Becoming a school governor

 Who are school governors?
 What does a governing body do?
 How much of my time would be taken up?
 How do I find out more?

Have you thought about becoming a school governor?
School governors play a vital part in the success of schools. They are volunteers, who work with the head and the Council to improve standards in their school. Do you know how they are appointed and what they do? Are you, or might you be, interested in becoming a governor?

Who are school governors?
Every school has a governing body, which could consist of between 9 and 20 people dependant upon the size and type of the school.

They are

• Parent governors who have a child at the school and are elected by other parents.
• Teacher governors who work at the school and are elected by other teachers.
• Staff governors who are members of the non-teaching/support staff at the school and are elected by their colleagues.
• Local education authority governors who are appointed by the Council through the political parties.
• Co-opted governors who are appointed by other governors as representatives of the wider local community, as business representatives, or because of particular skills that they can bring to the governing body.
• Foundation governors who are appointed by the Church or Trust which supports the school.

Heads can choose whether or not to be a governor at their school.

What does the governing body do?
Recent legislation has widened the responsibilities of school governors, but broadly governing bodies oversee the work of the school and make sure it provides a good quality education for its pupils.

Working in partnership with the head and other staff, governors are involved in:

• setting the school's aims and policies;
• improving standards of teaching and achievement;
• setting the school's budget plan and monitoring expenditure;
• interviewing and appointing teachers and support staff;
• acting as a link between the local community and the school;
• dealing with complaints about the school;
• drawing up an action plan after an inspection, and monitoring the success of the plan

In addition, every year governing bodies produce an annual report for parents and arrange a meeting at which this can be discussed.

How much of my time would be taken up?
Being a governor can be hard work and could mean giving up free time by attending meetings and reading paperwork. It is however a valuable way of serving the local community, and gives an opportunity for people to influence the future of education in their area.

Governing bodies have to meet at least once each term, but much of the work of governing bodies is delegated to committees and all governors would be expected to participate in the work of at least one or two committees. Most statutory termly meetings are held during the evening, but committees may meet either in the evening or daytime.

In addition it is important to get to know the school by visiting it whilst it is in session and by supporting events; it is equally important to support training sessions, which may be arranged for either individual governors or whole governing bodies.

Most governors serve for four years, and many continue for a second or even third term by being re-appointed or re-elected.

How do I find out more?
If you are interested in becoming a governor, or would like to find out more, call the Governor Support Section on 020 8871 8369/8371, or email on edgovernors@wandsworth.gov.uk