Recruiting & retaining governors

Find out what questions you can ask when interviewing a prospective governor or trustee, so you can make sure you have the right people on your board.

Ask new governors for references so you’re confident they’re suitable for the role. Use our model letter and reference form to contact referees and save you time.

Use our model application form to help you recruit governors and trustees, and save yourself time.

Follow these tips to create an advert and encourage parents/carers to stand for election to your governing board.

Encourage staff members to stand for election to your governing board by raising your board's profile at school. Follow our tips to put together a strong advert at election time, ease common concerns and know what to do if you aren't getting applications.

Work through this step-by-step process to recruit new governors. It covers identifying your needs, advertising the role, screening candidates and making the appointment. Use our template letter to approach organisations to find candidates.

Work through these step-by-step processes to recruit new trustees and local governors. Get help with identifying your needs, advertising the role, screening candidates and making the appointment.

As a chair of governors/trustees, download and adapt our template letter so you can welcome your new governor to your board with confidence.

PRUs and special schools face unique challenges in recruiting parent governors. Get tips on how to raise awareness of governance in your school and encourage parents/carers to apply.

Diversity in governance matters because all children need and deserve representation in their schools. If your board is struggling to diversify, we've put together some resources to help you.