Being a FoundationGovernor in aCatholic School

Contents

02

Introduction 3

What is a Foundation Governor? 4

Responsibilities and Time Commitments 6

Do I fit the Criteria? 7

The Application Process 8

F.A.Qs 9

The Next Steps 10

Introduction

03

Are you looking for a way tolive out your faith and serveyour local community at thesame time?

If so, becoming a FoundationGovernor could be just thething for you.

There are more than 2200Catholic schools in Englandand Wales, making theChurch the largest providerof secondary and secondlargest provider of primaryeducation in the country.

Foundation Governors play animportant part in maintainingand developing the Catholiccharacter of these schools.

This booklet will explain therole of a FoundationGovernor and how you can goabout applying.

What is a Foundat

04

All schools have a governingbody comprising of differenttypes of governors, for exampleparent-governors, teacher-governors etc.

In addition to these categories,governing bodies in Catholicschools also include FoundationGovernors, these FoundationGovernors will always form amajority.

The main role of a governingbody is to operate at a strategiclevel, ensuring that the Catholicvision and character of theschool is upheld, holding theHead teacher and leadershipteam to account and overseeingthe financial performance of theschool.

Governors also set the budget,manage the school’s admissionscriteria and are involved in therecruitment of senior leader-ship.

ion Governor?

05

Foundation Governors are ap-pointed by the local Bishopspecifically to preserve anddevelop the Catholic ethos ofthe school and represent theBishop’s education policy (e.g.worship and religious educa-tion) to the governing body.

This is why Foundation Gover-nors will always outnumberother governors.

There is no magic formulaabout what makes a perfectFoundation Governor, theycome from all walks of life andall ages. But it is important thateach governing body has a goodmix of skills, knowledge andexperience.

Your local diocese manages theprocess for the appointment ofFoundation Governors andprovides support to governingbodies in carrying out theirresponsibilities.

Responsibilitiesand Time Commitments

06

The average FoundationGovernor role will take upabout 10-12 hours per month.However, this can varydepending on the schoolcalendar or by events, suchas an Ofsted inspection.

This commitment includesthe minimum requirement ofattending three full governormeetings per year andserving on at least onecommittee.

The committees will focus onareas such as finance,curriculum, pupil progressand site management.

You will also be encouragedto attend free trainingsessions. These will often beprovided by your diocese.

Do I fit the Criteria?

07

Governors come in all shapes and sizes. But it is importantthat each governing body has a good mix of skills, knowledgeand experiences.

Because not all governing bodies need the same skills, to besuccessful, it is vital that individuals from all backgroundsvolunteer to be a Foundation Governor.

Any practising Catholic over the age of 18 can become aFoundation Governor. As part of the self-nomination process,you will need to give the contact details of your parish priestwho can verify this.

The ApplicationProcess

08

If you think you might make a good Foundation Governor, youshould nominate yourself for consideration. You may alreadyhave been encouraged to nominate yourself by your ParishPriest, a Head teacher, a Chair of Governors or someone elsein the Catholic community.

The application forms for nomination can be found on thevast majority of diocesan websites. Simply fill them in andpost to your respective diocese.

Your diocese will then process your application and once theyhave verified that you are a practising Catholic and that youhave passed all the necessary safeguarding checks they willallocate you to a school where there is a demand for yourparticular skill set.

F.A.Qs

09

Q: How do you define a practising Catholic?

A practising Catholic is defined as someone who keeps theprecepts of the Church, as summarised in the Compendium ofthe Catechism of the Catholic Church

Q: I am not a practising Catholic but I would like to become agovernor. What do I do?

If you are not a practising Catholic but are interested inbecoming a governor at a Catholic school, you are stronglyencouraged to contact your diocese to discuss other options.

Q: What are safeguarding checks?

As a requirement of the appointment process, all governors, re-gardless of category, will be required to consent to the carryingout of any appropriate checks, including Disclosure and BarringService checks (previously Criminal Records Bureau Checks), inrespect of eligibility/suitability to be appointed as a school gov-ernor.

Q: How long does the process take

Once you have registered your interest, your diocese should re-spond quickly. After you have submitted your application formthe collecting of references and safeguarding checks could takeup to two months depending on your diocese.

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The Next Steps

If you are interested in becoming a Foundation Governor butwould like some more information about the role generally orspecifically in relation to your local area, your diocese will beable to help.

More information can be found on your local diocese’swebsite.

Contact details for all the dioceses can be found on theCatholic Education Website.

11

Foundation Governors have a very importantrole in Catholic schools in which they supportthe Headteachers, Staff and Pupils by being aregular visitor to the school, by askingquestions of members of the school family andby being a link between the school and thewider community.

This also gives me an opportunity to thank youon behalf of the Bishops of England and Walesfor the time and commitment which Governorsgive to our Catholic schools without which theschools would not flourish in the way that theydo.

+Malcolm McMahonArchbishop of LiverpoolChairman of the Catholic Education Service

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Produced by the Catholic Education Service39 Eccleston Square, London, SW1V 1BX

www.CatholicEducation.org.uk