School Governors
School governors make up the governing body of
the school.
School governors are the largest volunteer
force in the country and have an important job in raising standards
in the school.
Governing Bodies
The number of governors on a school governing
body can vary between 9 and around 20; this is decided by the
governing body itself. Governors work together as one body, they
have corporate responsibility and only act alone if delegated to do
so by the whole governing body.
The work of the governing body is to provide
strategic management for the school – what does this mean?
Governors, alongside the head teacher, set the aims and objectives
for the school. They then oversee the policies for achieving those
aims and objectives and finally set targets for achieving those
aims and objectives.
Categories of Governors
Categories of governors vary between types of
school, but all schools and academies have parent governors and the
head teacher or principal has the right to be a governor. Governing
bodies may include:
- Parent governors
- Staff governors
- Authority governors
- Foundation governors
- Community governors
- Sponsor governors
- Partnership governors
Governing bodies may also have:
- Additional governors – appointed by the local authority to
schools causing concern
- Associate members – not governors but appointed to the
governing body because they provide an area of expertise
See paper below detailing categories
of governors and how they are elected or appointed.
Categories of
Governors
Governing Body Meetings
The governing body must meet at least 3 times
in a school year. These meetings are usually after
school or in the evening and generally last around 2 hours.
Meetings are also informed by the work of governing body
committees, to which most governors belong.
The governing body elect a
chair and vice chair each year
and the chair is responsible for leading and facilitating governing
body meetings.
The governing body appoint a
clerk to the governing body and he/she is
responsible for organising the business, sending papers and
information to governors in advance of the meeting and then taking
minutes of the meeting.
If you would like to consider becoming
a school governor please go to the page – Becoming a School
Governor