Guest Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 Hi, I'm sure this question is going to require a phone call to the pre-school learning alliance but would appreciate other forum comments. At the last AGM we had a new chair take over committee, she was in fact the only volunteer for the job. Since then she has become like a bull in a china shop in taking things over. She is now very unpopular with about 85% of the committee but the other 15% are in favour of her. She is treating the pre-school like her own business and completely undermining the work of some of the previous committee and staff. Obviously I am one of the ones who is anti- but am open minded enough to take advice and criticism on what we do about it. Is the rest of the committee able to vote her down? Hopefully it wouldn't come to this and someone can talk to her and make her calm down a bit. Help needed please.
AnonyMouse_11396 Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) Hi this is a tricky one, having been both a chair, Senco and now Supervisor of a setting i can see both sides of what can sometimes be a difficult role. Is she trying to make changes that you also feel need addressing but is going about it in a bullish way, then i would suggest you contact your PSLA Development worker who could advise. As for voting someone off a committee, i would think this could be a a very damaging thing to do unless they are obviously doing something that is totally detrimental to your setting. Thats the trouble with a committee often they are mums /dads just trying to help, but all not always equipped or trained to do the job in hand. Remember a Chair of a committee is only there in name to oversee and support, all members should have a say on actions, ideas and decide together as a group. Wishing you well. Edited January 20, 2012 by bridger
AnonyMouse_3139 Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 The chairs role is to oversee things and make sure decisions taken are acted upon. Things can only really be changed if there is clear evidence that the present way isnt working, and if a change will benefit the setting, but it has to be with the support of the rest of the committee voting in agreement at a proper meeting. A good committee will take staffs point of view on board too. I'll attach a copy of the roles when I can get on my PC, unless someone else does it first. As far as voting her off you would need to read your constitution, if you're a member of the PLA you will probably have adopted their's but check first. I've attached a copy of the June 2008 constitution. There is a newer one but I havent read or adopted that. PLA_Constitution.pdf
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 Hi, I'm sure this question is going to require a phone call to the pre-school learning alliance but would appreciate other forum comments. At the last AGM we had a new chair take over committee, she was in fact the only volunteer for the job. Since then she has become like a bull in a china shop in taking things over. She is now very unpopular with about 85% of the committee but the other 15% are in favour of her. She is treating the pre-school like her own business and completely undermining the work of some of the previous committee and staff. Obviously I am one of the ones who is anti- but am open minded enough to take advice and criticism on what we do about it. Is the rest of the committee able to vote her down? Hopefully it wouldn't come to this and someone can talk to her and make her calm down a bit. Help needed please. whilst I can sympathise with your issue....I'll bet I'm not the only one on here who thinks you should perhaps count yourselves lucky to have had a volunteer for the chair.....We have found getting anyone to volunteer even to be committee members getting harder and harder each year and at our last AGM we had NO volunteers for anything.....thankfully an old parent returned with their youngest child and has since been able to drum up a bit of life.....perhaps a bad chair is better than none at all? It is often in my experience as the chair of the local horticultural society those who are least willing to do things themselves who are the first ones to criticise others...at least they sound motivated even if theyr are a pain!
Guest Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 I agree that it is great to have a chair that has volunteered for the job but I think she may be a little 'over enthusiastic' and is making important decisions on her own. I am a committee member but as a member of staff I cannot be chair otherwise I probably would have volunteered. Thanks to the other replies, they make a lot of sense and I have thoroughly read the constitution over the weekend and am of the opinion that the chair needs to be aware of her role a bit more. Perhaps it is just down to being a bit naive at the moment. We have regular committee meetings and generally have a good turnout for each meeting for which I realise how fortunate we are. Our committee has in the past been strong and very supportive but this chair is in danger of alienating everyone as she makes us all feel incompetent and she needs to tell us how to do our jobs. It's a wonder we have managed to survive the last 30 years without her! I think a quiet, discreet word about her role and working as a team pulling together should do the trick hopefully. As you say, at least we have a chair who is willing.
AnonyMouse_37030 Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 I agree that it is great to have a chair that has volunteered for the job but I think she may be a little 'over enthusiastic' and is making important decisions on her own. I am a committee member but as a member of staff I cannot be chair otherwise I probably would have volunteered.Thanks to the other replies, they make a lot of sense and I have thoroughly read the constitution over the weekend and am of the opinion that the chair needs to be aware of her role a bit more. Perhaps it is just down to being a bit naive at the moment. We have regular committee meetings and generally have a good turnout for each meeting for which I realise how fortunate we are. Our committee has in the past been strong and very supportive but this chair is in danger of alienating everyone as she makes us all feel incompetent and she needs to tell us how to do our jobs. It's a wonder we have managed to survive the last 30 years without her! I think a quiet, discreet word about her role and working as a team pulling together should do the trick hopefully. As you say, at least we have a chair who is willing. Good luck with that Pippy.....
Guest Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 Hi, I'm sure this question is going to require a phone call to the pre-school learning alliance but would appreciate other forum comments. At the last AGM we had a new chair take over committee, she was in fact the only volunteer for the job. Since then she has become like a bull in a china shop in taking things over. She is now very unpopular with about 85% of the committee but the other 15% are in favour of her. She is treating the pre-school like her own business and completely undermining the work of some of the previous committee and staff. Obviously I am one of the ones who is anti- but am open minded enough to take advice and criticism on what we do about it. Is the rest of the committee able to vote her down? Hopefully it wouldn't come to this and someone can talk to her and make her calm down a bit. Help needed please. You will need to refer to your Constitution, which may outline processes to follow in the committee having No confidenc in the current Chairs ability to carry out their role. If your constitution is with PLA then they can advise on the process or give more clarity to finding solutions. However, as other posts have already suggested you are indeed very fortunate to have a Chair on board who is keen to develop the setting. A post following your own one here suggests that the Committee are there in name only. This is not strictly true, the committee are actually responsible as a management group for the pre-school as a whole and are the registered person with Ofsted. The Committee have legal responsibility for ensuring the pre-school is run appropriately, in line with registration requirements and are liable as individuals for the pre-school. It appears that the Chair is indeed taking her responsibilities very seriously, which is a positive in itself. However, she /he may be being over enthusiastic and I think it would be a very good idea to talk to the Chair and be honest about any anxieties and concerns the rest of the committee may have and indeed the staff. Communication is key and everybody needs to be working together for the good of the children, parents, current and developing needs of the pre-school. Perhaps once all involved, have discussed what specifically they are unhappy about, changes can be made to progress more positively. Your advisory support team should be able to support with how to approach the situation in the best way and give clear guidance on roles,responsibilities. Hope this helps for now.
AnonyMouse_11396 Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Hi Milo1 i think you have misunderstood my post, i actually stated that the Chair is there in name only [as in part of the decision making and overseeing], not in terms of their roles and responsibilities, which are clearly outlined within a constitution. The point i was actually trying to get across was that a whole committee was duly responsible for decision making and not just the Chair. Hope this clarifies it for you.
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