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Currently school governing bodies are required to have elected parent governors. School governing bodies are also expected to act as Boards. Effective Governing Boards have a significant impact on school improvement and all Board members, including parent governors, need a sound understanding of their role and responsibilities. 

Parent governors are elected by other parents at the school. Any parent, or carer, of a registered pupil at the school at the time of election is eligible to stand for election as a parent governor. Parent governors may continue to hold office until the end of their term of office even if their child leaves the school.

Schools must make every reasonable effort to fill parent governor vacancies through elections. Consequently it means that this role is a significant and important addition to a Board and a role which can be both rewarding and challenging for those that are appointed.

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This course will provide parent governors the opportunity to consider their role and its responsibilities. We know that being a parent governor is both challenging and rewarding, the course will enable parent governors to share and discuss their concerns and agree ways in which they might deal with some of the issues they may face. It will also be a valuable opportunity to meet and network with parent governors from other schools and exchange experiences. 

The session will consist of a presentation on the role of a parent governor and a number of activities that provide participants with opportunities to discuss and then reflect on some of the challenges they may face and some of the worries that they have about undertaking their role successfully.

The course will cover:

• The relationship with parents and how to support and report back

• The relationship with staff and the head teacher

• How to deal with sensitive issues

• Conflicts of interest; confidentiality; and the difficult subject of perceived 'no go' areas including 'are there any areas that are off limits for parent governors?’ 

This course will help governors to separate their role as a parent and as a parent governor.

This session is ideal for any new parent governors or experienced governors who would like to refresh their knowledge. It will not explore the role of the Governing Body in depth therefore it is advised that all parent governors attend the ‘Getting to Grips with Governance’ course before booking to attend this session.

This training will be delivered by Angela Langford - Head of Governor Support, Achieving for Children (AfC), covering schools across London Borough's of Richmond and Kingston.

As a courtesy to your trainer and fellow delegates if you could please note the following that will be much appreciated:

• Please do not share the online training link with others. Participants must register on www.ealingcpd.org.uk for courses. Attendees who have not registered in advance, may not be admitted by the trainer.


• By joining this session you understand that your name, school and e mail will be shared with the trainer so they can allow you access to the online session


• Please make sure you can access the platform prior to the session i.e. Zoom


• Please join the session 5 minutes before the starting time. When you join the session, you will be placed in a waiting room until the trainer opens the meeting. The session will commence promptly.


• If you are more than 5 minutes late to the session, it is at the trainers discretion whether they will admit you


• We understand at times participants may lose connection. Whilst the trainer will be mindful of this it may not be possible for you to re-join the meeting once it has started or there may be a delay.

We look forward to seeing you at this session.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session parent governors will have:

• Explored and will be able to explain the role of a school governing body and the role of individual governors, including parent governors

• Secured an appreciation of the difference between school governance and school management and be able to describe these differences

• Identified some effective approaches that could be applied to some circumstances and potential challenges faced by parent governors.

For all governors. Especially useful for parent governors themselves and those responsible for recruiting/ appointing/ inducting new governors