Kantata Volunteer Series: Ensuring Students Are Set up For Success
Kantata is proud of the volunteer work our employees do, and we encourage people to take time away from their roles and get involved with charities and community organizations. This is how Tarsem Chana, Head of Academy, helps out in his community, in his own words.
Question: What type of volunteering work do you do for your community?
Answer: I am a Parent Governor, Chair of the Academy Council (school governors) and a Board Member of the chain of eight academies that my children attend. These schools are in my hometown of London and Berkshire, and educate 6000 children of my local community and beyond.
Question: What do you bring to this volunteering role?
Answer: The Academy Council and the Board are there to support the schools, the school staff, pupils and parents. As a group, we bring a broader range of skills and a more diverse viewpoint than would otherwise be available. Our role is to ask challenging questions — there wouldn’t be much point in doing this just to nod everything through that the school suggests.
Whilst we do hear about operational matters like what the lunch menu is and the fun activities the school is running, these are left to the schools to plan and run. What we are responsible for are: understanding the development plans for improving teaching and learning performance, and ensuring the financial budget is used appropriately to benefit learning outcomes. We have recently reviewed a large spending request for school building works, so once we discussed the benefits for the children (compared with doing nothing), the works were approved and I had to put my name against the budget request.
At the board meetings, we discuss and review strategic policies — at the moment we are piloting an initiative to get a Chromebook/laptop for every child across all eight academies. The equipment itself is not the solution, it is just a tool — so we are asking how they will be used, what teaching and learning objectives the devices could help deliver, what learning will work well or not (like cooking or PE!), what the costs are and how we manage the devices.
Question: Can you tell us a bit more about your experience in the role?
Answer: I have been doing this for seven years and I take the responsibility very seriously. I would describe this role as an unpaid professional commitment — it is not the kind of thing you can pick up for a few hours and then drop.
I am in regular contact with the school principal and attend Academy Council meetings every few weeks, then there are regular Board meetings with other Board Directors and CEOs to discuss pan-academy matters. I also attend various committees and panels like pupil attainment and progress reviews, recruitment for senior roles, staff grievances — so lots of paperwork to review and often other ongoing conversations. I’ve also met with OFSTED during their routine inspections a few years ago and we are waiting for ‘the call’ as they are due back in the coming weeks.
Question: What do you learn from this volunteering work?
Answer: I have learned that the number one priority for schools is safeguarding and then education. Teachers are more than educators — they treat our children as their own and we trust them to keep children safe whilst teaching them. This work puts me in a role where I am asked to look at the bigger picture, and what I bring back into the business and into my life generally, is that I am more confident and more assertive.
It has also improved my ability to lead a team, where we may have different opinions but everyone has a common goal. As Chair, I have to consider the views of all the Academy Council members, staff and parents, however sometimes a decision is needed and I have to get everyone to accept it without feeling they have not been heard. I have also learned that my children are very nervous that I have their school principal’s direct contact number to hand!
To learn more about the work that Kantata employees do in their communities, read the first blog of the series — Blood Biking in Bucks — and keep an eye out for more installments!
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