Sophie Lee (Clerk to Governors) – Page 5

Headteacher Appraisal Policy and Procedure

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.

Law For Maintained Schools

The relevant law for maintained schools is The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012.

The DfE also publish a model policy for teacher appraisal and capability which includes guidelines for the head’s appraisal.

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.”
Teacher Appraisal and Capability: A Model Policy For Schools

The 2012 Appraisal Regulations say that the governing body of a maintained school must:

tell the headteacher what standards they will be assessed against
set objectives (targets) that the head needs to achieve in the coming year
appraise the performance of the headteacher, using guidance from an external adviser
assess the head’s performance against the DfE Teachers’ Standards and Headteachers’ Standards and the objectives set by the governor appraisal panel last year
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.”
Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012

The “Document” referred to under item c is the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD).

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.”
School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009

Appointing An External Adviser

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.”
Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012

The Headteacher Appraisal Process

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.”
Effectively Managing Headteacher Performance: Case Studies

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.”
Effectively Managing Headteacher Performance: Research Brief

How do we find an external adviser?

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.”
Teacher Appraisal and Capability: A Model Policy For Schools

(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.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013

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.”
Effectively Managing Headteacher Performance: Research Brief

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.”
Effectively Managing Headteacher Performance: Research Brief

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.”
Effectively Managing Headteacher Performance: Research Brief

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.

Complaints Policy and Procedures

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.

Maintained schools: Best Practice Guidance for School Complaints Procedures

Model Complaints Policy

Academy trusts: Best Practice Guidance for Academies Complaints Procedures

Model Complaints Policy

Can only parents complain?

No. Maintained schools must consider complaints from anyone.

“You must not limit complaints to parents or carers of children that are registered at the school.”
Best Practice Guidance for School Complaints Procedures (Maintained 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.”
Best Practice Guidance for Academies Complaints Procedures

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.”
What Maintained Schools Must Publish Online

“Academies must publish any arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with special educational needs about the support provided by the school.”
What Academies, Free Schools and Colleges Should Publish Online

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.”
Best Practice Guidance for School Complaints Procedures (Maintained Schools)

(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.”
Best Practice Guidance for Academies Complaints Procedures

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.

DfE guidance does not set a timescale for the complaints process to be completed. Neither does the DfE model complaints policy for maintained schools or the model complaints policies for academies.

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.”
Best Practice Guidance for School Complaints Procedures (Maintained Schools)

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.”
Best Practice Guidance for School Complaints Procedures (Maintained Schools)

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.”
Best Practice Guidance for School Complaints Procedures (Maintained Schools)

Tips For Handling Complaints

Try to resolve the complaint informally.
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.

What solutions can we offer?

A DfE report from 2012 called Parent’s and Young People’s Complaints About Schools gave examples of the most common solutions to school complaints.

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.

What if complaints are unreasonable?

The DfE provides a model policy for managing serial and unreasonable complaints in maintained schools which could be adapted for use in academies.

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.

What should be in the headteacher’s report to governors?

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.”
Education Act 2002 (Section 30)

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.
Details of the school self-evaluation (SEF).
A summary of complaints.

Detailed guidance on the data that governors should receive can be found in Understanding Your Data: A Guide for School Governors and Academy Trustees.

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.”
Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) for Maintained Schools

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.”
National Governance Association (Full Article for NGA Members Only)

Is a termly headteacher’s report statutory?

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?

No. Governors should have received and read the report in advance because all papers should be sent out in advance.

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

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.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013

“The establishment, terms of reference, constitution and membership of any committee of the trustees shall be reviewed at least once in every twelve months.”
Model Articles of Association (June 2021)

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.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013 Departmental Advice

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.”
Model Articles of Association (June 2021)

Do link governors need terms of reference?

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 committee terms of reference (maintained school) (.doc)
Suggested terms of reference from the DfE for a maintained school finance committee. Adapted from the Schools Financial Value Standard Checklist Guidance.

Curriculum committee terms of reference (.doc)
To monitor the curriculum and standards and receive reports and plans from subject leaders.

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

Strategic education committee terms of reference (.doc)
To review curriculum policies, quality of teaching and learning, school improvement and effectiveness of SEND provision.

Audit and risk committee terms of reference (academy trust) (.doc)
The suggested terms of reference from the DfE for an academy trust audit and risk committee. Adapted from Internal Scrutiny in Academy Trusts.

How do we hold a staff governor election?

This is a guide to running staff governor elections in maintained schools, explaining who can stand for election and the procedures that should be followed when arranging a ballot.

Academies with elected staff trustees or staff local governors will need to check their articles of association (for trustees) or terms of reference (for local governors) to see the rules in your trust. However, procedures may be similar to those described here.

The Law On Staff Governor Elections

The relevant law for maintained schools is found in Schedule 2 of the Constitution Regulations (England) 2012. This very short Schedule only sets the following rules:

the “appropriate authority” must run the election
when the LA are the “appropriate authority” they can delegate this duty to the headteacher
there cannot be a minimum number of votes cast for a governor to be elected (so a staff member could be elected with just one vote)
all elections with more than one candidate must be held by ballot.

“Where a local authority are the appropriate authority in relation to a school, they may delegate to the head teacher of the school any of their functions under this Schedule.

“The appropriate authority must make all the necessary arrangements for the election of staff governors.

“The power conferred by paragraph 3 does not include power to impose any requirements as to the minimum number of votes required to be cast for a candidate to be elected.

“Any election which is contested must be held by ballot.”
Constitution Regulations (England) 2012

Who is the appropriate authority?

The “appropriate authority” for staff elections – the organisation that must run the election – is the same authority as for parent elections. This means that in community, nursery and voluntary-controlled schools it is the LA. For voluntary-aided and foundation schools it is the governing body.

However, in community, nursery and VC schools it is common practice for LAs to delegate responsibility for the election to the headteacher. It is also usual for the governing body in VA and foundation schools to delegate responsibility to the head.

Therefore it is usually the headteacher who runs the election, with the help of the clerk and support staff.

Who can stand for election?

A separate article looks at who can be a staff governor in detail, but the short answer is that the person must be employed by either the governing body or the LA under a contract on the date of the election. Any member of staff who fits that description is eligible, not just teachers.

“In these Regulations “staff governor” means a person who—

(a) is elected in accordance with Schedule 2 as a governor by persons who are employed by either the governing body or the local authority under a contract of employment providing for those persons to work at the school, and

(b) is so employed at the time of election.”
Constitution Regulations (England) 2012

Can candidates vote for themselves? Who else can vote?

Candidates can vote for themselves and they can nominate themselves too. All school staff employed by the LA or governing body under a contract are eligible to vote.

Can the headteacher vote?

Yes and so can any other governors who are employed by the school or LA, for example co-opted governors.

What happens if only one candidate stands?

They are elected unopposed. The law says a ballot is only needed for a contested election. In an uncontested election no ballot is required.

What happens if no-one stands for staff governor?

The post remains vacant until a volunteer is found. Unlike the rules for parent governors, boards cannot appoint someone to the role of staff governor themselves if a volunteer cannot be found via election.

The school should keep reminding staff of the vacancy and make sure any new staff are aware of it too.

Can the ballot be held electronically?

The law does not explicitly say that staff elections can be electronic (although it does say that for parent governor elections). The “appropriate authority” (usually the head) will need to decide whether to approve virtual voting. The easiest voting method is probably to put a ballot box in the staffroom.

Sample Letters and Ballot Paper

Example letters and a ballot paper are available on my templates and letters page. This includes a letter to advertise the vacancy, a letter to thank volunteers for applying and a letter to inform staff of the result.

If the board is lacking expertise in a particular area their advert can mention “any specific skills or experience that would be desirable in a new governor”, according to statutory guidance to the Constitution Regulations 2012. However, they cannot set additional eligibility criteria.

Boards should clearly explain the role of governor and the duties in terms of number of meetings held each term, link governor roles and so on, but they must not imply someone without a particular skillset is not welcome to stand for election.

“The purpose of governing bodies providing and publishing information about the role of a governor and the skills they ideally require is not to create additional eligibility criteria for potential candidates – which they do not have the power to do.

“It is for the electorate to elect their choice of candidate(s). The purpose of publishing the information is to simply inform the electorate of the governing bodies’ expectations, circumstances and ideal requirements.”
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools: Statutory Guidance

Election Procedure

The following is the procedure recommended by most LAs.

Email the advert and your LA governor application form to all staff and place an advert in the staffroom.
In the email ask candidates to provide a short personal statement (perhaps 200-250 words) saying why they wish to be a governor.
If you receive more than one application send a second email that includes the candidate’s personal statements and an attached ballot paper.
Place a ballot box in the staff room with a supply of envelopes and use the “double envelope” system. Each voter ticks a box on the ballot paper and places their ballot in a blank envelope which they seal. This is placed inside a second envelope, on which they write their name.
Each staff member can vote for one candidate only.
The returning officer (usually the headteacher or the clerk) checks the names against a list to ensure each person is an eligible voter, throws the outside envelope away and the vote is then anonymous.
The returning officer counts the votes. Candidates should be invited to attend the count.
Ballot papers and other documents should be kept for a minimum of six months.

What is the timescale?

If your LA does not set a timescale for staff elections (my own does not) then whoever is running the election needs to set it. It might be reasonable to give staff say 10 to 14 working days to volunteer as a candidate and then another 10 to 14 working days for staff to vote.

Set deadlines with both a day and time specified, eg: “Votes must be cast by 3pm on 30 June 2021.” Late votes should not be accepted.

What happens if the vote is tied?

Recount the votes to check the number. If there is a definite tie local authorities usually recommend a random method of breaking the deadlock, for example drawing lots from a hat or tossing a coin. Alternatively one or more candidates could choose to withdraw.

Can an existing staff governor be re-elected?

Yes. As long as they are still employed by the school on the election date they are eligible to stand for election again.

However, note that they do have to be re-elected, so they must either win the election or be the only candidate and win unopposed. They can’t just carry on without standing for election again and giving other staff a chance to stand against them.

For any elected role the board cannot simply vote to renew their term of office because that prevents other candidates from standing for office.

When does the term of office start?

The term of office starts from the date of election (the final day that votes could be cast). If no election was held the term starts from the deadline set for receiving applications.

If you held the election early and the old staff governor is still in post, the new governor’s term starts as soon as the old governor “expires”.

Default terms of office for staff governors are the standard four years but boards can impose any term between one and four years.

Federated School Governance

Maintained schools can choose to join together in a federation, where one governing body oversees two or more schools. This page explains how governance works in federations and whether you need governors from each individual school.

Federations must follow the Federations (England) Regulations 2012. (Single maintained schools follow the Constitution (England) Regulations 2012.)

How are federations formed?

Two or more single maintained schools can choose to form a new federation. They can also join an existing federation, or two existing federations can join together into one big one. The right to do this comes from the Education Act 2002.

“In prescribed cases, the governing bodies—

(a) of two or more maintained schools in England,

(b) of an existing federation and of one or more maintained schools in England, or

(c) of two or more existing federations,

may…provide for their respective schools to be federated.

“Where any schools are federated by virtue of this section, they shall have a single governing body constituted under a single instrument of government.”
Education Act 2002 (Section 24)

What is the process to form or join a federation?

The process is set out in part 2 of the Federations (England) Regulations 2012. This law has been amended since 2012 and only the original version is provided by the DfE, but you can find an up-to-date version on my page of revised regulations.

Constitution of Federated School Boards

Your instrument of government will show the constitution of the board – in other words, how many governors you have of each type. A federation has one instrument of government to cover the entire group of schools.

The requirements for federated school governing bodies are very similar to those for single schools, including the legal minimum of seven governors in the constitution and no maximum number. However, the rules for headteacher and parent governors are slightly different.

Here are the rules for every federation governing body.

“The total membership of the governing body of a federation must be no fewer than seven governors.

“The governing body of a federation must include the following—

(a) two parent governors

(b) the head teacher of each federated school unless any such head teacher resigns the office of governor in accordance with regulation 19 of the Constitution Regulations 2012;

(c) one staff governor; and

(d) one local authority governor.

“The governing body may in addition appoint such number of co-opted governors as they consider necessary provided that the requirements in regulation 22 are met in respect of governing bodies of federations comprising foundation and voluntary schools.”
Federations (England) Regulations 2012

You will notice that the headteacher of every federated school has the right to be a governor, although they can choose not to be one if they prefer.

Federated boards only have two parent governors. (Single maintained schools must have “at least” two). Parent governors can come from any school in the federation.

The other requirements are the same as for single schools. There must be one staff governor, one local authority governor and as many co-opted governors as you like, provided that not too many work for the federation; the exact number allowed is explained below.

Federations that contain voluntary or foundation schools must have additional foundation or partnership governors. The rules for these governors are complicated and depend on the category of school. For example, a federation with only voluntary-aided schools must include enough foundation governors to outnumber all the other governors by two.

Rules for your particular type of voluntary or foundation school can be found in section 22 of the Federations (England) Regulations 2012.

Must federated boards have a parent governor from each school?

No. The law says federations must have “two parent governors”, which means only two parent governors. These parents can come from any school in the federation, so there could be two parents from one school or parents from two different schools. All parents across all federated schools must be told they are eligible to stand for election.

“The governing body of a federation must include the following—

(a) two parent governors.”
Federations (England) Regulations 2012

However, the law used to say that the board of a federation must have one parent governor “in respect of each school in the federation”, so one parent from each school. That law was amended in 2016 to just refer to “two parent governors”.

Unfortunately the government do not provide updated versions of these laws, so if you check the official version of the Federations (England) Regulations 2012 it still shows the old rules.

I have produced a revised version of the Federations Regulations 2012 as part of my page of revised versions of school governance regulations so you can see the changes clearly.

A memo to the law makes it clear that parents are elected across all schools in the federation. It also explains that parent governors are in place to advance the interests of pupils from every school, not just the school their own child attends.

“These Regulations will replace the current arrangements with a requirement that the governing body has two, and only two, parent governors elected by parents across all the schools in the federation.

“This will also help reinforce the message that governors govern in the interests of all the pupils in all the schools in the federation.”
Explanatory Memo to the Constitution and Federations (England) Amendment Regulations 2016

When the government made this amendment they explained the thinking behind it, which was that some schools were previously forced to have very large governing bodies, with more governors than “they need or want”.

For example, if a federation contained five schools you would previously have needed five parent governors, one from each school. On top of that some schools, such as voluntary-aided schools, must have enough foundation governors to outnumber all other governors by two.

When can federated boards appoint parent governors?

If all parents are told they can stand for election but not enough volunteers come forward to fill the vacancies the federated governing body can vote to appoint parent governors instead.

They must appoint parents in the following order of preference.

The parent of a pupil at a federated school.
The parent of a former pupil at a federated school.
The parent of a child with SEN for which a federation school is approved.
The parent of a child, including a child with SEN who is over compulsory school age.

“In appointing a parent governor, the governing body of a federation must appoint in the following order of preference—

(a) a parent of a registered pupil at a federated school (or, in respect of any maintained nursery school in the federation, a parent of a child for whom educational or other provision is made on the premises of the school (including any such provision made by the governing body under section 27 of EA 2002));

(b) a parent of a former registered pupil at a federated school;

(c) a parent of a child with special educational needs for which a federated school is approved; or

(d) a parent of a child, including a child who has special educational needs and is over compulsory school age.”
Federations (England) Regulations 2012

Can parent governors work for a federated school?

You cannot be a parent governor if you work for a maintained school for more than 500 hours per year. In a federation that means you are not eligible to be a parent governor if you work for any of the federated schools for more than 500 hours a year.

“A person is disqualified from election or appointment as a parent governor if the person is—

(a) an elected member of the local authority; or

(b) paid to work at the federation or a federated school for more than 500 hours in any consecutive twelve month period.”
Federations (England) Regulations 2012

Can the staff governor come from any federated school?

Yes. On the date of their election the staff governor just needs to be employed by either the federation governing body or by the local authority under a contract of employment to work at at that federation.

“In these Regulations “staff governor” means a person who—

(a) is elected in accordance with Schedule 3 as a governor by persons who are employed by either the governing body of the federation, or the local authority under a contract of employment providing for those persons to work at the federation or federated school, and

(b) is so employed at the time of the election referred to in sub-paragraph (a).”
Federations (England) Regulations 2012

Can co-opted governors be employed by a federated school?

Yes, but there is a limit. The total number of co-opted governors who are federation employees, when counted with the staff governor and all the headteachers, must not be more than one third of the governing body.

Say for example you have 12 governors in your constitution, with one staff governor and two headteacher governors. You could only appoint one co-opted governor who worked for the federation, because the staff governor plus the two heads plus one co-opted employee equals four out of 12 (one third exactly).

“The total number of co-opted governors who are also eligible to be elected as staff governors under Schedule 3, when counted together with the staff governor and the head teachers, must not exceed one third of the total membership of the governing body.”
Federations (England) Regulations 2012

Can the board function with vacancies?

Yes. Governing bodies at both maintained schools and academies can continue to hold meetings and take decisions even if they have ongoing vacancies.

In maintained schools there is no legal minimum number of governors you must have in post, but you must have a minimum of seven governors in the board’s constitution.

In academies your articles of association may say that if the number of trustees in post falls below a quorum those trustees can only make limited decisions. However, articles should also say that in all other circumstances the board can function normally with vacancies.

There are provisions in the rules (explained below) that allow boards to function with vacancies. However, it is not good practice to have too many vacancies because it puts pressure on your remaining governors.

This page explains the rules and suggests when vacancies may become a concern.

Law For Maintained Schools

Each maintained school must have a minimum of seven governors in its constitution. This number is set by law. You can see how many governors are in your constitution by checking the instrument of government.

The constitution of a governing body means the number of governor roles on your school board, which may be different to the number of volunteers you actually have in post.

“The total membership of the governing body of a maintained school must be no fewer than seven governors.”
Constitution Regulations (England) 2012

Although boards must have at least seven governors in their constitution, the law says that governing bodies can still function if they are not full and do not become valid because of “any vacancy”. This means there is no minimum number of governors that schools must legally have in post.

“The proceedings of the governing body of a school are not invalidated by any vacancy among their number.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances Regulations (England) 2013

Say for example a school has seven governor roles in its constitution but one of these roles is not filled, which leaves only six governors in post.

These six governors are able to carry on attending meetings and making decisions if they are quorate, so for full governing body meetings they would need three governors in attendance for a quorum.

Rules for Academies

Check your own articles to be sure, but the current model articles of association for academies (June 2021) state that trustees are able to act even if there are vacancies on the trust board.

However, they also say that if the number of trustees in post is less than the number needed for a quorum then the trustees can only make decisions on two issues: filling the trustee vacancies or calling a general meeting (a meeting of academy members).

“The trustees may act notwithstanding any vacancies in their number, but, if the numbers of trustees is less than the number fixed as the quorum, the continuing trustees may act only for the purpose of filling vacancies or of calling a general meeting.”
Model Articles of Association (June 2021)

The quorum in model articles is either three trustees or one-third of trustees in post (rounded up), whichever number is greater.

So if an academy trust board has enough trustees in post to form a quorum it can function as normal. If there are two trustees in post or fewer they can only fill vacancies or call a general meeting.

If it is a committee such as a local governing body the rules will be set by that committee’s terms of reference.

When should we worry about governor vacancies?

As shown above the rules allow governing bodies to function with very small numbers of people, but a tiny board is not good practice for a number of reasons.

Firstly, a handful of people cannot take on all the responsibility of the governing body without strain.

It will be difficult to assign link roles and form committees or panels and the board may struggle to elect a chair and vice-chair. It may even struggle to find a free governor to meet OFSTED during an inspection.

The balance of stakeholders on the board would be another concern. If for example you have only five governors and the headteacher governor and staff governor are in post, it would only need a few other governors to send apologies for a meeting to effectively become a staff meeting rather than a meeting of the board.

Aiming for a minimum of around eight or nine governors/trustees in post might be a good rule of thumb. In reality most boards are larger than this, allowing a few governors to resign without putting too much pressure on those left.

A survey by the National Governance Association found that in 2019 the average board contained 11 to 12 governors when full, with only 16.7% of schools having eight governors or fewer in their constitution. Mind you, 2.8% of schools had 20 governors or more! Here are the full survey results.

Size Of School Boards When All Vacancies Filled

Boards with with eight governors or fewer: 16.7% of schools
Boards with 9-10 governors: 23.1%
Boards with 11-12 governors: 31.9%
Boards with 13-15 governors: 19.2%
Boards with 16-19 governors: 6.2%
Boards with 20 governors or more: 2.8%

Can boards renew elected governors’ terms of office?

No. For elected governor roles the board cannot simply vote to renew a governor’s term of office. All eligible parents or staff must be offered a chance to stand for election.

The board cannot decide to “convert” an elected role into an appointed one just because they have found a governor they like. However, parent governor or trustee roles can be filled by appointment, but only if not enough volunteers stand for election.

Elected Staff Governors and Trustees

In maintained schools the staff governor is never appointed by the board. They are either elected by staff in a ballot or elected unopposed if there is only one candidate. At the end of their term of office all staff must be given the opportunity to stand for election.

Academies may have staff trustees or local governors who are either elected or appointed. If your articles of association/terms of reference state that a staff vacancy is an elected role then all staff must be given the chance to volunteer when the current governor reaches the end of their term.

Elected Versus Appointed Parent Governors in Maintained Schools

If you have a parent governor who is nearing the end of their term of office the law for maintained schools says you must tell every parent of a current pupil about the vacancy. You must also tell them that they have the right to stand as a candidate in the election and vote.

“Where a vacancy for a parent governor arises, the appropriate authority must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that every person who is known to them to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school…is—

(a) informed of the vacancy and that it is required to be filled by election;

(b) informed that the person is entitled to stand as a candidate and vote in the election; and

(c) given the opportunity to do so.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012

The phrase “where a vacancy for a parent governor arises” may cause confusion, because if you have a current parent governor who is happy to carry on in the role it may seem like there isn’t a “vacancy” as such.

However, parent governors have fixed terms of office like all governors who are not ex officio. Whenever a parent governor reaches the end of their term of office they must be re-elected or reappointed under the same rules that applied to their role when they first joined the board. The default term of office is four years (but may be less if your board has changed it).

If a governing body could simply vote to extend an elected parent governor’s term of office for another four years, then four again (and then four again) it’s possible that other parents at your school wouldn’t be offered the chance to stand for election for decades!

Can current parent governors stand in the election?

Yes, but only if they still have children at your school on the election date. The law for maintained schools says a parent governor is elected by parents of registered pupils and must be “such a parent at the time of the election”.

“In these Regulations “parent governor” means—

(a) a person who—

(i) is elected in accordance with paragraphs 4 to 8 of Schedule 1 as a governor by parents of registered pupils at the school, and

(ii) is such a parent at the time of election.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012

So if the governor’s child or children have left the school they are not eligible to be elected as a parent parent governor.

However, as a parent of a former pupil they will always be eligible to be appointed as a parent governor. The next section explains when the board can appoint parents.

You also need to check that the current parent governor does not work for the school for more than 500 hours a year and is not an elected member of the local authority, because both of these things disqualify someone from being elected or appointed as a maintained school parent governor.

What happens if not enough parents stand for election?

This is where boards can appoint a parent governor – in other words, hold a vote at a full governing body meeting. The law says that if the number of election candidates is less than the number of vacancies, parents can be appointed in the following order of preference:

“(a) a parent of a registered pupil at the school,

(b) a parent of a former registered pupil at the school, or

(c) a parent of a child under or of compulsory school age.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012

So if you have two volunteers, one with children who used to attend your school and the other with children at a different school, the first parent must be given preference. (Note that parents of children who are over school age are not eligible for appointment, but parents with children under school age are.)

Remember that even if the board appoints a parent governor they have still not “converted” that role into an appointed role. When the appointed parent governor reaches the end of their term of office they cannot simply be reappointed; all parents must be given the chance to stand for election. It is only if enough volunteers cannot be found via the election that the board can consider reappointing the parent governor.

A final point is that boards must consider the skills of any volunteer before appointing them.

“The governing body may only appoint as a parent governor a person who has, in the opinion of the governing body, the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of
the school.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012

What happens if more parents stand for election than vacancies?

A ballot must be held and parents are given one vote per parent, per vacancy. Your current parent governor may be re-elected, but if they lose the election they are replaced by the winning parent. (If the number of candidates is the same as the number of vacancies they are all elected unopposed with no ballot needed.)

If your current parent governor loses the election it is possible to appoint them to another vacancy as a different type of governor. For example, all members of the community are eligible to be co-opted governors. If you do this you will need to consider the balance of parents on the board, as it may not be wise to have too many governors from one stakeholder group.

You may also need to consider the fact that other parents may object, because of course they have just voted this person out of office!

Elected Versus Appointed Parent Governors in Academies

The current model articles for academies say that academies can appoint parent trustees or local governors only if the number of election candidates is less than the number of vacancies.

The quote below shows the wording for MATs but the rule is the same for single academy trusts too.

“Parent trustees and parent local governors shall be elected or, if the number of parents standing for election is less than the number of vacancies, appointed.”
Model Articles for Academies (June 2021)

In MAT model articles parents can only stand for election as a trustee if they have a child at one of the MAT academies on the date of election. To be an elected parent local governor they must have a child at an academy overseen by the local governing body on the date of the election.

In a multi-academy trust (MAT) if not enough candidates stand for election trustees can appoint as a trustee (in order of preference) either the parent of a child at one of the academies, or the parent of a child within the age of range of at least one of the MAT academies. (When appointing parent local governors they should appoint the parent of a child within the age range of one of the academies overseen by the local governing body.)

“In appointing a parent trustee or parent local governor the trustees shall appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at an academy [within the trust]…

“or [if] it is not reasonably practical to appoint a parent…then the trustees may appoint a person who is the parent of a child within the age range of at least one of the academies

“or, in the case of an appointment to a local governing body, the age range of at least one of the academies overseen by that local governing body.”
Model Articles for Academies (June 2021)

In a single academy trust (SAT) the board can appoint the parent of a registered pupil or, if they can’t find one, any parent who has children who are of compulsory school age.

“In appointing a parent trustee the board of trustees shall appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at the academy; or where it is not reasonably practical to do so, a person who is the parent of a child of compulsory school age.”
Model Articles for Academies (June 2021)

(Rules are a little different for 16-19 so check your own articles for the details.)

What does ex officio mean?

Ex officio means “by virtue of the office” and refers to a governor role that comes with someone’s job. For example, the headteacher of a maintained school always has the right to be an ex officio governor.

Ex officio is a Latin phrase that literally translates as “from the office” or “out of the office”. The DfE gave a good definition of the term in an old publication called The Governors’ Guide to the Law.

“Ex officio governor – someone who is automatically a governor or able to attend meetings of a governing body by virtue of the office they hold, for example a headteacher, parish priest or vicar, ie: the position of governor comes with the job.”
The Governors’ Guide to the Law (2012)

Ex Officio Governors In Maintained Schools

There are only two types of ex officio governor that can exist on the governing body of a maintained school. Many schools only have one of these types.

The headteacher is always ex officio. They do not have to be a governor but there is always a place reserved for them on the governing body. If they do not take up this place it cannot be filled by another governor.

Foundation governors are sometimes ex officio. They can exist in foundation, voluntary-aided or voluntary-controlled schools and are often the parish priest.

What is the term of office for ex officio governors?

Their term of office starts from the day they were appointed to their job, but unlike other governors who have a fixed term of office of a certain number of years they have no set “expiry” date.

However, their term of office ends automatically if they leave their job.

“A person who is a governor by virtue of being headteacher of the school or who is an ex officio foundation governor may not hold office for longer than the position from which the governorship derives is held by that person.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012

This means the headteacher has a right to be a governor for as long as they remain the headteacher. If a governing body wanted to stop the headteacher from being a governor and the head refused to give up their governor role the only way to prevent them from governing would be to fire the headteacher!

However, an ex officio foundation governor can be removed from the board, even though they do not have a fixed term of office. In a foundation, VA or VC school your instrument of government will say who has the power to remove an ex officio foundation governor.

“The governing body may, in accordance with the procedure set out in regulation 25, remove any ex officio foundation governor at the request of the person named in the instrument of government as the person entitled to make such a request.

“A person requesting the removal of an ex officio foundation governor must give written reasons for the request to the clerk to the governing body and the governor in question.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012

The instrument of government will also tell you who has the power to appoint a substitute governor.

A substitute can be appointed if the original governor has been removed or if they are “unable or unwilling” to act as a governor. For example, if the parish priest is so ill they cannot attend meetings a substitute can be appointed.

“‘Substitute governor’ means a foundation governor appointed to act in the place of an ex officio foundation governor who is unwilling or unable to act as a governor or has been removed from office under regulation 21(1).”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012

If a substitute governor is appointed their term of office is four years unless the original foundation governor becomes able to fulfil the role again (assuming they were just unable to fulfil the role and not removed from the board) or is replaced in their job by someone else.

Ex Officio Trustees In Academies

Any ex officio trustees in an academy will be listed in the articles of association. The current model articles (2021) do not list any specific ex officio positions, but do say that the standard four-year term of office does not apply to ex officio trustees.

“The term of office for any trustee shall be four years, save that this time limit shall not apply to any post which is held ex officio.”
Model Articles of Association (June 2021)

Although the main model articles don’t contain ex officio posts and neither do model articles for Catholic academies, the model articles for Church of England academies do contain (optional) ex officio roles.

Here’s the wording from model articles for a C of E academy converting from a voluntary-aided school.

“The company shall have… the following ex officio directors: [insert incumbent(s), Area Dean, Archdeacon, Diocesan Bishop if required or delete and mark “Not used”].”
Church of England Academies Model Articles of Association: Majority Version

(Note that these articles call the trustees “directors” but the role is the same; they sit on the main academy trust board.)

Academy trusts can also assign ex officio positions to committees such as local governing bodies, so for example a local governor within a multi-academy trust could be an academy employee. Check the terms of reference for each committee to see whether any of these positions exist.

Ex Officio Roles in Committee Terms of Reference

You may come across terms of reference for committees that say someone is an ex officio member of that committee because of their role on the governing body rather than their job role.

For example, terms of reference for a finance committee may say the chair of governors is a member of that committee “ex officio”.

This means that the chair of governors always has a right to be a member of that committee. If the current chair resigned your new chair would now have the right to be on that committee and the old chair would not.

Both maintained schools and academy trusts are free to set terms of reference for their committees so there’s nothing wrong with this practice, as long as the board understands what “ex officio” means in this context.

Can ex officio governors be disqualified for not attending meetings?

In a maintained school ex officio governors cannot be disqualified for missing meetings. The usual rule is that governors who are absent for more than six months of meetings can be disqualified if the board does not consent to the absences.

However, the law says that this rule does not apply to ex officio governors.

“This paragraph applies to every governor, other than governors who are governors by virtue of the office that they hold.

“A governor who, without the consent of the governing body, has failed to attend their meetings for a continuous period of six months beginning with the date of the first such meeting the governor fails to attend, is, on the expiry of that period, disqualified from continuing to hold office as a governor of that school.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012

As explained above an ex officio foundation governor can be removed from the board, so if this governor is missing lots of meetings check your instrument of government to see who has the power to remove them and appoint a substitute.

In academies the rules will depend your articles of association (for trustees) and terms of reference for any committees such as local governing bodies.

Are ex officio governors disqualified for some criminal offences?

Yes. In all types of school a person must meet certain criteria to join the governing body. There is a full list of disqualification criteria in this article but they include specific criminal convictions and being removed from office as a charity trustee.

There are slightly different criteria for maintained schools and academies but they apply equally to ex officio governors/trustees.

Can ex officio governors vote?

Yes. Ex officio governors and trustees have the same voting rights as any other governor or trustee.

Do ex officio governors count towards the quorum?

Yes.

Revised Versions of The School Governance Regulations

This page provides revised, consolidated versions of the three main sets of School Governance Regulations, incorporating all amendments made since the original laws came into force.

The School Governance Regulations for maintained schools are only made available on www.legislation.gov.uk in their original form, which means that the text does not show the changes made by amendments from the following years.

This can cause confusion, particularly for new clerks who might for example wonder why governors do not need DBS checks in the original 2012 Constitution Regulations. The DBS requirement was added as an amendment in 2016, but unfortunately the text of the 2012 original law has not been updated to make this clear.

This page provides the most up-to-date version of the Constitution Regulations 2012, the Roles, Procedures and Allowances Regulations 2013 and the Federations Regulations 2012. Amendments are colour-coded in the downloadable files so you can see when they were introduced.

Revised Constitution Regulations 2012

This is a revised copy of The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012. It incorporates the amendments published in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Download revised copy of The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 (.docx Word file)

Download revised copy of The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 (.pdf)

List of Amendments in the Revised Copy of the Constitution Regulations 2012

Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 are in RED

The 2014 amendment:

revoked the Constitution Regulations 2007
added a requirement that LA, foundation, appointed parent and partnership governors must have the skills to contribute to effective governance and the success of the school
changed the procedure for removing surplus governors from “first in, last out” to a process based on skills
added one disqualification criteria so governors and associate members are now disqualified if they are on the section 128 list.

Amendments from The School Governance (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2015 are in BLUE

The 2015 amendment:

allowed boards to set terms of office of between one and four years for any individual governor within a category
stated that the instrument of government must show if a term of office for a governor of a particular category can be chosen by whoever appoints them.

Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 are in BROWN

The 2016 amendment made it mandatory to apply for an enhanced criminal record check for any governor who did not already hold one within 21 days of their election or appointment.

Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 are in PURPLE

The 2017 amendment:

removed a requirement that you should round numbers up or down to a whole number when calculating how many foundation or partnership governors you need
allowed boards to remove elected parent or staff governors
stated that an elected parent or staff governor who is removed is disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor for five years
removed a requirement that a person must notify the clerk if they are disqualified under any of the criteria in the regulations (although this requirement still exists in statutory guidance to the 2012 constitution regulations).

Revised Roles, Procedures and Allowances Regulations 2013

This is a revised copy of The School Governances (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013. It incorporates the amendments published in 2013 and 2014.

Download revised copy of The School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 (.docx Word file)

Download revised copy of The School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 (pdf)

List of Amendments in the Revised Copy of the Roles, Procedures and Allowances 2013 Regulations

Amendments from The School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 are in GREEN

The 2013 amendment:

added a requirement that reports and other papers must be sent out with the agenda seven clear days in advance of full governing body and committee meetings (unless the chair determines there are urgent matters to address)
allowed virtual attendance at committee meetings by phone, video link or other methods.

Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 are in RED

The 2014 amendment stated that a decision to remove surplus governors must be specified as an item of business on the agenda.

Revised Federations Regulations 2012

This is a revised copy of the The School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012. It incorporates the amendments from 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

(Note: The Federations Regulations 2012 only apply to federated schools, where one governing body oversees two or more schools. Single schools follow the Constitution Regulations 2012 instead.)

Download revised copy of The School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012 (.docx Word file)

Download revised copy of The School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012 (pdf)

List of Amendments in the Revised Copy of the Federations Regulations 2012

Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 are in RED

The 2014 amendment:

revoked the Federations Regulations 2007
stated that local authority, foundation, appointed parent and partnership governors must be appointed for their skills
amended the rule on co-opted governors who are school employees, which used to say they must not exceed one third of the board (and now says co-opted school employees plus headteachers plus the staff governor must not exceed one third of the board)
changed the procedure for removing surplus governors.

Amendments from The School Governance (Federations) (England)
(Amendment) Regulations 2015 are in BLUE

The 2015 amendment said numbers must be rounded up in academy orders decisions.

Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 are in BROWN

The 2016 amendment requires federations to have only two parent governors (from any federated school), rather than one parent governor from each school in the federation. It also made minor amendments to the list of preferred candidates when appointing parent governors.

Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 are in PURPLE

The 2017 law amended the rules on applying for an academy order.