New governors
We recommend that within the first six months of being a
governor you attend the governors Induction training course run by
Tower Hamlets governor services. This is free of charge to
governors. Details of the current training courses can be found on
the training page.
A great deal of professional advice and support is available to
you as a new governor, from the head teacher, chair of governors,
the clerk of your governing body, Tower Hamlets governor services,
and from other governors. If you are a governor of a church school
support may also be available from your Diocesan board.
Getting to know the school
The best way to start getting to know your school and the
governing body is to meet the head teacher and the chair as
governors as soon as possible. They will be pleased to talk to you
about how the governing body works and the current priorities and
to discuss with the chair the committees the governing body has and
which ones you would be interested to join.
Get hold of as much of this information as you can:
- School prospectus (available from the school)
- The
School Profile
- Look at the school's own website - most schools now have
one
- The last OFSTED Inspection Report available
on the internet
- List of members of the governing body (available from the clerk
or the chair of governors)
- List of the governing body committees, their membership and
terms of reference (available from the clerk or the chair of
governors)
- The minutes of the last two governing body meetings (available
from the Clerk or the Chair of Governors)
- A calendar of the dates of governing body meetings, school's
term dates and major school events (available from the clerk or the
chair of governors)
- A list of the school staff and their responsibilities
(available from the head teacher)
The clerk will send you a copy of ‘A Guide to the Law for School
Governors’, issued by the Department for Children, Families and
Schools as a CD-ROM. You can also download it from GovernorNet, the official
government website for school governors.
Visits to the school
It is a good idea to have an annual programme so that each
governor can visit the school at least once in the year, but
governors must always make an appointment when they want to go into
school (other than for governors meetings).
All visits to the school must be agreed in advance with the head
teacher and must be made in accordance with the governing body's
policy and protocols.
Individual governors do not have an automatic right to enter the
school whenever they wish.
For further information contact:
Governor services
Mulberry Place
5 Clove Crescent
London, E14 2BG
Tel: 020 7364 5000
Email: governors@towerhamlets.gov.uk