Individuals

The personal benefits of becoming a School Governor

Being a governor is an enormously challenging and rewarding opportunity. The personal benefits can be summarised as;

• A sense of satisfaction through knowing children will benefit from your efforts
• The opportunity to develop new skills and to strengthen existing ones
• The opportunity to work with people from a variety of social, cultural and religious backgrounds
• The opportunity to gain understanding in key areas such as finance, personnel, and strategic planning
• The opportunity to gain awareness of the education system as a whole
  

Through solving problems ranging from finance to site management, human resources to marketing, pupil welfare to curriculum development, every governor is guaranteed to broaden their skills and knowledge in some way, and this can be enhanced through training offered by Local Authorities.
As all decisions are made with the consensus of the whole governing body there is also the opportunity to utilise the softer skills of teamwork, communication and tolerance.

The Volunteers' Perspective

Richard Betts, Head of HR, Rolls Royce and Chair of Governors at St. Andrew's Special School; and Catherine Little of Price Waterhouse Coopers and a Governor at Broadmeadow Infant School.

The School Governors' One-Stop Shop has worked with businesses, volunteers & schools to improve education across England. To hear what they have to say, click on the video below...

Governor Responsibilities

School governors make important collective decisions and the governing body is answerable to parents and the community. The responsibilities of the governing body can be summarised as providing strategic management, acting as a critical friend and ensuring accountability. Specific responsibilities include:

• Promoting high standards of education and achievement
• Planning the school’s long-term future
• Setting the school’s aims and values
• Appointing senior staff including the Head Teacher
• Budgetary allocation and control
  

The day to day management of the school is the responsibility of the Head Teacher.

What makes a good School Governor?

The most important quality is the desire to make a difference to the lives of children, and then:

• The ability to work in a team
• A desire to help the community
• An external perspective
• A willingness to challenge assumptions
• The time to get involved
  

Any of the following skills will also add value;

• Marketing
• Strategic Planning
• Finance
• Languages
• Communications
• HR
• Problem Solving
• Art and Design
• IT
• Project Management
• Legal Knowledge
• Science and Technology
• Decision Making
• Health and Safety
• Engineering
  

What are the different types of governors?

Governing bodies comprise representatives from the school staff, the Local Authority, the local community, parents and, in particular circumstances, members of churches and other interest groups.

• Community Governors are appointed by the governing body to represent the community They may also have no previous experience or knowledge of the school whose governing body they join.
• Local Authority (LA) Governors are appointed by the Local Authority that maintains the school and in some cases these appointments are made on a party political basis. SGOSS is able to advise on particular circumstances in each area.
• Parent Governors are voted onto the governing body by other parents and are usually parents of children who attend the school.
• Staff Governors are elected by staff within the school
• Foundation Governors are appointed by the organisation that set up the school to to represent their interests. Further information on foundation governors is available from SGOSS.
• Associate Members are appointed in an advisory capacity by the governing body to enhance the experience or expertise of a committee(s). Associate members can attend full governor body meetings but have no voting rights.

What to do next

Simply fill in the Application Form available here.

The time between receipt of your application and your appointment as a governor averages six months. Some people are appointed more quickly than others dependant upon:

• The timing of the appointment meetings
• The time of year because applications take longer to process across school holidays
• How flexible you can be about the location and type of school you are willing to be a governor in, remembering that there are 5 times more primary schools than secondary schools.
• The level of vacancies in your preferred area at the time you apply.
  

The School Governors’ One-Stop Shop works in partnership with Local Authorities and schools to find mutually suitable governor places, and keeps in touch with volunteers to check progress.

Already a volunteer?

If you have already applied to become a school governor and would like to check on the progress of your application please go to our vacancies map to find the name and details of the contact for your area.