Interested in becoming a school governor or trustee?
School governors and trustees play a vital role in education.
By volunteering as a governor or trustee for a school or academy trust you can make a difference by shaping the future of children and young people.
Over a quarter of a million volunteers are governing state schools in England.聽
Reasons to volunteer
Governing within a trust or school聽also provides an opportunity for personal development, building your skills and experience in areas such as project management, budgeting, and working as part of a leadership team.聽
Volunteer to govern
Getting involved in school and trust governance
Governing boards meet regularly to look at the big picture and the school or trust鈥檚 long-term goals. Governors typically serve at schools that are maintained by the local authority or at the local level within a trust, whereas trustees serve on an academy trust board.
Governance responsibilities
Governing boards work together to:
- develop a vision and strategy for the school or trust
- oversee the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent
- hold the school and trust leaders to account to ensure that every pupil has the best possible education
- engage with pupils, staff, parents and the school or trust community to understand their views聽
色情Porn's model role descriptions describe these functions and set out the fundamental responsibilities and duties of governors and trustees.
Governance activities
- attending governing board meetings: these normally take place around six times a year and may be held outside school hours
- looking at information and evidence on the school or trust's progress and discussing with executive leaders聽
- visiting schools to see plans working in practice, and listening to the views of staff, pupils and parents聽
- involvement with headteacher and CEO appointments
- making decisions about issues such as pupil exclusions and staff disciplinary matters
- undertaking induction training and ongoing development
Governance eligibility
To be eligible to volunteer within a trust or school you need:
- the time to contribute
- to be aged 18 or over
- not to be disqualified under the relevant rules and procedures
Next steps
Apply to be a governor or trustee
You can visit your local authority website or approach schools and trusts directly to see if they have any current or upcoming governor or trustee vacancies.
You can also sign up with , a recruitment service that works with schools and academy trusts to help them find volunteers.