Governing Body
Being a governor in one of our diocesan Church of England schools is a rewarding way to serve the community
Being a governor in one of our diocesan Church of England schools is a rewarding way to serve the community
To be a governor you do not need to be an education expert, but you do need to be someone who cares deeply about helping children to get a great education, and enabling leaders, teachers and other members of staff to do their jobs well.
Church schools exist to serve every family who wants their child to attend, regardless of their religious affiliation. Some families worship in the Church of England, but many worship in other churches or are members of other faiths or no faith at all. Some governors are appointed by the diocese or the local church and must have a church affiliation. These are called ‘foundation’ governors. If you think this might be you, please look at the foundation governor section of this website.
Other governors are elected by parents or staff, recommended by the local authority, or co-opted by the governing body itself because of their skills. These governors do not have to be religiously active but must support the school’s historic foundation to educate children in the principles of the Church of England.
The role of a school governor is explained in the governance guide. This is for schools that are not academies. If you are interested in governance in academies you should read the academy trust governance guide instead. The information on this website page relates to governance in schools that are not academies. If you want to find out about governance in a specific academy, you should contact the trust that it is in. Details will be on the school’s website.
The governing body also has legislative responsibility and strategic oversight for the school’s safeguarding arrangements. The governance guide explains that the main functions of a school governing body are to:
The governing body does not involve itself in the day-to-day running of the school. This is entirely the responsibility of the headteacher. Governors are, however, critical in setting the stated Christian vision of the school which must be consistent with the Church of England’s National Vision for Education and Hope for a Flourishing Schools System documents. Governors must also ensure that their school’s Christian vision is right for the needs of their particular school.
Governing bodies must set the school’s vision:
Governors will usually attend about six meetings each year in school although it may be possible to attend some of these meetings virtually. Ideally, governors should be free to visit the school from time to time during the school day to monitor the impact of the Christian vision on the life of the school.
Governors must, therefore, be willing to undergo safeguarding checks from the government’s Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). They must also make themselves available for safeguarding training at least once each year.
Governors must engage with ongoing training. This may be provided by one of a number of national or regional organisations. The Diocese of Chelmsford also expects all its governors to engage with diocesan training. This can be accessed on our dedicated Resources for Governors page. If the school pays into the diocesan partnership agreement , governors may also access on-demand training by obtaining their school’s username and password from their headteacher.
The schools adviser responsible for supporting governors in Church of England schools in the Diocese of Chelmsford is Richard Hopkins. Governors and school leaders should contact him with any queries about governance at rhopkins@chelmsford.anglican.org
Resources & Documents This page provides a range of resources to support governors in church schools and academies across the Diocese of Chelmsford. The guidance and documents shared here are designed…
The key task of a Foundation Governor is to secure, develop and maintain the religious character of the school, namely its Christian distinctiveness
