School governor FAQs

You will be appointed for a 4 year term.

When your term ends you may have the opportunity to re-apply for another term or you can come back to Governors for Schools for another governance position at another school.

You will be covered by limited liability within Local Authority maintained schools and on Local Governing Bodies within multi-academy trusts. At trustee level the liability is slightly greater but you will still be covered by directors’ insurance.

Yes, the school will take this out on your behalf at no cost to the volunteer. This is true for both Local Authority Maintained schools and academies.

The core principles of governance remain the same. The only difference is the numbers of pupils on roll, size of budget and age of students.

Schemes of delegation and responsibilities of school governors differ from one multi-academy trust to another however generally, more responsibility is held at the trustee level, rather than at a local governing body level.

Often, responsibilities such as HR and Finance, are maintained at trust level. Governors for Schools will inform you of the scheme of delegation where possible.

School governors with local authority maintained schools are the legal authority for that school. Within the academy system strategic direction is set by the trustees and local governing body members monitor its effectiveness.

Different types of school governors are appointed in different ways:

Co-opted position: The governing body will vote to appoint you as a school governor.

Parent governors: You will nominate yourself and your peers will vote to elect you.

Local Authority positions: The local authority will nominate your application and the school will decide whether to appoint.

Foundation governors: these are appointed by the church, or occasionally by other external appointing bodies, in a variety of ways.

Following school governor handbook guidelines, school governors will be asked to vote on an issue if there is not unanimous backing. The majority decision presides.

Schools are responsible for collecting references and DBS checks. A professional reference is generally the best option.

Yes – we will work with you to find a school that matches your preferences but please be mindful that in some instances there may be either no current vacancies, or a requirement for a certain skillset in a specific school.

Softer skills such as negotiation, collaboration and organisation are extremely vital to the role of a school governor. The ability to challenge procedure and analyse data is vitally important. Please remember training opportunities are provided to gain skills in such areas as finance and HR within an education setting.

Legally schools are required to have a minimum of seven school governors.

There is no maximum number but having an excessive amount of school governors is not good practice.

At the beginning of the school year all six governing body meeting dates are agreed and arranged.

Agendas should be sent out two weeks prior to each meeting in order for school governors to adequately prepare.

About 95% of schools host meetings in the evenings, starting between 5 and 6.30pm.

We are the only organisation which has a dedicated volunteer management service, provides school governor network events and develops its own e-Learning modules to aid school governor development. No other organisation offers as rich a service as we do.

Measurable impact includes the completion of successful projects (large procurement exercises, new buildings etc) or the outcomes of HR disciplinary panels.

Longer term results would be the improvement in inspection scores from either Ofsted or Estyn.

School governor reviews on previous decisions throughout the year should give a good indication on achievements.

Governors for Schools is aware of thousands of primary school vacancies and hundreds of secondary school vacancies across the country. We also have opportunities at faith schools, church schools, PRUs, special schools and colleges, though these requirements come through less frequently.

As a school governor you are likely to be encouraged to attend parents evenings, school plays and other school events. You will also visit the school for learning walks and monitoring visits where your time allows.

Of course! There is no obligation from the school or volunteer to progress with each other if they do not feel it is the right match for them.

Telling your employer that you are a school governor can be useful. Not only can you demonstrate your commitment to your local area, but your employer may have support on offer for their staff who volunteer. Some organisations have ‘volunteering hours’ or include volunteering experience in staff reviews. If your employer knows that you volunteer as a school governor they may also be more understanding if you need to take time to perform your duties at short notice (for example if you have an Ofsted inspection or an unexpected meeting).