Make a Difference – Become a School Governor

Are you passionate about education and community? Join one of our local governing bodies and help shape the future of children in North Somerset.

At ELAN (Extend Learning Academies Network), we’re always looking for talented, committed individuals to become school governors. This is your chance to give back, grow professionally, and make a lasting impact.

Why Become a Governor?

We understand you're busy—but the benefits of becoming a governor are significant:

• Make a real difference
  Influence the education and outcomes of children and young people in your community.

• Grow your professional network
  Connect with other professionals and build relationships that can lead to new opportunities.

• Boost your CV
  Gain valuable board-level experience and demonstrate leadership, strategic thinking, and governance skills.

• Develop new skills
  Learn about education, policy, finance, and more—skills that are transferable across sectors.

Who Are We Looking For?

We welcome people from all backgrounds. Whether your expertise is in education, finance, law, HR, education, IT, marketing, business management, or the creative industries, your skills can make a difference.

Most importantly, we’re looking for individuals with enthusiasm, curiosity, and a desire to support schools in delivering the best possible education.

What’s Involved?

• Meetings: Local governing bodies typically meet six times a year, for around 1.5 to 2 hours per meeting. 
• Additional involvement: You may be invited to support school life in other ways—such as joining panels, attending performances, or helping out at special events.
• Flexibility: Every school is different, and we’ll help you find the right fit based on your interests and availability.

Ready to Get Started?

If you're interested in becoming a governor—whether you're responding to a specific vacancy or just exploring the idea—please get in touch.

Contact Sarah in our central team at
office@extendlearning.org
Include a brief introduction and tell us why you'd like to get involved.

Make a Difference – Become a Governor at one of our schools. 

We’re often on the lookout for talented experts to join our local governing bodies in schools. This is your opportunity to give back to the community and shape the lives of children locally as part of their extraordinary education experience with us.

As a hard-working professional, we know you’re really busy. But there are great benefits to becoming a governor. 

These include:

• having a positive impact on the local community. By having a say in the education of children and young people, you have the potential, with your guidance and expertise to affect the outcomes of our children and have a positive impact on education in the area. 
• connecting with other professionals and building a network that could build and enhance business partnerships.
• adding to your CV. Being a school governor is great professional development for you. It is something to talk about at job interviews and may give you your first taste of board level experience. 
• build on your personal skill-set. You could learn new transferable skills and be part of a diverse range of conversations and business decisions. 

Who are we looking for...?

...Someone who has drive and enthusiasm. We need a variety of skills to successfully run schools; creative, financial, education, I.T, business management, marketing, law, HR - anything goes, but mostly, you will have the enthusiasm and ability to support and offer ideas.

What is required?

Most LGB's (local governing body) meet six times a year. each meeting is 1.5 to 2 hours long. Attendance in person is preferred although we can make it work virtually on occasion. 

Outside of these meetings, you may be asked to help out from time to time on more 'hands on' areas of school life. There could be exceptional meetings for exceptional circumstances such as a staff or pupil panel where you could offer an independent view, or being part of an Ofsted inspection. You may want to help out serving Christmas lunch to hundreds of excited children or be invited to a school performance. Each school is different and we can help you find the right one.

What next?

Unless you are applying for an advertised opportunity, please get in touch with Sarah in our central team to express your interest in becoming a governor by emailing office@extendlearning.org with a little bit about yourself and why you'd like to be a school governor.