Become a School Governor

Would you like to be involved in supporting education in Cardiff schools? Would you also like to develop your own professional and personal skills? You can do both by volunteering as a school governor.

Join one of the 22,000 governors in Wales in making a difference.

Cardiff has 127 schools made up of different categories including Nursery, Primary, Secondary, Special, Faith and Welsh Medium. Our schools provide education to over 54,000 children and each school will have a governing body.

What do school governors do?

School governors play a critical role in improving education and making a positive difference to children and young people’s futures. They help to set the strategic vision of the school and ensure that children and young people receive the best possible education. They also act as a critical friend providing support and challenge to the school’s senior leadership team.

Key roles include:

Setting the overall direction, aims, policies and priorities of the school
Ensuring the wellbeing and safeguarding of all learners
Monitoring performance and promoting high standards of educational achievement, attendance and behaviour
Acting as a critical friend, providing support and challenge to the senior leadership team and setting targets by which progress can be measured
Agreeing the annual school budget and monitoring this throughout the year
Ensuring that all learners have access to a broad and balanced curriculum and that all statutory requirements are met
Involvement in all staffing processes including pay, staff appointments, performance management, suspension, disciplinary issues and dismissal

Anyone over the age of 18 can be a school governor. Governors are volunteers from many different walks of life and schools benefit from their different skills and experience.

Why become a school governor?

There are many benefits to being a school governor and these include:

The opportunity to become involved with a local school and making a difference to the future of children and young people and your community
To develop your professional skills and experience in areas such as strategic planning, chairing, setting budgets and financial management, staff recruitment and team working, all of which are transferable and can assist your own career and personal development
To develop your knowledge of the education system
Continuing professional development by attending free training and events to support you in your role.

What commitment is required?

As a governor you will:

Attend and participate in governing body and committee meetings on a regular basis. The average time commitment will vary depending on the needs of the school and the role you undertake but most governors will allocate at least five hours each month to school governance matters.
Attend training provided by the Local Authority – new governors are required to attend two mandatory training sessions within the first year of appointment.
Attend other training sessions to further your knowledge and expertise.
Spend time getting to know the school through link governor visits/learning walks.
Participate in panel meetings that deal with appointments, staffing issues, pupil issues and complaints.
Respect confidentiality at all times.

Vacancies

For further information on future vacancies, please contact Governor.Services@cardiff.gov.uk or complete the contact form.
We can give you more information on your chosen school if needed.

There are School Governor vacancies at the following schools:

Meet the chair of governors

I became a school governor because I wanted to support the children and young people in my community, and this provided me with the perfect opportunity to do so around my other commitments. It’s a great experience knowing that, working as part of the whole school community (including pupils, staff and parents), you are helping to shape the future of the children and young people and contributing to the development of your school. You might think that you have nothing to offer, but everyone has something to offer as a governor. In fact, the wider range of backgrounds and skills on the governing body, the more new perspectives it can offer.

There are no formal qualifications required and you don’t need to have a background in education or business. But, you do need commitment and passion for the school. Being a governor involves taking a full part in the life of the school, but especially at governing body meetings. You role is to work with others to challenge, and then support, the school by bringing your own unique perspective to its work. Full training and development opportunities for the role are provided through the Council.

As a governor you will also benefit from being a member of Cardiff Governors Association. (CGA), which is run by a management committee of 17 governors representing each type of school in the city. All schools in Cardiff are members of the Association and it provides additional training, development and networking opportunities for all governors. Further information on the Association and its work and events is available on Cardiff Governors Association | Cardiff Education Services.

Professor Gary Beauchamp
Chair of Cardiff Governors Association.

What do I need to do next?

Interested?

Please contact us for further information on the role and application process.

We also have a number of experienced governors who will be delighted to share their experiences with you and provide you with practical information and advice.

Selection Criteria for Appointment as a Local Authority Governor

The Council is required to publish criteria which are to be used for the identification and appointment of LA governors.
These criteria are:

Demonstrable interest in education and understanding of the importance of education in the lives of children and young people;
Able to offer and share skills and expertise that match the needs of the individual school;
Evidence of ability to act in a critical friend role, providing support and challenge;
Interest in the local community within which the school is situated;
Commitment to regular attendance at meetings of the governing body and its committees;
Committed to undertaking mandatory training and other forms of training in order to update knowledge and skills and to enhance effectiveness as a governor.

This information will be obtained from the application form completed by potential candidates when applying to become a school governor.