School Governors
Do you:
- have an interest in our children’s education?
- have a desire to make a difference?
- want to develop and hone your leadership skills
Then why not serve your local community and use your skills and expertise by becoming a School Governor?
What do governors do?
The governing body is responsible for making sure the school improves each year. It sets the direction and makes sure the school is meeting its targets. This involves:
- Working with other board members to plan the school’s strategic direction.
- Overseeing the school’s financial performance, ensuring money is well-spent.
- Holding the headteacher or school leadership to account.
Governors attend meetings (usually around 6 per year) where reports about the school's progress are discussed. Although becoming a governor requires drive and commitment, you’ll enjoy many professional and personal rewards, including career development opportunities and the chance to support young people’s futures.
Who can be a governor?
No formal qualifications are needed to become a school governor, but you do need to be aged 18 or over. Everyone has experience and skills to offer, so an effective governing body has people from different backgrounds with a mix of skills. A good governor has:
- common sense
- the ability to work in a team
- an interest in education and a commitment to the school
- patience, energy, enthusiasm and some spare time
- a willingness to listen, learn and to spend time in school
- a willingness to undertake training.
What support will you receive?
Many of our volunteers are first-time governors, meaning they need a helping hand to get to grips with the role. We have a comprehensive series of governor training courses to enable governors to carry out their roles effectively. We produce a termly governor training programme of virtual learning opportunities, catering for new governors as well as the more experienced who want to further their knowledge in a specialised area.
How to apply
Contact us at Governor.services@sefton.gov.uk to register your interest. We can search for school vacancies in an area of Sefton to suit you.
| Privacy Notice - Governor Services |  (pdf 222KB) |
GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION AS A GOVERNOR
- General
- A person who is a registered pupil at the school cannot be a governor.
- A governor must be aged 18 or over at the time of election or appointment.
- A person cannot hold more than one governor post at the same school at the same time.
- A person who is disqualified from being a governor in accordance with these Regulations cannot be an associate member of the governing board unless they are a registered pupil at the school or they are under 18 years of age.
- Criteria for certain categories of governors
Parent Governors
- A parent who is paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in any consecutive 12-month period cannot be a governor, nor can an elected member of the local authority.
- A parent governor can continue to hold office when the cease to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school.
Local Authority Governors
- A person cannot be appointed as a local authority governor if the person is eligible to be a staff governor of the school.
Partnership Governors
- A person is disqualified from nomination or appointment as a partnership governor of a school if the person is—
(a) a parent of a registered pupil at the school;
(b) eligible to be a staff governor of the school;
(c) an elected member of the local authority; or
(d) employed by the local authority in connection with their education functions. Although this does not apply in the case of a person who is employed by a local authority in England under a contract of employment providing for the person to work wholly at a school or schools maintained by the local authority.
Staff Governors
- Upon ceasing to work at the school, a staff governor of a school is disqualified from continuing to hold office as such a governor.
- Grounds that arise because of particular failings or actions on the part of the governor
Failure to attend meetings
- A person is disqualified from being a governor of a particular school if they have failed to attend the meetings of the governing body of that school for a continuous period of six months, beginning with the date of the first meeting they failed to attend, without the consent of the governing body. This does not apply to governors appointed by virtue of their office e.g. the Headteacher.
- A foundation, local authority, co-opted or partnership governor at the school who is disqualified for failing to attend meetings is only disqualified from being a governor of any category at the school during the twelve-month period starting on the date on which they were disqualified.
Bankruptcy
A person is disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor of a school if:
- Their estate has been sequestrated, and the sequestration has not been discharged, annulled, or reduced; or
- They are the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order, an interim bankruptcy restrictions order, a debt relief restrictions order, or an interim debt relief restrictions order.
Disqualification of company directors
A person is disqualified from holding, or from continuing to hold, office as a governor of a school at any time when they are subject to:
- A disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986;
- A disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002;
- A disqualification undertaking accepted under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002; or
- An order made under section 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (failure to pay under county court administration order).
Disqualification of charity trustees
A person is disqualified from holding, or from continuing to hold, office as a governor of a school if they have:
- Been removed from the office of trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commission or Commissioners or the High Court on the grounds of misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity for which the person was responsible for, privy to, contributed to or was facilitated by that person’s conduct; or.
- Been removed, under section 34 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, from being concerned in the management or control of any body.
Persons whose employment is prohibited or restricted
A person is disqualified from holding or from continuing to hold office as a governor of a school at any time when the person is:
- included in the list kept under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1999 which is a list of those considered by the Secretary of State as unsuitable to work with children;
- subject to a direction of the Secretary of State under section 63 of and Schedule 10 to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006;
- Barred from any regulated activity relating to children in accordance with section 3(2) of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006;
- Disqualified from working with children under sections 28, 29 or 29A of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000;
- disqualified from registration under Part 2 of the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 for child minding or providing day care; or
- disqualified from registration under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006.
Criminal convictions
A person is disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor if they have:
- been convicted, whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, of any offence and a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) has been imposed on for a period of not less than three months without the option of a fine in the five years before becoming a governor or since becoming a governor.
- Received a prison sentence of two years or more in the 20 years before becoming a governor.
- At any time received a prison sentence of five years or more.
- Been convicted and sentenced to a fine for causing a nuisance or disturbance on school premises during the five years prior to or since appointment or election as a governor.
Refusal to make an application for a Disclosure and Barring Service check
A person is disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor if they refuse a request by the clerk to the governing body to make an application to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for an enhanced DBS certificate.