St Benedict’s Infant School

Rebecca Rawlinson-Cook
Clerk
St Benedict’s Infant School, Birmingham

We had been advertising for two new governors for nearly two years, without success. It was getting to a point where we thought that we would never fill the vacancies; and that the pressure being put on the governors we did have would get too much.

I made contact with our Inspiring Governance Regional Manager who agreed to come along to our annual community afternoon. Having him there made such a difference to the governor stand, as he was able to answer questions that people had about recruitment and training. Knowing that he was coming to see us, he had arranged for a prospective governor to meet us at the school. He liked us and completed the required application paper work. We have since taken him on and will be formally co-opting him at our next full governors meeting.

Having the support of Inspiring Governance makes a real difference to recruitment. It is still challenging to find the right person; sometimes the candidates are just not right for the governing board, but at least you know that there are others that may be right. The website is easy to use and allows you to view prospective volunteers and send messages to those who you would like to hear more from.

For successful candidates, knowing that there is training available to help with their initial steps is very reassuring. Inspiring Governance is very supportive, not just of the volunteers, but of the recruiters as well.

We will continue to work with Inspiring Governance and hope to fill our remaining vacancy as soon as possible.