Why volunteer to be a Parent Governor?
- School Governors make a valuable contribution to children’s education, opportunities and futures.
- Being a school Governor is a challenging but a hugely rewarding role. It will give you the chance to make a real difference to young people and give something back to your community.
- Schools need governing boards that have a balance and diversity of knowledge, skills and experience to enable it to be effective.
- Use your skills to make a positive contribution to your community.
Who can become a Parent Governor?
Parent includes any individual who has parental responsibility for, or is a carer for, a child or young person under the age of 18 registered as a pupil at the school.
An elected Parent Governor is defined as a person who is elected as a member of the Governing Body of the school, by parents/carers of registered pupils at the school, and who is a parent/carer at the time s/he is elected. The Parent Governor will remain in post for the duration of their Governor term regardless of whether their child remains at the school.
A person is disqualified from standing for election (or appointment) as a Parent Governor if s/he is:
- an elected member of the local education authority; or
- paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in any consecutive twelve-month period (at the time of the election or appointment).
Anyone aged 18 or over can be a Governor (but there are some exceptions) and we do carry out enhanced Disclosure and Barring checks (DBS). There is no requirement for you to have an understanding of the education system, just the necessary skills, character and time to contribute. There is plenty of training available and schools need and benefit from a range of knowledge on their governing board.
What will be expected of me?
- The average time commitment is six to eight meetings per academic year, although it will vary depending on the needs of the school and the role. Background reading and school visits will also play a part of your role. As well as full governing board meetings, we have various committees and link Governor roles which you may like to contribute to.
- School Governors have a right to reasonable time off work for their public duties, although this may be unpaid. Your company’s HR department will be able to tell you about its policy.
- Each school sets a term of office for its Governors and our term is for four years, however, as a volunteer you can resign before your term is finished if your circumstances change. The Parent Governor will remain in post for four years regardless of whether their child remains at the school.
- Each individual Governor is a member of a governing board, which is established in law as a corporate body. Individual Governors may not act independently of the rest of the governing board; decisions are the joint responsibility of the governing board.
- Governance is a voluntary role and therefore it is not a paid position.
How to apply
If you are interested in a new challenge then please complete and return the attached application form.
School-Governor-Application-Form
Clerk to Governors
Christchurch Learning Centre
29 Stour Road
Christchurch BH23 1PJ
01202 471410
Qualifications and disqualifications to serve as a school Governor
A Governor must be aged 18 or over at the time of his/her election or appointment and cannot hold more than one Governorship at the same school.
A person is disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a Governor or associate member if he/she:
- is subject to a bankruptcy restriction order, an interim bankruptcy restrictions order, a debt relief restrictions order or an interim debt relief restrictions order;
- has had his/her estate sequestrated and the sequestration has not been discharged, annulled or reduced;
- is subject to:
- a disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Act 1986
- a disqualification order under the Companies Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002
- a disqualification undertaking accepted under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002
- an order made under section 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (failure to pay under a county court administration order);
- has been removed from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commission or Commissioners or High Court on the grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity, or under section 34 of the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 from being concerned in the management or control of anybody;
- is included in the list of people considered by the Secretary of State as unsuitable to work with children;
- is disqualified from working with children or subject to a direction under section 142 of the Education Act 2002;
- is disqualified from working with children under sections 28,29, or 29A of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000;
- is disqualified from registration under Part 2 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 for child minding or providing day care; is disqualified from registration under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006;
- has received a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of not less than 3 months (without the option of a fine) in the 5 years before or since becoming a Governor;
- has received a prison sentence of 2½ years or more in the 20 years before becoming a Governor;
- has at any time received a prison sentence of 5 years or more;
- has been convicted under section 547 of EA 1996 (nuisance or disturbance on school premises) or under section 85A of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (nuisance or disturbance on educational premise) during the 5 years prior to or since appointment or election as a Governor;
- is employed at the school for more than 500 hours per academic year if wishing to stand for Parent Governor at the same school;
- is an elected member of the Local Authority (applies to parent and community Governors only);
- has refused a request by the Clerk to the Governing Body to make an application under section 113B of the Police Act 1997 for a criminal records certificate;
- has been disqualified from holding office as a Governor of this school due to failure to attend Governing Body meetings for a continuous period of six months.
Policy agreed and updated at Full Governing Body 25/09/2019. 04.02.2022 draft update