Stockport Governor Association

The community governor

Community governors are appointed by the governing body to
 represent community interests. Community governors can be people who
live or work
in the community served by
the school, or people who do
not work
or live close to
the school but are committed to
 the good governance and success of the school. The appointment of community governors
strengthens links between the school and the community it serves and enables the governing body to
 add specific areas of expertise to
 its membership. The definition of
community governor is wide and people from a business or professional background can be appointed as community governors.

Sally King, Chair of Governors and a community governor at Romiley Primary School, writes:

Some 9 years ago I stood for election as a parent governor at the primary school which my 3 children attended, and served for 2 terms in this capacity. As a governing body we faced some significant challenges and also
achieved a great deal for our school community. I was well cared for by my fellow governors. They were always willing to
share their experience and took
time to explain the vast amount of information we needed to
process. They were always willing to 
listen to
my views and meetings were often fun too! It was with some sadness that, as my youngest child started in year 5. the end of my term of office approached.

I personally felt that parents of younger children needed to
be given the opportunity to
serve as parent governors and decided that I would not stand again. I was therefore delighted when the governing body asked me to 
fill a vacancy for a community governor and shortly afterwards became Chair of Governors. This meant that I was able to 
provide continuity, to
continue to share my experience and welcome new governors as I had been welcomed myself. Having lived in this community for 18 years, I am able to
 build on the links and the relationships I have made both in school and the wider community. Community governors are able to provide a link
and a bridge to other parts of the community not directly involved in school life.

This means that children see connections being built around them, staff feel valued and supported by the community and governing bodies are able to have access to skills, wisdom and help. Whilst the responsibilities for governors are many and ever increasing I have always felt it a real privilege to be part of the team. It is not always easy and there are often difficult decisions to
be made. Our governing body works well as a team. We are fortunate to have people of widely differing skills and experience all working with a common purpose for the good of our school. In Stockport we are very well supported as governors. We can have access to a wide range of training throughout the year. I know that guidance and support are always only a phone call or an e‐mail away. As Chair I am extremely grateful to
 our support officer. She invariably knows the answer to
my questions or certainly knows someone who does! The world of education is changing daily it seems and, whilst this can feel uncertain, I am grateful for the chance to play my part as we seek 
to ensure the best possible education for all the children in our care