Volunteer Blog – Ibrahim Zavery

Ibrahim is a Senior Sustainability Adviser at HMRC. 

”I was interested in becoming a school governor at a local school because I wanted to give something back to the community. Over the years I’ve volunteered and taken part in a number of community based initiatives but the role of a school governor provided a unique opportunity to connect with young people in education whilst using my experience to make a meaningful difference.

I joined the governing board in September 2020 and it was clear that the pandemic had affected schools and young people in a number of different ways. Home-schooling became the norm, finances were strapped and teachers struggled to keep up with the changing rules and policies. It became more important than ever that schools were supported and governed effectively.

I’ve been in post for around five months now and its been interesting to say the least. I sit on the resources committee which looks after finance, resourcing and school policies amongst other things. And I’ve also joined a working group  supporting the school to build a new canteen. I’ve felt that I’ve been able to contribute, use my skills and experience and most importantly make positive changes for those at the school. It was also important to me that young people felt represented, so I was keen to ensure that a diverse board existed at a school which brought with it different perspectives, understanding and experiences. Needless to say I’ve also learnt quite a bit!

I would highly recommend becoming a school governor – it’s clear that there’s a real need at the moment but it also provides an opportunity to learn and develop in an entirely different setting.

Inspiring governance makes the process of applying and joining extremely easy and you feel supported right away with lots of training on offer.”

Would you like to follow in Ibrahim’s footsteps and volunteer to become a school governor or trustee? Why not sign-up at www.inspiringgovernance.org/volunteers and search for a governor vacancy in your area.