you first went into special measures, how did you as a Governor feel about it?
Becky: It was very hard and because I have been a Governor so long, there was almost a sense of déjà-vu. If you could plot the school on a graph there are highs and then lows and it is a very wavy line. Personally I felt that when the school just gets to where it needs to be, help has been withdrawn, and it’s not been sustained to keep it there, whereas this time there are now things in place so that not only are we where we need to be, but there is also vision to go above and beyond.
We never want to just stay where we are. We always have to strive for whatever is next. We have a few Governors who have been here a long time and who have supported the school through thick and thin and who, when it happened again, wondered, can we do this again? But this time there has been a real difference; it’s really been very quick. The people who have come in – Mrs. Rogan and Mrs. Welch – have really acted so quickly. What they have put in place has worked, and the children understand it and there are expectations here now, and everyone is on the same sheet, and that’s where we haven’t been before. So now everybody knows what is expected and now it is the next step of moving on to better things.
RL: Well OK, thanks Becky, I think we have covered rather a lot there, but that has been very good. The future looks good! We’ll definitely watch this space.
To return to the first Part of this interview, please CLICK HERE
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Becky: Yes, I have had to do that and it is hard, but then we are all good friends and as friends you should be able to say to someone why are you doing that. Most of the time you ask the question, “Why?”, which is our job as a Governor, and the answer comes, because it works and I can show you this data, or it’s been proved that this has happened because of this, so it’s just being able to ask that question.
Sometimes it may be, how long do you give until it works and you have to give things time to impact, but on the other hand, if three years down the line there is still no impact, something has to be done. But staff are so good here; they see what is working and what is not and change it themselves, and so our role is to simply monitor really.
RL: How did you originally come to be a Governor?
Becky: I came up for my son’s parent conferencing and I got on very well with the teacher – it has always been a very friendly and open school – and she happened to mention that they needed parent governors, and asked very nicely. I thought, well, plenty of parents will stand at the gate and moan and plenty will stand and be quiet, but really you need to stand up and be counted. Actually I’ve always thought this school could be something amazing, so I wanted to be part of that, so as a parent I said yes.
It has been hard and it is hard work. Often it almost goes undetected, and it is a job you have volunteered to do and there is no financial gain, but it is very worthwhile. This school is in my heart and it has been for a long time, and I’ve always had this vision that we will be there and be the school that everyone wants to go to, and I can see that day coming now, when we’ll have a waiting list and that will be so good!
Parental Support
RL: Is there a PTA in the school?
Becky: Yes, we have a great group of parents and they organised the Summer Fete this year, which was the first one for a very long time and it was a great success. They call themselves FLOWS -
Past, Present & Future
RL: When you first went into special measures, how did you as a Governor feel about it?
Becky: It was very hard and because I have been a Governor so long, there was almost a sense of déjà-
RL: Well OK, thanks Becky, I think we have covered rather a lot there, but that has been very good. The future looks good! We’ll definitely watch this space.
To return to the first Part of this interview, please CLICK HERE
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To return to Waterman’s front page, please
CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
Waterman Primary School,
The Boulevard, Rochford,
SS4 1QF
Head: Mrs.Welch
01702 546237
www.watermanprimaryschool.ik.org
admin@waterman.essex.sch.uk
admin@waterman.essex.sch.uk
Part 2 of Interview with Becky Thomas, Chair of Governors of Waterman School (23rd November 2010)
The Role of the Governors
RL: Can we move on to you in your role as a Governor? What is the role of the Governors?
Becky: It is a very important role because they are here for the school and for the children. We are here to support, to monitor and make sure that the school is running as it should be, and to make sure that the money is being spent wisely. There needs to be value for money, a reason for everything that is being done. The school is doing a fantastic job but there needs to be somebody there to ask why are you doing this or that? The Governor is to be a friend but also to question why things are going on and that it’s the right thing and it is impacting.
The Role of the Governors
RL: Can we move on to you in your role as a Governor? What is the role of the Governors?
Becky: It is a very important role because they are here for the school and for the children. We are here to support, to monitor and make sure that the school is running as it should be, and to make sure that the money is being spent wisely. There needs to be value for money, a reason for everything that is being done. The school is doing a fantastic job but there needs to be somebody there to ask why are you doing this or that? The Governor is to be a friend but also to question why things are going on and that it’s the right thing and it is impacting.