I am a School Governor

• Helping to give future generations to have the best possible education.


• Contribute to your community.


• Gaining new skills in HR, Finance, and management.


• Business networking opportunities.


• Utilise your current skills in a new environment.


• Something good for your CV.


• Gives you valuable experiences you can take with you to other aspects of your everyday professional and personal life.


• Develop transferable skills back into the work place.


• Learn essential skills critical to running a business.


• Improve your listening skills.


• Engaging with the local community.


• Gaining new experiences.


• Meeting new people.


• The feel good factor.


• Builds self esteem.


• Fresh experience for working as part of a team.


• Make contact with a diverse group of people you wouldn't necessarily meet otherwise.


• Exposure to different projects and initiatives involved with the school.


• Instills you with a sense of pride for doing something worthwhile.


• Gives you another dimension to your life.


• You get back what you put in.


• Volunteering is good for your health and wellbeing.


• Gain an understanding of new cultures that are prevalent in the school you are involved.


• Utilising your creativity, energy and time allows you to be a more complete person.


• Enhance your patience and tolerance levels.

Source: School Governors' One Stop Shop - 11/03/09
We asked a number of our governors to tell us what they thought the best reasons for being a governor are. Here is our list of 25 reasons - one for each year of National Volunteers Week which celebrates its Silver Anniversary this year!

You don't need to have children in school to be a governor.

There are over 345,000 governors contributing their time to improve over 30,000 schools across the UK. This is the largest volunteer sector in the United Kingdom.

"School governors are drawn from different parts of the community, such as parents, the Staff, the Local Education Authority, the Community and other groups. This helps to ensure that the governing body has sufficient diversity of views and experience but does not mean that governors of a particular category 'represent' that group on the governing body. For example, Parent Governors do not act as a representative of the parents at the school and do not report back to them." ~ Source: GovernorNet: Categories and Roles of School Governors - Overview

Schools across Britain are looking for people willing to volunteer their time by becoming governors. Why not volunteer today.

You don't need special qualifications to be a school governor. All you need is a willingness to learn and time to give to your school.

The Local Authorities provide training courses throughout the school year on a wide range of subjects. Help and support is available to you every step of the way. Most schools buy into the training courses so that they are available to you at no cost.

• Parent governors - selected by election (or appointment if insufficient people stand for election) and drawn from parents and carers of children at the school.


• Staff governors - selected by election from teaching and support staff paid to work at the school .


• Community governors - appointed by the governing body to represent community interests


• LA governors - appointed by the Local Authority


• Foundation governors - (not community schools) - appointed by the school's founding body, church or other organisation named in the school's instrument of government


• Partnership governors - (foundation schools only) - replace Foundation governors if the school does not have a founding body


• Sponsor governors - discretionary category appointed by the governing body from individuals who have made significant (financial) contributions to the school


• Associate members (not governors) - appointed by the governing body to attend committee meetings and/or full governing body meetings due to their particular skills or experience but they do not hold voting power.