What is a School Governors?
School Governors in England form one of the largest volunteer groups in the country and as part of a governing board they complement and enhance school leadership by providing support and challenge, ensure all statutory duties are met, appoint the head teacher and hold the school to account for the impact of its work on improving outcomes for all pupils.
The Core Role of the Governing Board
The Department for Education (DfE) sets out information on the role of governing bodies in its Governance Handbook.
The handbook says the purpose of governance is to:
… provide confident, strategic leadership and to create robust accountability, oversight and assurance for educational and financial performance.
It then outlines the three core functions of the governing board:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff
- Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent
Specifically, the handbook says governing boards will:
- Ensure the organisation has a clear vision – which is articulated in a specific written statement
- Ensure there is a strategy in place for achieving this vision
- Set and safeguard an ethos of high expectations
- Foster a common culture, values and ethos across the whole organisation
