Could You Help Govern One of Our State-Funded Primary or Secondary Schools? (Click HERE to find out how)
Could You Volunteer and Become a School Governor at a school in our Trust?
“There are immediate and lasting benefits to becoming a school governor. In volunteering your time, you are making a positive contribution to the success of the school you serve, and are therefore having a real impact on the lives of its pupils, staff and the local community.”
Watch: Why become a governor – 2 minute video
About the Trust
The Vale Academy Trust is a state-funded family of primary and secondary schools, comprised of 5 community schools and 4 Church of England schools, all based in the south Oxfordshire area. Each school has its own Local Governing Body, or LGB, with between 6 and 12 governors apiece.
Governor Vacancies
We currently have a number of vacancies for director-appointed governors in our primary and secondary schools, all located in and around the Abingdon and Wantage areas. The term ‘director-appointed’ simply refers to governors that are appointed by the Trust, rather than through parent or staff elections. Regardless of type, all governors have exactly the same responsibilities.
When you contact us, we will tell you exactly which schools have vacancies at the time and discuss which might be best for you.
A governor must be age 18 or over, but aside from this legal requirement we welcome interest from all persons and will not discriminate on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
What does the LGB do?
The LGB has three core functions:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction for the school
- Holding the Headteacher to account for both the educational performance of the school and the performance management of staff
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent
The Headteacher is responsible for the organisation, operations, management and control of the school, and for the implementation of the strategic plan agreed with the LGB.
Do I need education sector experience or have children at the school to be a governor?
Absolutely not. Most of our governors don’t have children at the school they serve and few have a background in education. That said, if you happen to have experience in the education sector it will be valued by your LGB. Regardless of your background, you do need to be committed to the school you serve and willing to ask questions and offer appropriate challenge and support to the Headteacher.
As well as the support you’ll get from fellow governors, the Trust runs a rich programme of induction and training, and our governance team will provide you with information, tools and ongoing support.
How much time would I have to commit?
Governors are expected to attend circa 6 evening meetings of the LGB each year. These typically last around 2 hours each. In addition, the Trust runs governance development sessions on about 4 evenings each year and we encourage all governors to attend as many as possible; these events are a great way to network with governors from other schools, learn about new ideas and receive training in governance matters. Other time commitments will depend on whether you step up to additional roles on the LGB, which could, for example, see you visiting the school on a normal school day to perform monitoring.
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Did you know? If you’re an employee, you may have the right to ask for time off to fulfil some of your school governor activities. We can help if you want guidance on this. |
OK, I’m interested. What next?
As a first step, please contact Vicky Roberts, our Head of Governance, for an informal chat on the phone. Vicky will be able to answer your questions, give you specific details about current vacancies and describe the joining process should you want to take it further.
Contact Vicky: vroberts@vale-academy.org or 07387 019 785
Thank you, and we hope to hear from you!