Job Description
Independent Governor
Application Deadline: 18 September 2026
Department: Education
Employment Type: Volunteer
Location: Doncaster School
Reporting To: Chair of Governors
Compensation: expenses covered
In September 2026 we open a new Esland school in Doncaster. Empty classrooms now. Young people in them within weeks.
Most of them will arrive having been let down by mainstream education. Classes of five, curriculum freedom and a trauma-informed team are how we turn that around. A founding governing body that asks hard questions from day one is how we make sure it holds.
We are looking for one independent governor to join that founding board. It is a voluntary role, and you will never have more influence over a school than you do in its first year.
Your role
You will be one of the first governors this school ever has, and the only one we are appointing through this process. There is no inherited data, no established routine and no previous board to defer to. You help set the standard, then hold the school to it.
The first year in the role looks like:
- Agreeing the school development plan, the safeguarding arrangements and the measures we will judge ourselves by, before there is any history to fall back on
- Meeting more often in the first two terms while the school establishes, then settling to four to six governing body meetings a year
- One school visit a term at minimum, walking the site, meeting staff and talking to pupils
- Testing the quality of education as it takes shape: curriculum design, adaptive teaching, attendance, behaviour and where pupils go next
- Scrutinising how well the school meets the needs of pupils with SEN, from EHCP delivery to what actually happens in a classroom on a Tuesday afternoon
- Preparing the school for its first Ofsted inspection, which will come sooner than anyone would like
- Supporting a new headteacher and challenging a new headteacher, often in the same meeting
Expect the first year to be busier than a settled school. We will be straight with you about that. From year two it is roughly a day a term, plus reading time.
You will not need to know the sector inside out on day one. You will need to be willing to ask why.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- A genuine interest in children who have had a hard start, and the patience to stick with it
- The confidence to challenge in a room full of professionals, and the warmth to do it well
- Real strength in at least one of three areas: quality of education, SEN, or safeguarding
- That might come from being a headteacher, curriculum or quality lead, SENCO or SEN adviser, designated safeguarding lead, social worker, local authority officer or inspector
- The appetite for a start-up. Nothing will be tidy for the first two terms
- Time to read the papers properly before the meeting
- A willingness to complete safer recruitment checks, including an enhanced DBS check
If you have never been a governor before, apply anyway. We will train you.
Benefits
- The rare chance to help build a school from nothing, for young people who have very few people in their corner
- A founding board seat, where the questions you ask now shape how this school runs for years
- A proper induction, governance training and access to safeguarding and Ofsted-readiness briefings
- A direct line to the headteacher and to Esland's senior leaders
- Reasonable expenses paid in full, including mileage, travel and any care costs that let you attend
To be straight with you: this is an unpaid, voluntary appointment. There is no salary or honorarium. We cover your expenses, and we do not waste your time.
Esland is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The appointment is subject to an enhanced DBS check with children's barred list check, a Section 128 direction check, a prohibition from management check, identity and right to work verification, and two references. Every check is verified and signed off by a person, not a system.
