Governor Vacancies

How to Enquire about Becoming a Governor at Foreland Fields School

If any member of the public would like to become a School Governor, please approach us!

Foreland Fields School has various categories of Governor and each category has a different procedure for becoming a Governor. We appreciate at first this may appear daunting, so please do ask us to explain! Parents/Carers and the staff elect Governors. However, this does not necessarily preclude staff or parents from coming forward as a potential Governor when there are no formal parent or staff elections going on.

Once appointed or elected, all Governors must operate in the best interest of pupils, not as representatives to a lobby or on behalf of their constituency, such as staff or parents. The task is to govern the school. This means focusing on the core functions of providing strategic leadership, holding the Headteacher to account and making sure the school’s money is well spent. This is a demanding task for which all Governors need to have, or develop, relevant and appropriate skills.

Meaningful and effective engagement with parents, staff and the wider community is vital. As a Governing Body we focus on skills, and one of our Governors has a specific task of collating all of the different skills we have and those skills that we are lacking in! So when we have, for example, either a Staff or Parent Governor Vacancy, we will state the skills that we require when sending out the election notification letter.

We also seek to build relationships with business and other organisations. A good example of this is our relationship with East Kent MENCAP.

While all current and prospective Governors should commit to continuing professional development to develop their skills as governors, filling a vacancy on the Governing Body provides a specific opportunity to fill any skills gaps.

The Following are the steps and processes you would go through if you wanted to join us as a Co-Opted (Community) Governor.

Clearly the procedure is slightly different if you are being nominated as a Parent Governor in a Parent Governor election, but many of the procedures would still apply!

Discover Foreland Fields School through its Website.

There is lots of informative about being a Governor, what life is like at the school and much more!

Make Contact with the Chair of Governors

stevepamphilon@foreland.kent.sch.uk or phone 01843 863891

The Chair of Governors will:

Explain the role of a Governor
Explain the commitment that is required
Discuss the skills that are required

Alternatively, get in touch with the Governance Professional to the Governing Body who will pass on your details to the Chair of Governors kaymerry@foreland.kent.sch.uk

Visit and Tour the School.

Have an informal interview or chat so we can exchange information as interviews are always a TWO WAY process. It also allows us to share in more details what skills we require.

Invite the Prospective Governor to attend a formal Governor Meeting as an observer. This gives you the opportunity to meet other governors and get a real understanding of what we do! Prior to the meeting we would ask the prospective governor to sign our “Code of Conduct”.

The Governance Professional to the Governing Body is notified of your intention of becoming a Governor and then a few formalities need to be undertaken, namely:

Two references to be sought

DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check

This is required for all School Governors. This is a standard procedure that is required under our Safeguarding Protocols and in essence is a means of us ensuring that School Governors do not have any criminal or other history that we should be aware of.