No. For elected governor roles the board cannot simply vote to renew a governor’s term of office. All eligible parents or staff must be offered a chance to stand for election.
The board cannot decide to “convert” an elected role into an appointed one just because they have found a governor they like. However, parent governor or trustee roles can be filled by appointment, but only if not enough volunteers stand for election.
Elected Staff Governors and Trustees
In maintained schools the staff governor is never appointed by the board. They are either elected by staff in a ballot or elected unopposed if there is only one candidate. At the end of their term of office all staff must be given the opportunity to stand for election.
Academies may have staff trustees or local governors who are either elected or appointed. If your articles of association/terms of reference state that a staff vacancy is an elected role then all staff must be given the chance to volunteer when the current governor reaches the end of their term.
Elected Versus Appointed Parent Governors in Maintained Schools
If you have a parent governor who is nearing the end of their term of office the law for maintained schools says you must tell every parent of a current pupil about the vacancy. You must also tell them that they have the right to stand as a candidate in the election and vote.
“Where a vacancy for a parent governor arises, the appropriate authority must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that every person who is known to them to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school…is—
(a) informed of the vacancy and that it is required to be filled by election;
(b) informed that the person is entitled to stand as a candidate and vote in the election; and
(c) given the opportunity to do so.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
The phrase “where a vacancy for a parent governor arises” may cause confusion, because if you have a current parent governor who is happy to carry on in the role it may seem like there isn’t a “vacancy” as such.
However, parent governors have fixed terms of office like all governors who are not ex officio. Whenever a parent governor reaches the end of their term of office they must be re-elected or reappointed under the same rules that applied to their role when they first joined the board. The default term of office is four years (but may be less if your board has changed it).
If a governing body could simply vote to extend an elected parent governor’s term of office for another four years, then four again (and then four again) it’s possible that other parents at your school wouldn’t be offered the chance to stand for election for decades!
Can current parent governors stand in the election?
Yes, but only if they still have children at your school on the election date. The law for maintained schools says a parent governor is elected by parents of registered pupils and must be “such a parent at the time of the election”.
“In these Regulations “parent governor” means—
(a) a person who—
(i) is elected in accordance with paragraphs 4 to 8 of Schedule 1 as a governor by parents of registered pupils at the school, and
(ii) is such a parent at the time of election.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
So if the governor’s child or children have left the school they are not eligible to be elected as a parent parent governor.
However, as a parent of a former pupil they will always be eligible to be appointed as a parent governor. The next section explains when the board can appoint parents.
You also need to check that the current parent governor does not work for the school for more than 500 hours a year and is not an elected member of the local authority, because both of these things disqualify someone from being elected or appointed as a maintained school parent governor.
What happens if not enough parents stand for election?
This is where boards can appoint a parent governor – in other words, hold a vote at a full governing body meeting. The law says that if the number of election candidates is less than the number of vacancies, parents can be appointed in the following order of preference:
“(a) a parent of a registered pupil at the school,
(b) a parent of a former registered pupil at the school, or
(c) a parent of a child under or of compulsory school age.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
So if you have two volunteers, one with children who used to attend your school and the other with children at a different school, the first parent must be given preference. (Note that parents of children who are over school age are not eligible for appointment, but parents with children under school age are.)
Remember that even if the board appoints a parent governor they have still not “converted” that role into an appointed role. When the appointed parent governor reaches the end of their term of office they cannot simply be reappointed; all parents must be given the chance to stand for election. It is only if enough volunteers cannot be found via the election that the board can consider reappointing the parent governor.
A final point is that boards must consider the skills of any volunteer before appointing them.
“The governing body may only appoint as a parent governor a person who has, in the opinion of the governing body, the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
the school.”
What happens if more parents stand for election than vacancies?
A ballot must be held and parents are given one vote per parent, per vacancy. Your current parent governor may be re-elected, but if they lose the election they are replaced by the winning parent. (If the number of candidates is the same as the number of vacancies they are all elected unopposed with no ballot needed.)
If your current parent governor loses the election it is possible to appoint them to another vacancy as a different type of governor. For example, all members of the community are eligible to be co-opted governors. If you do this you will need to consider the balance of parents on the board, as it may not be wise to have too many governors from one stakeholder group.
You may also need to consider the fact that other parents may object, because of course they have just voted this person out of office!
Elected Versus Appointed Parent Governors in Academies
The current model articles for academies say that academies can appoint parent trustees or local governors only if the number of election candidates is less than the number of vacancies.
The quote below shows the wording for MATs but the rule is the same for single academy trusts too.
“Parent trustees and parent local governors shall be elected or, if the number of parents standing for election is less than the number of vacancies, appointed.”
Model Articles for Academies (June 2021)
In MAT model articles parents can only stand for election as a trustee if they have a child at one of the MAT academies on the date of election. To be an elected parent local governor they must have a child at an academy overseen by the local governing body on the date of the election.
In a multi-academy trust (MAT) if not enough candidates stand for election trustees can appoint as a trustee (in order of preference) either the parent of a child at one of the academies, or the parent of a child within the age of range of at least one of the MAT academies. (When appointing parent local governors they should appoint the parent of a child within the age range of one of the academies overseen by the local governing body.)
“In appointing a parent trustee or parent local governor the trustees shall appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at an academy [within the trust]…
“or [if] it is not reasonably practical to appoint a parent…then the trustees may appoint a person who is the parent of a child within the age range of at least one of the academies
“or, in the case of an appointment to a local governing body, the age range of at least one of the academies overseen by that local governing body.”
Model Articles for Academies (June 2021)
In a single academy trust (SAT) the board can appoint the parent of a registered pupil or, if they can’t find one, any parent who has children who are of compulsory school age.
“In appointing a parent trustee the board of trustees shall appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at the academy; or where it is not reasonably practical to do so, a person who is the parent of a child of compulsory school age.”
Model Articles for Academies (June 2021)
(Rules are a little different for 16-19 so check your own articles for the details.)