“This little girl grew up to become a school governor - and if I can do it, anyone can!”

Stephanie Ezechukwu is Head of Prosecutions at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and also a safeguarding link governor at Preston Park Primary School in Wembley, North West London

She wrote a popular post on her LinkedIn page for School Governors’ Awareness Day in February 2024 which inspired many fellow young professionals to reach out and learn more about school governance.

We spoke to Stephanie to find out how she became a governor, what she’s learned along the way and why she’s so passionate that other young graduates follow in her footsteps. 

Can you tell us a bit more about your career and professional background?

I’m currently the Head of Prosecutions at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) so I lead on the prosecution and litigation of MOT fraud or fraud related to driver impersonations. 

I used to work in immigration law, taking cases to the immigration tribunal. Prior to that I worked in crime policy, specifically on hate crime and counter extremism but most recently on domestic abuse policy. Along with my team, I worked on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 which included writing the guidance to accompany the act. A lot of my experience relates to public protection and looking after vulnerable groups or individuals.

I've been a civil servant since I graduated back in 2014, which was 10 years ago. I studied a law degree, a law LLB and a Masters in Law. My focus has always been criminal law and criminal justice.

Have you been able to translate those skills and experience into having an impact as a governor?

Well, it's quite different! I think when you join any board, it's always a challenge because you need to get up-to-speed on the board culture - how decisions are made, who’s who etc. That was probably the most challenging thing because I’m a leader in my role at work and people often come to me to solve problems but when you come to something new and you’re a novice, it’s a big learning curve.

I really benefited from talking to my chair, my vice chair, the headteacher, the deputies in school and so on. I’ve made a lot of use of the learning walks and I visit my school often to speak to the safeguarding lead and the headteacher, just to get a feel for the school and what’s going on. 

I already had an understanding of how children could be at risk in school simply because of my experience as a senior policy advisor and my experience in domestic abuse. I think I’ve been able to bring my insights of the policy that we wrote in government and how it's applicable within a school setting.

I also understand some of the different things that can affect how children are able to perform at school and was able to ask at meetings about what the school was doing to provide support for the most vulnerable pupils. Staff already knew many organisations they could partner with and get support from, which was very affirming as it gave me the reassurance that the school was on top of things. 

I should also say that on my first visit to this primary school, I just had a really powerful sense that this is a safe place to be. There was freedom for the children, but also a sense of safety as well. 

Have you persuaded anyone else you know into governance through your passion?

I hope so! I’m quite active on LinkedIn and I wrote a post for School Governors’ Awareness Day about how much I enjoy being a school governor, how it’s improved my life and how I hope to be supporting the next generation. Since then, I have had about a dozen people reach out to me and ask how I got involved and whether I could send them more information. They were asking what the role involves, whether it’s hard, how I manage my time and balance it with work. I think it’s brilliant that it sparked so much interest. Personal stories can really make people think!

There are so many talented young professionals like yourself who would make great governors if only they knew about it.

Definitely - I would love to find them and bring them into school governance! Being a governor in your twenties or thirties is very important. I think there's a lot of young people, especially young graduates who’ve gone into the workplace and are doing well who could add a lot of value.

I recently attended a governor training day. It was a really great conference but when I looked around the room there were so few young governors. We need to think about what we’re doing to attract younger people. The onus can’t always be on schools because they have so much to do already and such limited resources. 

We shouldn’t be waiting for people to stumble across the opportunity.

Is there anything else you'd say to fellow young professionals about getting involved in governance?

You need passion and commitment. You need to make time for the role and make time for the learning too. For some people in certain workplaces, it won't be possible to do that. My school has invested a lot in me and in training opportunities for me. When a school makes such an investment in us, the least we can do is just be committed in return otherwise we’re doing a disservice to the children we’re hoping to support.