Interested in Becoming a Governor?
"There can never have been a more important time in our country’s recent history to be involved in education, and we need skilled and motivated governors who are committed to transforming our schools.”
Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Schools
The Role
Anyone aged 18 or over and living in the UK can be a governor.
Governors do not manage a school day to day, but are required to oversee its long-term development.
Ultimately, all governor responsibilities come back to this task and can be split into three core roles.
Support and Challenge
- Ensure accountability
- Be a champion of success
Strategic Management
- Establish a strategic framework
- Monitor and evaluate progress
Executive Decisions
- Allocate and control the school budget
- Appoint and appraise senior staff
You don’t need to have children or be a parent of a child at the school to become a school governor.
Training
Governing bodies rely on a variety of experiences and perspectives. No prior knowledge is required. Training and support is available for new and existing governors and is free of charge. We recommend all new governors attend a governor induction programme.
Time Commitment
The average time commitment is 10-15 hours per term. This includes meetings, background reading and school visits.
School governors are like magistrates or members of a jury and therefore have a right to reasonable time off work for their public duties (this may be unpaid). Check with your HR department for your company’s policy.
Term of Office
School Governors have a term of office of four years. However, as a volunteer, you can resign at any time if your circumstances change.
A role description, person specification and code of conduct can be found at the bottom of this page. You will also find an expression of interest form which we would ask you to complete if you would like to find out more about becoming a Governor.
MLT Governors Role Description
MLT Governors Expression of Interest