DE School Governor Opportunities
The Department of Education is recruiting School Governors. We welcome applications for school governor positions from all sections of the community regardless of background, religious belief, gender, disability, ethnic origin, political opinion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or whether or not you have dependants.
DE governors sit on the Boards of Governors of most schools ie. Controlled nursery, grammar and special schools, controlled integrated, grant maintained integrated, voluntary grammar, Catholic and other maintained schools. Should you be interested in serving as a Departmental governor on the Board of Governors of any particular school, please make this clear on your application form.
Applications to the above school types are always open.
You can watch and listen to serving governors and hear about their experiences in the videos below.
Application to be a DE governor –
This will open a new webpage and is used to complete an application for the position of school governor.
Application Information
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.
Lists of all schools in Northern Ireland are available below for information purposes
- Controlled schools
- Controlled Integrated schools
- Roman Catholic Maintained schools
- Irish Medium schools
- Other Maintained schools
- Voluntary grammar schools
- Grant Maintained Integrated schools
Information
You can get further information on School Governor Appointments from:
Email: govapps@education-ni.gov.uk
Telephone: 028 9127 9927 or 0289127 9882
Term of office
School Boards of Governors are usually reconstituted every four years, when members complete their term of office and may be replaced.
The Department has produced a booklet to explain the process and how you might be part of it:
An overview of the roles and responsibilities of a school Board of Governors can be read in Chapter 3 of the governors' guide, 'Every School a Good School - the Governors' Role':
Education Authority Representatives
The Education Authority also appoints school governors. This link will take you directly to the EA website.
Election of parent and teacher governors
This circular details the arrangements for the election of parent and teacher representatives.
- Circular 2017/20 - Election of parent and teacher members of Boards of Governors
- Circular 2021/09 - Addendum to Circular 2017/20 - Election of Parent and Teacher Members of Boards of Governors
Equality and Human Rights Policy Screening
The Department of Education completed an Equality and human rights policy screening for reconstitution of school Boards of Governors
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 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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 below