Become a School Governor

School governors help to set the strategic direction of the school, provide support and challenge to school leadership and ensure financial probity. This is a volunteer opportunity where you can use your skills to improve the effectiveness of schools and help every child reach their potential.

The governor role is strategic rather than operational. Governors don’t get involved with the day to day running of a school, instead supporting and challenging the school’s leadership team to drive school improvement.

Governors usually attend around 6 meetings a year. Being a school governor is a commitment and a responsibility, but offers you the chance to see first-hand the impact you can make in improving education for children in your community.

Who can be a school governor?

You don’t need to be an experienced professional – it’s about attitude as well as expertise

School governing boards need skilled people to help them run effectively, but both hard and soft skills are needed around the table. Whether you’ve spent 20 years as an accountant or are in the earlier days of your career, schools need soft skills such as problem solving or negotiation as much as specific expertise. 

You don’t need to be a parent or teacher

While parents and those with education experience make great governors, neither are requirements to volunteer. Many schools want an outside perspective and rely on those with business acumen to bring challenge to the board.

Commit the time to the role

Being a school governor is a responsibility – but it comes with rewards. Our volunteer survey found that on average, governors spend around 7 hours a month on governing duties. The term of office for a governor is 4 years.

Support schools in a different part of the country 

Most volunteers join a school board in their local community, but you can also use your skills to support schools in areas where there are fewer volunteers. By becoming a remote governor you can join board meetings via video link, preparing for and contributing to meetings in the same way as other governors. Speak to your Partnerships Manager for more information. 

Find out more about Governors for Schools and how you can become a School Governor via the apply button below.