School Governance – Encouraging others to get involved

Find out how you can help make a difference by encouraging others into school governance.

Why encourage others to get involved in school governance?

There are currently 20,000 vacancies on school governing boards across England and Wales. Through our work in the sector, we’ve learnt word of mouth recommendations are one of the most effective ways to encourage others to volunteer their time. By sharing your experience of being a school governor, you can help.

As you hopefully know from your own role, school governance is incredibly rewarding. School governors help to shape school policies and aims, allowing teachers to focus on delivering high-quality educational experiences. It gives passionate and dedicated volunteers the opportunity to impact education and give back to their community.

Moreover, the more people from all walks of life get involved with school governance, the more diverse school boards become. We believe this diversity –  in terms of skills, background and experiences – supports schools to thrive; that’s why it’s one of our five aspirations for the governance sector.

Sharing on social media

Sharing your experiences on social media is a great way to get others involved in governance. Whether you’ve just taken on the role or been a school governor for years, personal accounts raise awareness significantly.

To make sharing simple, we’ve created some graphics to download and use on your social media. We’ve also put some suggested wording below for potential posts to get you started. Please change and adapt this content accordingly, as we know you’ll have your own story to tell.

Download graphics Suggested wording for posts

Blogs to share

School Governors: Who are they and what do they do?

Firstly, our ‘School Governors: Who are they and what do they do?’ blog post gives prospective volunteers an introduction to the role. The blog outlines what school governance involves, as well as the requirements and benefits. It also explains how Governors for Schools can help find them a role that suits them.

Sharing this blog post with your networks puts school governance at the forefront of people’s minds. It becomes particularly compelling when paired with a personal account of why someone became a school governor.

 

 

Could you become a school governor quiz

Secondly, a great resource to share is our school governance quiz. This piece was designed to determine whether someone could be suitable for the role. The quiz takes less than 2 minutes to complete and discusses the main characteristics schools are looking for when it comes to placing people on their boards. It aims to inspire others to get involved in school governance.

Sharing this quiz is a great way to convince a friend or colleague who has been considering taking on the role to apply.

Diary of a School Governor: Colin Ngan

Finally, as part of our Inclusive Governance campaign, we asked a range of governors to provide diary entries detailing their experiences in the role. As well as gaining first-hand insights into people’s diverse governance journeys, we explored how boards address issues surrounding diversity and inclusion.

Sharing Colin story can be a great way to inspire prospective school governors to think about how they can make schools more inclusive. His entries also offer great insight into what the role entails.