Being a school governor is an important and rewarding role.

Governors, as members of the governing body, set the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school; they hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its students; and they oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent.

Governors do not need to be experts on education but they do need to be interested in children and in how schools can do the best they possibly can for their students; they do need to be able to get on with people and to be able to work as part of a team; they need to be able to ask the difficult questions when necessary – and the easy questions too, like ‘why do we do it like that?’.

Governors need to be able to make time to attend meetings – usually early evening – and come into school, sometimes during the school day.

School governance is a voluntary role – but it is not an ‘amateur’ one; as Lord Nash, the schools minister, said recently: “governance is a highly professional, highly responsible job, performing an absolutely critical role.”

The Department for Education sets out more details of the role of governor in its ’Governance Handbook’.

If you want to find out more, or if you might be interested in joining us, please visit the Greenshaw Learning Trust website here. You can also contact the clerk to the governing body: wihsgbclerk@greenshawlearningtrust.co.uk