Can you help shape the future of our Federation? We need parents of children registered at a school in our Federation to make a difference in  our school community by volunteering to become parent governor.  We currently have vacancies for two parent governors on the LEAP Federation governing board. Your voice as a parent is very important and it is vital that the governing board has good representation of our parents among its membership.

Information about the role

Once elected or appointed for a term of four years, a parent governor takes on the role of a Federation governor, a public volunteer. All governors are equal, no category of governor is any more important or influential than any other and parents are elected to be an equal part of the board.  They are not elected to present parents’ views or to act as parent representatives any more than any other governor.

We are seeking parents who have a real willingness to help, who can listen carefully, read important documents, ask questions, attend training and be able to actively contribute at meetings, which are around 9 per year. All governors represent all four schools in the Federation and will be expected to gain an understanding and feeling for all the schools and how they function. If you can spare approximately ten hours or more a month then please consider nominating yourself for this interesting voluntary role. The governing body is particularly seeking applicants with the following skills - fund raising, finance, law, personnel, health and buildings or architectural experience. We are also keen to appoint governors from under-represented communities.

What can you offer as a parent governor?

• Enthusiasm, time and commitment.
• You will have a feel for what is important to people.
• Any professional or other skills you may have will be very helpful.
• An openness to learning and change, and wanting to make a difference.
• Governors also provide objectivity in debate and decision-making and can add further and different perspectives to Federation matters.

What are the benefits?

• Being a school governor is a privilege – you are a small but very important part in an educational system with a very long history.
• The knowledge that you have played a part in improving local children's education and supporting the Federation's staff.
• A chance to develop new skills, to practice and strengthen existing ones, such as chairing a meeting, researching or leading on a key Federation issue.
• The opportunity to work as part of a team to make a real difference in the community.
• The opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life whom you probably would not have otherwise encountered.
• Knowing that the decisions you collectively make will have a huge impact on children’s lives.
• You develop as a person and may even find that your experiences as a governor influence future career and life choices.

If you are interested in volunteering, here’s what you should do …

1. Please check that you are eligible to stand as a parent governor.  The definition of “parent” includes:

• all natural parents, whether they are married or not
• any person who, although not a natural parent, has parental responsibility for a child or young person
• “Parent” is defined as including “any individual who has or has had parental responsibility for, or cares or has cared for, a child or young person under the age of 18”. It includes a person who the child lives with and who looks after the child, irrespective of what their relationship is with the child. The reference in the definition must be to someone involved in the full-time care of the child on a settled basis.

        There are some criteria which can disqualify you from serving as any type of governor.  This list is given in the                     nomination form.  If you are applying, then you must confirm that you are not disqualified by those criteria.

2. Please nominate yourself by completing the downloadable nomination form at the bottom of this page. If you wish to have a paper copy of the form to complete, please ask for one at your school's office.

3. Please ensure that your completed nomination form is returned to one of the schools by 5pm on Friday October 3^rd 2025 . You can hand in your completed nomination form to your school's office or email it to Governors@leapfederation.org 
4. Nominations will be published as part of the LEAP newsletter and then parents from all 4 schools will be invited to vote based on your self nomination.  Parents from each school are requested to consider each governor on merit and not dependent on which school their child attends. Voting will be electronic and all votes are confidential.  The two candidates with the most votes overall will be elected to the governing board.