Open Mornings November 2023
Brockham Site - 1st November 2023
Betchworth Site - 2nd November 2023
Brockham Site - 1st November 2023
Betchworth Site - 2nd November 2023
Role of a school governor:
To contribute to the work of the governing body in ensuring high standards of achievement for all children and young people in the school by:
Desired skills:
You do not need any previous experience in education to become a governor however a willingness to learn is essential. A variety of opportunities are available to learn these skills from training courses to webinars and podcasts.
Our governing body especially requires those with some or all of the following skills:
If you feel you do not possess these skills please do not be put off in applying, the most important quality of becoming a governor is enthusiasm with an ability to commit the time required to do the job well.
Activities: As part of the governing body team, a governor is expected to:
1. Contribute to the strategic discussions at governing body meetings which determine:
2. Hold the senior leaders to account by monitoring the school’s performance; this includes:
3. Ensure the school staff have the resources and support they require to do their jobs well, including the necessary expertise on business management, external advice where necessary, effective appraisal and CPD (Continuing Professional Development), and suitable premises, and that the way in which those resources are used has impact.
4. When required, serve on panels of governors to:
The role of governor is largely a thinking and questioning role, not a doing role.
A governor does NOT:
As you become more experienced as a governor, there are other roles you could volunteer for which would increase your degree of involvement and level of responsibility (e.g as a chair of a committee). This document does not cover the additional roles taken on by the chair, vice-chair and chairs of committees.
In order to perform this role well, a governor is expected to:
Time commitment:
Under usual circumstances, you should expect to spend between governing responsibilities; the top end of this commitment, which equates to about half a day per week in term time, is most relevant to the chair and others with key roles, such as chairs of committees. Initially, we would expect your commitment to be nearer 10 days a year. However, there may be periods when the time commitment may increase, for example when recruiting a headteacher. Some longstanding governors may tell you that they spend far more time than this on school business; however, it is fairly common for governors to undertake additional volunteering roles over and above governance.
Under Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, if you are employed, then you are entitled to ‘reasonable time off’ to undertake public duties; this includes school governance. ‘Reasonable time off’ is not defined in law, and you will need to negotiate with your employer how much time you will be allowed.
Expenses:
Governors may receive out of pocket expenses incurred as a result of fulfilling their role as governor, and NGA recommends that a governing body should have such an expenses policy. Payments can cover incidental expenses, such as travel and childcare, but not loss of earnings.