Dear Parent/Carer
There is a vacancy for a Parent Governor to serve on the governing body of Strood Academy. We are very keen to encourage Parents and/or Carers of registered students to nominate themselves to fill this place.
Parent Governors are elected by other parents and are vital to our governing body. They have the same responsibility as other governors for carrying out the governing body’s wide range of responsibilities. Governors do not run the Academy day-to-day, as their role is at the strategic or policy-making level. You do not have to be an expert on education to be a governor and we value the experience that all governors bring to the role.
If you join our governing body, you will serve for a four-year term and you can continue to the end of the four years even if your child/children leave the school. Please be aware, however, that being a governor does take up time. There are four governing body meetings each year and governors are expected to visit the Academy if requested. Although the role of governor is an unpaid position, it is a role which requires you to set aside time to: prepare for meetings, visit the Academy and undertake training.
Who can be a parent governor?
All those who have parental responsibility and are over the age of 18 are eligible to stand for election. This includes parents who work at the Academy, provided that they are working for less than 500 hours per year when they are elected.
There are some circumstances that disqualify an individual from serving as a governor. If you wish to stand, you will be asked to complete a self-declaration of eligibility form to state that there are no reasons for disqualification from serving as a governor and to provide evidence of identity and address if required.
How to nominate yourself
If you would like to put your name forward, your nomination must be supported by two parents of students currently at the school (not including anyone to whom you are closely related). Their signatures, names and addresses must be on the nomination form.
If the number of nominations is the same as or less than the number of vacancies, all candidates will be appointed unopposed.
If there are more nominations than vacancies, an election will take place. The statements of all candidates will be typed in a standard format and circulated to all parents and carers with the ballot voting instructions.
If you would like to take the opportunity to put yourself forward as a candidate, please complete and return the nomination form to me by Friday 3 December 2021. Please either post, hand in at Reception or email to me at sarah.west@stroodacademy.org
Yours sincerely
Mrs Sarah West
Executive Assistant
