Yes, there are 8 different categories of governor and governing bodies are made up of between 9 and 20 governors from some or most of these categories. When a governing body underwent the reconstitution process under the provisions of the 2003 Act, the governors had to decide how many governors they needed to operate effectively. The different categories of governor are:

• Parent Governors
who have a child in school at the time of their election and are elected by the parents with children at the school. If there are insufficient nominations from parents to fill the vacancies, the governing body has to appoint parents;
• Staff Governors
who are members of staff at the school and are elected by their colleagues. This category includes the headteacher (who serves in an ex officio capacity), teaching and non-teaching staff. Unlike parent governors, when a member of staff leaves the school he/she must also leave the governing body;
• Community Governors
who are co-opted on to the governing body by the other members because they come from a specialist group such as the business community or because they possess a particular skill which can contribute to the governing body. Community governors are only found in community and controlled schools;
• Foundation Governors
who are appointed by the school's founding body which in most cases is the Church. This category of governor is only found in aided and controlled schools;
• Authority Governors
who are nominated by the local councillor;
• Sponsor Governors
who are appointed by the governors (if the governing body decided to include this category in their constitution) and are people who give substantial assistance to the school, financially or in kind, or who provide services to the school;
• Partnership Governors
are members of the community served by the school appointed by the governing body. They are only found on foundation schools without a church link;
• Associate Members
are not actually governors but can be appointed to serve on committees and attend meetings of the full governing body. They do not have the right to vote at meetings of the full governing body.

Headteachers can choose whether or not to be a governor at their school.

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