Become a governor

Use your unique skills and experience to make a strategic contribution to the success of our schools.

Students enjoying the sun at Ark Putney Academy in south west London

Establishing strong, diverse governance teams

Governors play a crucial role in ensuring that every pupil at our schools has the opportunity to succeed. By volunteering their time and expertise, governors provide strategic input and support that has a significant impact in the lives of our school community.

At Ark, we aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best to work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across Ark because we know that doing so will make us strong and more effective.

Our governor recruitment process follows the principles set out in Ark’s diversity and inclusion statement . Our LGBs should be diverse and representative of the community that the school serves. Together, the governors should possess a range of experience, skills and connections that will support the school to achieve its priorities.

Interested in becoming a governor?

Roles and responsibilities

Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) provide strategic input into individual school plans and priorities, embed the school’s ethos and values, and monitor alignment of school processes and reporting with overall strategy and policies. They are responsible for localised challenge and support, but do not have legal liability. LGBs also contribute to local stakeholder engagement with staff, parents and the community.

There are four avenues for involvement:

Ark-appointed Governor – a member of the community or an interested person who is deeply committed to supporting the school’s success
Parent Governor – a parent, guardian or carer of a child at the school (advertised to the parent body when a position becomes vacant)
Staff Governor – a serving member of the school staff team (advertised to the staff body when a position becomes vacant)
Ark Link Governor – a person working within the wider Ark network

For comprehensive information about the governing body at your local school, please see the Governance page on the school’s website.

Apply now

Appointment and induction

All governors are appointed by the Head of Schools Governance in conjunction with the LGB Chair. They are provided with a structured induction and will receive ongoing support from the Ark Schools Governance Team.

Ark governors are appointed to a three-year term of office and commit to attending at least four two-hour LGB meetings each year, as well as training and development sessions. They are also expected to make contributions outside of meetings such as attending events and serving on panels.

All Ark governors are required to adhere to the Ark Governors’ Code of Conduct, undergo an enhanced disclosure DBS check, and to make an annual Declaration of Interest.

Become a school governor

If you are committed to improving education and would like to make a difference in your community, we invite you to register your interest in becoming a school governor.