Ian Bent, Head of Radio Production, BBC North has been volunteering with Outreach as a school governor.
Hundreds of BBC staff volunteer as school governors across the UK. BBC Outreach holds a partnership with SGOSS – Governors for Schools – which helps match BBC volunteers with vacancies in schools across England.
‘I’m filled with hope and expectation that we’ll have a new group of people competing for vacancies in the BBC’.
When the BBC moved to Salford in 2011 one of our long-term aims was to widen the areas of society from which we recruit. To do this we need to inspire people from different communities to want to work here, and to help equip them with the skills to compete for our vacancies. It was an aspiration that excited me, and so I jumped at the invitation to the Board of Governors at the newly established University Technical College at MediacityUK.
UTCs are a new type of college, where 14 to 18 year olds study the core academic subjects alongside a sharp focus on a particular industry. The UTC at MediacityUK is, unsurprisingly, working with the media industry and was seeking governors from the trade.
The formal duties of the role are the same as a board of governors at any other state school: being a critical friend to the leadership, helping shape their vision and holding them to for the performance of the school. But working with a media-focused UTC brings extra opportunity for the BBC to help equip and inspire the next generation of BBC staff. I have helped recruit the teachers who will specialise in TV and radio and advised on appropriate studio design (the UTC has truly amazing studios and editing facilities, stuff I would have killed for as a teenager).
I’ve never been a school governor before and there has been much more preparation and training than I expected. Most of this is online so the work can be scheduled when it suits me, but it is quite time consuming. The governors’ meetings are about six times a year and there’s quite a bit to keep on top of, if we are taking our roles seriously. However, when I cycle past the UTC every morning and see the students eagerly going in, I’m filled with hope and expectation that soon we’ll have a new group of people competing for vacancies in the BBC.
BBC Outreach holds a partnership with SGOSS – Governors for Schools, which helps match volunteers with governor vacancies in schools across England. You don’t need to have children at a school to be considered as a governor. For more information about applying as a member of BBC staff please use the following link.
