Link governor roles and committees - Governors for Schools

You might be assigned a link governor role and be asked to join a committee when you start as a governor.

Link governors take on oversight of a particular area of school life such as safeguarding, pupil premium or special educational needs and disabilities. Committees are delegated responsibilities by the main board in a particular area.

The link governor role normally involves:

Making pre-arranged visits to the school, with a clear focus
Keeping the governing board informed about their area
Supporting the member of staff who is responsible for the particular area/subject

Committees

Committees are delegated responsibilities by the main board in a particular area, such as finance, curriculum and learning and HR. They must report back to the board on their work and any decisions they’ve taken.

The board as a whole retains responsibility for all its duties, whether they have been delegated to a committee or not.

Panels (special committees)

Panels, sometimes known as special committees, cover things like exclusions, staff grievances and headteacher appraisal.

Membership is normally decided as and when needed to ensure that no members are personally involved or have a conflict of interest (or have had prior involvement in the case of an appeal panel).