The University of Manchester and SGOSS - Governors for Schools

Working in partnership

SGOSS – Governors for Schools is a national charity, funded by the Department for Education, encouraging professionals to volunteer as school governors.

Our mission is to ensure every school in England has access to skilled, enthusiastic and committed school governor volunteers.

School governance is the most important voluntary rolein education.

“School governors are the largest group of volunteers in UK education,yet many schools struggle to findgovernors with appropriate skills.”Julian Skyrme, Director of Social Responsibility,The University of Manchester

Universities have an enormously positive effect on thesocial and economic wellbeing of their local communities.

SGOSS can work with your university to enhance this effect, by encouraging your staff to use their skills and experience to drive school improvement across your region.

With governor vacancies across the country right now, finding volunteers to support the development of local schools is crucially important. Not only do local schools benefit hugely, the role is a free professional development opportunity for staff. For these reasons, school governance is a fantastic addition to any university community engagement or social responsibility programme.

A little bit aboutgovernance.School governors work with the school’s senior

leadership team to oversee long-term development.

There are around 300,000 governors volunteering in

schools across England.

Ensure accountability.Asking the difficult questions and guaranteeing the schoolis responsible for its actions.

A champion of success.Using your skills and experience to support the school in achieving its aims and recognising good performance.

ProvidingStrategicManagement

MakingExecutiveDecisions

Monitor and evaluateprogress. Analysing decisions, are they producing the desired results?

Establish a strategicframework. Helping set the school’s aims and objectives.

Allocate and control the school budget. Ensuring the school’s resources are allocated to maximise impact on the education of all pupils.

Appoint senior staff.Including the responsibility of appointing a new Deputy Head or Head Teacher.

Support&Challenge

Two years ago, The Universityof Manchester teamed up withSGOSS in a bid to support localcommunities and schools.

“Having governors from the University is hugely

beneficial, because we are always looking for a blend of

experiences and talent. Getting University governors

has really helped massively and I would recommend

it to every school and every university.”

Ian Fenn, Head Teacher, Burnage Media Arts College.

To find out more about The University of Manchester School Governor Initiative visit:

http://youtu.be/iMA8LXLrrsE

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First Steps : Establish a baseline of existing volunteersGive credit to staff already volunteering and offer them support.

Following Up : Officially launch a campaign

Get the University’s Senior Leader on board. A few words from them will give the campaigna real sense of authority.

Give it a permanent home on your staff intranet, providing staff with easy round-the-clock access to information and a named contact.

Final Touches : Ensure governor volunteering continues long-term

Hold regular governor recruitment events.

Consider the HR policy needed to enable staff to attend governor meetings.

Promote the role through the other university networks such as your alumni.

The Impactof The University of Manchester’s School Governor Initiative

At the 2013 Green Gown Awards, The University of Manchester’s School GovernorInitiative won the National Social Responsibility and International SocialResponsibility categories.

The judges praised the University for having“dynamically recognised its role in thecommunity, sending a signal to the sectorabout the powerful contribution a university can make.”

In two years, The University of Manchester has grown their governor network from to 241 volunteers. They have calculated the economic value generated from their School Governor Initiative as in the last year alone.

£765,600

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“I find my role as a school governor extremely rewarding. There is a real sense of commonpurpose, and I have to say that the strides the school is making in terms of pupil achievement year-on-year make our job doubly satisfying. I feel privileged to be ableto make this contribution both to the school and the University, as well as to the communityat large.”

- Felicia Chan, University of Manchester employee

The school serves an area of deprivation close to The University of Manchester and the governing body are keen to encourage community links,including between the University and the local area. We sought SGOSS' help and we were delighted with the suggestion of Felicia as a community governor. Felicia has brought fresh and different insight to the school governing body, and has been a fine example through her dedication andencouraging manner.

- Ian Gomersall, Chair of Governors, St Chrysostoms C.E. Primary School

The impact made by governors leadsto better schools, stronger communitiesand positive educational outcomes for

children. Encourage your staff to accessthis outstanding development opportunity

and build a community engagementprogramme that will improve the

prospects of thousands of children.

Please contact Andy Matfield for more information about how your university

can get involved.

andy.matfield@sgoss.org.uk

020 7288 9538

Supporting Organisations

Unit 11, Shepperton House83 - 93 Shepperton Road

London, N1 3DF

WWW.SGOSS.ORG.UKE: info@sgoss.org.uk

T: 020 7354 9805

SGOSS

facebook.com/schoolgovnet@schoolgovnet

SGOSS Governors for Schools