Being a school governor is a challenging but hugely rewarding role. It allows you to make a real difference to young people's lives, support the local community, and develop useful skills in a board-level environment.
Why become a school governor
As a governor, you will:
- support and challenge the school to improve for pupils and staff
- develop and use your skills in a board-level environment
- make a valuable contribution to education and your community
- use your own education and experience of life to inform conversations
- bring your unique experiences, perspectives and insights to help make decisions in the interests of the school community
What school governors do
Governors set the aims and objectives for the school or group of schools and set the policies and targets for achieving those aims and objectives. They monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making and act as a source of challenge and support to the headteacher.
This means:
- managing budgets and deciding how money is spent
- engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the school community
- sitting on panels and making decisions about things like pupil exclusions and staff disciplinary
- addressing a range of education issues within the school, including disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special needs, staff workload and teacher recruitment
- looking at data and evidence to ask questions, and have challenging conversations about the school
- appointing and reviewing the performance of the head teacher and senior leaders, including making decisions about pay
Skills and requirements
Anyone aged over 18, with the necessary skills, character and time to give, can be a governor. You don't need to be a parent or have an understanding of the education system.
You'll get full training to help you learn about education. Schools benefit from a range of skills, people with professional knowledge in areas like: education, finance, human resources, legal, marketing and public relations, property and estates management, and organisational change.
It's important that you have time to commit to the role. You'll need to attend meetings (around 6-12 per year), make school visits, do background reading and take part in training.
More information
View the governor recruitment flyer (PDF).
For current school governor vacancies in Portsmouth, visit Hive Portsmouth's volunteer page or email schoolgovernor@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
Case study: governor story from Guy Cordran
I have enjoyed an interesting and fulfilling career at IBM for the last 25 years. One of the things that gives me real satisfaction is IBM’s long-standing commitment to local communities, which is what led me to volunteer as a school governor over 12 years ago.
I’ve been able to bring many of my business skills and experiences to the role and being a governor has provided me with many opportunities I’d never imagined. I’ve had new experiences, developed new skills, met new people and taken on challenges far removed from my day job.
Every year I know I’m directly influencing the experiences and life chances of over 300 young people. Last year, the school where I volunteer got its second consecutive “Good” inspection rating by Ofsted which was a milestone in a 6-year journey of improvement. It was a great sense of achievement for both the school and the governing body.
As with any voluntary role, you are committing your time, your skill and your enthusiasm to make a difference by getting involved. In my view it is definitely worth it and the school is genuinely appreciative of my work.
Being a school governor has been one of the most fulfilling roles I’ve done.