Heckmondwike Grammar School Governing Body
The benefits of becoming a School Governor
Being a governor is an enormously challenging and rewarding opportunity. The personal benefits can be summarised as;
- A sense of satisfaction through knowing children will benefit from your efforts
- The opportunity to develop new skills and to strengthen existing ones
- The opportunity to work with people from a variety of social, cultural and religious backgrounds
- The opportunity to gain understanding in key areas such as finance, personnel, and strategic planning
- The opportunity to gain awareness of the education system as a whole
Through solving problems ranging from finance to site management, human resources to marketing, pupil welfare to curriculum development, every governor is guaranteed to broaden their skills and knowledge in some way. As all decisions are made with the consensus of the whole governing body there is also the opportunity to utilize the softer skills of teamwork, communication and tolerance.
Governor Responsibilities
School governors make important collective decisions and the governing body is answerable to parents and the community. The responsibilities of the governing body can be summarised as providing strategic management, acting as a critical friend and ensuring accountability. Specific responsibilities include:
- Promoting high standards of education and achievement
- Planning the school’s long-term future
- Setting the school’s aims and values
- Appointing senior staff including the Head Teacher
- Budgetary allocation and control
The day to day management of the school is the responsibility of the Head Teacher.
What makes a good school governor
The most important quality is the desire to make a difference to the lives of children, and then:
- An ability to work in a team
- A desire to help the community
- An external perspective
- A willingness to challenge assumptions
- The time to get involved
Any of the following skills will also add value;
- Marketing
- Strategic Planning
- Finance
- Languages
- Communications
- HR
- Problem Solving
- Art and Design
- IT
- Project Management
- Legal Knowledge
- Science and Technology
- Decision Making
- Health and Safety
- Engineering
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Academy Status
