Apply to be a DE School Governor

Application Information

You do not need to have particular knowledge, skills or experience to be a school governor.  The application process will enable you indicate preferences for school types, school sectors, geographical areas and particular schools. The information that you provide on your application will be used when considering you for a school governor position and to help place you in a school.  You should note however that it is not possible to guarantee you will be placed in a particular school.

No interviews will be held for school governor positions, you will be contacted about governor opportunities, as and when they arise.

You will not be eligible to apply for school governor if you:

• are under 18;
• are disqualified from working with children and vulnerable adults under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (NI) Order 2007 and the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012;
• have been convicted within the last 5 years of an offence with a prison sentence of 3 months or more, whether suspended or not, without the option of a fine; and
• have been adjudged bankrupt or under a composition agreement with your creditors or subject to a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order.

When applying you will need a valid email address.  Please note that email will be the main delivery method for all correspondence from the Department relating to your application and appointment, we will use the email address provided by you within your application.

Apply here

This will open a new webpage to complete an application form for the position of school governor. You must finish your application in one session. There is no time limit to complete an applicant however, a prompt will appear after 20 minutes of inactivity. If no response is received, your session will be ended by the system and any data inputted will be lost.

A hard copy version of the application form is available on request from the Department, using the contact details at the bottom of this page.

AccessNI Basic Disclosure Check

If you are selected for a DE governor position, you may be subject to a criminal record check however, applicants should note that a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining a position.

Policy of the Recruitment of Ex-offenders

When an employer uses AccessNI criminal record checks in recruitment, they must have a written policy on recruiting ex-offenders. The policy in respect of DE Public Appointments and appointments/nominations to school Boards of Governors is available here: Policy of the recruitment of ex-offenders 

Conflicts of Interest

As part of the application process, you will be asked for any potential conflicts of interest that could affect you being considered for a position in a particular school, for example having a child registered at the school, being employed at the school, or being related to a current member of staff or governor.

Conflicts of interest are not always a barrier to an appointment neither is a criminal record. However, real, perceived and potential conflicts of interest must be considered to ensure that the school community can have confidence in the independence and impartiality of the Board of Governors and your position as a Board member.

Please refer to the ‘Becoming a School Governor’ booklet here for eligibility criteria and information on potential conflicts of interest.

Monitoring Information
 

After the submission of your application form, we will ask you to provide us with some personal information about yourself. We are doing this to demonstrate our commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and to help us encourage applications from a diverse audience.

Your identity will be kept anonymous, and your answers will be treated with the strictest of confidence.

The information will be used for statistical purposes and analysed independently by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). The monitoring information you provide is not used as a part of the selection and appointment process.

Privacy Notice

The Department of Education has completed a Privacy Notice on how DE will process your personal data in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

Contact

For queries or further information about DE school governors contact: govapps@education-ni.gov.uk