Introduction to school governance

School governors are one of the largest volunteer forces in the county and are there to ensure that schools are well run. They have an important part to play in raising school standards by working with the head teacher and senior management team to ensure pupils get a good education.

Governors represent people from many walks of life: school staff, parents, the local community and even the church or organisation connected to the school. This means that school decisions are made by people with a wide range of experience and views.

Becoming a governor could be a way of making a real difference to local children and learning new skills.

Who can become a governor?

All types of people can become school governors. No special qualifications are required, but you must be 18 or over on the date when you are elected or appointed. There is no upper age limit. You don't need to have a child at the school.

The most important quality is the desire to make a difference to the lives of children. Other qualities which help make a good school governor are the ability to work in a team, a willingness to ask questions and an ability to bring an external perspective to a discussion.

Our governing bodies often need governors who have a skill or interest which they can bring to decision-making. For example, people with an understanding of financial planning, legal knowledge, marketing or health and safety. They also need people who have a particularly good understanding of the community served by the school.

If you are enthusiastic, committed and have an interest in education we would love to hear from you.

Note: Certain people are not allowed to become school governors. These include individuals who are liable to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, and people who have been bankrupt, removed for misconduct or mismanagement as a charity trustee, disqualified from working with children, fined, in the previous five years, for causing a nuisance or disturbance on education premises or been in prison within the previous five years (or within 20 years, if the prison term lasted longer than two and a half years). People who have been in prison for over five years are disqualified from becoming a governor at any time

You will be required to sign the attached declaration to say that none of the above apply.

 Please see Schedule 6 Regulation 22 for further information and definitions.

What's involved in being a governor?

A governing body should provide strategic management to a school, provide challenge and support and ensure that the school is accountable for its actions.

Specific responsibilities include:

· working together with the head teacher to set the future direction for the school and decide how the school's budget should be spent.

· making decisions collectively on matters such as performance targets, school policies (for example discipline, dress, sport, bullying and homework) and the school's improvement plan.

· reviewing progress against the School Improvement Plan and the school's budget and objectives and monitoring the impact that the school's policies have on pupil outcomes.

· reporting to parents on the school's achievements and respond to inspection recommendations. They hear appeals from pupils and staff and consider complaints.

· Governors appoint, challenge and support the head teacher, drawing on their knowledge and experience.

· Governing bodies make their decisions based on the advice of committees that deal with specific issues, such as the school's curriculum, premises or finances. If you become a governor, you will probably be asked to serve on a committee where you have an interest or can make a contribution.

It is important to note that school governors lead schools, they don't manage them. The day to day management of the school is the responsibility of the head teacher.

Who makes up a governing body?

Each school has a governing body to match the size and type of the school. This is usually made up of between 10 and 20 governors who together form the 'governing body'.

There are different eligibility criteria for different types of governor. If you contact us, we can advise you on which governor position might be suitable for you.

• Parent governors - Parents with children at a South Gloucestershire school are eligible to become a parent governor at the school, and can stand to be elected by other school parents. Parents who work more than 500 hours a year for the school cannot stand as parent governors.

• Staff governors - Most head teachers automatically sit on the governing body as a staff governor. Often schools have additional staff governors, who are school employees (for example, teachers, support or administrative staff), elected by the rest of the school staff.

• Community governors - Community governors are members of the local community appointed by the governing body, often they are local business people or community figures. Schools hope to find community governors who represent the diversity of the local community and school. People who work at the school cannot be appointed as community governors, but parents with children at the school can normally be considered.

• Local authority governors - Local Authority (LA) governors are appointed by the local authority that maintains the school. Some come from the local political parties, while others are volunteers from the local area with no political affiliation who would like to be a governor. All such governors are primarily appointed with a view to their commitment to raise standards at the school concerned.

• Foundation governors - Foundation schools, such as Church of England or Catholic schools, have foundation governors who represent the original founding mission of the school. The local priest will often sit as a foundation governor, and other foundation governors will normally be drawn from the local congregation. Foundation governors are normally appointed rather than elected.

• Sponsor governors - A governing body can choose to add up to two people to its number, who are nominated by an organisation or group that provides support to the school in some way either financially or 'in kind' for example, a parent and toddler group, or the local Sure Start project working to support young children and their families.

• Associate members - Some people may be interested in helping on the governing body, but cannot or do not want to become governors. They can join the governing body as associate members. Associate members can include pupils, school staff and people who want to offer particular skills, for example financial expertise. There are often limits on their voting.

Even though each type of governor is appointed from different parts of the wider school community, all governors have an equal say and an equal vote in decision-making.

What benefits do I get from being a governor?

Being a governor is a serious commitment, but it can be extremely rewarding.

• You will achieve a real sense of satisfaction through knowing children in your community will benefit from your efforts. 
• You will get the opportunity to develop new skills and to strengthen existing ones - and this can be enhanced through the training offered by the Governor Development Service. Through solving problems ranging from finance to site management, human resources to marketing, pupil welfare to curriculum development, every governor is guaranteed to broaden their skills and knowledge in some way.
• You will gain an idea of how schools are run and how the education system works as a whole.
• As all decisions are made with the consensus of the whole governing body there will be the opportunity to utilise the softer skills of teamwork, communication, negotiation and collaboration.
• You will get to work with a wide range of people from a variety of social, cultural and religious backgrounds.

How much time will it take up?

The amount of time involved for each governor varies between schools. However, in a typical month in a typical school you can expect to spend six to eight hours on your duties.

A governor's main task is to attend meetings of the school governing body. These normally take place once or twice a term in the evening. Each sub-committee (on issues such as finance, personnel, curriculum and premises) normally meets once or twice a term in the evening.

To support the work-life balance of the Head Teacher and other senior teachers, more governing bodies are considering holding at least one full governing body and one committee meeting a year during the late afternoon and not in the evening.

Under employment law, employers must give employees who are school governors 'reasonable time off' to carry out their duties, however they do not have to give time off with pay. The employee and employer have to agree on what is 'reasonable time off'. Issues to be considered when arranging time off from your employer include how much time is needed to carry out governor's duties, whether the employee also has time off work for other activities and the circumstances of the employer's business and the impact the employee's absence may have on it.

Normally governors serve for four years, but as volunteers they can leave at any time. Previous governors can normally apply to be re-appointed or re-elected if they wish to return.

What help will I receive?

If you choose to become a school governor in South Gloucestershire, you will get the following support:

• An opportunity to attend a nationally designed induction programme that tells you about your roles and responsibilities. 

• An opportunity to attend a range of other courses throughout the year, which are held in the evening or at weekend.

• A website where you can get all the information relevant to your role.

• A termly newsletter providing updates and relevant information as well as prompts for statutory requirements.

• A governor development service who you can contact Monday to Friday from 9am and 4pm to get any advice you need.

All Governors nationally can also get:

• Independent advice from GovernorLine - the national free telephone helpline service (08000 722 181).

• http://www.governornet.co.uk/ - a website run by the government with advice, support and information for serving school governors in England and for people interested in becoming governors. 

• A DfES cd rom, A Guide to the Law for School Governors.

Are you still interested in becoming a governor?

How to apply…

There are a number of routes you can take to apply to be a school governor - it depends on what type of governor role you want to take on. For some posts you will need to get elected, for others you are appointed.

If you want to become a parent or foundation governor, you can phone or write to your local school. The school will also be able to advise for all types of governor posts and any vacancies that you'd be eligible for.

If you want to be a local authority or community governor, either write to the school or contact South Gloucestershire Governor Development Service on 01454 86 3182 or email Governor.services@southglos.gov.uk

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