Who can become a governor

- I'm a Governor

If you want to help your local school, you can volunteer to be a school governor.

Anyone can be a school governor. You don’t need to be a parent or have any special qualifications, but you must pass some checks to keep children safe (like an enhanced DBS check - GOV.UK.

Who can become a school governor?

You must be:

over 18 years old
interested in children’s education
able to commit 5 to 8 hours a month
discreet, open-minded and fair
able to share your ideas
enthusiastic and a team player
willing to undertake training and develop new skills

Find out more about being a governor

Apply to become a school governor

If you are interested in becoming a governor, then complete the form:

Support for Governors

Please click here to see the full list of training, networking and briefing opportunities for governors and clerks.

Governor Training, Networking And Briefing Sessions 2025 26 [370.2 KB] [PDF]

What do school governors do?

School governors help raise standards of achievement and make sure the school provides a good quality education.

The headteacher and staff look after the day-to-day running of the school, but governors help make decisions about the school’s future.

Governors do not work alone. Only the full governing body has legal powers and duties.

Their choices can affect pupils, teachers, parents, and the local community. How they do their job affects the interests of pupils, staff morale, and how the school is seen by parents and others in the community. They are not there to rubber-stamp decisions. Governors are responsible for how the school is performing. They have to be prepared to support and challenge their headteacher by gathering views, asking questions, and deciding what’s best for the pupils.

The roles of a school governor

Here are the three main roles of school governors:

Helping with the school’s plans (Strategic Overview): Governors help set goals for the school, help choose the headteacher, and make choices about money and staff. They also help make sure all pupils, even those with special educational needs, get the help they need.
Being a “critical friend”: Governors meet with the headteacher often to talk about how the school is doing. They check that plans are working well and everyone knows their roles. Governors get to know the school so they can help and give advice.
Making the school answer for its actions (Accountability): The headteacher tells the governors how things are going. Governors write reports and share information with parents and the Local Authority. They also go to school events and read reports to keep up to date.

The role of the LA governor

An LA (Local Authority) governor is nominated to a governing board by the local authority.

They help share information between the Local Authority and the school, but their main job is still to help the school do well.

Apply to become a local authority governor

Every maintained school has one governor nominated by the local authority (the people who run things in your area).

The Local Authority Governor Panel looks at all the people who want to be governors. They want governors who have the right skills and want to help schools do well.

They use these documents to help them decide: