Volunteering opportunities

We are always in need of volunteer panel members, particularly during the busy period (March to July) following national offer days for secondary and primary schools.

Parents have a statutory right of appeal against a decision to refuse their child a place at a school they have applied for, in accordance with the DfE’s School Admission Appeals Code. The same Code also stipulates that the panel members who hear these appeals must be volunteers.

The Code requires the appeal panel to consist of persons experienced in education, but also lay persons with no experience in education.

If you’d be interested to volunteer on the panel, please see the advert here..

For more information and an application form, please contact Sarah Wilson sarah.wilson@reading.gov.uk / telephone 0118 937 2532.

To get a feel for the sense of reward achieved from being an admissions appeal panel member, you can read some of the existing members’ testimonials here.

School governors are the unsung heroes of our education system They are one of the biggest volunteer forces in the country, working in their spare time to promote school improvement and to support head teachers and teachers in their work.

Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) reflects that the quality of governors’ work is a very important. Inspection evidence tells us that there is a link between effective governance, the quality of leadership and management, and the quality of provision and pupil success.

There are a number of different categories of Governor: Parent, Staff, Local Authority, Co-Opted and Foundation, however, regardless of category all governors have three core functions with regards to the school, which are:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent.
Once appointed, Brighter Futures For Children offers governors an annual training programme which:
• Provides up to date, focused programmes of training and development for governors/trustees and governing boards to help raise standards in our schools;
• Equips governors/trustees with skills and knowledge to be effective in their role;
• Offers support, advice, guidance and information in various ways to meet governors/trustees’ needs; and
• Provides a set of products to support the continuous relevant progress of governors/trustees.

For more information on becoming a governor watch this short video about the role – All pupils, every ambition – Governors for Schools
You can apply online to join the Governing Board of one of our local schools at https://www.inspiringgovernance.org/ or at About the role – Governors for Schools.

If you have any further questions about the role of governors please email school.standards@brighterfuturesforchildren.org or sarah.shortt@brighterfuturesforchildren.org

Watch the short film below for all the essential information about this rewarding voluntary role.