Volunteer stories

Meet Shiv Chowla: senior manager at the Bank of England and school governor

Finance professionals: did you know that your skills are in high demand on school governing boards? We spoke to Shiv Chowla, a…

Meet Matt Scott: Lawyer and volunteer school governor

My name is Matt Scott, I’m a competition and regulatory lawyer working in London and I’m a foundation governor at All Saints…

Meet David Johnson: General Manager at Marmax and school governor

David Johnson, General Manager at Marmax Products in Stanley, County Durham, very recently started his volunteering journey as a school governor at…

Educator on Board: Meet Rupinder Sandhu, lecturer and school governor

School governance is a great opportunity for education professionals to make a difference in a setting outside of the day job, as…

Meet Liam Anderson: teacher and school governor

My name is Liam Anderson, I am head of design and technology at a large comprehensive 11-18 academy and have been teaching…

Educator on Board: meet Bridget Ampofo, teacher and school governor

Educators: have you considered volunteering as a school governor? There are so many benefits to the role, both professional and personal: joining…

Meet Ayed Galeb, DfE and school governor

Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the country – including that of the school…

Meet Eileen Wong: Senior Business Change Manager Race Delivery Programme and School Governor

Eileen Wong is a senior business change manager for the Race Delivery Programme at HMRC and volunteers as a school governor. We…

Meet Fatema Mulla: civil servant and volunteer school governor

Fatema Mulla is a HO compliance officer at HMRC and volunteered as a school governor at Hyrstmount Junior school in Kirklees, West…

Meet Tanzila Samun: accountant and school governor volunteer

Research from the DfE into school and academy governance has highlighted that school/academy governing boards are continuing to seek volunteers who bring…

Meet Hannah Cummins: North East LEP skills team and school governor

“My name is Hannah Cummins, I am 24 years old, I work in the Skills Team at the North East Local Enterprise…

Justin Placide: co-chair of the Civil Service Race Forum and school governor

Justin Placide, Head of Home Energy Retrofit Enablers at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is the co-chair of the…

Lucy Johnson: North East LEP enterprise coordinator and school governor

“My name is Lucy Johnson and I’m an Enterprise Coordinator working at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership. I’m a governor at…

Meet Juliet Flynn: school governor volunteer

Canterbury Christ Church University has recently signed the School Governor Champion Charter and is working in partnership with Inspiring Governance to promote…

Neil Willis: North East LEP regional lead and school governor

“My name is Neil Willis, I’m the regional lead for education challenge working at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and I…

Andrew McCreadie: engineer and school governor

Why do engineers make great school governors? Andrew McCreadie IEng is a lead facilities engineer within the Paint Facilities & Equipment, Manufacturing…

Meera Shah: video diary of a young governor

From acquiring new skills, using your own expertise and experience and the feeling of giving back to your local community, there are…

David Coe: enterprise coordinator and volunteer school governor

David Coe is an Enterprise Coordinator at The North East Local Enterprise Partnership who work with partners to develop a more competitive…

Aaron: video diary of a young governor

“What kinds of things can I get involved in if I volunteer as a school governor?” From acquiring new skills, using your…

Meet Jasmin Mensah, teacher and school governor

“I can’t be a school governor – I’m too young and don’t have enough experience.” Jasmin Mensah is here to tell you…

Grace: video diary of a young school governor

“Can young people be school governors? How do I know that I have the skills and experience schools are looking for?” We…

Amanda Walker: engineer and volunteer school governor

Amanda Walker BEngHons MIET is a manufacturing engineer at GE Aviation and volunteer school governor at a secondary school in Gloucester. Amanda…

Catherine Horsley: HMRC and volunteer school governor

Catherine Horsley, HR business partner at HMRC, volunteers as a school governor at a faith primary and junior school in the North…

James Pearce: Rolls-Royce and volunteer school governor

To celebrate volunteers’ week 2021, we spoke to James Pearce, Portfolio Analyst at Rolls-Royce and winner of the APM Apprentice of the…

Educator on Board: Meet Mili Malde, Department for Education and volunteer school governor

Mili Malde works in the Teaching Workforce Directorate, part of the Department for Education and volunteers as a school governor at Southgate…

Julie Robinson: Independent Schools Council and volunteer school governor

Julie Robinson is chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, an organisation that brings together seven associations of independent schools, their heads,…

Julian Kennett: Department for Education and volunteer school governor

Julian Kennett works for the Department for Education, delivering new school buildings in England, and volunteers as chair of governors at Joseph…

Katie Carr: Department for Education and volunteer school governor

Katie Carr works as part of the ESFA team at the Department for Education and also volunteers as a co-opted governor at…

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…

Volunteer Blog – Sylvia Grice

Sylvia Grice works in educational assessment and is a Community Governor at The Nicholas Hamond Academy. As a military spouse with extensive…

Volunteer Blog – Horatio Georgestone

Meet Horatio Georgestone. Horatio runs the social enterprise YDWC – professional network designed by, run by, and dedicated to young professionals from…

Volunteer Blog – Richard Carreau-Floume

Richard Carreau-Floume is Vice President, Change Management, Technology at Bank of America and is a Local Advisory Board Member (Morningside Primary School).…

Volunteer Blog – Ben Hardy

Meet Ben Hardy. Ben is a Relationship Manager at Schools North East , the country’s first and only school-led regional network in…

Volunteer Blog – Ryan Clifford

Meet Ryan. A BSc Computer Science and Management (ITMB) and MSc Banking and Finance graduate from Queen Mary University of London, Ryan…

Nii Tagoe

Name: Nii Tagoe Age: 27 Job: Procurement Officer at Transport for London School name: Unity Academy Trust which includes Gravel Hill Primary…

Volunteer Blog – Joel Summers

My name is Joel Summers, and in my day job I work in equality, diversity and inclusion for a large, UK-wide professional…

Volunteer Blog – Laura Weatherill

Laura Weatherill, a civil servant and volunteer placed by Inspiring Governance writes about why she became a School Governor and what she…

Joshua Irish

Joshua Irish is sitting on the board of governors for two of his local schools in Hackney and is on the resources…

Mike Bones

Meet Mike Bones. Mike works as a recruitment and transport manager for North-East based firm Velocity and has been a School Governor…

Lauren Walker

Lauren, 22, decided to become a governor whilst working at the Department for Education. Surrounded by colleagues who were passionate about learning,…

Lee Bushby

Meet Lee Bushby ‘I became a School Governor to challenge myself and to be able to develop in an area outside of…

Volunteer Blog – Isabel Churcher

Are you looking for a unique professional development opportunity where you can make a difference to your community and meet amazing people…that…

Mark Holliday

Mark, from Fylde, Lancashire, has worked within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the past 12 years. In that time,…

Nasreen Akhtar

Nasreen Akhtar, 34 Operational Exec Innovation Department at HomeServe Labs part of the HomeServe Group (General Insurance Company) Governor at the George…

Josh Burr

School: Critchill School, Frome, Somerset. This is a school for children with special educational needs. Occupation: I’m completing the final year of my degree…

Tasha Parkhouse

School: Brandles School Location: Hertfordshire Job: Business Manager Favourite book: Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Why did you chose governance over a…

Richard Newton Chance

Location: South East Cornwall Job role/occupation: Retired Head teacher On the governing board at: South East Cornwall Multi Academy Regional Trust For…

Lawayne Jefferson

School: Redland Green School Location: Bristol Job: Communications Manager Why did you become a school governor/trustee? I started out as a parent governor…

Tom Gardiner

School: Cheney School Location: Oxford Occupation: Medical student at Oxford University Favourite pastime: I’m directing this year’s Tingewick pantomime at the hospital…

Richard Aggus

School: The Nobel School Location: Stevenage What impact do you think you have had as a governor? I feel I have influenced…

Lin Keen

School: Sandringham School Location: St Albans Role: Chair of Governors Job: Retired Why did you become a governor? I became a school…

Rosemary Bolton

School: Presdales School Location: Ware, Hertfordshire Position: Chair Other voluntary activity: Justice of the Peace (Magistrate) and a Town Councillor Why did…