Trustee Governor - Volunteer

The Wells Free School, Tunbridge Wells

• Ref:KCC886-2025-141S
• Posted:09/12/2025
• Pay:N/A
• Start Date:27/04/2026
• App Close Date:27/02/2026 at 12:00
• Interviews:w/c 2/03/26

Advert

The Wells Free School is seeking a volunteer Co-opted Trustee Governor. 

Our Trustee Governors provide a wealth of vision, ethos and strategic direction to our school as a whole. As a trustee governor, you will be a volunteer who makes a vital contribution to the success of our school. 

School governors provide three main aims: 

• Helping to set out long-term plans for the school, decide where improvements need to be made and how to make them 

• Look at the quality of education being offered and ensure the headteacher is doing everything possible to improve results 

• Examine budgets and spending proposals to monitor whether the school is getting value for money and ensure the money is spent in the right areas. 

No qualifications are required to become a volunteer governor, however, the most important qualities for a governor are a commitment to the welfare and achievement of the children, a desire to make a positive contribution to the school, common sense and a willingness to commit to the role. Many of the functions of the governing body are statutory or have a legal framework. To carry out the core strategic roles, governors need to be able to think strategically, challenge, monitor but also support. 

Our Trustee Governors sit on a committee and may become a link governor. Committees meet three times a year and there are full governing body meetings four times per academic year. These are held on Monday evenings. As a school governor, you will become part of our school community and bring with you your strengths and knowledge which will become crucial to the running of the school. Full training is available to all our governors either in person or online, which enables our governors to develop their knowledge of the school and what is expected of them. Trustee Governors are expected to complete a term of office for a minimum of four years. 

We welcome people from a diverse range of backgrounds, skills and experience to join our team. You must be 18 or over to apply and all governors will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. If you would like to find out more about our school, please visit our school website. 

The experiences of a governorship look great on any CV and can create career opportunities in the future. 

If you believe this could be something you could commit too, please take a look at our Governor video The role of school governors and trustees or if you would like more information please take a look at Welcome to School Governance. If you have further questions or you would like to visit the school, please do not hesitate to contact our School Business Manager (Daphne Steptoe, sbm@thewellsfreeschool.co.uk). 

Information about the school

The Wells Free School is committed to safeguarding children and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) along with other relevant employment checks including social media checks.

The Wells Free School opened in September 2013 with just years R, 1 and 2. We have expanded each year and in September 2016, we moved into our brand-new school building. We now have 211 pupils divided into 7 classes.

With a strong focus on child-led learning and a commitment to outdoor learning experiences, the school aims to promote excellence and wellbeing, ensuring that our pupils have a real understanding of their community, both locally and globally. After our recent OFSTED inspection in February 2025 we remain a strong good school. We became a Nurture UK accredited school in September 2024.

Please note, that as a Free School we operate different school hours and some term times, details of which can be found on the school website.

Job Contact Information

• Name:Clerk
• Address:The Wells Free School, King Charles Square, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 8FA
• Telephone: 01892739075
• Email: clerk@thewellsfreeschool.co.uk

Documents

Below are documents that have been added to this vacancy.

• Privacy Notice for Applicants