GOVERANCE SERVICES
Make a difference in your community by volunteering as a school governor to help shape young lives.
School governors are the largest volunteer group in the UK. Becoming a school governor is a unique opportunity to make a real difference in your community. As a volunteer, you’ll help shape the strategic direction of a school, ensuring that children and young people receive the best possible education and opportunities to thrive. It’s a chance to develop valuable skills, such as leadership and decision-making, while contributing your expertise and passion to create lasting, positive change in the lives of the next generation. Volunteering as a school governor is not only rewarding but also an impactful way to give back to your community.
Why become a school governor?
Becoming a school governor is a unique opportunity to make a real difference in your community. As a volunteer, you’ll help shape the strategic direction of a school, ensuring that children and young people receive the best possible education and opportunities to thrive.
Making a Difference: You have a direct impact on shaping the education and opportunities available to children and young people in your community.
Building Skills: You’ll develop valuable skills such as strategic thinking, leadership, financial oversight, and effective communication, which can benefit your personal and professional growth.
Giving Back: It’s a meaningful way to contribute to your local community and support the success of the next generation.
Networking Opportunities: You’ll work alongside a diverse group of people, gaining insights and building connections with other professionals and community members.
Gaining Insight: It provides a deeper understanding of the education system and the challenges schools face, which can be enlightening and rewarding.
Personal Fulfilment: Many governors find the role deeply satisfying, knowing their efforts contribute to something as important as education and young people’s futures.
What’s involved?
The school governing board plays a critical role in ensuring the success of a school. Its key functions typically include:
- Setting the Strategic Vision: Establishing the school’s overall goals, priorities, and strategic direction.
- Accountability: Holding the headteacher and senior leadership team accountable for the school’s performance, including the academic progress and well-being of students.
- Financial Oversight: Monitoring and approving the school’s budget, ensuring resources are used effectively and transparently.
- Policy Approval and Monitoring: Approving and reviewing key policies, such as safeguarding, behaviour, and curriculum policies, to ensure legal and ethical standards are upheld.
- Support and Challenge: Acting as a “critical friend” to senior leaders – offering support while constructively challenging decisions to drive improvement.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Seeking the views of key stakeholders such as parents, staff, students, and the wider community, to inform decision-making.
- Staffing Oversight: Approving significant staffing decisions, such as appointing the headteacher, and ensuring staff performance management systems are effective.
Click here to read the National Governance Association’s role descriptions
What skills are required?
Anyone aged 18 or older can become a school governor, and you don’t need to be a parent or have an educational background – schools welcome diverse skills and fresh perspectives. Whether you’re starting your career or enjoying retirement, you can still play a crucial role in your local community by serving on a school governing board.
The skills you need to become a governor include:
- Commitment: Dedication to attending meetings, reviewing materials, and participating fully in the role.
- Empathy and Objectivity: Understanding diverse perspectives while remaining impartial and focused on students’ needs.
- Decision-Making: Confidence to make informed decisions that are in the best interest of the school.
- Teamwork: Willingness to work collaboratively with other governors, the headteacher, and staff.
- Communication Skills: Strong listening, questioning, and debating skills to engage in productive discussions.
- Strategic Thinking: The ability to see the bigger picture and contribute to long-term planning for the school.
How much time is involved?
Becoming a school governor demands dedication and commitment, but the role is highly rewarding and flexible, making it manageable alongside other responsibilities. The time commitment can vary depending on the school and its specific needs, but as a general outline you can expect:
- Meetings: Governance boards meet once or twice a term. Some schools have committees that require additional meetings.
- Preparation: Time is needed to read reports, policies, and other materials before meetings to ensure you can contribute effectively.
- School Visits: Governors are encouraged to visit the school occasionally to monitor progress towards the school’s objectives
- Training: New governors often participate in induction training, and ongoing development sessions are recommended.
Governor training
Your governing body will have an induction process for new governors. Your induction to the board is likely to include:
- an introductory visit to the school(s)
- a meeting with the chair and headteacher
- an introduction to other contacts
- an information pack that includes key documents such as the current strategy
- an induction training course
Schools Alliance for Excellence provides a comprehensive welcome pack and video to support governors new to Surrey as they join the governing body. The welcome pack will provide useful information on the Surrey context and help guide them through the first few weeks and months of being a governor. It is designed to sit alongside the school’s bespoke induction processes.
Schools Alliance for Excellence run free topical webinars each term. View more details and book your space.
Apply now to be a Surrey school governor
If you are interested in becoming a school governor in Surrey, please complete the online application form.
Once you have submitted your form, SAfE Governance Services will forward it on to the appropriate schools or academies that currently have governor vacancies.
