How to mentor a new governor: tips and questions to ask

25 June 2025

By Fee Stagg - Governance Professional | 4 minute read

You probably remember feeling a little daunted before your first board meeting. Even if you came with lots of board experience, you might still have found the education jargon confusing. That’s where mentoring can help.

Mentoring allows new governors or trustees to settle into their role and start contributing more quickly. It’s also a positive for the rest of the board, as it can foster a collaborative environment.

If you are an experienced governor you may be asked to mentor a new governor during their first few months. But what does this mean in practice? I’ll start with the skills I believe you need for effective mentoring:

Active listening - allowing the governor to ask any questions they need and create a space where they feel able to
Empathy - remembering how you felt as a new governor or trustee and how much there can be to learn initially
Patience - there is a lot of documentation and guidance to navigate when you're new. Regular signposting is important, especially when volunteers lead busy lives outside of their governing role
Communication - you’ll not only need to be responsive but also set time aside for 1:1 support that takes place outside of meetings
Encouragement - with your support, a governor can shape their questions and thinking through the lens of your experience, helping them to be more insightful

Start by exploring a new governor or trustee's motivations

One of the first things I do when mentoring a new governor is explore why they chose to get involved and their confidence or experience level. I would recommend asking a few questions to find out more:

What made you want to become a governor?

This helps you to understand their motivation to get involved and specific areas of interest. You can also link this to the school or trust’s values.

What do you feel least confident about in this role?

All governors will have an area where they feel more confident and similarly areas where they lack confidence. Try to work out what their knowledge or experience gaps are, and – with the help of your governance professional – signpost them to training and support.

What would success look like for you as a governor?

Asking a question like this can help them to set personal goals and clarify their purpose.

How to follow up after their first meeting

I always have a follow up conversation and ask, “How did you find the meeting?”. It’s worth going over the agenda items and the decisions made and clarify anything the mentee didn’t fully understand. It’s also a good opportunity to reinforce the point that the role is strategic.

You also want to reflect on their participation and confidence – was there a moment they found particularly interesting? Particularly confusing? Here you can offer to help by, for instance, talking through the school improvement plan together or recommending some follow-up reading or training.

If they still lack confidence after a few meetings

Ask some ‘gentle’ follow up questions to help explore what they’re thinking and feeling.

Can you tell me more about what has felt unclear or overwhelming so far?
Are there any areas where you'd like more background before you speak up in meetings?
Is there anything you’ve seen in papers or meetings that didn’t quite make sense yet?
Have you had a chance to look at the governor training options? Is there anything you'd be keen to explore first?
Are there certain documents or acronyms you’d like help with?
Is there a part of the role you’re most unsure about – like visiting the school, reviewing policies, or understanding budgets?
Have you had a chance to read through the induction pack and key documents?

Help them shape their answers around things like:

understanding their role and responsibilities
feeling confident in asking challenging questions
understanding the difference between operational and strategic activity
understanding the boundaries between being a parent or staff member and being a governor.

Remember

Even confident people sometimes feel unsure and don’t speak in meetings – explain that it is good to listen to understand.
Focus on encouraging a new governor to get as involved in governance as possible but be wary that they don’t get overwhelmed or sign up to everything at once.
When sharing links and information, don’t send too much at once
Don’t presume that they don’t understand what is going on at meetings
Encourage feedback too – it is good to see things through a fresh perspective.

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Comments

Rob Osborn 30 Jun 2025, 06:21 (10 days ago)

This was a really useful article and clarified my thinking on how to support a new Governor. At the moment we are creating an induction pack for new Governors and this article also helped with thinking about its contents. Thankyou

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Debbie 26 Jun 2025, 10:14 (14 days ago)

Useful for pointing out what I was not given at all. The chair of the board I joined introduced me incorrectly, suggested I was 'found' for the board by the vicar ( I had initiated my volunteering offer myself when a vacancy was generally announced. I suspect if I was white I would not be described as being found by someone else who is white). I was offered nothing by the chair, I asked myself how to get to the first meeting and was then coopted onto the finance committee without being asked or told - I suddenly received an email with the date and papers for the finance comm meeting. Luckily I have strong experience in charity governance and chairing a board of trustees (why I volunteered anyway, tho no one knows as no one can be bothered to ask). I have found my way round relevant training and documents and am highly intelligent so can access relevant material and learn very quickly. The school head is pretty disengaged and impolite. I am looking forward to the end of my term, which I may bring forward out of sheer boredom, and seek another school or a more serious governance role in another sector.

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