A day in the life of a clerk
Meet Our Clerk
Name: Maureen Boyle
Role: Governor Development Advisor
What does a typical day as a clerk look like for you?
The contents of the inbox plays a major part in shaping the day. What I want to find is timely responses from Chairs and Headteachers agreeing agenda, providing papers and agreeing draft minutes. That means I can get on with the “to do” list. But life is rarely that straight forward so there may well be queries and requests for info to respond to. There is a constant stream of information to read and absorb – corporate, departmental, updates from GovernorHub and the NGA. And some days there is that email that is going to absorb your time and attention for most of the day!
The “bread and butter” of our work is supporting our governing bodies and that means ensuring agendas are prepared, papers uploaded and minutes drafted.
When I first started clerking (2000) we were very much paper based and lead in times were therefore a whole lot longer! GovernorHub has been transformational and the days of standing over a temperamental photocopier to produced fifteen copies of 100 pages are thankfully far behind us!
What’s the most rewarding part of supporting a governing board?
I am a bit of a nerd and I do love to see a list of numbered papers in the GovernorHub folder to support the agenda.
On a deeper level what is really rewarding is working with a governing body who are committed to developing themselves and moving their school forward. When the partnership between Headteacher, Chair and Clerk is working, and each understands and respects the others’ roles, is very satisfying.
If you had to describe your job in three words, what would they be?
Busy, unpredictable, satisfying
What’s one thing governors might be surprised to learn about clerking?
I was once asked by a governor what my day job was (since clerking only took up evenings). I think some governors would be surprised by how much is going on in the background. For those of us working full-time, planning meeting dates for the year ahead is a major logistical challenge. There is always a perfect two weeks in every term when every governing body would prefer to have their meeting (and Tuesday and Wednesday are particular favourites!)
What’s your secret to staying organised during busy meeting seasons?
I’m still pretty old school! I have an excel spreadsheet with my meeting dates and all the deadlines for agenda preparation, posting papers and drafting minutes. My diary is still made of paper and in that I use my deadlines to plan out those essential tasks. Tips for clerks? Ask for a response one or two days before your actual deadline.
Tips for schools/governing bodies Every meeting works better when there’s tea and biscuits!
What’s the funniest or most memorable moment you’ve had as a clerk?
I’m a huge fan of Chicken Run and I regard the set of minutes where I was able to write “ The chickens are organised” as a personal highlight!
If your role were a superhero, what would your superpower be?
Bi-location would be very useful for those meeting clashes but I think flying would be my favourite.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to new governors about working with clerks?
I can’t speak for everyone, but I am delighted to show what a know-it-all I am, so please ask questions about anything that you don’t understand or isn’t clear! And if I don’t know the answer one of my colleagues will.
What do you love most about being part of the governor services team?
We mainly work remotely but within an incredibly supportive team. I know that when times are tough my colleagues will support in whatever way they can. Any comment or question on our group chat will get a response and we do keep in touch and share what’s going on. Donna is an amazing team leader and is a joy to work with.
Any fun fact about you outside of work?
I love to holiday! I am part way through an A-Z of European cities and have visited Athens, Bologna, Carcassone, Dubrovnik, Elsinore, Faro, Granada, Heidelberg, Ibiza, Jerez, Krakow, Lisbon, Madrid, Naples and Orvieto. Next stop Porto and then Quimper!