Clerk to Governing Body

Good clerking is a major contributing factor to effective governance and school improvement.

A good clerk can really help a governing body to be effective by providing administrative support and by giving legal and good practice advice.

Governors carry a lot of responsibility and have a major role to play in the running of the school. All governors are unpaid volunteers, giving their time freely for the good of the school. It is, therefore, most important that the business of the Governing Body is conducted properly and efficiently and this is where your role as a Clerk to the Governing Body is vital.

As Clerk you will need to:

• Work effectively with the Chair of Governors, the other governors and the Head to support the Governing Body you are accountable to.
• Advise the Governing Body on procedural and constitutional matters, powers and duties as well as:
• Minute the decisions made at Governing Body meetings
• Receive correspondence and bringing it to the attention of governors
• Issue correspondence on behalf of governors
• Circulate notice of meetings and other information to governors
• Prepare and send out papers before and after Governing Body meetings and committee meetings, in consultation with the Chair
• Attend training and participate in West Berkshire performance management scheme (see related pages, A-Z of policies and procedures for schools)

The DfE has made the new Governors' Handbook available on its website. Click here to view/download the handbook or on the link to the right. The handbook replaces the Governors' Guide to the Law.