Parent Governor Election Documents

To read the letter from the Chairman of Governors to all College parents outlining the Parent Governor Election process and inviting nominations, please click here. 

To download the Parent Governor Nomination Form, please click here.

To download the Parent Governor Eligibility Self Declaration Form, please click here.

From the Chairman of Governors

The current parent governors have completed their four-year terms of office. We therefore need to hold elections to replace them. There are 2 vacancies for parent governors on the governing body.  

We are very keen to encourage parents (or people with parental responsibility) of registered pupils to nominate themselves to fill these places.  Details of what you will need to do to be nominated are listed below. 

Parent governors are elected by other parents and are vital to our governing body.  They share equally with other governors the responsibility for carrying out the governing body's wide range of responsibilities.  Governors do not run the school day to day, as their role is at the strategic or policy-making level in the school.  You do not have to be an expert on education to be a school governor, and we value the experience that all governors bring to the role.  In reviewing the skills and experience of the governing body as a whole, as required by the DfE, we would welcome nominations from those with legal, financial or HR backgrounds. However, this should not deter those with other backgrounds from seeking election.

If you join our governing body, you will serve for a four-year term and you can continue to the end of the four years even if your child/children leave the school.  Being a governor does take up time.  There are usually6 governing body meetings each year normally at 6pm on a Monday evening. Meetings usually last for 2 to 3 hours. Governors are also asked to serve on at least one committee, which will meet once or twice a term. You will need to set aside time to be able to be an effective governor: time to prepare for meetings, for visiting the school, undertaking training and updating.  

To find out more about what being a governor at this school is like, you can contact me by email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and I will be very willing to answer any questions.  If you do not have access to email please contact the Clerk to the Governors and alternative arrangements can be made.

If you would like to take the opportunity to put yourself forward as a candidate, you may only do so on an official form, a copy of which can be downloaded here.  Please complete the form and return it to Mr Ric Thompson, Clerk to the Governors (at the College address) by 4 pm on 25 September 2017. If it is necessary for there to be an election, I will contact you to let you know about the arrangements.  

Monica Mason
Chairman of Governors
 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Governors' role?

The role of the governing body should have strong focus on three core strategic functions.

•  Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
•  Holding the Principal 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.

The governors carry out these roles through various committees and visits to the school. This enables them to understand the wealth of data on the school’s education and financial performance, ask appropriate questions, build good relationships with staff and contribute to self-evaluation processes.

Who can be a parent governor?

All those who have parental responsibility, and are over the age of 18, with a child currently registered in years Reception – Year 13 at this school are eligible to stand for election. Parents who work at the school can stand for election provided that they work for less than 500 hours per year.  

There are some circumstances that disqualify an individual from serving as a school governor.  If you wish to stand, you will be asked to complete a self-declaration of eligibility form to state that there are no reasons for being disqualified from serving as a governor and provide evidence of identity and address if required. 

It is important that appropriate checks are made on anybody who will be working in a school to prevent unsuitable people from gaining access to children.  Accordingly, new governors must agree to provide proof of identity and undergo a check in line with current advice issued by the Department for Education.

How to nominate yourself

If you would like to put your name forward, your nomination must be supported by two parents of pupils currently at the school (not including anyone to whom you are closely related).  Their signatures, names and addresses must be on the nomination form.

You should use the space provided on the form to write a brief personal statement (100 words maximum) to support your nomination. 

If the number of nominations is the same as or less than the number of vacancies, all candidates will be elected unopposed.  If there are more nominations than vacancies, an election will take place.  The statements of all candidates will be typed in a standard format and circulated to all parents with ballot papers.