Schools and learning

What do governors do?

Governors work as a team. They are responsible for making sure the school provides a good quality education. Raising educational standards in school is now a key priority. This has the best chance of happening when there are high expectations of what pupils can achieve.

Governors also promote effective ways of teaching and learning when setting the school aims and policies. They do this together with the head, who is responsible for day-to-day management of the school. Heads are chosen by governors - and most heads choose to be governors themselves.

Governors are at the heart of how a school operates. It’s important they get things right. How they do their job affects the interests of pupils, staff morale and how the school is seen by parents and others in the community.

Governors support and challenge heads by gathering views, asking questions and deciding what’s best for the school. They are not there to rubber stamp decisions. They have to be prepared to give and take and be loyal to decisions taken by the governing body as a whole. So long as they act within the law governors are protected from any financial liability for the decisions they take.

Governors can also have responsibility for working alongside staff on how numeracy or literacy can be improved. One governor also oversees measures designed to make sure children with special needs are being properly catered for.

“Our job is to work as a team to raise standards for the children. We have an excellent relationship with the head which means we can really move things forward”.
John Hall, parent governor