Governors

School Governors

Who can become a school governor?

You don't need to have a child at a school to become a governor. All types of people can become school governors. No special qualifications are required, but you must be 18 or over on the date when you are elected or appointed. Enthusiasm, commitment and an interest in education are the most important qualities. You do not need to have a child at the school. Many schools would particularly welcome new governors who have transferable skills developed at work, or who have a particularly good understanding of the community served by the school.

What do school governors do?

The governing body of a school is responsible for ensuring that it is run to promote pupil achievement. Its duties include:

• setting strategic direction, policies and objectives
• approving the school budget
• reviewing progress against the school's budget and objectives
• appointing, challenging and supporting the headteacher.

The governing body is made up of:

• parent governors (elected by parents)
• staff representatives (elected by staff)
• local authority governors (appointed by the local authority)
• community governors (members of the local community appointed by the governing body)

What would be involved?

The amount of time involved for each governor varies between schools. We have two meetings each term which last around 2 hours each. We do ask that you read information provided before each meeting which may well take another couple of hours. We would also strongly encourage you to visit the school to see the children at work each term and observe the impact of decisions made at meetings.

Being a governor is a serious commitment, but it can be rewarding. Find out more about the benefits of becoming a school governor on the School Governors' One Stop Shop (SGOSS) website.