Who can be a school governor?

School governors are people from the school�s community who wish to make a positive contribution to children�s education.  They must be aged 18 or over at the date of their election or appointment - see article Associate members for people under 18 wishing to be involved in school governance.  There is no upper age limit. 

Governors are the largest volunteer force in the county and have an important part to play in raising school standards through their three key roles of setting strategic direction, ensuring accountability and monitoring and evaluating school performance. 

I�m interested, what do I do now?

You can contact your local school to ask if they need  a new governor.  Your local education authority (LEA) will be able to help you find a school or advise on opportunities to become an LEA governor.

If you are a parent - ask your school about elections for parent governors.

Schools, LEAs and local Diocesan authorities will be able to tell you about opportunities as community governors, LEA governors and foundation governors respectively.

The School Governors� One-Stop Shop (SGOSS) recruits governors for inner city schools and areas with many vacancies.  You can contact them at the address below:

Schools Governors� One-Stop Shop (SGOSS), 64 Essex Road, London N1 8LR
Tel: 0870 241 3883 or 020 7288 1720  Website: http://www.sgoss.org.uk/

Want to know more?

Then contact:  SGT 2, DfES, Mowden Hall, Staindrop Road, Darlington DL3 9BG
Tel: 01325 391290  E-mail: [email protected]

The English language version of the promotional booklet, HELP SCHOOLS HELP CHILDREN � How to become a school governor is available via the link below in .pdf.  This 8-page 'overview and information' leaflet provides background information on the role of a school governor and facts on school governorship.  The leaflet also includes space for including the contact details of the school or LEA looking to attract governor candidates.

Published as part of the national school governor recruitment campaigns, this booklet is also available in ethnic minority language versions from our publications department, Prolog, quoting the following order codes:

LEA/0356/2002AR  - Arabic
LEA/0356/2002BE - Bengali
LEA/0356/2002CH- Chinese
LEA/0356/2002 - English,
LEA/0356/2002GR - Greek
LEA/0356/2002GU - Gujarati
LEA/0356/2002HI- Hindi
LEA/0356/2002PU - Punjabi
LEA/0356/2002SO - Somali
LEA/0356/2002TU - Turkish
LEA/0356/2002UR - Urdu
LEA/0356/2002VI - Vietnamese

Posters will be available shortly.

School Governor Recruitment Toolkit

This Toolkit is a 20 page A4 booklet that comprises a collection of materials specifically designed to help schools and LEAs to recruit school governors.  The toolkit is colour coded for ease of navigation and includes on CD-rom: posters, outline letters for parents and other potential governors, articles for inclusion in school newsletters and general advice to assist recruitment.  Toolkits and materials can be ordered, free of charge, from Prolog (quote reference number LEA/0224/2002). 

NB.  The Help Schools Help Children sheets that are in Word format can be amended / personalised 'online'.  If you open up a word document, eg. Information Sheet - Parent Governor, you can amend the text at the end of the sheet to read 'or write directly to her' and insert the name.  You may need to go into Tools (in the top menu bar) and select 'Unprotect Document' if it is 'Protected' and no cursor initially appears, or the cursor won't insert where you want it to.