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Volunteering as a school governor

Are you a school governor or trustee? Are you interested in getting involved in school governance?

School governors and trustees have the power to improve education for children. They work strategically as board members to support and challenge the school’s operational leaders.

Being a governor or trustee is a great development opportunity for colleagues, no matter your role or grade.

"As a governor, I have observed teaching strategies and curriculum development principles that in some ways have helped me reflect on my own teaching. And becoming Chair of Governors helped hone my skills around strategic and critical thinking, problem solving, commercial acumen and stakeholder management." Claire, Lecturer in Management at the School for Business and Society

Read Claire's story

What school governors do

School governors and trustees have three core functions:

  • Setting the school’s strategic direction
  • Ensuring financial probity
  • Supporting and challenging the headteacher

A strong and diverse governing board ensures robust debate, which is key to the effective running of a school.

Volunteering as a governor or trustee is a chance to develop new and existing skills, expand networks and see first-hand the difference you can make to education.

Find out more about who school governors are and what they do

How you can help

Governing bodies need a broad range of skills to ensure they can support and challenge the school effectively. Skills and knowledge of education are important, but governing boards also need people with skills in areas including finance, data analysis, HR, and problem-solving.

You don’t need to be a parent or have previous board experience to get involved. It’s more important you are enthusiastic, committed, and want to use your skills to make a difference.

Why get involved in school governance?

Volunteering as a school governor or trustee is a rewarding role. You'll see first-hand how your work and decisions impact the lives of children in your school.

  • Make a difference in your local community, by supporting the education of children in your chosen school.
  • Enhance your CV with your voluntary experience, your commitment to the community and your own personal development as a member of a board.
  • Develop a range of professional skills, such as strategic leadership, decision making, risk management, data analysis, financial management and performance management.
  • Support the University of York’s public good mission by sharing your time and skills to support young people in our local area.

What support is available at the University?

Community leave

The University grants colleagues four days of community leave to support volunteering in school governance roles. This is paid leave that can be taken in addition to your annual leave, enabling you to support your school during your usual working hours.

Find out more about the community leave policy.

Dedicated Slack channel

In between our networking events, you will have access to peer support when you need it, through our dedicated Slack channel: school-governance-network.

This is a chat service used by University staff, and permits informal conversations between colleagues, whenever you want to.

You can access Slack for free as part of your University IT services, and you can even download a mobile app to keep in touch on the go, if you want to.

Find out more

Governors for Schools

Governors for Schools is a national charity which advocates for school governors. They offer a variety of services, including placing volunteers in schools, and training for new and existing volunteers in the role of a school governor or trustee.

Colleagues who apply through Governors for Schools will gain access to their comprehensive training facility, The Key, and a range of personal development tools, in addition to a wide range of placement opportunities.

City of York Council

City of York Council offers a traded service, providing essential training for new governors, and CPD training for existing governors, through a comprehensive training programme, with bespoke opportunities for colleagues involved in supporting academies or maintained schools. Their year-round training calendar features a variety of topics and includes virtual and in-person events.