Becoming a Governor

Our Local Governing Body consists of a number of parents, staff and co-opted governors who are elected and appointed volunteers.

Local Governing Bodies play a key role in our school by delivering support, challenge, scrutiny, and improvement, acting as a critical friend.

Our Local Governing Bodies are made up of representative members of the school community. Chosen for a mix of skills, experience, qualifications and competence, they play an important role as set out in the scheme of delegation Governance structure and Scheme of Delegation.

Expectations

Knowledge of the education system is not essential as training will be given; however, you must have a passion to ensure the best possible education and outcomes for our students, be able to work as a team, and have the time to commit to being a Governor.

The Local Governing Body has four meetings each year which are normally held in the early evening together with two half-day challenge days which are also held in-school.

Being a governor provides an opportunity to develop your skills and experience, give something back to the community, and support young people to achieve their goals.

What does a Governor do:

A governor contributes to the work of the Local Governing Body by ensuring high standards of achievement for all children and young people in the school.

As part of a team, a Governor is expected to:

Contribute to the strategic discussions at local Governing Body meetings which determine:

  • The vision and ethos of the school.
  • That all students have access to a broad and balanced curriculum.
  • The monitoring of the school’s budget to ensure VFM, including the use of pupil premium funding.
  • Approval of school specific policies.

Hold the senior leaders to account by monitoring the school’s performance; this includes:

  • Reviewing and critically appraising the school’s self-evaluation and ensuring this is used to inform priorities in the School Improvement Plan.
  • Asking challenging questions.
  • Ensuring the school deploys school specific policies and procedures and the school is operating in accordance with those policies.
  • Acting as a Link Governor on a specific areas, for example Health and Safety, making relevant enquiries to the relevant staff, and reporting to the Local Governing Body on progress.
  • Listening to and reporting to the school’s stakeholders e.g. students, families, and the wider community.

What does a Governor not do:

  • Write school policies or documents.
  • Undertake audits, even if the Governor has the relevant professional experience.
  • Spend considerable time working with the pupils of the school – if you want to work directly with children, there may be other valuable voluntary roles within the school you may wish to pursue.
  • The Local Governing Body should consider income streams and the potential for income generation, but not carry out fundraising tasks.
  • Undertake classroom observations to make judgments on the quality of teaching. The Local Governing Body monitors the quality of teaching in the school by receiving data from senior staff and external sources.

If you would like an informal conversation to find out more about our school and becoming a governor please e-mail enquiries@swanwickhall.ttct.co.uk and our Governance Professional will contact you.