About this role
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. 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.