Become a School Governor
School governor role
School governors are people from the school’s community who want to contribute to children’s education. They perform one of the most important voluntary roles in education, raising school standards in three different ways:
- setting the school’s strategic direction
- providing a way of holding day-to-day decision-making in the school to account
- assessing how the school is performing overall.
There are approximately 300,000 governors in state schools in England – one of the largest volunteer groups in the country. At any one time around 40,000 governor places are vacant and schools that draw children from disadvantaged communities have the greatest difficulty in filling vacancies.
Governing bodies are made up of a wide range of people with different expertise and interests – parents, staff, the local authority, members of the community, sponsors and, in some cases, the school’s foundation. Individual governors are either elected or appointed.
How can I become a school governor?
All types of people can become school governors. Schools welcome new governors who can bring skills and expertise they’ve developed at work, or who have a good understanding of the community served by the school. You don’t have to have a child at the school in question – anyone who’s interested in education and supporting their local community can get involved.
No special qualifications are required, but you must be 18 or over on the date when you are elected or appointed.
If you are interested in becoming a school governor you could contact:
- your local school
- your local authority
- your local Diocesan authority
- the School Governors’ One-Stop Shop
Where can I find out more?
The School Governors’ One-Stop Shop has information on what’s involved in being a governor, where the opportunities to get involved are, and how you can apply.
Email : info@sgoss.org.uk
Tel : 020 7354 9805
Most local authorities will also have information on their websites.