New Partnership Announced With Governors For Schools

As part of this year’s Volunteers Week in the UK, Irwin Mitchell is putting its focus on skills-based volunteering through the launch of a new partnership with Governors for Schools and celebrating those colleagues who continue to support and champion local communities and good causes.

Volunteers Week runs from 3-9 June and provides an opportunity to celebrate the nation’s volunteers and thank them for their contribution to communities and good causes.

Volunteering forms a core part of Irwin Mitchell’s approach to responsible business, with all colleagues given 14 hours per year to volunteer to help good causes, with encouragement to use the allowance and their skills to support local communities and our national charity partners.

Over the last 24 months, we’ve seen the number of colleagues recording volunteering time rise from 16.8% in 2021/2022 to 25.9% in 2022/2023, with the trend set to continue. To mark Volunteers Week a new partnership has been announced with Governors for Schools a national education charity which will work with Irwin Mitchell volunteers to place and support them as school governance volunteers on the boards of state-funded schools across England and Wales.

Kate Fergusson is Director of Responsible Business & Sustainability at Irwin Mitchell.

Expert Opinion

“This Volunteers Week, we’re delighted to announce our partnership with Governors for Schools. School governors play an integral role helping senior leaders develop a strategy for the school and overseeing progress towards its realisation.

“As a school governor myself, the role is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to your local community whilst developing your professional skills, as well as drawing on your existing experiences and skills and utilising them within the school environment. At Irwin Mitchell, we’ve a long tradition of supporting our communities via fundraising, volunteering and providing pro bono legal advice and this new partnership aims to increase our skills-based volunteering and enable our colleagues to use their knowledge and skills for maximum impact.” Kate Fergusson - Head of Responsible Business

Hannah Stolton, Chief Executive Officer at Governors for Schools, said:

"We are delighted to be launching our partnership with Irwin Mitchell, and are looking forward to connecting their skilled, passionate colleagues with school governance opportunities within their local communities. One of our key aspirations for the school governance sector is for all employers to recognise the value of their employees taking on these roles - and we are delighted that Irwin Mitchell are championing and supporting their colleagues to do just that."