Could you volunteer and become a School Governor?

All schools have Governing Boards made up of Governor volunteers who support the school leadership team to improve the educational outcomes for children in the city. We have a significant number of Governor vacancies in the city for a variety of reasons including due to long standing Governors moving on.

Almost anyone over 18 years of age can become a Governor. There are no particular qualifications or requirements, other than a willingness to give time to the role, a capacity for working with other people and a passion for improving the education of children in the city. Serving as a Governor is a highly rewarding experience, offering numerous personal and professional benefits. The main benefits of being a School Governor are: 

• Having the chance to experience leadership at board level at any point in your career.  
• The opportunity to develop and improve your technical and interpersonal skills. 
• Building professional networks with people who work within the same and different industries to yourself.   
• Using your lived experience and skills to bring a new perspective to a Governing Board/school.  
• Ensuring voices from different groups and communities are represented. This includes voices from groups which may often struggle to be heard within education. 
• Self-fulfilment from making a difference to a school within your local community and helping to shape young people’s futures. 

Governor meetings can take place during the working day (some employers allow time off for public duties) but, more often, during the evening. There is also often an option for Governors to attend meetings virtually.

The link to the Governor Support Service page is below which includes some more information about becoming a Governor and a link to the short application form: https://www.coventry.gov.uk/schools-schooling/school-governors/2