Designated Roles in a Governing Body

There are no legally mandated designated roles within a governing body, except for the Chair and Vice-Chair.

By delegating responsibilities, the work of the governing body can be spread amongst all individuals, more in depth information about the school can be brought to the governing body, and the governing body will be able to more readily demonstrate that it is fulfilling its statutory duties.

Designated governors can report either to the full governing body or to a sub-committee which can then bring that information to the full governing body.

The Chair and Vice-Chair are the only roles designated within the Governors guide to the Law. All governing bodies must have a chair and vice-chair, elected by the entire governing body an on annual basis (unless the governing body chooses to have them serve for longer). The Chair and Vice-chair have an equal vote with all other governors.

The chair of the governing body is responsible for running meetings effectively, liaising with the Headteacher between meetings, and ensuring the work of the governing body is conducted in accordance with the law.

The chair can take urgent actions on behalf of the governing body provided that it is function that can be delegated, a delay would be seriously harmful to the school or to any pupil or member of staff, and it would not be reasonably practicable to hold a governors' meeting to resolve the issue. Any urgent action should be reported to the governing body at the next meeting.

In many governing bodies the vice-chair tends to be treated somewhat like the runner-up in a beauty pageant. If in the event the chair is unable to serve....

I suggest defining roles specifically for the chair and vice-chair within the Terms of Reference. Where possible, the Chair should delegate and share responsibilities with the Vice-chair.

At this time training for governors is not mandatory. However, to do their job effectively, governors do need training both in their role on the governing body and for specific committees or designated duties which they may hold. Most Local Authorities provide training through Governor Services. Training opportunities can also be found through the Department for Education and through the National Governors Association.

The governing body should maintain a register of all training and development courses taken by governors and it is beneficial to have one specific person who can maintain this register plus report its details to Governor Services on a termly basis. The Training and Development Coordinator would also be responsible for determining the training and development needs of individual governors and arranging for them to access training courses, and coordinating with the Chair of Governors to set up whole governing body training sessions.

The Link Governor is responsible for keeping up to date with new information coming in from the Local Authority. Governor Services may aid in this by scheduling meetings for Link Governors where information can be provided. Governor Services will also email the Link Governor as needed with updated information.

Up to date information at a national level can also be found through the DfE and the NGA .

This information can then be brought to the Governing Body.

Governing Bodies may choose to appointment individual governors to monitor separate curriculum topics. It must be stressed that governors do not monitor teaching. That is the role of the Headteacher. Governors, however, can work with a specific curriculum coordinator in the school to monitor the progress and achievement of pupils. The Curriculum Governor would also monitor what is being taught within the curriculum subject and challenge the curriculum coordinator where appropriate.

Which curriculum subjects are followed would be up to the governing body and should reflect the curricular emphasis of the school.

The Safeguarding of all children is of paramount importance. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that all governing bodies have a designated Safeguarding Governor to ensure that all is being done to maintain the health and safety of the children in school.

The safeguarding governor will work with the Designated Person for Child Protection in the school, usually the headteacher or another senior member of staff, to ensure that all policies are being followed and that staff have all received up to date and appropriate training.

It is recommended that the safeguarding governor undertake training in their role, including training in Safer Recruitment and child protection. They should also keep up to date on new legislation in regards to safeguarding and make sure school staff and governors all undertake appropriate training in safeguarding.

The governing bodies of all schools have a statutory duty to ensure students with special educational needs (SEN) are able to access education. Within the school, SEN needs are coordinated through the SENCO (special educational needs coordinator) who will be a teacher on the senior leadership team.

The SEN governor will meet regularly with the SENCO to make sure the needs of all identified SEN students are being met. Some schools may include the needs of those students who do not speak English (EAL), those who are gifted and talented, and other vulnerable pupils within the remit of the SENCO and the SEN governor.