Podcast, The Importance of School Governors

This article is part of an editorial series on The School Show

By Jenny Mollon

First Published:

Monday 4 October, 2021

Updated:

Tuesday 5 October, 2021

The first episode of the new season of The School Show podcast sees our host, WhichSchoolAdvisor.com Senior Editor, Jenny Mollon meet two UAE school governors who share their experiences in the role. Jenny also speaks with Fatma Belrehif, CEO of the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau to find out why school governance is a top priority for those regulating schools in Dubai.

Our guests for this episode are Claire-Marie Drinkwater, Parent Governor at Safa British School and Dr Sapna Verma, Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors at the Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS).

In the exclusive interview with Fatma Belrehif, the CEO of Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau, we hear why the Dubai’s school regulator, the KHDA, values the role of school governors so highly.

Dr Sapna Verma of JESS and Claire-Marie Drinkwater of Safa British School, both parent governors for their respective schools

This episode of The School Show sees Jenny and our guests discuss:

What is a school governor?
What do they do?
Why did our guests want to be school governors?
What skills your ‘day job’ can bring to the role of school governor?
What our guests have learned from being a school governor
How schools benefit from having governors
What experience is needed to be a school governor?
Do school governors get paid?
How much time does the role need?
What impact our guests think that they have had in the schools they support
What our guests would like to influence or change in the future
Why others should think about being a school governor

The School Show will return next month with more great guests and education chat. If there are topics you would like us to explore on The School Show, or particular guests you would like to hear from, please send an email to [email protected]