Becoming a Frome College Governor

Would you like to help make a positive contribution to children’s education?


Being a school governor is a challenging but hugely rewarding role. It will give you the chance to make a real difference to young people, give something back to your local community and use and develop your skills in a board-level environment. You will also be joining the largest volunteer force in the country: there are over a quarter of a million volunteers governing state funded schools in England.
 
There is no requirement for you to have an understanding of the education system, just the necessary skills, character and time to contribute. There is plenty of training available to help you learn about education. At Frome College we  benefit from a wide  range of professional knowledge on our governing board including education, finance, human resources, legal, marketing and public relations, IT, employment, estates management and organisational change.
 
This is a particularly exciting time for the College as we see growth in Frome and the surrounding area, the debate about Academy Trusts continuing and a growing focus on the need to support pupils in so many ways as they emerge into an increasingly challenging and complex world.
 
As a governor you will be able to:

  • Use your own experience of education and life beyond school to inform conversations
  • Develop and utilise your skills in a board-level environment
  • Make a valuable contribution to education and your community
  • Support and challenge the school so that it improves for pupils and staff
  • Bring your unique experiences, perspectives and insights into decision-making in the interests of the College community

 

What do governors do?

The governing board provides strategic leadership and accountability in schools. It has three key functions:

  • Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
  • Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
  • Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

 
Governors set the aims and objectives for the college and set the policies and targets for achieving those aims and objectives. They monitor and evaluate the
progress the school is making and act as a source of challenge and support to the headteacher. In
action, this means:
 

  • Engaging with pupils, staff, parents and the college community
  • Addressing a range of education issues within the college including disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special needs, staff workload and teacher recruitment
  • Looking at data and evidence to ask questions and have challenging conversations about progress
  • Sitting on panels and making decisions about things like student exclusions
  • Appointing and performance reviewing the head teacher and senior leaders, including making decisions about pay
  • Managing budgets and deciding how money is spent

 
As a Full Governors Board we meet four times per year at 6pm on a Wednesday evening. Although meetings are currently online, we hope to return to meeting at the College again soon. We also have an annual all-day strategy day for the Governors and senior leadership team and offer other opportunities for Governors to be involved with the life of the College. There are currently three subcommittees on which Governors also serve, and these also meet four times a year in the evening. We also ask Governors to take on special responsibilities for important topics, and to link more closely with the College, for example Safeguarding, Health & Safety
 
We are able to offer training and familiarisation to help you undertake these roles and support the College. We currently have vacancies for both parent governors and co-opted governors. A parent governor must have a child in education at the College, whereas a co-opted Governor can come from any background. We are specifically looking for potential Governors who have experience in finance, human resources, data analysis , and/ or education.

If you are interested in a no-commitment discussion about becoming a governor at the College, please contact kjones@fromecollege.org in the first instance.

 

Becoming a Parent Governor

Letter re Election of Parent Governors - Sept 2023

Appendix 1 Parent Governor Nomination Form

Appendix 2 Parent Governor Qualifications and Disqualifications