Link governor roles and committees

From providing insight on specific areas to feedbacking in meetings, a link governor plays an incredibly important role in school governance.

Link Governor Role

When becoming a school governor, you might be assigned a link governor role and be asked to join a committee. Link governors are responsible for taking on oversight of a particular area of school life such as safeguarding, pupil premium, or special educational needs and disabilities.

The link governor role normally involves:

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

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).

Wellbeing link governor

Mental health and wellbeing is an integral undertaking in schools and needs to be considered throughout all aspects of the school experience. The wellbeing link governor role creates a connection between the governing board and the wider school/Trust, and is focused on supporting the school to embed its mental health and wellbeing provision across the entire school.

You can find out more about the wellbeing link governor role through our dedicated Wellbeing Governors campaign which aimed to showcase the importance of looking after the mental health of all those in the school community.