Join our School’s Governing Body - Become a Parent Governor!

What is the Governing Body?

The Governing Body is a group of unpaid volunteers who support the Headteacher and Senior Leaders in running the School.  Governors meet regularly to discuss things like children’s progress and results, school finances, educational legislation and innovation in order to improve the School’s performance.  This means that we challenge the Headteacher by asking important questions, in order to help pupils achieve their full potential.  We help the Headteacher manage the School’s budget, by ensuring that money is spent on improving outcomes for our pupils.

Who can be a Parent Governor?

When a vacancy arises, you can apply to be a Parent Governor if you have a child or children who attend our School.  You cannot be a Parent Governor if you work in our School 500 or more hours per year.  If we have a Parent Governor vacancy and no parents of current pupils apply, parents with a child or children who used to attend our School can apply.  If a vacancy still remains, parents with a child or children who are under 18 years old can apply and be appointed by the Governing Body.

What Does a Parent Governor Do?

As Parent Governor you will be able to give us the point of view of parents in terms of the curriculum and how it is delivered and monitored at our School.  Being a Parent Governor does not mean that you get involved in other Parents’ disputes/complaints towards the School, although as Parent Governor you can advise them on how to follow the School’s Complaints Procedure.

As Parent Governor, you will be expected to:

• Make yourself known to other parents at our School
• Attend short training sessions paid for by the School
• Listen to other parents’ concerns and, if necessary, point them in the direction of the School’s Complaints Procedure
• Support us in improving the education of all our pupils
• Play an active part in Governor meetings
• Be enthusiastic about our School and the education of all our pupils

How Do I Apply?

We write out to all parents informing them when there is a Parent Governor vacancy on our Governing Body.  You will be asked to complete a form, including a short statement about yourself.  Parent Governors are voted in by other parents of our School, so they will need to know a little bit about you before they can vote.

Do I have the time to spare? 

It is important to consider whether you can give up the time required before applying to become a Parent Governor.  Our Governing Body meets in September, December, March and June in the evening, and meetings can last around 2½ hours.  We also hold regular Committee meetings, (once a half term during the day) to discuss specific topics such as curriculum, finance or staffing.

What are the benefits of volunteering as a governor?

All Governors are volunteers, so you will not be paid for being a Parent Governor.

However, you will benefit in other very valuable ways, including:

• Increasing your understanding of how the curriculum is taught in our School, and why it is taught in that way
• Gaining an insight into how the School is managed
• Developing your knowledge of finance
• A sense of satisfaction through knowing children will benefit from your efforts
• The opportunity to develop new skills and to strengthen existing ones
• The opportunity to work with new people from different backgrounds
• The opportunity to gain awareness of the education system

Training

Attending governance courses allows you to meet like-minded people, enhance your knowledge of important issues for schools, and ultimately allows you to feel more confident in your role.

And Finally…

It is normal for you to feel unsure or nervous about applying.  Once you have attended your first meeting, you will see that our Governors are a friendly group of people who simply have our pupils’ best interests at heart.

Look out for an expression of interest form coming later this week!

Best wishes,

Mrs Seymour