School governors
What governors do
Governors are responsible for making sure the school provides a high standard of educational achievement.
They act in a strategic manner to help direct the development of the school through the effective management of its resources.
Roles and actions
The governing body is likely to:
- Develop and review a range of written policies and procedures
- Set the staffing structure and make decisions on staffing issues
- Set the school's budget and monitor expenditure
- Make sure the national curriculum is implemented
- Maintain and improve school buildings
- Contribute to and review the school development (improvement) plan
- Use a combination of reports, visits, results and other activities and information in monitoring the progress of the school
- Delegate responsibilities to committees and/or individual governors
Governors also promote effective ways of teaching and learning when setting the school's aims and policies. They do this together with the head teacher, who is responsible for the day to day management of the school.
The governing body
Every school must have a governing body. The membership will vary according to the type of school.
The governing body is made up of a number of different people from the community including:
- Parent governors, elected by and from parents of children of a school
- Staff governors, elected by and from the staff of a school
- Local Education Authority (LEA) governors, appointed by the Local Authority
- Community governors, chosen by the rest of the governing body
- Foundation governors, appointed by the Diocese, Parochial Church Council and other foundation governors
The governing body can also appoint:
- Sponsor governors - appointed by the governing body at its own discretion
- Associate members - appointed by the governing body and can include pupils, staff and others with specific expertise to offer. They serve on committees and can attend full governing body meetings. Associate Members are not governors and not recorded on the Instrument of Government
A governor can have a term of office from between 1 and 4 years and may subsequently be eligible for re-appointment or re-election.
