The process of becoming a local academy council governor
The process starts by completing the application form and declaration of interest form. This collects basic information about you, the skills you have that will help you in the role, and gives you the chance to tell us why you are interested in being a local academy council governor. We also ask you to give us two referees. These can be employer/professional referees, or a friend. Unfortunately we can’t accept referees from anyone who already sits on the academy council, or from a family member.
Once you send us your completed forms, we will seek your references, and ask you to visit the academy you would like to support, to meet with the principal and the chair of the academy council. This gives you the opportunity to look around the school, meet some of the staff and a fellow governor who you would be working with to support the academy.
If both you and the principal/chair then decide you would be a good fit for the academy, we will carry out a DBS check. Once all that is done, we will put your application to the board of trustees for final approval.
Once you have been approved by the board of trustees, you will be sent a welcome letter with a range of documentation for you to read, and some for you to sign, along with login details for your Northern Education Trust account. The academy, the chair of the academy council and the clerk will also be notified of your appointment, and will contact you to induct you into the role.
Before the application process has concluded, if you want to attend an academy council meeting as an observer, to get an idea of what happens, you would be most welcome to do so. Let us know and we can arrange that for you.
It’s not possible to give an exact timescale for how long the process takes to become a local academy council governor, as it all depends on how quickly referees respond, how long the DBS check takes, when you are able to visit the academy, and then when the board meetings are scheduled for. We will keep you up to date with progress though, and we do try to push the process along as quickly as we can.
Click the additional links to find out more. Or if you’re ready to apply, download the application form and the declaration of interest form and return to our public enquiries email address – [email protected]