School governor forced to resign for joining UKIP

[Bold Seagull]

He was a governor, not a member of staff. He has no job to 'get back' and would not have been anywhere near a classroom.

There is more to this story than meets the eye.

For one, it is only based on what the governor is saying.

All school governing boards are reconstituting as part of a government wide review of how governing bodies work. It wouldn't be uncommon for someone who has served 2 terms on one body (i.e. 8 years) to step aside - perhaps to allow new representation.

Strikes me that this councillor may well have got the hump with being asked to step aside, and in gaining some publicity for himself has made this political. Certainly got himself in the broadsheets.

Think I'll wait until the school makes a statement before I feign outrage.

 

[Simster]

#teamhans

 

[hans kraay fan club]

There is more to this story than meets the eye.

For one, it is only based on what the governor is saying.

All school governing boards are reconstituting as part of a government wide review of how governing bodies work. It wouldn't be uncommon for someone who has served 2 terms on one body (i.e. 8 years) to step aside - perhaps to allow new representation.

Strikes me that this councillor may well have got the hump with being asked to step aside, and in gaining some publicity for himself has made this political. Certainly got himself in the broadsheets.

Think I'll wait until the school makes a statement before I feign outrage.

Certainly agree that there is another side to be heard. the school is supposedly to issue a statement on Monday.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

It could also be that he used his previous political affiliation to gain the role in the first place. That would put a different slant on things - to go in as a Labour councillor and then switch allegiances would be grossly misrepresentative. Maybe the head was suggesting the councillor resign for switching political allegiances, not because he simply switched to UKIP.

Errr ..... what does Labour have to do with it ? Regardless, someone's political affiliation should have no bearing on their ability to be a governor.

 

[GT49er]

My meetings with UKIP makes me think that the political bias "Faragism" is alarming like the right wing Nazi party.

Geez!

 

[User removed 4]

Certainly agree that there is another side to be heard. the school is supposedly to issue a statement on Monday.

Why wait until Monday ? They're just making sure the correct spin is putbon it , that's all.

 

[Simster]

Errr ..... what does Labour have to do with it ? Regardless, someone's political affiliation should have no bearing on their ability to be a governor.

That's for the electorate to decide. We all vote based on the information to hand. I have no idea what party he switched *from* and it doesn't actually matter. What matters is that people reasonably make decisions based on political persuasion.

 

[Bold Seagull]

You're normally a fair poster but one I normally disagree with , on this occasion you're using spurious technicalities to dodge the issue , he was forced, as in he felt unable to continue , something akin to constructive dismissal.

Here is the latest booklet on governors and governing bodies following Lord Nash's review - https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270398/Governors-Handbook-January-2014.pdf

There is no spurious technicality. Lord Nash stats a governing bodies core functions are:

1.2 Governing bodies’ core functions
We have high expectations of governing bodies. They are the strategic leaders of our schools and have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education. For maintained schools this is reflected in the law, which states that the purpose of maintained school governing bodies is to ‘conduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement at the school’.

In all types of schools, governing bodies should have a strong focus on three core strategic functions:
a. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
b. Holding the head teacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and
c. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

I'm with Hans Kraay, I think the only body that could have asked him to leave is the rest of the governing body by voting him off. I think 8 years is too long on any one governing body anyway.

 

[daveinprague]

The school will comment on Monday....at the moment, this is a 'claim' from the govenor..
'I can think of several particular NSC bellends' who missed that.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Why wait until Monday ? They're just making sure the correct spin is putbon it , that's all.

Whereas as a councillor standing for reelections having just defected to another party would have no need for spin would they!

 

[Hastings gull]

Yes. Another voice here saying that on the face of it the headteacher's actions are indefensible. Unless of course the 'ethos of the school' is that everyone must have identical political views.

I suspect that there will be rather more to this. In my retirement from teaching, I now work as clerk to governing bodies in local schools in the Hastings area. The Head is a member of the governing body and can NOT order her Chair to resign, though dare I say it, some heads who usually get their way with staff, might want to! She might request it, but it is up to the person to then say -OK, I will go, as seems to have happened here. Whether you like UKIP or not, is really not the issue, but I find it odd that the "ethos of the school" would conflict with the aims of a mainstream political party. Possible personal animosity?

 

[Simster]

Errr ..... what does Labour have to do with it ? Regardless, someone's political affiliation should have no bearing on their ability to be a governor.

Besides which, you're completely wrong. For arguments sake, membership of UKIP might suggest that a governor be strongly opposed to the introduction of teaching basic Polish in schools. This would be an issue in an area with a lot of ethnic Poles, I'm sure you'd agree.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Possible personal animosity?

Or political gain and free publicity perhaps?

 

[jakarta]

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa..._data/file/352752/Governors_Handbook_2014.pdf

Search Political Bias.

My meetings with UKIP makes me think that the political bias "Faragism" is alarming like the right wing Nazi party.

I'm afraid that doesn't matter as long as he doesn't bring his Political views into Governors Meetings.

Having discussed this with Mrs Jakarta (a retired WSCC Head and now a Governor) she has never heard of anything like this happening in her experience and has suggested to me that there is something else going on here.

It is certainly not unknown for Head Teachers and the Head Governor to be daggers drawn and it is almost certainly nothing to do with the Political Party that they belong to!

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

Why wait until Monday ? They're just making sure the correct spin is putbon it , that's all.

Which I'm sure is something the governor in question would have done beforehand themselves. It's pointless to accuse anyone of adding (or wanting to add) spin to a story that they're involved on because it's just a matter of course, no-one wants to be seen as 'in the wrong'.

As for the actual story, I'm most definitely not a fan of UKIP but if it genuinely is as it appears then the 'injured party' would be more than justified in feeling aggrieved.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

I've genuinely no idea what point you are trying to make.

The difference between the Chair of the Board of Governors, and a member of school staff, is not 'a spurious technicality' - its utterly fundamental to this discussion. One is in a position of authority OVER the stupid HeadTeacher, one is working below her.

Headteachers can't remove Governors. Governors can remove Headteachers.

Speaking as a former school governor I agree with you fully; the Headteacher is appointed BY the governors, not the converse. I'd be disappointed if any parent of a child at my school didn't understand how it is managed.
I also suspect there's something more to this "story"; the Governing Body's response may shed some light.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Certainly agree that there is another side to be heard. the school is supposedly to issue a statement on Monday.

Let's see what has to be said on Monday. I find it hard to believe a governor felt unable to continue in their post due to some alleged words/pressure from someone with no power to remove them. I doubt this is engineered, it's most likely an opportunity which has been exploited with the expected newspaper column space gained and the usual types utterly reeled in. It is certainly looking this way given the current evidence.

 

[Buzzer]

Let's see what has to be said on Monday.....it's most likely an opportunity ....It is certainly looking this way given the current evidence.

I think you should follow your own advice before drawing judgements. As with others, I think there's a lot more to this than meets the eye and you may well be right but right now in your post above, you're as guilty as Farage of jumping to conclusions.

 

[Brovion]

I suspect that there will be rather more to this. In my retirement from teaching, I now work as clerk to governing bodies in local schools in the Hastings area. The Head is a member of the governing body and can NOT order her Chair to resign, though dare I say it, some heads who usually get their way with staff, might want to! She might request it, but it is up to the person to then say -OK, I will go, as seems to have happened here. Whether you like UKIP or not, is really not the issue, but I find it odd that the "ethos of the school" would conflict with the aims of a mainstream political party. Possible personal animosity?

Yeah, I did say 'on the face of it' with my only information being that story. My Mum was a teacher and after retirement was on the Board of Governors of a Sussex school (for a lot longer than eight years). People's personal politics were never discussed and were never a reason for not appointing (or for getting rid of) a Governor. Someone's trying to make a political point here, and at the moment it looks like it's the headteacher with her 'UKIP is against the ethos of the school' comment - unless of course Mr Ward has made that up in which case my allegiance will switch.

 

[User removed 4]

Besides which, you're completely wrong. For arguments sake, membership of UKIP might suggest that a governor be strongly opposed to the introduction of teaching basic Polish in schools. This would be an issue in an area with a lot of ethnic Poles, I'm sure you'd agree.

Are you serious ?? Jesus wept no wonder sizeable amounts of immigrant groups feel they don't need to learn English.