There is no specific requirement in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) that means governors must use school email addresses instead of their personal email accounts. (UK GDPR is just the new name for GDPR after Brexit.)
However, it is usually good practice for governors to use a school email address. One exception to this is when using a service like GovernorHub, which I discuss below.
Here is the advice from Warwickshire local authority, who strongly recommend giving school email accounts to all governors and clerks.
“GDPR does not specifically require governors to use a school email account when communicating on governing board matters.
“However, the GDPR does mean governors/clerks should be doing everything in their power to prevent a breach of personal data. This means the use of secure school email accounts by all governors/clerks is strongly advised.”
The demands of GDPR apply to both maintained schools and academies, so this advice also applies to academy trustees and local governors. The law firm Browne Jacobson agree that it is sensible for governors to use school emails because they discuss sensitive topics that could include personal data.
“That would be good practice, yes. From a data protection viewpoint, it is only the security of personal information that would be of interest to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), but given the sensitive nature of governor email conversations and minutes, it is sensible for all email traffic to come from school email addresses.”
Firstly, if all governors use a school email address the school can control which email provider is used (eg: gmail, outlook etc) to ensure they choose a reputable, secure service.
Keeping personal and school emails separate also helps governors keep their address books and contacts separate, reducing the chances of accidentally emailing confidential information to someone from outside the school. It also ensures that governors do not use email accounts they may share with family members.
“As a governor, the personal data you send over email must be kept secure. Using a secure school email address will help you to meet the GDPR requirement to prevent a data breach and respond to subject access requests quickly.“
If a subject access request (SAR) or freedom of information request is received school email accounts can be searched easily, without asking governors to trawl though their private account.
“Responding to a SAR will involve carrying out extensive searches for the requester’s personal data and in many cases this will involve searching emails.
“If you know that staff and governors use email addresses which do not belong to the school for school work reasons, and you have good reason to believe that the requester’s personal data might be held on a non-school email account, then you are obliged to consider the contents of these email accounts when responding to the SAR.”
Using school accounts also ensures the governing body has access to the emails if the governor resigns, is removed from the board or is unwell. SARs must be responded to within one calendar month.
Many schools set up permanent email addresses like chair@school.com that can be passed on to the new chair of governors. This avoids data being inadvertently sent to chairs or clerks who have left the school and saves time because the new chair does not have to register anew for services like The Key, the National Governance Association or the school intranet.
Do we need school email addresses if we use GovernorHub?
Probably not, no. GovernorHub is a paid service that lets governing bodies store all their agendas, minutes and documents online, as well as providing a noticeboard to allow governors to communicate.
GovernorHub say that because their system eliminates the need for governors to send email attachments and all data is stored securely in their encypted database, it doesn’t matter whether governors use personal email addresses or not.
“There is no mandate which says governors must have school email addresses – although many schools do provide one for governors.
“As GovernorHub is a secure system, governors and schools can use any email address to login. All of your documents are kept securely in the encrypted GovernorHub database and the email notifications only contain links to the documents, which will only work for authorised users on the board.
“Therefore as long as you refrain from putting personal data in the body text of the noticeboard posts, then it doesn’t matter what email addresses the governors and headteacher are using, because they are not receiving emails which contain personal data.
“If a board is using GovernorHub then the GDPR benefits of using school-specific email addresses are minimal. GovernorHub security remains strong no matter where the email notifications end up.”
In fact, if all governing body documents are stored inside GovernorHub then the governor’s email address is only being used as a username to login to the website.
They are not storing any documents inside their own email account or on the servers of their email provider and they are not sending documents in attachments. The only emails they receive contain links to their password-protected storage on GovernorHub.
Governors and clerks should still use a strong password to login to GovernorHub of course, but whether they use a personal or school email address to log in really makes no difference.
Does GDPR still apply after Brexit?
Yes. The original regulations came from EU law. However, the UK implemented GDPR through the Data Protection Act 2018 and this Act is still in force. Our version of GDPR is now known as “UK GDPR”.
Both maintained schools and academies must follow the UK GDPR because they are public authorities that process personal data.
“The EU GDPR is an EU Regulation and it no longer applies to the UK. The provisions of the EU GDPR have been incorporated directly into UK law as the UK GDPR.
“In practice, there is little change to the core data protection principles, rights and obligations.“
You can see the amended text of UK GDPR in a document called the GDPR Keeling Schedule. A Keeling Schedule is an unofficial record of the amendments made to a law. Unfortunately there is no official copy of UK GDPR to be found yet on legislation.gov.uk.
A Quick Guide to UK GDPR
The purpose of UK GDPR is to protect personal data. This means any information which could directly or indirectly identify a living person, including information that could identify you online.
What Is Personal Data?
Personal data could include:
your name
an ID number, eg: a national insurance or NHS number
your address or location
genetic data (eg: a fingerprint)
ways to identify you online such as an IP address or cookies
data from a special category which is more sensitive, eg: medical records, data on ethnic background, sexual orientation or religion.
The regulations cover all personal data collected by schools, so that includes data on staff, volunteers, pupils, parents and governors.
Seven Key Principles Of GDPR
Personal data must be processed in a way that is lawful, fair and transparent.
The purposes of processing must be specified, explicit and legitimate.
Data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive.
Data must be accurate and kept up to date.
Data must be kept for no longer than is necessary.
Data must be processed in a secure manner.
Accountability. (Data controllers and processors are responsible for the data they hold.)
Six Lawful Reasons To Process Data
A person has given consent for the processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes.
Processing is necessary under a contract involving that person.
Processing is necessary to comply with the law.
Processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of that person or someone else.
Processing is necessary in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority.
Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party.
People have the right to request a copy of the personal data schools hold on them. This right applies in both maintained schools and academies due to the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
Requests for personal data are called subject access requests because under UK GDPR each person is called a data subject. They may also be known as DSARs, for data subject access request. (UK GDPR is the new name for GDPR after Brexit.)
Subject access, freedom of information or school file request?
Subject access requests are often confused with other rights to request information from schools.
A subject access request lets you see personal data.
A request for a child’s school file (in maintained schools only) lets parents see educational records.
Below is a summary of the difference between subject access requests (SARs), freedom of information (FOI) requests and requests to see a child’s school file.
SAR
FOI
School File (Maintained Schools Only)
What info can be requested?
Personal data
General info held by public authorities
A pupil’s educational records
Usual response time?
One calendar month
20 school days
15 school days
Can deadline be extended?
Only for complex requests or multiple requests from one person.
Only to consider the public interest test.
No
Can we charge a fee?
Only if request is “manifestly unfounded or excessive” or is asking for an extra copy.
Yes, to cover costs like printing or postage. (Can charge more if it will cost the school over £450 to produce.)
No, if parent just wants to see the record. Yes, if they want a copy.
Must the request be in writing?
No
Yes
Yes
Who can submit a subject access request?
Anyone whose personal data is held by the school. This could be pupils, parents, school employees, volunteers, governors or anyone who used to be in one of these categories. Usually SARs should be sent to the school’s data protection officer.
What data can be requested?
Any personal data that relates to a living, identifiable person can be requested. The DfE advise that personal data in schools includes (but is not limited to) the following:
contact information about pupils, students, learners, staff and carers
health information
details about recipients of pupil premium
employee references
safeguarding information about an individual
passport information, if planning trips to the EU
pupil exam references and results.
When someone submits an SAR they may specify exactly what kind of data they want, eg: please supply a copy of any health records you hold on me.
If they submit a much broader request, perhaps one that asks for any and all personal data the school holds, staff must make reasonable efforts to search through all the school records. This includes:
emails (including emails moved to a trash folder, as well as any archived emails)
Word documents
spreadsheets
databases
record systems
CCTV
USB sticks or CDs
paper records in filing systems.
Can personal data from governing body meetings be requested?
Yes. Any personal data in confidential governing body documents like minutes and papers from meetings is covered by UK GDPR. (Any minutes and papers the governing body have not marked as confidential are public documents anyway and must be given to anyone who asks for them.)
However, in most circumstances there should be little or no personal data in governor paperwork because of the strategic role of governors. They rarely talk about individual children and personal data such as salaries of staff should be anonymised so specific employees cannot be identified.
How long does a school have to respond to a subject access request?
The school must respond to a subject access request within one calendar month, but your response may be either to send the actual data or to tell someone you need more time, depending on the nature of the request.
For straightforward requests you must provide the requested data with one month.
For complex or multiple requests where you need to extend the deadline you must tell the requester you are extending the deadline by two further months, giving you three months in total to send the data.
“The controller shall provide information on action taken on a request under Articles 15 to 22 to the data subject without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request.
“That period may be extended by two further months where necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of the requests.
“The controller shall inform the data subject of any such extension within one month of receipt of the request, together with the reasons for the delay.”
If the school holds a large amount of data you can ask the requester to specify exactly what they wish to receive. The clock stops until the clarification is received. Here is the advice from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
“If you process a large amount of information about an individual, you may ask them to specify the information or processing activities their request relates to before responding to the request.
“The time limit for responding to the request is paused until you receive clarification. This is referred to as ‘stopping the clock’.”
The DfE advise that asking for clarification is good practice because parents may well be looking for specific information that can be retrieved quickly if the school knows exactly where to look.
“Have a conversation to see if the requestor is willing to clarify the scope of the data requested. A parent may only be interested in one small part of the data record and would far rather get a quick response focussed on that scope rather than await a full SAR response.”
The clock also stops if you cannot work out whether someone intends to make a subject access request or not.
“If you receive a request where it is genuinely unclear whether an individual is making a SAR, then the time limit does not begin until you have clarified whether the individual is making a SAR, and what personal data they are requesting.
“In such cases, you are expected to contact the individual as quickly as possible (eg: by phone or email where this is appropriate).”
The one calendar month time limit starts from the day you receive the request, unless you are either a) charging a fee or b) asking for a clarification of the request, in which case the time limit starts from the day the fee or clarification is received.
If the next month is shorter than the current month the time limit runs to the last day of the next month. So if a request is received on 31 March the deadline is 30 April.
If the deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday you can add one extra day to the time period, eg: a request received on 2 April is due on 2 May (Mayday bank holiday) but should be answered by 3 May.
To avoid having to worry about months of differing length and bank holidays you could set a deadline of 28 days for all requests rather than one calendar month.
“You should calculate the time limit from the day you receive the request, fee or other requested information (whether it is a working day or not) until the corresponding calendar date in the next month.
“If this is not possible because the following month is shorter (and there is no corresponding calendar date), the date for response is the last day of the following month.
“If the corresponding date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, you have until the next working day to respond.”
What if we receive a subject access request in school holidays?
Deadlines for subject access requests do not distinguish between school days and school holidays or INSET days. If the school receives a request on 20 July it has until 20 August to respond.
“There are no special rules which allow you to extend the time period for dealing with a SAR you receive it during school holidays. Regardless of whether a school is closed, if you receive a SAR then you have the normal time period to comply.”
However, in their Data Protection Toolkit For Schools the DfE advise that although schools must follow the deadlines, they can tell parents that they may find this more difficult in the holidays.
“Include your willingness to help data subjects access their data in your privacy notice. Explain to parents that most of the year you aim to do this in a timely manner, but during school holidays this may become more difficult.”
Can we ask for subject access requests to be submitted on a specific form?
Yes, you can ask, but not insist. The ICO recommend providing a form because it helps to collect the necessary information and avoid asking for clarification.
I’ve produced a template school subject access request form which you can download below.
Can we reject a request that is not submitted via our form?
No. SARs submitted through other means are equally valid, so you cannot insist that your own form is used.
“It is good practice to provide a SAR form on the organisation’s website, although you must make it clear that completion of a SAR form is not compulsory.
“A form can act as a guide for requesters and staff and help to ensure that all relevant information is captured at the outset. This helps to minimise the need to ask for further clarification, ID or proof of consent from the requester further into the process.”
Note that SARs can be submitted via social media or email and even verbal requests must be responded to.
“However, you should note that a SAR is equally valid whether an individual submits it to you by letter, email or verbally. You must therefore make it clear that it is not compulsory to use the form and simply invite individuals to do so.”
If a verbal request is received the school can ask for a form to be completed to help them understand and respond to the request, but if the form is not filled in they must still respond.
Should we ask for ID?
You can ask for ID but whether you should depends on who is making the request.
If you are sure of their identify, for example they are a previous employee or a parent who regularly picks up their child and is known to the staff, you should not ask for ID.
If their identity is not obvious or there is a risk that they could be confused with someone else you should ask for ID.
“To avoid personal data about one individual being sent to another, either accidentally or as a result of deception, you need to be satisfied that you know the identity of the requester (or the person the request is made on behalf of) and the data you hold relates to the individual in question.
“The key point is that you must be reasonable and proportionate about what you ask for. You should not request more information if the requester’s identity is obvious to you. This is particularly the case when you have an ongoing relationship with the individual.”
UK GDPR states that when a request has come in electronically the data should be sent electronically “where possible”, unless the person has asked for a different format of reply. For non-electronic requests the school can decide how to send data.
Can we refuse to release data?
Yes. You can refuse the request in one of three situations:
an exemption applies
the request is manifestly unfounded
the request is manifestly excessive.
“Can we refuse to comply with a request? Yes.
“If an exemption applies, you can refuse to comply with a SAR (wholly or partly). Not all exemptions apply in the same way and you should look at each exemption carefully to see how it applies to a particular request.
“You can also refuse to comply with a SAR if it is manifestly unfounded or manifestly excessive.”
The exemptions that are most likely to apply in schools involve requests where disclosing the data might:
cause serious harm to the pupil (either their physical or mental health) or another person
reveal that a child is at risk of abuse, where that revelation would not be in the best interests of the child
reveal information in adoption papers or parental order records
involve court proceedings
include data on another person (a “third party”), although in this case the extra data could be redacted or removed before disclosure.
Detailed guidance on applying exemptions is available on the ICO website.
What does manifestly unfounded mean?
Broadly speaking manifestly unfounded means someone is obviously mis-using their right of access and does not genuinely wish to access their data. For example, if a parent clashed with the headteacher and then submitted weekly SARs solely to make the head’s life harder.
It could also be manifestly unfounded if someone submitted a request and then offered to withdraw it in return for a favour, or used the system for malicious purposes to harass the school or an employee.
“A request may be manifestly unfounded if:
– the individual clearly has no intention to exercise their right of access. For example an individual makes a request, but then offers to withdraw it in return for some form of benefit from the organisation; or
– the request is malicious in intent and is being used to harass an organisation with no real purpose other than to cause disruption. For example, the individual:
– explicitly states, in the request itself or in other communications, that they intend to cause disruption;
– makes unsubstantiated accusations against you or specific employees which are clearly prompted by malice;
– targets a particular employee against whom they have some personal grudge;
– or systematically sends different requests to you as part of a campaign, eg once a week, with the intention of causing disruption.”
A request would be manifestly excessive if it is obviously unreasonable, in light of the time or cost it would take to supply the data. This doesn’t just mean someone has requested a lot of information, but it might mean that you have limited staff resources and it is not reasonable to spend so much time finding the info.
What do we include in the refusal letter?
If you do decide to refuse the request you must:
tell the requester within one month
include your reasoning
let them know they can complain to the ICO
let them know they can seek a “judicial remedy” (take the school to court).
“If the controller does not take action on the request of the data subject, the controller shall inform the data subject without delay and at the latest within one month of receipt of the request of the reasons for not taking action and on the possibility of lodging a complaint with the Commissioner and seeking a judicial remedy.”
No, in the majority of cases. Schools are only allowed to charge a “reasonable” fee for admin costs if the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive or someone has already received one copy of their data and now wants an extra copy. The fee could cover photocopying costs and staff time.
“In most cases, you cannot charge a fee to comply with a SAR. However, you can charge a ‘reasonable fee’ for the administrative costs of complying with a request if it is manifestly unfounded or excessive or an individual requests further copies of their data following a request.”
The right to submit an SAR belongs to the individual data subject, so the right to see a child’s data belong to the child, not the parent. However, if the child is not able to act on their own behalf or gives their consent the parent can submit a request.
“Unlike the parent’s right of access to their child’s educational record, it is the pupil’s right to make a SAR. Parents can only submit a SAR for information about their child if the child is not competent to act on their own behalf or has given their consent.”
As a rule of thumb, the ICO advises that children under 12 are probably not mature enough to submit a subject access request themselves, whereas children of 12 or over probably are. They say for children under 12 it is “usually appropriate” to accept subject access requests from their parents.
“In Scotland, a person aged 12 years or over is presumed to be of sufficient age and maturity to be able to exercise their right of access, unless the contrary is shown. This does not apply in England, Wales or Northern Ireland but would be a reasonable starting point.
“If you are satisfied that the child is not competent and the request is from a person with parental responsibility for the child, then it is usually appropriate to let the holder of parental responsibility exercise the child’s rights on their behalf.”
Yes. The school must “protect the rights and freedoms” of other people when responding to an SAR, so they must not release the personal data of others.
Redacting may include blanking out information with a blacker marker pen or removing it using software. A full record of the redactions should be kept in case you are asked to review the decision.
If records contain data on third parties the school must redact the extra data. For example, if emails talking about a child also name and discuss two other children, the parent must only see the information on their own child. Schools should not usually redact teacher’s names, however.
“If an educational record contains personal data relating to someone other than the requester (such as a family member), you must consider the rules about third-party data before disclosing it to the requester.
“However, you should not normally withhold information that identifies a teacher.”
The ICO recommend the National Archives Redaction Toolkit (.pdf) which explains how to remove information from paper and electronic records. The appendices of this toolkit provide practical suggestions such as how to deal with Microsoft Office files that contain metadata and tracked changes (it is safer to send plain text files) and how to edit pdf files.
Can someone complain if they are unhappy with our response?
Yes. Article 15 of UK GDPR gives people “the right to lodge a complaint” with the ICO (although the ICO asks people to complain directly to the school first).
The ICO will not punish a school or give compensation, but they may advise the school on how to proceed. People also have the right to go to court.
Good Practice Tips For Dealing With SARs In Schools
In 2020 the ICO reviewed how eight schools handled SARs. Their report (.pdf) gives advice on good practice to follow and poor practice to avoid.
Good practice for schools includes:
having one specific person such as the data protection officer (DPO) deal with SARs
logging SARs in a central document which records the due date of each request, a brief explanation of any information withheld and the reasoning for an exemption or exception
using an information asset register or data map to list all types of data held and its location
sending a template acknowledgement letter when an SAR is received, explaining the deadline for the data to be sent
documenting the process for redactions.
Poor practice includes:
over a third of schools did not action SARs in the summer holidays, incorrectly delaying them until the new term
half of schools only recognised written requests
half of schools did not have a documented process for verifying ID
some schools did not explain how to make an SAR on their website
some schools did not tell people they had the right to complain to the ICO under Article 15(1)(f) of UK GDPR.
What if a parent asks to see their child’s school file?
This right is not connected to subject access requests. Notice that the Pupil Information Regulations give parents the right to see the school file, whereas for subject access requests the right belongs to the child.
According to the ICO the educational record would cover “information such as the records of the pupil’s academic achievements as well as correspondence from teachers, local education authority employees and educational psychologists engaged by the school’s governing body”.
Parents must make a written request to see their child’s school file. They must then be shown the file free of charge. However, they ask for a copy of the file the school can charge a fee that covers the cost of supplying it.
“(2) Subject to paragraph (4), the governing body shall make a pupil’s educational record available for inspection by the parent, free of charge, within fifteen school days of receipt of the parent’s written request for access to that record.
“(3) Subject to paragraph (4), the governing body shall provide a copy of a pupil’s educational record to the parent, on payment of such fee (not exceeding the cost of supply), if any, as the governing body may prescribe, within fifteen school days of receipt of the parent’s written request for a copy of that record.
“(4) When complying with a request under paragraph (2) or paragraph (3), a governing body shall not make available for inspection or provide a copy of any information—
(a) which they could not lawfully disclose to the pupil himself under the GDPR; or
(b)in relation to which the pupil himself would have no right of access under the GDPR.”
This page explains the rights and responsibilities of associate members and how they are different from governors.
A maintained school can appoint associate members to sit on committees. Associate members are not governors but they do have the right to attend full governing body meetings.
“‘Associate member’ means a person who is appointed by the governing body as a member of any committee established by them but who is not a governor.”
Associate members can bring specific skills to the governing body or be appointed to tackle a particular problem or project.
“Associate members should be appointed because of the specific expertise and experience they can contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.
“This can help to address specific gaps identified in the skills of governing body members, and/or help the governing body respond to particular challenges that they may be facing.”
Advice on this page applies to associate members in maintained schools.
You may have heard the term “associate governor”, but in a maintained school this role does not exist. They are either a governor or an associate member, they are not an associate governor.
(I have come across multi-academy trusts that use “associate governor” or “associate member” to refer to people who sit on local governing bodies but cannot vote, for example this MAT (.pdf) and this one (.pdf). The rules for LGBs are set by each trust so check your terms of reference to see the rights of any associates.)
Below is a summary of the main differences between governors and associate members in maintained schools.
Governors
Associate Members
Can be chair or vice-chair of full governing body
Yes (as long as not school employee)
No
Count towards full board quorum
Yes
No
Can vote at full board
Yes
No
Can be chair or vice-chair of a committee
Yes
Yes
Count towards committee quorum
Yes, if they are a member of that committee
No
Can vote on committees
Yes, if they are a member of that committee
Only if: a) they are given voting rights by full governing body, and b) majority of committee members present are governors, not associate members, and c) they are aged over 18
Can use a casting vote if they are the committee chair
Yes
No
Can be excluded from a meeting by the governing body if an individual staff member or pupil is discussed
Why appoint associate members rather than governors?
There are a few reasons why the board may wish to make a volunteer an associate member rather than a governor:
there are no governor vacancies in your instrument of government but a willing volunteer is available
a volunteer has skills that would benefit a particular committee, for example an accountant who could sit on the finance committee but may not have the time to attend full board meetings
the board wishes to see how a volunteer gets on in a role with less responsibility before “promoting” them to a governor role
a volunteer is under 18 and so cannot be a governor. Associate members are allowed to be under 18 and can be pupils at that school.
What are the rights of associate members?
The law gives associate members the right to attend meetings of the full governing body and committee meetings when they have been appointed to that particular committee.
(The full board or a committee could also invite them to attend committee meetings even if they are not on that specific committee, but they don’t have an automatic right to attend.)
The law also says that associate members may be asked to leave for part of a meeting if an individual school employee or pupil is being discussed. This rule applies to both full board meeting and committee meetings. (The quote below refers to the governing body excluding associates from full board meetings, but a later section in the law applies this rule to committee meetings too.)
“The governing body may exclude an associate member from any part of its meeting which the associate member is otherwise entitled to attend when the business under consideration concerns an individual member of staff or pupil.”
Associate members also have the right to receive the agendas, minutes and papers for full board meetings and for any committees they sit on.
“The clerk of the governing body must give written notice of the meeting, a copy of the agenda for the meeting and any reports or other papers to be considered at the meeting at least seven clear days in advance to—
(a) each governor;
(b) the head teacher (whether or not that person is a governor);
To appoint an associate member hold a vote at a meeting of the full governing body, asking the candidate to leave the room during the vote. If governors vote in favour their term of office starts from the date of that meeting.
To reappoint an associate member at the end of their term of office simply hold another vote at a full governing body meeting.
How many associate members can we have?
In theory, as many as you like. There are no limits on the number of associate members you can appoint, although they should all be able to contribute to the work of the board.
Associate members are not listed on the instrument of government so the board can increase or decrease the number of associates without changing the instrument.
In practice, if you have a more than say two or three associates you may be asked to explain how they support the work of the board or why they are not serving as governors (if governor vacancies exist at the school).
There is no minimum number of associates you must have as there is no requirement to have any associate members at all.
Can a parent or school employee be an associate member?
Yes. Associate members can be parents, school employees, anyone who is unconnected with the school or even pupils at that school, because associates can be under 18.
“The definition of associate member is wide. Registered pupils and staff at the school and people who want to contribute specifically on issues related to their area of expertise (for instance, finance) can be appointed as associate members.”
There are no rules that limit the number of associates who can come from particular stakeholder groups, for example the total number of associate members who can be school employees. (In contrast there are legal rules which control who can be a particular type of governor.)
However, it is always sensible to be aware of the balance of different stakeholders on the governing body and to ensure there are not too many people involved from one stakeholder group.
If a school employee is an associate member they must remember that their role is to support the work of the governing body, not to answer questions from governors or help the headteacher explain or defend the decisions of senior leaders.
It is relatively common to find schools where several senior employees act as associate members, perhaps because the school believes they must be associates in order to attend meetings, but governors can invite anyone they like to meetings.
The business manager, deputy head or any other employee can be given a standing invitation to attend meetings without being appointed to any governance role.
What is the term of office for associate members?
The default term is four years, but the board can assign any term between one and four years. At the end of each term the associate can be reappointed and there is no overall limit on the number of years an associate member can serve.
“An associate member may hold office for a period of four years, or such shorter period (not being less than one year) as may be determined by the governing body at the date of the appointment.
“Nothing in this regulation prevents an associate member from being reappointed at the expiry of the associate member’s term of office.”
They cannot be suspended as the process for suspensions only applies to governors. However, they can be removed at any time via a vote at a full governing body meeting.
Apart from the vote itself there is no formal process that needs to be followed when removing associate members, but the board may wish to follow the same process for removing governors to ensure their procedures are fair. For example, they could give the associate member the opportunity to make a statement at a meeting in their defence.
“An associate member may be removed from office by the governing body at any time.”
However, associates can chair committees. If they are elected as a committee chair they are not allowed a casting vote to break a deadlock if the vote is tied (unlike governors who chair committees, who do get a casting vote).
Can associate members vote?
Associate members never have a vote at full board meetings, but they can be given voting rights on committees if the governing body approves.
The voting rules are a little complicated so are covered in full in a separate article, but the basic idea is that associates can vote on a committee as long as:
they have been given voting rights on that committee by the full board
the majority of committee members present are governors (not associate members) and
the associate member is aged over 18.
Must associate members declare their business interests?
Each associate member must declare anything could mean they might benefit from that role, for example if they work for a cleaning company that could be hired by the school. They must also declare any governance roles they hold at another school or college and any relationship they have with a school employee, governor or another associate member.
All associates must withdraw from a meeting (leave the room) if a vote is held where they have a conflict of interest – for example, if they could gain financially from the outcome of the vote.
Legally no, as the law only refers to enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks for governors.
“Where a governor is elected or appointed on or after 1st April 2016 and does not hold an enhanced criminal record certificate, the governing body must apply for such a certificate in respect of that governor within 21 days after his or her appointment or election.”
There is also no stipulation in Keeping Children Safe in Education that says associates must be DBS checked at all. However, your board may wish to run enhanced DBS checks on associates anyway. It is wise to find out whether your local authority prefers enhanced DBS checks to be run.
Note that associate members are disqualified if they have certain criminal convictions, just as governors are. In fact all of the disqualification criteria apply equally to associate members except that (unlike governors) associate members are allowed to be under 18 and to be pupils at the school.
For section 128 checks the same applies, in that neither the law nor Keeping Children Safe in Education say that associate members must have section 128 checks. However, associate members are still disqualified if they are on the section 128 list, so you may wish to run section 128 checks on all associates. Again, check what your LA advise.
Can we have associate members if we have no committees?
This is an interesting question as a strict reading of the regulations suggests the answer is no. The law says that an associate member is “a person who is appointed by the governing body as a member of any committee established by them”.
Therefore if a board uses what is called the “circle model” or sometimes a “flat” model, where it only holds full governing body meetings and no committee meetings, then technically an associate member cannot be appointed to a committee.
However, the board has the power to establish any committee that it likes, so it could set up a committee that met once a year with the sole purpose of appointing associate members to that committee. Those associates would then have the right to attend full board meetings. This sounds daft because it is, but it would be legal!
It’s also worth noting that because associates cannot vote at full board meetings there is no significant difference between someone attending full board meetings as an associate member or being invited to attend meetings as a guest.
So, I would say that strictly speaking a board cannot have associate members if it has no committees, but I would also say this is one of those areas that is not worth spending too much time worrying about! Let me know if you disagree though.
Just for your information I once posed this question to Governorline, the now defunct advice service funded by the DfE. They said that “associate members do not have to serve on a committee. OFSTED are likely to scrutinise why they are attached to the GB and their skills set must be justified”, but I haven’t seen that advice repeated by other services like the National Governance Association or The Key.
Are associate members recorded on GIAS?
No. Get Information About Schools (GIAS) is the DfE database of school governors, but there is no way to input details of associate members into the system.
The clerk should of course keep records of any associate members and their term of office dates.
Chair’s action is the chair of governor’s power to take decisions in emergencies.
It can be used in maintained schools when an urgent situation has arisen that is likely to cause serious harm if not addressed quickly and there is not enough time to call a meeting.
Academy chairs of trustees may have similar powers, but only if their trust has authorised it. The power does not appear in the current model articles of association (2021) but trusts can introduce this power if they wish.
Chair’s action is also known as the chair’s power to act. In maintained schools it is the only way that governors can make decisions between meetings, because voting by email or in advance of meetings is not allowed. (Academy trustees can make decisions between meetings via written resolution.)
Chair’s Action In Maintained Schools
In maintained schools the right to use chair’s action comes from section 8 of the Roles, Procedures and Allowances Regulations 2013.
Section 8 is called “Delegation of Functions to the Chair or Vice-Chair in Cases of Urgency”, which sums up the principle of chair’s action. In an urgent situation the chair automatically has limited delegated powers.
When can chair’s action be used?
Chair’s action can only be used if both of the following two conditions are met.
An urgent decision needs to be made and it is not “reasonably practicable” to call a meeting of the governing body or the relevant committee in time. These are powers for emergencies only.
The chair must believe that delaying the decision would likely be seriously detrimental to either the school, a pupil, the parent of a pupil or a school employee. Note that the chair must believe it is likely there would be serious harm if the decision was delayed, not just that there might be serious harm.
“The circumstances are that the chair is of the opinion that a delay in exercising the function would be likely to be seriously detrimental to the interests of—
(a) the school;
(b) any pupil at the school, or their parent; or
(c) a person who works at the school.
“‘Delay’ means delay until the earliest date on which it would be reasonably practicable for a meeting of the governing body, or of a committee to which the function in question has been delegated, to be held.”
Chairs can only use their power if a delay is likely to cause serious harm and it is not “reasonably practicable” to call a meeting quickly. There are no defined time limits in the law, so chairs need to use their judgement when deciding how quickly they could reasonably convene a meeting.
Interpretations of the wording will vary, but it surely means a decision is needed within a few days or hours. It certainly cannot mean weeks or months, particularly with the widespread use of virtual meetings that can assemble governors quickly.
What issues can be decided by chair’s action?
The law explains that chair’s action can be used to make decisions about:
any function of the board that can be delegated to an individual governor
just one issue that cannot usually be delegated to a single governor, which is pupil exclusions.
“Regulation 8: Delegation of functions to the chair or vice-chair in cases of urgency
(1) Where paragraph (2) applies, the chair may exercise—
(a) any function of the governing body which can be delegated to an individual; and
(b) any function that under regulation 19(2) cannot otherwise be delegated to an individual.
(2) The circumstances are that the chair is of the opinion that a delay in exercising the function would be likely to be seriously detrimental to the interests of—
(a) the school;
(b) any pupil at the school, or their parent; or
(c) a person who works at the school.
“19(2) Except as provided by regulation 8, the governing body may not delegate to an individual functions relating to powers conferred and duties imposed on it by or under regulations made under section 51A of the EA 2002 (exclusion of pupils).”
Boards are free to delegate a range of issues to individual governors. The issues they cannot delegate to individuals cannot be decided by chair’s action. The issues that cannot be delegated to a single governor are explained later in the article.
Chair’s Action in PRACTICE
I hesitate slightly to provide example situations where chair’s power to act can be used because each issue must be judged on its own merits.
However, a good example was provided to me by Forrest Governance who suggested it could be used to suspend a headteacher who has committed potentially seriously misconduct.
In these circumstances a decision would be needed quickly before a full investigation begins. If a serious allegation has been made or there are safeguarding concerns there could certainly be a risk of serious harm if the chair waits until a meeting is convened instead of acting decisively.
The law also gives the chair power to act alone on “exclusion of pupils”, but in reality there is only one circumstance where chair’s action can be used here. That situation is explained in DfE statutory guidance on exclusions.
If an excluded pupil is going to miss a public exam or national curriculum test and there’s no time to hold a governing body meeting, the chair can decide alone whether or not to cancel the exclusion and reinstate the pupil. This means of course that if the pupil is reinstated they can sit their exam.
“Where an exclusion would result in a pupil missing a public examination or national curriculum test, there is a further requirement for a governing board.
“It must, so far as is reasonably practicable, consider the exclusion before the date of the examination or test.
“If it is not practicable for a sufficient number of governors to consider the decision before the examination or test, the chair of governors, in the case of a maintained school may consider the exclusion alone and decide whether or not to reinstate the pupil.
“Where the chair is unable to make this consideration, then the vice-chair may do so instead.”
The Coram Children’s Legal Centre confirm that this is the only situation where a chair can make a decision regarding exclusions by themselves.
“Where an exclusion would result in a pupil missing a public examination or national curriculum test, there is a further requirement for a governing body to consider exclusion before the date of the examination or test.
“If this is not possible, the chair of governors may consider the exclusion independently and decide whether or not to reinstate the pupil. These are the only circumstances in which the chair can review an exclusion decision alone.“
If an issue cannot be delegated to a single governor it cannot be decided by chair’s action (except for the single exclusion issue described above).
There are also some issues that the governing body cannot delegate to anyone at all and must be decided by the full board. Again, the chair could not use chair’s action to make decisions on these issues.
Issues That Cannot Be Delegated To Individuals
The following five matters cannot be delegated to any single governor and therefore cannot be decided by chair’s action:
a decision to close the school
approval of the first formal budget plan of the financial year
a decision to suspend a governor
approving some statutory policies
decisions on admissions (offering or refusing a school place).
The first three of these issues (closing the school, approving the first formal budget, suspending governors) cannot be delegated to a single governor because the Roles, Procedures and Allowances Regulations 2013 do not allow it.
“The governing body may not delegate to an individual functions relating to powers and duties imposed on governing bodies by or under—
(a) section 30 of the SSFA 1998 and sections 15 and 16 of the EIA 2006 (discontinuance of maintained schools);
(b) a scheme made by the local authority under section 48(1) of the SSFA 1998, to the extent that it requires the governing body to give their approval to the first formal budget plan of the financial year; and
(c) regulation 17 (suspension of governors).
“Except as provided by regulation 8, the governing body may not delegate to an individual functions relating to powers conferred and duties imposed on it by or under regulations made under section 51A of the EA 2002 (exclusion of pupils).”
The fourth item that cannot be delegated to individual governors is the approval of some statutory policies.
Note that it’s possible to approve all non-statutory policies by chair’s action, because there is no requirement for them to be in place at all and therefore no restriction on their level of delegation.
However, the school should have a policy review schedule in place so that policies are considered and approved on a rolling basis. It would be unusual for a policy to require emergency approval.
The fifth and final item that cannot be delegated to a single governor relates to admissions. The School Admissions Code explains that no single person can make decisions to offer or refuse school places. This means that chair’s action cannot be used to admit or reject a child.
“Admission authorities must allocate places on the basis of their determined admission arrangements only, and a decision to offer or refuse admission must not be made by one individual in an admission authority.
“Where the school is its own admission authority the whole governing body, or an admissions committee established by the governing body, must make such decisions.”
The law also says there are matters that cannot be delegated ever – they must always be decided by the full governing body. This means that chair’s action cannot be used to make decisions regarding:
staffing duties from sections 35 and 36 of the Education Act 2002, unless the regulations specifically permit it.
“The governing body may not delegate functions relating to powers conferred, and the duties imposed, on governing bodies by or under the Constitution Regulations 2007 or the Constitution Regulations 2012, as the case may be, save as provided in those Regulations.
“The governing body may not delegate functions relating to powers conferred, and the duties imposed, on governing bodies by or under regulations made under sections 35 and 36 of the EA 2002 save as provided for in those regulations.”
Duties from the Constitution Regulations 2012 that can never be delegated include appointing or reappointing governors and associate members, removing governors from the board or amending the instrument of government.
Can the vice-chair use chair’s action?
Yes, if the role of chair is vacant at that time. In addition, if the vice-chair believes that the chair is “unable” to use their power before the “detriment” occurs, they can also use chair’s action in those circumstances.
For example, if you have a chair in place but they are ill the vice-chair can make the decision instead, as long as they believe the issue meets the criteria described above, ie: it is urgent and is likely to cause serious harm to the school, a pupil/parent or school employee if not addressed.
“Where it appears to the vice-chair that—
(a) the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (2) apply, and
(b) the chair (whether by reason of vacancy in the office or otherwise) would be unable to exercise the function in question before the detriment referred to in that paragraph is suffered,
the reference in paragraph (1) to the chair is to be read as if it were a reference to the vice-chair.”
If the chair (or vice-chair) uses their power to act they must report their decision to the full governing body. This should be done formally in a meeting and minuted, although the chair could also inform governors about the decision informally beforehand if they wished.
“This regulation applies where any function of the governing body has been delegated to or is otherwise exercisable by—
(a) a governor (including the chair or vice-chair);
(b) the headteacher (whether or not that person is a governor); or
(c) a committee.
“Any individual or committee to whom a function of the governing body has been delegated or that has otherwise exercised a function of the governing body, must report to the governing body in respect of any action taken or decision made with respect to the exercise of that function.”
No. It can only be used by the overall chair or vice-chair of the governing body, not any committee chairs or vice-chairs.
The purpose of chair’s action is to give one person the ability to make a quick decision to avoid harm. It would not function correctly if various different people held the same power and could all make possibly contradictory decisions.
Chair’s Action in Academies
In academies there is no automatic right to use chair’s action and there is no mention of it in the current DfE model articles of association (June 2021).
However, academy trusts can choose to add this power if they wish, so check if your trust has allowed it for your chair of trustees.
The law firm Browne Jacobson produce draft wording that academy trusts can use to introduce this power and I’ve quoted this wording below.
It is slightly different to the law for maintained schools but the key points remain: chair’s action is for urgent matters where a delay would likely be “seriously detrimental” to the interests of the trust, an academy, a pupil/parent or a member of staff.
In this wording, however, the chair can act either when an urgent matter is “brought to their attention” or where the principal/CEO gives them a written report explaining why the item qualifies for urgent attention and could not be brought to a regular meeting.
The chair also needs to take chair’s action “in consultation with the principal/CEO” in this wording. This clause does not exist in law for maintained schools, although it is difficult to imagine a chair taking an urgent decision without talking to the headteacher first, unless the decision concerned the head themselves.
Further clauses (not quoted below but available here) explain that the vice-chair can use chair’s action if the chair cannot act themselves, just as in maintained schools. They also explain that the chair can decide to call a board meeting at short notice instead of using their power to act.
A final clause states that decisions taken under chair’s action should be reported in writing to the trustees as soon as possible and the decision recorded in board minutes.
“IT IS RESOLVED THAT with immediate effect in order to facilitate the trust making urgent decisions that arise between board and committee meetings the chair (or vice chair) may use the following decision-making procedure (to be known as chair’s action):
1. Notwithstanding any provisions of the trust’s articles of association (the articles) and [scheme of delegation], if the chair is of the opinion that a matter of urgency exists [and it is not practicable to arrange a board meeting on short notice in the circumstances] either:
(i) after receiving a written report from the [principal/executive principal/CEO] which clearly states, amongst other things, why the item concerned could not be brought to a regular meeting and why it would qualify for urgent decision under this procedure; or
(ii) as a result of other information that is brought to their attention and a delay in exercising the function would likely be seriously detrimental to the interests of the trust, [the/any] academy, pupil or their parent or a person who works at the trust,
then, in consultation with the [principal/executive principal/CEO], they may exercise any function of the trust which [(i)] can be delegated to an individual under the articles, the trust’s funding agreements with the secretary of state for education (including the relevant Academy Trust Handbook) [or (ii) any function relating to the exclusion of pupils].”
If chair’s action is not already permitted in your academy trust then Browne Jacobson advise that there are two ways to adopt it. Either write it into your scheme of delegation (or other similar document) or pass a resolution of the trust board explaining when it can be used.
“If you haven’t documented an equivalent [of chair’s action] and you want to do so now, then you have two options:
1. you could incorporate suitable wording into your scheme of delegation (or other relevant documentation); or
2. you could pass a board resolution setting out the provisions for chair’s action.”
The Nolan principles are seven rules that describe how people in public office should behave and the ethical standards they should uphold. They apply to all school governors because they apply to anyone elected or appointed to public office.
A school may ask new governors to sign a form to say they will follow these seven principles, usually by incorporating them into the code of conduct.
Seven Principles of Public Life
The seven principles set out by the Nolan committee are shown below. They can also be seen on the gov.uk website here.
All rules stem from the fact that “all public office-holders are both servants of the public and stewards of public resources”. In other words, they are working on behalf of the public and spending public money.
1. Selflessness
Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
2. Integrity
Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work.
They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
3. Objectivity
Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
4. Accountability
Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
5. Openness
Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
6. Honesty
Holders of public office should be truthful.
7. Leadership
Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and be willing to challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.
Are the seven principles statutory in maintained schools?
Statutory guidance for maintained schools says that boards are advised to ask governors to agree to the Nolan principles, but it does not say schools must ask governors to agree to them.
“It is advised that governing bodies make everyone involved in governance aware of, and secure their agreement to ‘The 7 principles of public life’, as set out by Lord Nolan.”
However, be aware that although the Nolan principles themselves do not appear in the law and are not mandated by statutory guidance, many of the principles are reflected in legislation, so governors will have to follow them whether they specifically sign up to them or not.
For example, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires schools to release recorded information unless an exemption applies, so that reflects principle 5.
Law for maintained schools also says governors must act with “integrity, objectivity and honesty”, act in the best interests of the school and be open about decisions they make, reflecting many of the seven principles.
“In exercising their functions the governing body shall—
(a) act with integrity, objectivity and honesty and in the best interests of the school; and
(b) be open about the decisions they make and the actions they take and in particular shall be prepared to explain their decisions and actions to interested parties.”
The law also requires governors to withdraw from a vote if they have a conflict of interest so they do not gain personally from the decisions they take at school.
Are the seven principles statutory in academies?
The Academy Trust Handbook includes adherence to the seven principles of public life in its “schedule of requirements”, the list of “musts” that trusts must follow.
There is also a specific mention of the Nolan principles in the section of the Handbook that covers conflicts of interest. Academy trustees must avoid conflicts of interest and promote “integrity and openness in accordance with the seven principles of public life”.
“The board of trustees must ensure requirements for managing related party transactions are applied across the trust. The board chair and the accounting officer must ensure their capacity to control and influence does not conflict with these requirements.
“They must manage personal relationships with related parties to avoid both real and perceived conflicts of interest, promoting integrity and openness in accordance with the 7 principles of public life.”
The most common way to ask governors to agree to the Nolan principles is by including them in a code of conduct. Codes of conduct are not mandatory for school governors, but the Nolan committee stated that “all public bodies should draw up codes of conduct incorporating these principles”.
If you use the National Governance Association (NGA) code of conduct (available here) the Nolan principles are incorporated into the text, so any governor who signs the code of conduct has agreed to abide by the seven principles.
What happens if a governor breaches the principles?
The NGA code of conduct explains that a breach of the code could lead to “formal sanctions” – in other words, the board could consider suspending or removing the governor from their post.
This is also reflected in statutory guidance for maintained schools, which says that a sufficiently serious breach of the Nolan principles could be seen as “serious misconduct” and the board could consider removing that governor as a result.
“Examples which could give rise to removal are where:
(a) there have been repeated grounds for suspension;
(b) there has been serious misconduct. Governing bodies should decide what constitutes serious misconduct based on the facts of the case. However, it is expected that any actions that compromise the Nolan principles, if sufficiently serious, would be considered in scope of this reason for removal.”
Schools have a duty to release recorded information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This law applies to both maintained schools and academies because it covers all public authorities.
Who can make a freedom of information request?
Anyone at all. They don’t need to be connected to the school in any way and they don’t need to tell you why they want the information.
What can they ask for?
The Freedom of Information Act lets people request a wide range of recorded information held by public authorities. This means paper copies of documents, electronic files, emails, photos and video or sound files.
“Recorded information includes printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs, and sound or video recordings.
The Act also applies to any draft documents, CCTV and recordings of phone conversations, as well as information that has not been created by the school itself.
For example, letters that have been sent to the school can be requested.
“It is not limited to official documents and it covers, for example, drafts, emails, notes, recordings of telephone conversations and CCTV recordings.
“Nor is it limited to information you create, so it also covers, for example, letters you receive from members of the public, although there may be a good reason not to release them.”
The Act only applies if the information has already beenrecorded. If a teacher has a verbal conversation with the headteacher but takes no notes, the teacher does not have to write an account of that conversation after the fact just because someone submits an FOI request.
“The Act does not cover information that is in someone’s head. If a member of the public asks for information, you only have to provide information you already have in recorded form.
“You do not have to create new information or find the answer to a question from staff who may happen to know it.”
Requests must be in writing. However, electronic requests are specifically allowed so email requests are valid, as are requests made through an online form or via social media such as Twitter. Requests can be sent to any member of staff and do not have to mention the Freedom of Information Act.
The person making the request must give their name and a reply address and describe the information they wish to receive.
“In this Act any reference to a “request for information” is a reference to such a request which—
(a) is in writing,
(b) states the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence, and
(c) describes the information requested.
“A request is to be treated as made in writing where the text of the request—
(a) is transmitted by electronic means,
(b) is received in legible form, and
(c) is capable of being used for subsequent reference.”
Schools must send the information within 20 school days, unless the request is received near to the summer holidays in which case the deadline can be extended to 60 working days.
“For schools, the standard time limit is 20 school days, or 60 working days if this is shorter. Working day means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or public holidays and bank holidays.”
If the request is confusing and you need clarification (see the next section) the 20 school days does not start until you have received that clarification.
“The time for compliance will not begin until you have received the necessary clarification to allow you to answer the request.”
You should contact the person as soon as you can to ask them what they wish to receive. Be careful not to imply that you need to know why they want the information or that they need to tell you their motives in order for the school to fulfil the request.
“If you can’t answer the request because you are not sure what is being requested, you must contact the requester as soon as possible for clarification.
“For example, you could explain what options may be available to them and ask whether any of these would adequately answer their request.”
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 says the request must “state the name of the applicant” and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) advises that this does refer to someone’s real name. However, the ICO also say that normally you should not ask for proof of identity.
The exception might be if someone has used an obvious pseudonym or there is reason to think you might deny the request if you knew who they were, for example because it is a request you have already answered.
“To be valid under the Act, the request must include the requester’s real name. The Act treats all requesters alike, so you should not normally seek to verify the requester’s identity.
“However, you may decide to check their identity if it is clear they are using a pseudonym or if there are legitimate grounds for refusing their request and you suspect they are trying to avoid this happening, for example because their request is vexatious or repeated.
“Remember that a request can be made in the name of an organisation, or by one person on behalf of another, such as a solicitor on behalf of a client.”
This is also stated in the government’s FOI Code of Practice: “Applicants must provide their real name and not use a pseudonym. Pseudonymous requests are not valid requests.”
In practice, if an email arrives from Bob.Smith@gmail.com the school will not know if that is a pseudonym or not, as the usual position is that you should not verify someone’s identity. Requests are also valid if they are made on behalf of someone else or in a company name.
Remember that if someone is asking to see the personal data you hold on them that is a subject access request (SAR), not a freedom of information request. When submitting a subject access request the person does of course have to supply their real name.
Can we charge a fee?
Yes, but in most cases you can only charge to cover the costs of supplying the information, for example photocopying, printing or postage costs. You cannot usually charge for staff time used up when finding the information.
An ICO document provides a guide to fees that may be charged (.pdf). They give an example of a substantial FOI request submitted to a public authority. The authority could charge 10p per sheet for photocopying 200 pages, £10 for postage, but zero for the large amount of staff time it will take up.
Although you cannot charge for staff time, in most circumstances you can reject the request completely if it is very substantial. This is explained in the next section.
Can we refuse requests?
Yes, but only if one of four criteria are met:
fulfilling the request would cost too much or use too much time
it is “vexatious”
it is a repeat request from the same person, or
a specific exemption applies.
“You can refuse an entire request under the following circumstances:
– it would cost too much or take too much staff time to deal with the request
– the request is vexatious
– the request repeats a previous request from the same person.
“In addition, the Freedom of Information Act contains a number of exemptions that allow you to withhold information from a requester.”
So first, you can refuse a request due to cost or staff time used. The cost limit for schools is £450. A request would have to be enormous to breach that limit just through photocopying at 10p a sheet or postage costs, but it is more likely that a request could breach the limit because it would take too long for your staff to supply.
The ICO advise that staff time should be calculated at £25 per hour and 25 x 18 = 450. Therefore the cost limit for schools is 18 hours of staff time.
If a freedom of information request would take staff longer than 18 hours to respond to, you can reject the request. (Note though that you also have the option to offer to fulfil the request if the person provides written agreement that they will cover your costs.)
“The biggest cost is likely to be staff time. You should rate staff time at £25 per person per hour, regardless of who does the work, including external contractors. This means a limit of 18 staff hours.”
Second, “vexatious” requests can be refused. A vexatious request is one that is “likely to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress” according to the ICO. They produce full guidance on Dealing With Vexatious Requests (.pdf).
A vexatious request might include abusive or aggressive language, accusations, place a burden on the school that is unreasonable, involve a personal grudge, be a persistent request or be a trivial request submitted just for fun.
Third, requests can be refused if they are just a repeat of a previous request from the same person.
Finally, requests can be refused if an exemption applies.
Some exemptions are absolute, which means you can refuse the request without any further consideration.
Most exemptions are qualified, which means that before deciding to withhold the info you must consider whether it would actually be in the public interest to disclose it. This is called the public interest test.
Absolute Exemptions
Section 40(1): If someone is asking for their own personal information –this would need to be treated as a subject access request instead.
Section 40(2):If the info contains the personal data of a third party -schools must comply with the UK general data protection regulation (UK GDPR) and not release personal information about others.
Section 41: If information was provided in confidence – information can be withheld if it would breach a confidence.
Qualified Exemptions
Section 22: If information is intended for future publication – if the info will be published anyway at some point in the future.
Section 28: If disclosure would (or be likely to) endanger someone’s physical or mental safety – safeguarding information might fall under this category.
Section 36: If disclosure would (or would be likely to) inhibit the free and frank exchange of views or prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs – this is an unusual exemption because it must be decided by “the reasonable opinion of a qualified person”.
The ICO provides a useful list of key questions that its staff use when investigating whether FOI law has been applied correctly which can help you decide whether the school is allowed to use a particular exemption.
Can confidential governing body minutes be requested under FOI?
Yes, although the possible exemptions listed above would apply. Maintained school governing bodies have a legal right to record some issues in confidential minutes and in academy trusts the same right is contained in their articles of association.
However, this right does not override the FOI Act, so the board cannot simply refuse to release confidential minutes in all circumstances; they must consider whether an exemption applies under FOI and if it does not the minutes must be released.
What happens after a request is refused?
If a person has had their request refused and is unhappy or believes an exemption has been applied unfairly they can write to the school within 40 working days and ask for an internal review. The review should be carried out by someone who did not respond to the original request.
“You should have in place a procedure to handle any disputes or complaints arising from the outcome or handling of a request for information.
“This procedure is known as an internal review and demonstrates a commitment to openness and transparency. Internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response.
“It is good practice for the internal review to be carried out, wherever possible, by somebody other than the person who issued the initial response.”
If the school does not review its decision or the person is still unhappy after the internal review they can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
When refusing a request schools must let people know they have a right to complain to the ICO. If the ICO decides the school was in the wrong they can issue a decision notice with instructions on what you must do to correct the mistake.
This could lead to the school having to release further information or give further help to the requester, but the ICO does not dole out punishments or fines or force public bodies to pay compensation for mishandling FOI requests.
St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi-Academy Trust (.pdf) was asked for “a variety of information” which it refused to provide as the requests were seen as vexatious. The ICO over-ruled this for two requests and told the trust to respond to the requests within 35 days.
Townley Grammar School (.pdf) received 78 FOI requests in one day from the same person. They refused the requests because a response would have exceeded the cost limit.
The ICO ruled that the school had the right to add up all the requests when calculating the cost limit. The school had also given the person advice on how the requests could be refined. The ICO did not ask the school to take any action.
Beths Grammar School (.pdf) was asked to release info about exam grades. The school sent anonymised information with names redacted and data randomised, but refused to release a change of format as it would have identified the children and been a breach of personal data. The ICO agreed with their approach.
Example FOI Requests To Schools
You can view FOI requests at What Do They Know, a site that helps people make FOI requests and publishes the responses online.
JFS School was asked to provide minutes from governor meetings; they accepted this request and sent the minutes. However, they were also asked for “all information relating to the recent OFSTED inspection”. The school refused as they calculated that this very broad request would take much longer than 18 hours of staff time to fulfil.
All Saints’ Catholic High School was asked to provide the performance appraisal records of senior leaders. They refused because the appraisal records contained the personal data of staff.
The requester asked for appraisals to be anonymised but the school refused this request too because targets in the appraisals were linked closely to job roles and therefore staff could still be identified. However, they did provide an overview of the number of targets set and met by the senior leaders.
Aston Fields Middle School was asked about the number of fixed term and permanent exclusions, including those given to SEN children. The school refused to release the information because the low numbers of children involved meant that individual pupils might be identifiable and therefore they would be releasing personal data.
Steiner Academy Bristol was asked to provide the “OFSTED action plan”. The school accepted this request and sent out their school improvement plan (SIP), even though they had in fact already sent the SIP to the requester, which made this a repeat request.
However, the school refused to send the most current version of the SIP as they believed it could have a negative impact on the operation of the school. They relied on section 36 of the FOI Act that says info can be withheld if it “would otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the effective conduct of public affairs”.
Tiffin School was asked to send a copy of the staff handbook. They refused the request under section 40(2) of the FOI Act as they said it contained personal data. The requestor asked again and was refused again, but then the requestor complained to the ICO and subsequently received a copy of the handbook.
Governing bodies must appraise the headteacher to find out whether they are doing a good job – or in the language of appraisals, assess whether they are performing to agreed standards and meeting their objectives.
This article explains how the head’s appraisal process works, the role of governors, who can sit on governor appraisal panels and the rules around external advisers.
The 2012 Appraisal Regulations do not apply to academies, but in their model appraisal policy the DfE recommend that academies follow these Regulations anyway.
“It is also good practice for academies to follow the appraisal regulations although they are not legally required to do so.”
assess the head’s professional development needs, ie: whether they need more training or expertise
where relevant under the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), recommend whether or not the head gets a pay rise
give the head a written appraisal report.
“The governing body of a school must, before, or as soon as practicable after, the start of each appraisal period in relation to a head teacher—
(a) inform the head teacher of the standards against which the head teacher’s performance in that appraisal period will be assessed; and
(b) set objectives for the head teacher in respect of that period.
“The governing body of a school must appraise the performance of the head teacher in respect of each appraisal period applying in relation to that head teacher.
“In appraising the performance of the head teacher, the governing body of a school must consult the external adviser appointed under regulation 4.
“In making an appraisal the governing body…must—
(a) assess the teacher’s performance of their role and responsibilities during the appraisal period in question against
(i) the standards applicable to that teacher by virtue of regulation 6; and
(ii) the teacher’s objectives set under regulation 6;
(b) assess the teacher’s professional development needs and identify any action that should be taken to address them; and
(c) where relevant under the Document, include a recommendation relating to the teacher’s pay.
“As soon as practicable following the end of each appraisal period applying in relation to a teacher, the governing body, head teacher or local authority (as the case may be) must provide the teacher with a written report of the teacher’s appraisal in respect of that appraisal period.”
When setting the head’s objectives governors in maintained schools must remember their legal duty to consider the head’s work-life balance.
“The governing body must have regard to the desirability of the head teacher being able to achieve a satisfactory balance between the time spent discharging the professional duties of a head teacher and the time spent by the head teacher pursuing personal interests outside work.”
The board of a maintained school must appoint an external adviser to offer governors “advice and support” during the appraisal. The adviser must be appointed by the board, not chosen by the headteacher.
“The governing body of a school must appoint an external adviser for the purposes of providing it with advice and support in relation to the appraisal of the head teacher.
“In appraising the performance of the head teacher, the governing body of a school must consult the external adviser appointed under regulation 4.”
The exact process differs from school to school, but a standard appraisal process is described in Effectively Managing Headteacher Performance: Research Brief, a research project commissioned by the DfE in 2014. It looked at the head’s appraisal process in both maintained schools and academies.
First, the governing body appoint an external adviser. (This is mandatory in maintained schools, but optional in academies.)
Next, a series of meetings is held, usually in the autumn term. The DfE report says a typical set of meetings runs as follows:
the governor appraisal panel meets to discuss points to raise
the external advisor meets with the headteacher
the governor appraisal panel, external advisor and headteacher all meet together
the governor appraisal panel and headteacher meet.
The exact pattern of meetings may differ from school to school. For example, the governor appraisal panel may also wish to meet with the external adviser before all parties meet. These meetings are often held consecutively on the same day.
The appraisal panel also makes a recommendation on whether to increase the headteacher’s pay. After the final meeting is complete the external advisor writes up a summary report.
Example of how these meetings work in practice are provided in a set of case studies in the DfE report. Here’s a description of how the process works in one primary school.
“Headteacher performance management meetings are conducted as follows.
“- The head meets the external adviser for about an hour, in order to discuss the preliminary report, the commentary and the evidence related to the previous year’s targets.
“Data on pupil progress is provided which shows each pupil’s target and achievement. The external adviser will question evidence and probe what has been said about achieving targets.
“- The process is repeated in a second meeting between the members of the appraisal panel and the external adviser.
“Using the external adviser as an external expert, governors scrutinise the report and probe through questioning. The head expects to be challenged as part of this process.
“- The head is given preliminary verbal feedback on achievement of the previous year’s objectives. He is also given an indication of the areas or the targets that need to be firmed up that seem to be appropriate for the direction that the school is taking.
“These areas are discussed and agreed during the course of this meeting. The head and governors perceive no distinction between objectives for personal development and those which help the school improve.
“- Following the day of the visit, the performance management statement is drafted by the external adviser. This draft includes a review of the achievement of the previous year’s objectives and objectives for the coming year and is sent to the chair of the appraisal panel.
“Following circulation to other members of the appraisal panel and any subsequent amendments, the statement is finalised between the external adviser and the chair of the panel and given to the head for signature.”
As well as the series of meetings described above, governors should also hold at least one formal mid-year review meeting of the panel to review progress.
“In addition to these meetings that typically focus on school performance, at least one formal mid-year review meeting of the appraisal panel and headteacher is recommended to check specific progress of the headteacher against his or her objectives.”
Advisers are often found through local connections or your local authority governor services. They may be school improvement partners (SIPs). In a multi-academy trust the chief executive officer (CEO) may serve as the external adviser for the appraisal of the headteacher of each individual academy.
If you are struggling to find someone the National Governance Association (NGA) offer support for headteacher and CEO appraisal through their consultancy services. Your headteacher may also suggest someone, but if they do it’s important that the board confirms they are suitably impartial and skilled.
Should we regularly change our external adviser?
There is no requirement to change the external adviser after a set time period, although there used to be. A rule introduced in 2003 meant that external advisers could only advise the same school for three years (see this .pdf report for details).
This rule no longer exists, but boards could still consider a change of external adviser after a number of years to avoid the relationship between head and advisor becoming too comfortable and gain a new perspective. This may be particularly necessary if the adviser already had links to the school as a SIP or another role.
Does the panel have to meet in the autumn term?
No, but many governor appraisal panels meet in autumn. This is because old law from 2006 set a deadline of 31 December for producing the appraisal plan.
The current 2012 Appraisal Regulations do not set a specific deadline, but 31 December is still the deadline set in the DfE model policy for providing the head with their appraisal report. Check your school’s own appraisal policy to find your own deadline.
How many governors form the appraisal panel?
The 2012 Appraisal Regulations do not say how many governors should be on the panel. However, the DfE model teacher appraisal policy says it should consist of two or three members of the board.
“In this school the task of appraising the headteacher, including the setting of objectives, will be delegated to a sub-group consisting of two/three(delete as appropriate) members of the governance board.”
(This also matches old law from 2006 which used to say that the governing body may appoint “two or three governors” to the appraisal panel. This law has now been revoked.)
It may be sensible to appoint three governors rather than two, because with only two governors there is no way to break a deadlock if they disagree.
The DfE research from 2014 found that 67.6% of schools used three governors on their appraisal panel and 25% of schools used two. (A few schools used four governors or more.)
Can staff governors sit on the panel?
No, neither staff governors nor any other governor who is employed by the school can be a member of the panel.
In maintained schools this is a legal restriction. The law says that whenever the “pay or performance appraisal” of the headteacher is being considered all employees must leave the meeting due to their conflict of interest.
“This sub-paragraph applies where a relevant person who is paid to work at a school other than as head teacher is present at a meeting of the school at which a subject of consideration is the pay or performance appraisal of any particular person employed to work at the school.
“This sub-paragraph applies where a head teacher of a school is present at a meeting of the school at which a subject of consideration is the head teacher’s own pay or performance appraisal.
“In any case where sub-paragraph (1) or (2) applies, the relevant person’s interest will be treated for the purpose of regulation 16(2) as being in conflict with the governing body’s interests.”
This law does not apply to academies, but academies have equivalent rules about conflicts of interest in their articles of association. An employee will always have a conflict of interest if asked to appraise their own boss.
Can parent governors sit on the panel?
Yes, there’s no reason why a parent governor would be any less suitable than any other governor.
Can the chair of governors sit on the panel?
Yes, but there are differing views as to whether this is good practice. The main argument in favour is that the chair is likely to have good knowledge of the head’s performance and of the school as a whole.
The main argument against is that the chair’s relationship with the headteacher may be too close for them to act impartially and the vice-chair may be more suited to the task.
The DfE research found that the chair often does sit on the panel, together with the chair of a relevant committee such as a staffing or finance committee.
“An appraisal panel appointed by the governing body annually reviews the headteacher’s performance.
“This usually consists of three governors such as the chair of governors, the chair of the committee that oversees staffing and/or finance and one other governor who has particular expertise in performance management and/or education.”
Very old law from 2001 (now revoked) used to say that if the headteacher complained about the result of their appraisal that complaint had to be considered by the chair (unless the chair had taken part in the appraisal themselves) which would have been a good reason to avoid appointing the chair to the panel.
This law no longer applies, so it is up to each board whether to appoint the chair to the panel or not.
What if the headteacher objects to one member of the panel?
It is up to the governing body whether to consider the request and/or take any action. The old 2006 law said that if the head thought a governor was “unsuitable for professional reasons” they could submit a written request for that governor to be replaced.
This clause does not exist in current law, but check your school’s appraisal policy to see if it gives the head a similar right.
Do panel members have to receive training?
No, there are no mandatory training requirements. However, it is always a good idea for governors to receive training, particularly when they have no experience of performance management. The DfE research from 2014 identified the areas that governors may need training on.
“The following are the areas of training that our respondents identified as most essential for governors:
– the technical and legal formalities of headteacher appraisal – understanding data – issues around pay and performance – managing relations with the head – setting and monitoring objectives – benchmarking – evaluating external advice.”
In faith schools must one panel member be a foundation governor?
No. Old law from 2006 said that all schools with a religious character must appoint at least one foundation governor to the panel. It also said voluntary-aided (VA) schools must have at least two foundation governors on a three-governor panel. This law has been revoked.
The 2012 Appraisal Regulations do not say that foundation governors must sit on the panel in faith schools. However, check your school’s appraisal policy in case a similar rule exists in your school’s procedures.
Does the appraisal panel make pay decisions?
The law says that the appraisal panel provides a recommendation on any salary increase, rather than making the decision themselves. The DfE research from 2014 advised it is good practice for a separate pay or salary committee to approve or reject this recommendation.
“Draw on the external advisor to evaluate fully how effective the headteacher’s performance has been in comparison to what might be reasonably expected.
“Separate the appraisal process from the financial decision on pay by using separate committees.”
Are the headteacher’s objectives shared with the full board?
Generally the head’s objectives (targets) and the written report from the external advisor are seen as being confidential to the governor appraisal panel only, as employee appraisals are usually confidential.
However, if the headteacher is happy to share their objectives they can be given to the full board.
Does the clerk take minutes of appraisal panel meetings?
No, the clerk does not attend or take minutes of appraisal panel meetings. Usually the external adviser will write a report of the discussion and the agreed objectives.
However, the clerk does attend and minute any meeting of the pay committee as usual.
All schools must have a complaints policy that explains how parents and members of the public can lodge a complaint.
The policy must also say how complaints are handled, how they can be escalated and who will investigate the issue at each stage.
Statutory Requirements For Complaints
Maintained schools must “establish procedures for dealing with all complaints relating to the school or to the provision of facilities or services”, according to section 29 of the Education Act 2002. The Act also says schools must “publicise the procedures”.
Academy trusts must ensure “that a complaints procedure is drawn up and effectively implemented which deals with the handling of complaints from parents”, according to part seven of The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.
The 2014 Regulations for academies also prescribe how complaints from parents are handled.
Complaints Not In Scope
In all schools the complaints procedures must cover all complaints except those that are deemed “complaints not in scope”.
This is where separate procedures already exist for handling complaints. For example, if a parent is unhappy with their child’s exclusion there is a statutory appeals process available to them.
Complaints not in scope include complaints about:
admissions
school reorganisation (eg: merging an infant and junior school to form a primary)
statutory assessment of SEN
issues likely to require a child protection investigation
exclusions
whistleblowing
staff grievance (deal with under the school grievance procedures)
staff conduct (dealt with under disciplinary procedures)
outside companies using the school site
the curriculum
collective worship
withdrawal from the curriculum.
DfE Complaints Guidance and Model Policies
The DfE provide best practice guidance for school complaints, plus model complaints policies for all schools.
In academies the law sets out rules that apply to parental complaints only. However, DfE best practice guidance says academies are expected to handle complaints from members of the public “respectfully and expediently”.
“As public bodies, the Secretary of State for Education expects academies to handle complaints from people who are not parents of children at the school respectfully and expediently. They are not obliged to follow the complaints policy though.”
The DfE model policies for both maintained schools and academies say that “any person, including members of the public, may make a complaint”.
Can staff complain?
Staff can raise complaints informally, but formal complaints from staff are dealt with under grievance procedures rather than the complaints policy.
Must the complaints policy be online?
Maintained schools must publish their complaints policy online.
Academy trusts must give their complaints policy to anyone who asks for it and the expectation is for the trust to publish it online.
All schools must publish online procedures for handling complains from parents of children with special educational needs (SEN). (Maintained schools must include this within their SEND information report.)
“You must also publish (as part of your SEND information report) any arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEND about the support the school provides.”
“Academies must publish any arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with special educational needs about the support provided by the school.”
How often should the complaints policy be reviewed?
The DfE Governance Guides recommend that the complaints policy is reviewed annually.
On the other hand, the DfE best practice guidance for complaints recommends that complaints procedures are reviewed “at least every two to three years” in all schools…
It seem sensible to review the complaints policy annually to comply with the DfE Governance Guides.
How many stages should our complaints process have?
In all schools there should be an informal stage first. If the complaint cannot be resolved informally the DfE recommends slightly different processes for maintained schools and academies.
Maintained schools can choose how many stages are in their policy, but the DfE recommend the following.
An informal stage (although schools should allow the person to go straight to a formal complaint if they wish).
A formal complaint heard by a member of staff, usually the headteacher.
An appeal stage heard by a panel of governors.
“We recommend that complainants and schools attempt informal resolution before making a formal complaint, if it’s appropriate to do so.
“You’re free to choose how many stages your procedure will include. However, we recommend two stages, where the second, an appeal stage, is heard by members of the governing body who’ll consider the complaint afresh.”
(The DfE confusingly refer to “two stages” for maintained schools, when they are actually recommending three stages: an informal stage first, before the head or another staff member investigates at stage two and governors hear an appeal at stage three.)
For academies the DfE advise that at minimum the following three stages must be used to comply with law for independent schools. This law sets the rules for complaints from parents of pupils.
“1. Informal (usually a meeting with the complainant).
2. Formal (the complaint is put in writing).
3. A panel hearing, with an independent panel member.”
Note that academies must have an independent member at their panel stage. The panel hearing can be heard by trustees or local governors as long as one panel member is independent of the academy, or it can be heard entirely by independent people.
What is the timescale?
In all schools the DfE advise that three months is a reasonable period of time after the incident to allow a complaint to be lodged, although in “exceptional circumstances” schools should accept complaints outside this timescale.
The DfE do advise that all schools can set cut-off times for lodging or escalating a complaint, as long as it is clear that in exceptional circumstances they may allow complaints to be lodged or escalated outside of these timeframes.
Example Complaints Timescale
A maintained school I clerked for used the following timescale for complaints.
Acknowledge formal complaints within five school days.
Provide a written report of the formal investigation within 20 school days of receiving the complaint. (Any complaints received in school holidays are considered to have been received on the first day back at school.)
Allow the complainant 10 school days to escalate their complaint to the governor panel stage.
If a governor panel is requested the clerk acknowledges this within five school days and aims to convene the panel within 20 school days of the request.
After the panel has met the decision and reasoning of the panel is sent to the complainant within 10 school days.
Who can sit on governor complaints panels?
In all schools governors must be impartial, or what is sometimes known as being “untainted”. This means they should not have any prior knowledge of the complaint or have been involved in any of the earlier decision-marking regarding it.
They should also avoid any conflict of interest or any appearance of bias. For example, a parent governor should not hear a complaint involving their own child and a staff governor should not hear a complaint against a colleague.
Below is the DfE advice for all schools on impartial governors. (I’ve linked to the maintained guidance but the advice is the same for academies.) The DfE say that if there is “any reasonable doubt” around a governor’s impartiality they should not sit on the panel.
“We generally consider that governors with no prior exposure to the complaint are suitably impartial, unless the complainant provides us with evidence to the contrary.
“Persons who have a conflict of interest should not take part in the complaints process, including proceedings of governing body meetings and committees.
“If there’s any reasonable doubt as to a person’s ability to act impartially, they should withdraw from considering the complaint.
“Where a governor has a financial interest in any related matter, they should also withdraw.”
Maintained schools are advised to use “the first three impartial governors available” in the DfE model complaints policy. They can either use only their own governors or can borrow governors or associate members from another school or academy.
The model policy also allows maintained schools to use an “entirely independent” panel made up only of governors from other schools.
“If you arrange complaint panel meetings on an ad-hoc, informal basis, you only need to source governors who are suitably skilled [and] can demonstrate their independence.
“You can approach governors from any category of governor [or an] associate member of another governing body.
“Maintained schools can ask governors in academies to serve on a complaints panel and vice versa.”
Academies must by law have an independent panel member, someone who is “independent of the management and running of the school”. They can borrow one or more governors from another academy or from a maintained school. If necessary they can source all members of the panel externally.
The DfE also advise that multi-academy trusts can use a local governor from a different academy within the MAT as the independent member.
How many governors form the panel?
The model policy for maintained schools says the panel should be formed from “the first three, impartial, governors available”.
The model policy for academies says the panel should be formed from “at least three people”, including one independent person.
Who chairs complaints panels?
The DfE model policy for maintained schools say that the complaints panel “will decide amongst themselves” before the meeting who will chair the panel. This is not stated in the academy policy but would be a reasonable approach.
Are minutes taken of complaints panels?
Yes. The DfE recommend that panel minutes are taken in all schools and the complainant provided with a copy. (I’ve quoted from the maintained schools guidance below but the academies guidance says exactly the same.)
If schools refuse to supply the minutes the complainant may be able to request them anyway using data protection laws.
“We also recommend that copies of the minutes are issued to the complainant. Failure to do so may lead to a further complaint. They may also be entitled to them, subject to any necessary redactions, under the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.”
Ask the complainant what they want. They may just want an apology, a chance to express their concern in person or an admission that something went wrong and was not good enough.
The school can admit that a situation was poorly handled without admitting to negligence.
Explain what went wrong and how a similar situation will be avoided in future, including the timescales for any changes made to procedures.
Tell the complainant how to escalate their complaint to the next stage whenever you are communicating about the current stage.
An apology. Examples: “An apology was made to a parents when there was a delay in communicating with the parent following an incident in school.” “Where a teacher has not followed the correct procedure or practice in responding to an initial complaint a teacher and head issued an apology.”
A change to school policies or procedures. Examples: “A change to lunchtime policy and procedures was made where a parent complained about their child missing lunch.” “The schools introduced accident slips to inform parents of any incidents rather than relying on verbal communication.”
Staff training. Examples: “Whole school behaviour training was delivered to support children who were biting following a complaint by a parent.” “Restorative justice training was given to key staff to deal with bullying after a parent complained about the school’s response.” “Behaviour management at playtimes training was delivered to respond to incidents highlighted by parents.”
Financial compensation. (Note: the DfE report says that financial remedies are not usually appropriate for school complaints.) Example: “The cost to replace a uniform which was damaged inadvertently.”
What happens if the complaint is about a governor or the headteacher?
If a formal complaint is received about the headteacher or a governor the DfE model policies for all schools say that a “suitably skilled governor” should be appointed to investigate. This will often be the chair of governors.
If the complaint is still unresolved after this investigation the complaint can usually be escalated to a panel of governors.
If the escalated complaint is about a governor it is wise to consider whether independent governors from another school need to hear the complaint, as the other governors at your school may not be impartial.
What is the role of the clerk?
If the complaint is escalated until it reaches the governor panel stage the clerk needs to:
record the date the complaint is received
acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing
convene a meeting and write to the complainant to inform them of the date and venue of the meeting (if the complainant rejects three proposed dates without good reason the clerk can set the date)
find any independent governors or people needed to sit on the panel
request copies of any further written material for the panel
circulate copies of all written material to all parties in advance of the meeting (eg: the agenda, written evidence)
take minutes of the panel meeting and ensure the complainant receives a copy.
It is a very short (two-page) policy describing what a school might do if complaints are abusive, repetitive, overly demanding or vexatious (eg: a very detailed complaint on a trivial matter).
Actions a school can take include limiting the number of contacts the complainant can have with the school and in extreme situations banning someone from the school site.
Example Agenda For A Complaints Panel
The DfE do not provide a model complaints panel agenda, but the structure of the meeting is fairly simple. A suggested agenda is below.
The complainant explains the issue and answers questions, the head explains the school’s response and answers questions and finally both the head and the complainant give a short summary statement.
Complaints Panel Agenda
A hearing by the complaints appeals panel of (Name of School) Governing Board will be held at (insert venue) on (insert date) at (insert time).
The order of business for the hearing is set out below.
To elect a chair for the hearing. (Ideally this should be done before this meeting.)
Introductions.
The chair to outline the procedure.
(Name of complainant) to explain his/her complaint.
Through the chair, the headteacher and the panel may ask questions.
Headteacher to explain the school’s response.
Through the chair, (name of complainant) and the panel may ask questions.
The headteacher to make a statement in summary.
(Name of complainant) makes a statement in summary.
All with the exception of the panel and the clerk to leave whilst the panel considers its decision. Written notice of the decision will be sent to the complainant and the headteacher within five school working days of the hearing.
The panel will then consider the complaint in private session.
At the base of the agenda state the clerk’s name and list any documents that you are sending out with the agenda, eg: a copy of the school’s complaints procedure, a copy of the original complaint, copies of letters between the complainant and the school, copies of written submissions from the complainant/head and any relevant LA guidance.
There is no set list of topics that must be covered in a written headteacher’s report to governors. Each report must focus on the priorities of the individual school and contain the information that governors request.
This page lists some topics that could be included, while explaining why you should not just copy a template from another school. It also covers who decides on the contents of the report, the importance of “triangulation” and whether a termly report is a statutory requirement.
What are the most common topics?
The Education Act 2002 says that the headteacher of a maintained school shall provide the reports that are required by governors “for the purposes of the exercise of any of their functions”. In other words, reports that enable governors to carry out their role.
“The headteacher of a maintained school in England or Wales shall provide the governing body with such reports in connection with the discharge of his functions as may be required (either on a regular basis or from time to time) by the governing body for the purposes of the exercise of any of their functions.”
There’s no equivalent law for academies, but in all schools the three key functions of governors/trustees are 1) to set the strategic direction, vision and ethos of the school, 2) to hold the head to account for educational performance and 3) to oversee the finances.
The headteacher’s report supplies the board with some of the key information they need to fulfil these three main functions, although it should not be their only source of knowledge.
Data Reporting
Data is a key feature of the head’s report. This could be internal data or external data from the DfE and OFSTED. The head should provide in particular information about areas that governors are trying to improve.
This ties in to governors’ monitoring role because of course if they are not tracking the impact of their decisions, policies and spending they will never know whether their work has made a difference. Data could be on:
pupil learning and progress
pupil literacy and numeracy
pupil applications and admissions
attendance and exclusions
staff deployment, absence, recruitment, retention, morale and performance
the quality of teaching.
Here’s a more detailed list of topics that might be included in the headteacher’s report, depending on the key priorities at that time and the key weaknesses identified by the board.
Pupil learning and progress – how far pupils have progressed in each subject or key stage; progress of key groups such as pupil premium or SEN children, or boys versus girls.
Pupil applications, admissions, attendance and exclusions – governors need to see if income will fall or rise due to the number on roll, if the school may be over-subscribed, if attendance is poor or if exclusions are trending upwards.
Pupil attainment – what pupils have achieved in terms of exam results, SATs results etc, including data on specific pupil groups and comparisons with previous cohorts.
Staff deployment, absence, recruitment, retention, morale and performance.
Quality of teaching – perhaps a report giving an overview of the current quality of teaching and lesson observation data.
Summary of reports from external advisers or assessors, eg: school improvement officer, OFSTED inspector.
Feedback from stakeholders: staff, pupils, parents and the local community.
Updates to the school development plan (SDP) or school improvement plan (SIP) – a key element should be progress that has been made towards the strategic aims set by governors and whether targets have been hit.
Safeguarding – an overview of incidents recorded, an update on local issues.
Health and safety – incidents such as emergencies, any audits or external reports, premises and buildings information.
Consider using a template for data that remains consistent at each meeting. Data should be shown in context, perhaps with graphs, so governors can spot trends and highlight problems that may be escalating. It is no good showing governors an attendance figure of 91% if no-one can remember what the figure was last year!
(There may be occasional exceptions to this, however. For example, a school may not wish to present safeguarding incident figures as a graph that shows previous figures, because staff should be encouraged to record all safeguarding incidents, not to chase a reduction of incidents on paper.)
Budget Reports
The budget may form part of the head’s report or may be a separate report, but governors should receive information on the budget at least six times per year in maintained schools, as recommended by the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS).
“Does the governing body receive clear and concise monitoring reports of the school’s budget position at least six times a year?
“A clear and concise monitoring report will enable the governing body to review income and expenditure against the agreed budget. It will identify variances, provide meaningful explanations for these and explain what will be done to re-balance the budget.
“It should be in an easy to understand format that can be automatically generated from base financial records.”
Note that the budget report should be “concise” rather than all-encompassing. It should identify “variances”, which means the difference between the amount the school planned to spend on a specific area and the amount it actually spent. It should also provide explanations for these differences in spending.
It should be in a format that can be “automatically generated”; in other words, the business manager should not have to spend hours producing a bespoke report just for governors.
Headteacher’s Report Template
I have not provided a template or example for the head’s report because the National Governance Association (NGA) specifically advise against using a blank template for your own report.
Governing bodies should discuss exactly what they wish to see in the report and how they want it presented rather than pasting into a template that may not reflect the school’s aims, priorities and challenges.
“Like so much to do with governance, reducing the key reporting document for any governing board to a template would not do justice to any headteacher, governor or board.”
No. There is no statutory requirement for headteachers to write reports to governors at any set interval, apart from the budget report requirements mentioned above.
Section 30 of the Education Act 2002 requires maintained school heads to provide reports to governors either regularly or “from time to time”.
Many local authorities recommend that a termly written report is produced and I suspect this is because governors must meet three times per year at minimum, so some schools hold one full governing body meeting per term.
Even though a termly written head’s report is not mandatory, most boards will want their headteacher to provide regular written reports. They should ask for as many written reports as they need, while bearing in mind the head’s work-life balance and their own access to other sources of data. Most schools will have a mix of written and verbal head’s reports.
Who decides what goes in the report?
The governing body. I remember reading an account from a despairing governor who said their headteacher’s report was full of trivial, operational information about school trips and assemblies, seemingly unaware that the governing body does not have to meekly sit and listen to whatever the head decides to tell them!
I also remember reading about a clerk who would shush any governors who dared to interrupt the report, sternly telling them “This is the headteacher’s report”, as if the head owned that part of the meeting and was suddenly the boss of the whole governing body.
It may be helpful to think of it as the head’s report for governors, rather than to them. The report is for the governors; they cannot carry out their role without the right information. The head should not be telling them only what he wants them to know and if he is, governors should be challenging this.
The head’s report should focus on the strategic information that governors require. If it doesn’t then governors must ask for the information they need in order to carry out their role.
How long should the report be?
There’s no way to answer this, except to say it should be long enough to contain the necessary information but not so long that it takes ages to write and ages to read. (Or seconds to read because governors see it is 60 pages long and give up immediately.)
Reports should be concise, focused and should not create a large amount of extra work for the head.
Remember that governors must not rely solely on the head’s report for their information. Part of their job is to hold the head to account and triangulate the data they receive, which means using multiple sources of data and knowledge to check that the information is correct.
For example, if the head tells you that the behaviour policy is working well because permanent exclusions have decreased, how can governors check that is true? Have they asked for data on fixed term exclusions and detentions? Have they read reports from a school improvement partner or OFSTED? Have they visited the school to see how the policy is implemented?
Triangulation could involve comparing the head’s report with the view from an external advisor, for example, or data from other sources such as Analyse School Performance (ASP) or the Fischer Family Trust (FFT). Governors must not use the head’s report as their only source.
Should the headteacher’s report be read out in full at the meeting?
At the meeting the head can briefly talk through the report, explain the most important points and provide updates on any changes since the report was written. Governors can then ask questions or request further information.
You may wish to make this clear on the agenda, so rather than an item just saying “Headteacher’s report” the item could be called “Questions arising from headteacher’s report”.
Terms of reference set out the delegated powers and responsibilities of committees and individual governors.
This articles looks at how terms of reference are produced and approved, how often they need reviewing and whether they must be online. It also provides sample terms of reference for various committees.
Who writes terms of reference?
The governing body. An established committee could suggest changes to their terms of reference, but the governing body must approve them; the committee cannot assign power to itself. Neither can any individual governor.
There are many example terms of reference boards can use rather than producing them from scratch. I’ve included some samples at the end of this page.
What should terms of reference contain?
Committee terms of reference will usually contain the following information.
Membership of the committee, for example “this committee will consist of five governors”. Terms may also say that a particular governor is always a member, like the headteacher, or that some governors can never be members, for example that school employees are not eligible to serve on the pay committee.
The quorum for the committee, eg: “the quorum is four governors”. In maintained schools a committee quorum must be three or more governors; academy trusts can set their own committee quorums.
Meeting schedule, eg: “the finance committee meets every half-term”.
How the committee chair and vice-chair will be elected, eg: “the chair and vice-chair will be elected annually by this committee”. Maintained school committee chairs must either be appointed annually by the full board or elected by that committee. (Maintained committees do not have to have vice-chairs.) Academy trusts can set their own rules for elections.
Delegated powers of the committee. A full list of the decision-making powers of each committee. This could include approval of policies and the power to approve spending up to an agreed limit.
Monitoring and scrutiny duties. Areas where the committee does not have decision-making powers but oversees an area and may provide a recommendation to the full board. For example, a finance committee may scrutinise the budget in detail and recommend that the full board approve it.
How often do committee terms of reference need reviewing?
The law for maintained schools says that committee terms of refence must be reviewed annually. Model articles for academies (June 2021) say they must be reviewed “at least” annually.
This review must be done by the governing body/board of trustees itself; the committee cannot approve its own terms of reference.
“The governing body must determine the constitution, membership and terms of reference of any committee they decide to establish and review them annually.”
“The establishment, terms of reference, constitution and membership of any committee of the trustees shall be reviewed at least once in every twelve months.”
Do individual governors with delegated power need terms of reference?
Yes. Whenever power is delegated there should be a written record of that delegation.
In maintained schools DfE advice on the law says that every individual governor who has delegated power should have their own terms of reference. These terms should explain the governor’s remit and the limits of their power. They should also be reviewed “at least” annually.
“Boards should develop and maintain a scheme of delegation to define explicitly at which level each of its functions will be exercised – at board level, by a committee, or by a named individual.
“Each individual or committee to which functions have been delegated should have a terms of reference that records their remit and decision making powers. These should be reviewed at least annually.”
In academies the current model articles say that any delegation to a single trustee must be made in writing.
“The trustees may delegate any of their powers or functions (including the power to sub-delegate) to any trustee, committee [(including any local governing body)], the [chief executive officer]/[principal] or any other holder of an executive office.
“Any such delegation shall be made in writing and subject to any conditions the trustees may impose, and may be revoked or altered.”
There is no requirement for link governors to have terms of reference and link governors are not usually given delegated power as part of their role. They are leading the board’s work in a particular area and monitoring that area rather than making decisions about it.
However, the remit of each link role should be made clear to each governor and you may wish to provide a written explanation of each role.
Does the full governing body need terms of reference?
There is no requirement to have terms of reference for the full board as their powers and duties are set out in law and documents like the Academy Trust Handbook.
Any duty that has not been delegated is the responsibility of the board and the full board always retains ultimate responsibility for governance, even where powers are delegated.
However, you could write terms of reference for the full board if you wish. It may be helpful to do so where the board uses the “circle” model of governance, where it operates without committees, to ensure governors understand their powers.
Must terms of reference be published online?
All schools must publish online the remit of each committee they establish. The easiest way to do this is to publish the terms of reference.
Example Terms Of Reference
Below are some sample terms of reference for various different committees. They will of course need editing to suit your own school.
If you have additional terms of reference you would be willing to share with governance colleagues to save them some valuable time please do get in touch.
Appeals committee terms of reference (.doc) A committee that considers the appeal stage of admissions, complaints, exclusions, dismissals, pay appeals and staff grievances. Meets only when required and is formed from a pool of any three “eligible” governors.
Eligibility is defined in the document, eg: school employees are not eligible to sit on appeal panels for staffing matters and no governor is eligible to sit on any panel if they have detailed knowledge of the issue concerned.
Finance, buildings and personnel committee terms of reference (.doc) To scrutinise the budget and unofficial account, oversee buildings including health and safety and lettings and review personnel matters, including the staffing structure and pay increase recommendations.
Resources committee terms of reference (.doc) To consider all matters concerning budgeting, finance, school premises and grounds, security and health and safety
