What do school governors do?

Governors are well known as the country’s largest volunteer workforce but the new study shows an ignorance of their responsibilities.

A poll of almost 1,800 people asked the question: “Who do you think is primarily responsible for signing off the school budget and managing the performance of the headteacher in England’s schools?”

Only 18 per cent named governors. Eight per cent said education secretary Michael Gove, 15 per cent the local authority, and 41 per cent did not know.

However, another poll of 1,700 adults found that 27 per cent would be willing to volunteer as a school governor at their local school, regardless of whether they had children there. Adults aged 18 to 24 were more likely to want to volunteer than any other age group. There are currently around 30,000 vacant governor places in schools in England.