Becoming a school governor in Kingston
All schools need governors, people from all backgrounds and of all ages (over 18) who are interested in supporting a local school.
For some years now local people have been volunteering as school governors, and have taken part in making important decisions about the way a school is run. They do not need to have a previous personal or working connection with a school. What matters most is that they are
- keen to contribute to their local community in a voluntary way
- want to help improve the education provided for children and young people in a local school
- can bring enthusiasm, commitment and fresh ideas to the work of the school’s governing body; and
- have the time to give to the important role of being a school governor.
Still interested? We hope so! And if you are, here are a few questions for you to think about before responding to us:
- Would you prefer to be a governor of a primary school in Kingston, for children aged 3 to 11, or of a secondary school for young people aged 11-18? Or would you be happy to serve in either type of school?
- Are you particularly interested in joining the governing body of a church (Church of England or Roman Catholic) school, or of a community (i.e. non-church) school? Or would you be equally happy with either type of school?
- Most governing body meetings are held on weekday evenings, and there may be two or three meetings a term, including committees of the main governing body. Bearing this in mind, would you be able to travel to a school in any part of the borough? Or would you prefer a school in a particular area of the borough?
- Which type, or category, of governor would you prefer to be? There are various categories of school governor: parent, teacher, staff, LEA-appointed, co-opted (i.e. appointed by the other governors from the local community), and foundation (in church schools).
Parent, teacher and staff governors are elected by their fellow parents, teachers or non-teaching staff in the school. If you are eligible in one of these categories at a school, you may stand for election when the clerk to the governors informs all parents, teachers or other staff that there is a vacancy for a governor in that category, at that school.
Otherwise, there are frequent opportunities for people to be appointed
either
- as co-opted governors, having some link with the local community around the school but not necessarily with the school itself: the other governors decide who to appoint, or co-opt, to these posts;
or
- as LEA governors, appointed by the Council after being nominated by one of the three councillors who serve as the Education Spokespersons for their party group. For these posts it is not necessary to be a member of any political party, but rather to have a general interest in local schools and a fairly wide view of the role of a school in its local community.
If these questions, and your own answers to them, have served to foster your interest in becoming a school governor, then do please get in touch with our Governor Support Team at governor.support@rbk.kingston.gov.uk
We look forward to hearing from you, and we’ll be pleased to answer any questions you have about becoming a school governor in Kingston. We will also be able to tell you more about the current opportunities for becoming a governor at one of the borough’s 37 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and three special schools.