Local School Governor

Role Background:

Are you looking for a role which challenges, provides ample opportunities for growth and gives something back to your local community? Camblesforth Community Primary Academy, part of Ebor Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust of 25 Yorkshire primary schools, is currently recruiting school governors!

If you are looking for an inspiring opportunity to become involved in governance at a primary school, then we would welcome your statement of interest. We are looking for governors of all ages and backgrounds to help drive our ambition for the children we serve. While being a governor is a ‘hands off, eyes on’ role, it is still a real chance to make a difference - you would be offering advice, guidance and support to the school board and making sure school resources are optimally used.

We particularly welcome those with knowledge of education, finance, human resources, legal matters, marketing, public relations, property and estates management as well as organisational change. We also welcome lived experience such as having grandchildren, children, adopting or being in care as a child or experience of the SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).

However, do not discount yourself just because you may fall out of this skill set or set of experiences. All we ask is that you have a passion for furthering the education of our pupils and a willingness to learn with a time commitment of around five hours a month.

Being a school governor is also a great opportunity to learn new skills, reinforce existing ones and learn about a new sector you may not have thought about volunteering or working in before. On top of this, you will meet people from various backgrounds and be able to become a part of the local school community.

Role Description:

What will you be doing?

Ebor Academy Trust is a values-led multi-academy trust – a family of schools with a sense of responsibility for each other.

Governors on local governing bodies have a significant role to play in providing an external perspective on the strategic direction of the school, bringing enthusiasm, and experience from other areas of life. They work as a well-balanced group of people to support the headteacher and staff in driving the school forward.

Local governing bodies within the Trust normally meet five times per year at the school, but governors are encouraged to be actively involved in their schools, wherever possible.

Training will be provided to help you in your role, and we provide a paid membership to the NGA, a bespoke resource for school governors to help develop your skills in governance. Being a governor makes you think about how and why schools work well, and how – without being hands-on – you can use your life skills and experience to support and challenge people working in them to be as effective as possible.

What are we looking for?

You need to be able to work as part of a team, be committed to collective responsibility and have the ability to think strategically. You will need to be passionate about children’s life chances.

You will need to be comfortable with finding the time to read a number of papers to prepare for meetings, and confident to ask challenging questions and learn about the school.

Ideally, you will be able to come into school during the school day for school visits, perhaps for a minimum of three times per year. You will be entitled to the right to have reasonable time off work to complete your public duties as governor (like a magistrate or a member of a jury) and it is worth considering and asking your HR department or line manager if there are incentives or policies around employee volunteering if applicable.

What difference will you make?

Being a governor is the most important voluntary role in education. An effective governing body can be a source of strength to the school, helping it to look for the best solutions. This position offers the chance to make serious differences at a local level.

What’s in it for the volunteer?

You will gain ongoing challenges and new learning about interesting and important aspects of the work of the school. You will be valued in this role and will have access to the training you need to be most effective. You will keep up to date with changes in national and local policy affecting schools and will be well placed to see the difference this makes on the ground.

How to apply:

Still interested? Submit your contact details and a few sentences about why you want to be a school governor and any skills you feel would be helpful to the local governing body to Oliver Smith (Apprentice Governance Administrator) at o.smith@ebor.academy who will then forward your details to the board’s Chair and school’s headteacher for consideration.

Further information:

You may find the following links useful to read before you submit your interest:

Trust Website

Academy Website

NGA information on becoming a school governor

This role is advertised as part of TPP's Free Giving Back Services. This volunteer advertisement copy has been supplied to TPP and applicants apply direct to the organisation. Please contact the organisation directly if you have any questions about this volunteer role.