News

Our latest Question & Answer - Nik Dart

Nik Dart is Chair of Governors at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Ogwr in Bridgend. The school was recently praised by Estyn for ensuring access to educational experiences for families who experience the effects of poverty. We spoke to Nik about her role and the strong role governors have played in the success of the school.

How did you become a governor, and how did you come to be in your current role?
I’ve been a governor for around 15 years, starting as a staff governor in a different school, then a parent governor at Bro Ogwr. After 18 months at Bro Ogwr, the current Chair of Governors was succession planning and I was asked to consider becoming Chair when they stepped down, and I agreed. Our longstanding headteacher retired, so I threw myself into leading the Governing Body in appointing a headteacher. We had an Estyn inspection within the first six months of becoming Chair and then we had a pandemic. I promised myself I would stay to ensure that the new headteacher had settled in, then stay for Estyn and then stay until the new school was built. That was supposed to open two years ago, but they haven’t even broken ground yet, so I’m still here!

What is it like being a Chair of Governors?
It’s a lot of work and many people don’t realise that. Governance has given me more experience and skills than any paid career has – I’m suddenly needing to be an expert in estates, employment law and all these other things that no-one ever trains you for. While I say to people that governors play a strategic role in ensuring the school provides the best possible education, at times we seem to do everything but. Our new build was supposed to open two years ago, but they haven’t started yet because of slow worms. I never realised I would become so knowledgeable about slow worms!

Being a headteacher is a lonely and difficult job and they need a strong chair. The head’s wellbeing is part of our role and our head knows they can call me any time of the day or night. It’s a safe space.

In its report, Estyn said the governors were “strong advocates” for the school. What’s your approach to governance, and how have you achieved that?
I was determined we weren’t going to be one of those governing bodies where the Chair spoke and everyone else smiled. We have 18 governors and it’s a team effort – every governor has a role. I set very high expectations of all governors and as a governing body we are both challenging and supportive, and we know our responsibilities well. We also make sure we get expert advice and support. We are supported very well by Governors Cymru Services, who do an excellent job. We also use School Governance Solutions, which provides a brilliant clerking service, and we have an SLA with Capital Law for the occasions when we need legal support and Judicium Education for data protection.

Tell us about the Emotional and Family Well-being Team. When was it set up and how does it work?
People have this perception that Welsh medium schools are middle class, but our pupil population is very diverse and complicated. A number of children live in poverty, while others are on the poverty line. Parents are struggling. Our pupil needs have always been varied, but since Covid the nature and scope of their needs has grown. So, a few years ago, we asked the headteacher to advertise for a Family Engagement Officer to help provide support to families. That grew into our Emotional and Family Well-being Team, which includes an ELSA wellbeing officer and a dedicated interventions team.

We hold weekly family drop-in sessions for parents, carers, grandparents. If they want to talk about anything, the team is available. We also arrange drop-in sessions from Citizens Advice and other supporting organisations. These are in addition to other initiatives to help pupils, including our complimentary breakfast club, healthy snack cupboard and pre-loved school uniform offer. We also supplement school trips so all pupils have the same access to experiences and opportunities.

What’s been the governing body’s role in this?
We made sure there was space in the budget for this work. It’s now a permanent post in the school and something we have safeguarded in the budget. Despite the current climate of tight school budgets and cuts, this was something we were not compromising on and our efforts are paying off – our attendance was recently the highest in the local authority. As a governing body we are always checking on the impact of any new initiative to ensure it adds value to the work of the school and supports the teaching and learning environment, as well as making that all-important difference to our pupils and parents.