School Governors
OFFERED BY:
Governors for SchoolsLocation(s): Aspley, Basford, Berridge, Bestwood, Bilborough, Bulwell, Bulwell Forest, Castle, Clifton East, Clifton West, Dales, Hyson Green and Arboretum, Leen Valley, Lenton and Wollaton East, Mapperley, Meadows, Radford, Sherwood, St Ann's, Wollaton West, Outside of Nottingham City
Address where volunteering takes place: Schools across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Nottingham How many places are on offer? Several
Purpose of Role:
School governors enable their school to run effectively and provide excellent education for children. They have 3 core responsibilities:
• Planning the strategic direction of the school
• Overseeing financial performance of the school and ensuring money is well spent
• Holding the headteacher or school leadership to account
• Planning the strategic direction of the school
• Overseeing financial performance of the school and ensuring money is well spent
• Holding the headteacher or school leadership to account
ROLE DESCRIPTION:
The governor role is strategic rather than operational. Governors don’t get involved with the day to day running of a school, instead supporting and challenging the school’s leadership team to drive school improvement.
Being a school governor is a commitment and a responsibility, but offers you the chance to see first-hand the impact you can make in improving education for children in your community.
Schools rely on governors to bring their professional insight and experience to the board. A strong governing board made up of people from diverse backgrounds with different skillsets is key to a school’s success.
Volunteering in the role gives you the chance to experience board-level decision making and leadership. You’ll develop your existing skills and gain experience outside of your job description.
Full governing board meetings are normally held once a term. In most cases, governors attend three full governing board meetings per year plus committee meetings. Our impact survey found that our volunteers spend on average 6.7 hours per month on governor duties, mainly in the evenings.
Training and support
Governors for Schools has a range of eLearning modules you can complete in your own time covering the basics of governance. You can register for live webinars on key governance issues and watch back previous recordings. Upon placement in a school, you’ll receive 12 months free access to The Key for School Governors, an online resource and knowledge bank.
Being a school governor is a commitment and a responsibility, but offers you the chance to see first-hand the impact you can make in improving education for children in your community.
Schools rely on governors to bring their professional insight and experience to the board. A strong governing board made up of people from diverse backgrounds with different skillsets is key to a school’s success.
Volunteering in the role gives you the chance to experience board-level decision making and leadership. You’ll develop your existing skills and gain experience outside of your job description.
Full governing board meetings are normally held once a term. In most cases, governors attend three full governing board meetings per year plus committee meetings. Our impact survey found that our volunteers spend on average 6.7 hours per month on governor duties, mainly in the evenings.
Training and support
Governors for Schools has a range of eLearning modules you can complete in your own time covering the basics of governance. You can register for live webinars on key governance issues and watch back previous recordings. Upon placement in a school, you’ll receive 12 months free access to The Key for School Governors, an online resource and knowledge bank.
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:
Skills and experience required
Volunteers need to be dedicated people who care about improving education, but you don’t need to be a parent, have experience working in education, or have prior board experience.
You don’t need any formal qualifications to become a school governor. Professional experience in areas such as finance, law, HR will be useful to a board, as well as soft skills including teamwork, communication, and problem solving. Schools also need those with an outside perspective and rely on those with business acumen to bring challenge to the board.
Diversity on governing boards
Diverse boards help ensure effective governance, which leads to improved educational outcomes for children. We recognise the importance of diverse boards so that decisions are made robustly with input from people with a variety of lived experiences – as well as varied skills. It’s also vital that children see people of all backgrounds in board-level positions.
Volunteers need to be dedicated people who care about improving education, but you don’t need to be a parent, have experience working in education, or have prior board experience.
You don’t need any formal qualifications to become a school governor. Professional experience in areas such as finance, law, HR will be useful to a board, as well as soft skills including teamwork, communication, and problem solving. Schools also need those with an outside perspective and rely on those with business acumen to bring challenge to the board.
Diversity on governing boards
Diverse boards help ensure effective governance, which leads to improved educational outcomes for children. We recognise the importance of diverse boards so that decisions are made robustly with input from people with a variety of lived experiences – as well as varied skills. It’s also vital that children see people of all backgrounds in board-level positions.
WHEN REQUIRED:
This grid shows when you can volunteer for this opportunity.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | |||||||
| Afternoon | |||||||
| Evening |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Are there age restrictions for this opportunity? Yes
Age Restrictions:
18+
Are there gender restrictions for this opportunity? No
Gender restrictions:
Is the opportunity accessible to disabled people? Yes
Disability restrictions:
How long before volunteer can expect a response?
We will try to respond to volunteer enquiries within one week.
How long to complete training and recruitment?
Upon placement in a school, you’ll receive 12 months free access to The Key for School Governors, an online resource and knowledge bank.
Volunteer Expenses offered? No
Induction and Training offered? Yes
Support and Supervision offered? Yes
Has a risk assessment been carried out? Yes
DBS Disclosure required? Yes