Why become a Governor?
What do governors do?
Their role is to:
A school governor’s relationship with the school’s leadership team involves challenging existing processes to drive school improvement.
How many meetings do governors have to attend?
School governors usually attend around 6 to 10 meetings a year, but this will vary depending on the school or trust you work with.
Governor Types
Parent Governor
Parent governors and trustees have parental responsibility for, or are carers of, pupils at the school/trust. Primarily elected by the parents of the school, they are a key part of the governing board that provide a parental perspective.
The role of a parent governor is no different to any other governor. Governing boards make strategic decisions and work together to:
- Develop a vision and strategy for the school
- Oversee financial performance and make sure money is well spent
- Hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school
- Engage with pupils, staff, parents and the wider school community to understand their views
Parent governors offer a parental perspective to issues being discussed; however, they are not expected to represent the parent body or act as a spokesperson.
Parent governors need to remain impartial, especially when posing challenging questions to school leaders.
While all parents are concerned with their own child’s best interests, governors must make strategic decisions that are in the best interests of the whole school community – governing boards work as a team to make collective decisions.
It is important to keep governing board matters confidential. Parent governors should avoid sharing concerns away from the board meeting or discussion with other parents. Instead, it may be helpful to discuss any issues with the governing board’s chair.
Download the parent governor guide from the NGA for more details.
Co-opted governors to trustees are appointed by the governing board because they have the right skills, experience and perspective to contribute to the effective governance and success of a school.
They often have specialised knowledge in areas like HR, finance, law, data, education and safeguarding.
Any individual from the community can be a co-opted governor/trustee, as long as they meet eligibility criteria and agree to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks as required.
It is not the role of staff governors to represent staff or act as a spokesperson. The governing board should have systems in place to engage with staff.
Staff governors, like all governors, make strategic decisions and work together to:
- Develop a vision and strategy for the school
- Oversee financial performance and make sure money is well spent
- Hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school
- Engage with pupils, staff, parents and the wider school community to understand their views.
Staff governors cannot be the chair or vice chair of the governing board.
Effective staff governors:
- Help other governors understand the workings of the school
- Take responsibility for their learning and development as a governor, including attending training
- Do not canvas the opinions of staff (they might want to let the governing board know the general feelings of staff, but must use their own judgement in decision-making).
Staff from schools can also be governors in other schools. This is a great opportunity for educators to grow professionally and is especially beneficial for aspiring senior leaders.
Foundation governors are individuals appointed to the governing bodies of church schools (both Church of England and Catholic Schools) to preserve and develop the school’s religious character.
They act as a link between the school and the founding body (e.g. church or diocese) and play a vital role in upholding the school’s ethos and vision.
The chair of the governing board is one of the most important leadership roles in education. The chair provides leadership to the board and is responsible for ensuring it functions effectively and remains focused on its core strategic functions.
Chairs work closely with their governance professional and the headteacher/CEO (whom they also line manage) to maintain the efficient conduct of business and compliance.
To read more about the role of the Chair, visit the NGA website.
Trustees are appointed or elected to academy trust boards. In some academy trusts, trustees are referred to as ‘directors’.
The board of trustees within an academy trusts work at the executive level in the organisation. They are responsible for all the academies that operate within the trust. In contrast, school governors oversee just one school. Trustees are ultimately responsible and accountable for the trust. It’s their job to ensure the trust is compliant with its charitable objectives, as well as company and charity law. Because trustees are directors under company and charity law, trustees have legal responsibilities that governors of maintained schools do not.
Trustees often delegate specific responsibilities relating to the individual academies to local governing boards (LGBs) that operate within the trust. In some cases, every academy in a trust might have its own LGB that has a specific remit. Every trust board will have a different scheme of delegation that outlines who is responsible for different decisions.
Although there are several ways academy trustees differ from school governors, the three core responsibilities are the same for both roles:
- Ensuring strategic direction, vision and ethos
- Hold executive leaders to account
- Oversee financial performance and ensure money is well spent
Local authority (LA) governors are nominated by the LA to serve on the governing board of an LA maintained school.
The governing body appoints them and can set eligibility criteria which nominees must meet.
Governing bodies in LA maintained schools can choose to appoint associate members. Associate members are not governors but are appointed to serve on a committee due to their specific skills.
Diverse and inclusive governing boards are our priority.
Governors and trustees make decisions that significantly impact the lives of pupils and staff. A diverse and engaged workforce of volunteers is best able to understand and meet the needs of our communities.
In Haringey, priority 1 of the Racial Equity Pledge (2025-27) is recruiting and retaining for diversity amongst leaders and governors. Haringey Local Authority places equity at the heart of their approach, recognising that fairness and equality must be underpinned by an understanding of different circumstances, needs and priorities (find out more here)
What you need to be a governor
There are no specific qualifications or requirements for the role – every governing board needs a balance and diversity of knowledge, skills and experience. You don’t need to be a parent or to have a background in education. However, you should be committed to engaging in regular training.
Governors should have:
- A commitment to, and a passion for, education
- The necessary skills and/or experience to be able to support and challenge the headteacher and contribute to discussions and decision-making
- A willingness to learn
- Good interpersonal skills
- Time
- An appropriate level of literacy and sufficient numeracy to understand basic data
- A commitment to attending training
Knowledge of the local area and communities in which the school operates can be helpful, but is not a necessity.
Benefits of being a governor
People benefit in a range of ways. This can include sharing and developing their skills and knowledge, meeting people and working with a team, learning more about the education system and progressing their careers, but also in connection to the community and the feeling of ‘giving back’ to their community.
- “I wanted to get involved in something, particularly schools, because I love young children and their energy, and what they represent for us”
- “I wanted to do something to give back to our community, and being a governor was a very practical way to do that.”
- “What I value most about being a governor is the chance to connect with people in my local community. The school is the biggest asset we have in our community, so being able to help and contribute to that is really important.”
- “Being a governor means I feel really connected to where I live, and I feel like I am making a contribution to that community.”
- “I started as a parent governor at my child’s school, and I thought it would be a really great way to give back to the community, because my child was thriving at the school and I wanted to learn more about the school.”
Become a governor today
If you are a parent or staff member, keep an eye out for upcoming elections.
You can also fill in this expression of interest form, and a member of the Haringey Education Partnership team will be in touch.
If you are interested in being a Foundation governor in a local church school, you could also contact the local Diocesan authorities.
- Catholic schools – Diocese of Westminster
- Church of England – London Diocesan Board of Schools
If you’re interested in making a difference to the education of all of our children, click the link below to fill out a Governor application form.