Throughout September, Inspiring Governance’s Regional Managers have been out across England engaging with members of the Young Governors’ Network (YGN). Set up by the National Governance Association (NGA), the YGN is a network designed specifically to assist governors under the age of 40 ‘to govern in schools by facilitating them to share their experiences, addressing the challenges faced by young people governing schools and creating sustainable connections amongst current and prospective governors’.
This was a great opportunity for the Inspiring Governance team to open a dialogue with younger governors to understand their specific needs and challenges they face as young governors, as well as to discuss how best to appeal to new volunteers.
Our regional managers, Helen, Claire, Eileen, and Richard, had the chance to engage with young governors in London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, and Bristol – which is testament to the wide reach of both the YGN and Inspiring Governance. Despite this, the Inspiring Governance team remains focused on extending its scope to reach all parts of the country.
The YGN is crucial to achieving the aim of diversifying school governing boards, so they better reflect the communities which they serve. This is best seen in the ‘Everyone on Board’ campaign. And recruiting younger governors is a very important part of this process. The recent School Governance 2018 report from the NGA and TES, revealed that only 10% of governors and trustees are aged under 40 and only 1% under 30. Inspiring Governance has made it a part of its mission to address this issue.
The YGN is a great opportunity for young governors to meet one another in an informal setting to meet and discuss governing as an under-40. Supported by the National Governance Association and Inspiring Governance, the YGN is a community of ‘interested, intelligent, creative, and questioning young people committed to improving schools for everyone’.
So, if you’re under 40, and you want to become a governor – assistance is available, so don’t hesitate to get involved!