Governor

Are you looking to make a difference in your community? We are looking for people with new ideas and a fresh perspective to join our committed and friendly committee.

Diverse Academies is a multi-academy trust with a vision to inspire, to raise aspirations and to create brighter tomorrows. Across primary, secondary and special settings, we share a common mission to nurture curiosity, develop wellbeing and empower children and young people to go beyond their aspirations. Together, we believe we can make a difference in our diverse communities, and in the lives of those who learn with us and work with us.

We empower. We respect. We care.

Being an Academy Committee member is a hugely rewarding form of voluntary work. Governors make a real difference to our pupils and our local community by actively contributing to the success of our academies. We would like to hear from people with a range of skills and experiences; in particular, we welcome applications from people with an interest in ensuring all children receive the best education and secure their best outcomes to be able to take the career route of their choice.

Applications are also invited from those who have previous Chairing or governance experience. You don’t need to have background knowledge of the education sector to join an Academy Committee – we want people with diverse skills, fresh perspectives and new ideas that complement the experience of our academy leadership teams.

Becoming a governor can also be good for your career. Holding a position on a committee of any kind tells prospective employers that your skills and experience are highly valued. It marks you out as a leader in your field, whether that’s in HR, marketing, finance or any other area, and by joining the academy committee of an educational organisation, you are directly contributing to the future success of thousands of children.

If you’re passionate about education, then becoming an Academy Committee member is a great opportunity to drive change in this sector – and we will provide you with support and guidance in your journey from our experienced governors.

If you’d like to know more about the role and how you can apply, please contact  samuelbarlowgovernors@samuelbarlow-ac.org.uk 

Your commitment

A rewarding and valuable role, our academy governors are mainly responsible for:

• Ensuring that every child in an academy reaches their full potential by holding the Executive Principal and Principal to account by monitoring the academy’s performance
• Ensuring that the curriculum intent and quality of education is right for the students at the academy
• Contributing to the development of strategic priorities and monitoring achievement towards targets for the academy. Governors ensure these are clear and ambitious and which will raise school improvement and are sufficiently challenging to lead to sustainable improvement

Our joint Academy Committee meets on Wednesday evenings at 4.30pm six times per year. As the Academy is a joint Committee with Wainwright Primary Academy, meetings take place at both Samuel Barlow Primary Academy and Wainwright Primary Academy, in addition to Microsoft Teams. Meetings typically last up to two hours, and governors devote additional time to prepare for meetings, attend training and academy events. You may also be asked to become a link governor to a particular area of academy life for both Academy’s.

Diverse Academies and its governors are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its students and expects everybody to share this commitment. We actively seek DBS enhanced clearance checks and any application will automatically include the active pursuit of all safeguarding procedures.

This is a volunteer role, but travel expenses will be reimbursed in line with our expenses policy.