Governor Information

Governors Information
at Church Drive Primary School

What Is The Governing Body?

The Department for Education defines governors as:

‘the strategic leaders of our schools [who] have a vital role to play in making sure every child gets the best possible education.’

They exercise three key functions:

a. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;

b. Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils; and

c. Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.

Who are school governors?

Every school has its own governing body which is responsible for the overall management of the school. The actual size of the governing body depends on the size of the school; the membership is determined by law, and each is made up of different types of governors. In our school we have a Headteacher governor (the Headteacher is automatically a school governor unless he or she chooses not to take up the position), a staff governor who is elected by staff at the school, co-opted governors who are chosen by the governing body, and parent governors (see below).

How can I become a parent governor?

When vacancies arise for parent governors, all parents are notified by letter. To be eligible to be nominated as a parent governor, a person must have a child registered at the school. The term of office for governors is for four years and a parent governor can, if he or she so chooses, serve the full term of office even if his or her child is no longer a pupil at that school. If more parents express an interest than there are positions available, all parents are invited to vote and the candidate(s) with the most votes is then elected.

What qualifications do governors need?

There are no formal qualifications needed to become a school governor. The one essential requirement is an interest in, and commitment to, the education of children. Governors have to be over 18 years of age and the term of office is four years.

Governors are ordinary people, drawn from many areas of society. They need to be able to devote time to getting to know the school well and to be active and available in their support for it. Having common sense and a desire to serve the community are also important.

Normally no one may be a governor of more than two governing bodies.

What is expected of a governor?