Standing orders are a set of rules that guide how school governing bodies work. They are not legal rules that boards must follow, but governors often choose to adopt standing orders to clarify points of procedure.
For example, when electing a chair of governors the law for maintained schools does not describe whether the election should be held by ballot or how long the term of office should be. Because this can cause confusion governors may wish to set the rules for the election beforehand in a set of standing orders.
Standing orders may be less common in academies than maintained schools as academies may already have more precise procedures set out in their articles of association and terms of reference.
How are standing orders approved?
Governors should vote to approve standing orders at a quorate meeting. Before the vote the clerk should check that the proposed orders do not contradict any relevant laws, terms of reference or articles of association (in academies).
Download Model Standing Orders
I have produced a short set of editable model standing orders for maintained schools, available on my templates and letters page.
I’ve also posted the text at the end of this page so you can read them before downloading. (Academies will probably find that many points are already in your articles of association and terms of reference, but may still find them useful.)
I have seen some sets of standing orders that are very long and contain many items which are statutory in maintained schools, for example that governors must have DBS checks, a chair must be elected at the next meeting if the role is vacant or that governors must meet at least three times a year.
In my view it’s not helpful to include these mandatory items in standing orders because governors may then believe they have the power to alter them. The clerk should advise on the statutory requirements that the board must work within. Standing orders simply clarify optional procedural issues and work as a framework to fill in the blanks in law.
My model standing orders cover the following points:
how the chair and vice-chair are elected
length of term of office for chair/vice-chair
what to do if the chair and vice-chair are both absent from a meeting
what to do if a meeting is inquorate
virtual meetings
voting procedures
revoking decisions
drafting agendas and adding items of business
signing the code of conduct.
Model standing orders for governing bodies
These model standing orders can be used to clarify procedures in maintained schools (academies may already have many of these rules in their articles/terms of reference). I have not included any statutory requirements, so governing bodies can edit items as they wish within existing laws or terms of reference.
Chair and Vice-Chair
The chair and vice-chair will be elected for one calendar year.
The term of office for chair and vice-chair will end at the first full governors’ meeting held after this one-year term.
The election will specified as an agenda item.
Nominations can be made in advance or at the meeting. Governors can self-nominate.
If there is more than one candidate each candidate will be given two minutes to state why they should be elected. If a candidate cannot attend the meeting they can submit a written statement to the clerk.
The election will be held by ballot. If there is only one candidate a ballot will still be held with governors voting either in favour or against that candidate.
If the vote is tied governors will discuss the result and vote again to reach a resolution. They can also ask for another candidate to come forward.
If the chair and vice-chair both fail to attend a meeting the board will elect a chair for that meeting who is a) a governor, not an associate member and b) not a school employee.
Quorum and Voting
If a meeting is inquorate it will be postponed. (You may wish to use instead: “If a meeting is inquorate it will continue and be minuted but no votes can be held.”)
Unless governors are voting for the chair or vice-chair or specifically request a secret ballot all votes will be cast by verbal agreement.
Votes do not need to be seconded.
If governors wish to revoke a decision at a future meeting this proposal must be specified as an agenda item.
Virtual Meetings
Governors may attend meetings via telephone or video link.
Governors attending meetings virtually have the right to vote.
Agendas
The draft agenda will written by the clerk, chair and headteacher.
A governor can place an item on the agenda by sending it to the clerk.
Code of Conduct
All new governors and associate members must sign the code of conduct.
Governors and associate members will also sign the code of conduct annually.
This is a step-by-step guide to holding parent governor elections electronically. I have described two methods, both of which allow you to collect votes anonymously online.
It is also possible to pay a company to help you hold online elections and I had a look at Choice Voting software in a separate post.
These methods could also be used for staff governor elections, but I’ve described the parent governor election process here as it is more involved.
Is it legal to hold elections online?
In maintained schools the law says parents may be given an opportunity to vote for parent governors by “electronic means”. It does not give explicit permission for staff governor votes to be electronic, but says that all rules for both parent and staff governor elections are set by the “appropriate authority”.
“The appropriate authority must make all the necessary arrangements for the election of parent governors. The arrangements made may provide for every person who is entitled to vote to have an opportunity to do so by electronic means.”
The “appropriate authority” is either the local authority (LA) or the governing body itself, depending on the type of school, so check what they allow in your school before the election is held. (You can find out who your appropriate authority is in a separate article on holding parent governor elections.) The two methods on this page have been recommended by Hampshire County Council.
In academies all rules for parent and staff trustee elections are set by your own academy trust, so check with the trust to see if online voting is permitted.
Must we offer paper ballots too?
Yes; online voting should never be the sole voting method you offer. Maintained schools must by law offer paper ballots in all parent governor elections.
“The arrangements made must provide for every person who is entitled to vote to have an opportunity to do so by post. ‘Post’ includes delivery by hand.”
Model articles for academies (2021) do not state that paper ballots must be offered but it is wise to provide them, whatever your own articles say, because some parents may not have internet access or be confident using technology.
Method 1: Voting by email attachment
This is the easiest method as the school simply emails all parents a copy of the ballot paper as an attachment and asks parents to return it as an attachment too.
You need an email address for all eligible parents but it’s not a problem if partners share an address because you ask all voters to type their full name in the body of their reply email. The school can then check their eligibility before saving each ballot separately and anonymously. Votes are then counted by hand.
The method is similar to the double envelope system used for paper ballots because votes and names can be separated before the count.
An example ballot paper is available on my templates and letters page as part of a pack of documents to use in a parent governor election. The pack also includes a vacancy letter, nomination form, “thank you for applying” letter and an election results letter.
If you send the ballot as a Word file most parents will be able to edit it, save it and email it back directly. You could also send a pdf so parents can print the form, complete it by hand and then scan it if they are more comfortable with that method.
It’s a good idea to set up a specific email address to receive ballots so that one staff member is not over-run with ballot returns. You will probably receive one or two votes in the body of the email rather than as an attachment, so the appropriate authority will need to decide whether to accept these.
Method 2: Voting using random numbers and mail merge
This system is more complicated to set up but it allows you to send the form via either email or paper letter. You can also save both the mail merge email/letter and the online voting form to use in future elections.
Parents vote through a web page and votes are counted automatically. You will need access to Microsoft Excel and Outlook and a Google account.
There are three basic steps.
Assign a random voter number to each parent using Excel.
Set up an online ballot using Google Forms.
Send details of the ballot using mail merge in Word. This contains the parent’s voter number and a link to the online voting form. The mail merge can be sent via email or paper letter.
Assign voter numbers in Excel
Start with an Excel spreadsheet with two columns, one that shows the “Parent Name” and one for either “Parent Email Address” or “Parent Home Address”, depending on whether you wish to email parents or send them a letter. List all eligible parents in separate rows, even if partners share an address.
Call the third column “Random Number”. We will assign a random number to each parent to anonymise them. Click on the final cell at the base of the third column. Then copy and paste the following formula into the formula bar (the long box at the top) and press return.
=RANDBETWEEN(100000,999999)
Click on that same final cell again and hold shift while pressing the up arrow to select that entire third column. Click on “Fill” in the top right of the screen, then choose “Up”. Excel will assign a random number to every parent.
(This formula assigns a random number between 100,000 and 999,999, but you can change these numbers if you wish – just edit the two numbers in the formula.)
Click on column D and call it “Voter number”. Click on the first cell in column C (Random Number) and hold shift and the down arrow until all rows in the column are selected. Press control-C to copy them.
Click on the “D” label at the top of column D so the whole column is selected. Right-click and choose “Paste special” and then “Values”.
Click on the “C” label at the top of column C and choose “Delete”. The whole column will be deleted, leaving just the names, addresses and anonymised voter numbers. Save your spreadsheet.
(To explain what we have just done and why – when Excel assigns random numbers it changes them as you work and we want the numbers to be fixed. By copying and pasting the numbers as “Values” we only paste the result of the formula, the six-digit number itself, not the original formula. This means Excel stops changing the numbers as the formula is no longer being applied.)
Making the ballot in Google Forms
Go to Google Forms and log in with a Google account. Click on the template called “Customer Feedback”. Google will automatically save your changes as you go along.
Click on the “Customer Feedback” title and change it to “Parent Governor Election At Malory Towers School”.
Click where it says “We would love to hear your thoughts” and add text to explain that you are holding an election and all parents are eligible to vote. Also explain how many vacancies there are (with one vote per parent per vacancy) and state the deadline for votes. Then enter the election statements from each candidate.
Click on “Feedback Type” and type in “Your Vote”. Then click to the right of the multiple choice circles to type in the names of your candidates. If there are more choices than candidates click on the cross on the right to delete extra lines. If you need to add more candidates click on “Add Option”.
If you have more than one vacancy change this section to a checkbox question instead of multiple choice. Click on “Multiple Choice” and choose “Checkboxes” from the dropdown menu. This allows parents to vote for two or more candidates at once. If you do use checkboxes click the three dots on the bottom right and choose “Response Validation”. You can then stipulate that all parents choose exactly two candidates, or three, or however many vacancies you have.
On the bottom right of the page there is a button labelled “Required”. Make sure this is toggled to the right so that voters must fill in this section.
We don’t need the next two sections, labelled “Feedback” and “Suggestions For Improvement”. Click on these sections and click the rubbish bin icon to delete them.
The next section is labelled “Name”. Change that to read “Voter Number” so we can collect the random numbers we assigned to parents in Excel. Make sure the “Required” toggle on the right is switched on.
Click on the three dots on the bottom right and choose “Response Validation”. On the left choose “Number” so parents can only enter a number in this box. You can also specify that the number must be between 100,000 and 999,999 (but enter the numbers without commas as 100000 and 999999).
At the very top right of the page click on the icon that looks like a paint palette to customize the theme. To change the picture at the top of the form click on “Choose Image” and either use one of the pictures provided or click on “Upload” to use your school logo or banner. You can also change the font and colours here.
Click on the “Customer Feedback” title in the very top left of the page and change it to “Parent Governor Election At Malory Towers School”. Click on “Preview” in the top right (the eye symbol) to check everything looks OK.
Click on the gear symbol in the top right. Click on “Presentation” and change the confirmation message so that it says “Thank you for voting in the Malory Towers parent governor election, your vote has been successfully received.”
Still in the gear symbol settings, make sure that in the General section “Edit after submit” is not ticked. This ensures parents cannot change their vote after submitting it.
There is a setting here that says “Limit to 1 response”. This sounds good in theory but if you tick this box parents can only vote if they log in with a Google account. Leave it unticked. You can check that parents only vote once later because you are collecting the voter numbers.
If you would like to use this same form for any paper ballots you need to issue click on the three dots in the top right of the screen and choose “Print”.
Sharing the voting form
We need to find the web address of the form to use in our mail merge. Click on the big blue “Send” button in the top right and look for the “Send Via” section.
Click on the curved symbol with a line in it to get the web address. If you click on “Shorten URL” Google will give you a shortened version of the address.
Enter the web address you have just been given into a browser to check it works. You will need this web address for the mail merge we will make in the next section.
Sending the online voting form using mail merge
Open Microsoft Word. The next steps vary depending on whether you wish to send the online ballot to parents via paper letters or via email.
To print paper letters
Click on “Mailings” and “Start Mail Merge”. Click on “Letters”. Click on “Select Recipients” and “Use An Existing List” to choose the Excel spreadsheet you saved earlier.
Type a letter to parents in the main body of the Word document explaining the upcoming election. Include the statements from each candidate. Include the web address for your online ballot. An example letter is shown below.
Click on “Insert Merge Field” and choose “Parent Name” to automatically insert the names.
Click on “Insert Merge Field” and choose “Voter Number” to insert the voter numbers. Click on “Insert Merge Field” and choose “Parent Address” to insert the home addresses.
Click on “Preview Results” to check everything looks OK. Choose “File” and then “Save” to save your letter to use again in a future election.
Click “Finish and Merge” and choose “Print Documents” to print the letters out.
To send emails
Click on “Mailings” and “Start Mail Merge”. Choose “Email Messages” and then “Select Recipients”. Choose “Use An Existing List” and choose the Excel spreadsheet you saved earlier.
Type a letter to parents in the main body of the Word document explaining the upcoming election. Include the statements from each candidate. Include the web address for your online ballot. An example letter is shown below.
Click on “Insert Merge Field” and choose “Parent Name” to automatically insert the names at the top of the letter.
Click on “Insert Merge Field” and choose “Voter Number” to automatically insert the voter numbers into the letter.
Click on “Preview Results” to check everything looks good. Click on “File – Save” to save the mail merge so you can use it again for a future election.
Click on “Finish and Merge” and “Send Email Messages”. In the “To” box choose the email addresses column from your spreadsheet. Type in a subject line for the email, eg: “Parent Governor Election” and choose html for the mail format. Make sure to select “All” in the send records section.
Click “OK” and the mail merge will begin, with sent messages appearing in the sent folder of Outlook.
Your mail server may limit the number of emails you can send per day, often 500 or 1,000 people in total. Your mail server is usually provided by whoever provides your email address (eg: Google Gmail, Microsoft Outlook) so check their website for the current limits.
Depending on this limit you may need to split your Excel spreadsheet into batches of 500 or 1,000, but only do this once you have assigned all the random numbers. Use the standard cut, copy and paste commands to transfer 500 rows into separate spreadsheets and do a separate mail merge for each one.
Example Letter/Email to Parents
Dear Parent Name [Use “Insert Merge Field” to add names],
There is one parent governor vacancy to be filled at Malory Towers School. Here are the instructions for the election.
Each parent must vote separately.
Each parent is entitled to one vote only. [Or one vote per vacancy if you have more than one vacancy.]
Please enter your vote on the ballot form [insert the web address for your Google Form]. You will be required to enter your unique Voter Number which is [Use “Insert Merge Field” to add the voter number].
Any forms without a valid voter number will be discarded.
Here are the candidates’ election statements. [Include their statements].
The deadline for the election is Tuesday 23 November at 5pm. No votes received after this deadline will be counted.
Viewing the votes
Go to your Google Form. At the top middle of the page click on “Responses” to see the votes.
Once the voting deadline has been reached look for “Accepting Responses” in the top right. Toggle this switch so it turns off. No more votes can be cast.
Click on the three dots in the top right to download all responses to Excel or print all responses. The image below shows the simple Excel document that can be downloaded.
Checking voter eligibility
Once the election deadline has passed you need to check the eligibility of the votes. If you have a fairly small number of votes simply check the numbers manually by comparing the spreadsheet from Google Forms to your Excel file of voter numbers. Sort the columns into number order before you start to make it easier.
If you have many hundreds of votes you can use Excel to highlight any invalid ones. Open the spreadsheet you downloaded from Google Forms and select and copy the whole column of voter numbers.
Open your original Excel spreadsheet and paste this column to the right of the original “Voter Number” column. Highlight both these columns. Click on “Conditional Formating” and “Highlight Cells Rules” and then “Duplicate Values”.
From the dropdown box choose “Unique” and press “OK”. Any unique numbers (numbers that do not appear in both columns) will be highlighted in red in the farthest right column.
If the number is unique it means it was not assigned to a parent so you should delete that vote. (Numbers will also be highlighted red in the third column, but that just means those parents chose not to vote.)
Finally, press control-Z to remove the red highlights and then select only the farthest right column. Click on “Conditional Formating” and “Highlight Cells Rules” and then “Duplicate Values”. Choose “Duplicate” in the dropdown box and press “OK.”
This time any double votes will be highlighted, so you can discard any votes from parents who have used their voter number twice.
Once you have deleted any invalid or double votes simply check the election result in Google Forms and congratulate your new parent governor!
A note about survey software
If you wish to hold an election that is both a) anonymous and b) capable of automatically blocking ineligible or double votes, Google Forms can only do that if you force everyone to log in with a Google account. Microsoft Forms has an even stricter rule in that you can only prevent multiple responses if the voters are all from your school’s own Microsoft account.
Anonymous elections that guarantee single responses from eligible voters can be set up using paid software. In a separate post I describe how Choice Voting help schools to run online elections.
Another option is Survey Monkey. The cheapest plan Survey Monkey offer is called the Flex plan which is £19 per month, but billed monthly so you cancel after one or two months. If you want a longer-term plan they offer discounts for schools. There is a free option but it only lets you see 40 votes.
If you use Survey Monkey to send a voting form directly to a parent’s email address, you can automatically block that parent from voting twice. If you share the form via a web address Survey Money can try to block responses but this function relies on cookies, so if the parent clears their cookies or uses their Ipad instead of their laptop they can vote twice. More information is here.
The disadvantage of relying completely on software is that if a parent asks you to prove the election was secure you cannot explain your anonymisation process or show how you checked the votes, because you relied completely on the software to do this automatically.
These are the options available if your school governors are looking for online training and e-learning. Please let me know if you know of any other courses available and I will add them to this page.
All the courses listed are pre-recorded sessions so you do not need to book and you can access the learning at any time. The only free courses I have found are from Governors For Schools and a Prevent duty course from the government, but many of the paid providers listed offer free trials.
National Governance Association (PAID)
The National Governance Association (NGA) offer online e-learning through their Learning Link program, with a free trial available. They offer a suite of 50 modules on all aspects of governance, plus bitesize courses that take just five to 15 minutes to complete. Courses available include:
key functions of the governing board
governance visits to schools
monitoring and evaluation
understanding schools finance
getting it right as a staff governor
succession planning
handling difficult situations
exclusions
pupil premium
headteacher appraisal and capability
health and safety.
The cost depends on whether you are a member of the NGA. If you are not a member it costs £165 for one year of access for all governors. Standard NGA members can purchase one year of access for £122 and gold members for £82.
The Key for School Governors launched their online training in 2020. There is one induction course available so far for maintained school governors, with an academy induction course coming soon. Future courses to release in 2021 will cover being a link governor for safeguarding, SEND and pupil premium.
Members of the Key also gain access to a wide range of articles, policies and compliance documents. Discounts are available if your school also subscribes to The Key for School Leaders and a free trial is available too.
The cost of membership will depend on the number of pupils in your school. As a guide a smaller school of 200-4oo pupils might cost around £525 per year whereas a larger one of around 1000 pupils might cost around £705.
Modern Governor offer a range of paid e-learning courses on subjects such as:
effective governance
what to expect from your chair
OFSTED
safeguarding and governance
GDPR essentials.
You will need to ask for a quote as they do not list prices online. However GovernorHub members can access all their courses as part of their membership package. GovernorHub costs £400 per year for each single governing board or £400 for a multi-academy trust board plus £100 for each local committee. Free trials are also available.
National Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Children (PAID)
The NSPCC provide an online course on child protection specifically for school governors. It explains the role and responsibilities of governors regarding safeguarding, the duties of the school, creating a safer culture and how to provide evidence that your school is fulfilling its safeguarding duties.
The course costs £25 but discounts are available if multiple governors are taking the course at the same time.
The NSPCC also offer a course on safer recruitment in education which may be useful to governors who are involved in hiring staff. The safer recruitment course costs £35 per person with discounts for multiple purchases.
The government provide online training on the Prevent duty, the obligation on schools to help prevent pupils from being radicalised into terrorism. It was developed using feedback from teachers and aims to explain how you can safeguard vulnerable young people who could become radicalised.
National Online Safety offer a course on online safety specifically for school governors. It covers the law and statutory guidance around safeguarding children online, the responsibilities of governors, how staff can support pupils, how to develop a culture of safety and keeping up to date with online risks.
The course costs £100 if the school is not a member of National Online Safety but can be accessed for free if you become a certified school at £495 per year.
Basic rules for conducting parent governor elections in maintained schools are set out by law, with local authorities (LAs) offering further guidance. Academy election processes are set by each academy trust.
This page explains the law for maintained schools and suggests a procedure for holding elections based on common recommendations from local authorities.
Maintained schools must follow the legal rules and should follow the LA guidance as good practice. Academies must follow the rules set by their own trust but may wish to follow the processes explained here as good practice.
Parent Governor Election Pack
This pack from Southampton LA contains a vacancy letter, nomination form, ballot paper, “thank you for applying” letter and an election results letter.
Schedule 1 of the Constitution Regulations 2012 sets out the basic rules for holding parent governor elections in maintained schools.
Who organises the election?
The responsibility for organising the election lies with either the LA or the governing body, depending on the type of school. The LA can choose to delegate responsibility to the headteacher and usually will, although check with your LA to make sure.
“The appropriate authority must make all the necessary arrangements for the election of parent governors.
““Appropriate authority” means—
(a) in relation to a community school, a community special school, a maintained nursery school or a voluntary controlled school, the local authority; and
(b) in relation to a voluntary aided school, foundation school or foundation special school, the governing body.”
You only need to hold a vote if there are more candidates than vacancies. If for example there are two candidates and two vacancies, both candidates are elected unopposed.
If you have more candidates than vacancies, for example two volunteers for one vacancy, you need to hold a vote.
“Any election which is contested must be held by ballot.”
Yes, as long as it is permitted by your “appropriate authority”. I have written a complete, step-by-step guide to holding online governor elections.
The law says schools may offer an opportunity to vote by “electronic means”. However this cannot be the only form of voting offered so a completely online or virtual vote is not permitted; postal votes must still be available. This can include delivery by hand; for example, a parent dropping off a vote in reception or voting by pupil post.
“The arrangements must provide for every person who is entitled to vote to have an opportunity to do so by post. “Post” includes delivery by hand.
“The arrangements may provide for every person who is entitled to vote to have an opportunity to do so by electronic means.”
You need to tell all parents they can stand for election and vote. The law says you must take steps that are “reasonably practicable” to make sure all parents are aware of the election.
Mentioning the vacancy on your website alone would not meet this standard, but posting out letters plus a notice on the website probably would.
“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, and where the school is a maintained nursery school, a parent of a child for whom educational or other provision is made on the premises of 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
The law defines a parent as not just those with legal parental responsibility but also anyone who cares for a child. We’ll look at this more below.
““Parent” includes any individual who has or has had parental responsibility for, or cares or has cared for, a child or young person under the age of 19.”
As you can see the law sets some basic rules but does not provide a guide to the election process itself. Therefore this section looks at the more specific advice found in statutory guidance to the constitution regulations and the most common advice given by local authorities.
Who can stand for election? Who can vote?
The law quoted above defines a parent as anyone who has or has had parental responsibility plus anyone who cares or who has cared for a child, not just people who have legal parental responsibility.
My LA explains that generally anyone who has day-to-day responsibility for a child qualifies to stand for election and vote.
It’s not relevant whether parents are married or not, whether they live separately or not or whether someone is a step-parent, grandparent or foster parent. It’s not relevant whether someone is the biological or “natural” parent or not.
As long as someone cares for the child on a day-to-day basis and that child is registered at the school when the election is held they can participate. This is covered further in the article who can be a parent governor.
Do parents have one vote per family?
No! I’ve heard this myth a few times, but the law is clear. Every person who is a registered parent has a vote, not every family that has one or more parents within it.
The rule is one vote per parent per vacancy. So every parent can vote once for each vacancy that is open.
For example, if Bob and Sally have a child at your school and you have one parent governor vacancy, Bob can vote for one candidate and Sally can vote for one candidate.
If you have three parent governor vacancies then Bob can vote for three candidates and Sally can vote for three candidates.
What are the timescales for election?
Timescales are not set in stone but most LAs recommend the procedures described below.
Send out the letter asking for nominations, explaining the governor role, explaining that all governors need DBS checks and listing the general disqualification criteria that apply to all types of governor.
You can also post a message on your website or send a text/email but make sure this is not the only method you use as it may exclude parents who do not use technology or have internet access.
You should also explain the two specific disqualifications for maintained school parent governors: you cannot be elected as a parent governor if (on the date of the election) you work at the school for more than 500 hours per year or are an elected member of the local authority. (You can vote in the election though.)
Candidates should be asked to write a short statement setting out why they are volunteering and what skills they can offer. This election statement will help other parents decide how to cast their vote.
Set the closing date for nominations as at least six school days later (this gives parents the chance to nominate someone over a weekend). Some LAs recommend a minimum of 10 school days.
Check to see if your LA recommends delaying the election if a school holiday is coming up. For example, my LA recommends that if a vacancy arises near the end of the summer term the election should be delayed until the beginning of the autumn term.
If there are fewer candidates than vacancies there is no need to hold a ballot as the candidate(s) is elected unopposed.
If the election is contested send out the ballot form as soon as possible with a deadline of at least six school days (some LAs recommend 10 school days) for votes to be received. Any late ballots are invalid.
Include two envelopes with every ballot; this is called the “double envelope” system. The voter seals their ballot in one unmarked envelope and then seals that envelope in the second envelope, writing their name and “Parent governor election” on the outside envelope.
This lets the school check that the person is entitled to vote, remove the outside envelope and leave the ballot paper anonymous.
When voting the rule is one vote per parent per vacancy. (The rule is not one vote per family per vacancy.)
Candidates have the right to attend the count. (I assume this rule comes from regulations that cover elections to public office as it does not appear in governor law.) The headteacher or clerk can act as the returning officer and count the votes.
What should we write in the letter to parents?
Statutory guidance explains what schools should write in the letter asking for volunteers. This includes information on the role of the governing body, the expectations you have in terms of how many meetings you hold and the time commitment, plus the skills that may be useful as a governor.
“The best governing bodies set out clearly in published recruitment literature:
• the core functions of the governing body and the role of a governor, and the induction and other training and development that will be available to new governors to help them fulfil it;
• the expectations they have of governors for example in relation to the term of office, the frequency of meetings, membership of committees and the willingness to undertake appropriate training and development; and
• any specific skills or experience that would be desirable in a new governor, such as the willingness to learn or skills that would help the governing body improve its effectiveness and address any specific challenges it may be facing.”
Be careful when writing the letter that you do not imply there are any qualifications or experience needed to be eligible. All parents are eligible if they meet the basic standards that apply to all governors; for example, that they have not been banned from working with children.
Your school may wish to find someone with financial skills or a background in education and you are free to mention this, but you cannot create any eligibility criteria just because you would prefer someone with certain expertise. This is explained in statutory guidance.
“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.”
No, although I have seen guidance from some LAs that requires one parent to “propose” someone as a candidate and a different parent to “second” that proposal. If your LA or trust requires this I would challenge them to explain why they think it is a reasonable requirement and the effect it might have on volunteers.
For example, if Bob’s children joined your school last week because he moved to the area he may not be able to find two parents to sign a form supporting his candidature as they’ve literally only just met him. However, he still has the right to stand for election and could well be an excellent candidate.
(You could argue that if he’s brand new to the area he will never get elected, but in many schools he would be the only candidate and would therefore be elected unopposed.)
Can candidates vote for themselves?
Yes, although this is rather a moot point as each candidate would presumably vote for themselves and the votes would cancel each other out.
Can a parent vote for their own husband, wife or partner?
Yes – a parent can vote for any candidate. Ballot papers should be anonymous so you would not be able to identify who a particular parent voted for even if you wanted to!
Can a current parent governor vote?
Yes. A current parent governor or trustee has the same right to vote as any other parent. It’s not a conflict of interest because the conflict of interest rules only apply to votes held at governing body meetings.
Can the governing body reject an elected parent governor they think is unsuitable?
In a maintained school the governing body does not have the power to reject an elected parent governor.
The most they can do is ask for specific skills they are looking for when advertising the vacancy, but if a parent does not have these skills they are still as eligible to stand as any other parent.
If the board believes an elected parent is totally unsuitable it is possible to remove elected parent governors in maintained schools, but the DfE advise in statutory guidance that elected governors should only be removed in “exceptional circumstances”.
“Governing bodies are expected only to exercise the power to remove an elected governor in exceptional circumstances where the actions or behaviour of the elected governor warrants removal rather than suspension.”
In academies the trustees or members do not usually have the power to stop someone from being elected as a parent trustee.
The only exception to this that I am aware of is that a Catholic academy trust may have the power to “appoint the elected candidate at their discretion” as this power is contained in model articles for Catholic trusts.
If an elected parent trustee is considered totally unsuitable once they have joined the board the academy members do have the power to remove them.
I have seen terms of reference for local governors in multi-academy trusts that give the trust some degree of power to reject elected local parent governor candidates.
To my knowledge this is not a common practice, but check your own terms of reference for local governing bodies to make sure you are aware of the rules in your trust.
Parent local governors who are considered totally unsuitable once they have joined the local governing body can be removed by the board of trustees, because local governing bodies are committees of the main trust board and are always under the control of the trustees.
Can candidates canvass for votes?
Yes, there are no rules against canvassing (asking people to vote for you) or campaigning for votes. Candidates shouldn’t make unrealistic promises about what one governor can achieve but they can explain the skills and experience they can bring to the role.
Can a school employee vote if their child attends the school?
Yes. If a school employee also happens to be the parent of a child at the same school they are still eligible to vote in parent governor elections.
Can a couple both stand for election?
Yes, both halves of a couple can be candidates. So for example a husband and wife could both stand for the same vacant parent governor position, although for the sake of marital harmony they might decide not to…
How long should a parent governor statement be?
There is no set length but a statement of between 250 and 500 words would be reasonable. A shorter statement will not provide enough information and a longer one may not be read by the voters, especially if there are many different candidates.
Statutory guidance says that statements should be of “sufficient length” to include all of the information listed below. A separate article covers what you should write in a parent governor statement and includes some example statements of different lengths.
“Well run elections use secure and reliable voting systems and offer candidates the opportunity to publish a statement of sufficient length to set out:
• evidence of the extent to which they possess the skills and experience the governing body desires;
• their commitment to undertake training and development to acquire or develop the skills to be an effective governor;
• if seeking re-election, details of their contribution to the work of the governing body during their previous term of office; and
• how they plan to contribute to the future work of the governing body.”
Recount the votes first to check the result. If it is definitely a tie then local authorities recommend using a simple, random method like asking the candidates to toss a coin or draw lots.
Should we publish the number of votes received for each candidate?
You can do and I have seen the numbers published occasionally on school websites, but I would advise publishing only the name of the winning candidate. This will spare candidates embarrassment if they have received zero votes!
However, if anyone specifically asks to see the number of votes each candidate received I would release that information. The most likely person to ask for the numbers is a losing candidate, who should have been invited to the vote count anyway and would therefore be privy to the vote numbers.
If the request comes from someone who was not running in the election and you refuse they could submit a freedom of information request. Under the FOI rules I highly doubt that schools would be allowed to withhold the number of votes cast for each person because governors are being elected to public office.
Can we throw away ballot papers after the vote?
It’s recommended that ballot papers are kept for at least six months after the vote in case the result is challenged.
Here are some example questions you could use when hiring a clerk to governors in a maintained school or academy. Where relevant I’ve also provided a brief sample answer.
The first section contains questions you could ask to any candidate. The second section lists questions that would be suitable for a candidate with clerking experience.
Ask A Clerk offers training for clerks in maintained schools which is suitable for both brand new clerks or people with some experience of governance.
Questions For All Clerk To Governor Candidates
Q. What is the role of school governors? A. The three main roles are setting ethos, strategic direction and vision of the school; holding headteacher to account for educational performance; financial oversight and budgets. Could also mention hiring headteacher and staff, approving policies, asking challenging questionsand offeringsupport.
Q. Do you know what areas governors are not involved in? A. The day-to-day running of the school and operational matters. Low level parental complaints, fundraising, talking about individual children.
Q. What are the duties of a clerk to governors? A. Taking minutes at board and committee meetings, offering advice to ensure the board works within the legal rules or articles of association, drafting agendas with the headteacher and chair, keeping records of training and attendance, other admin duties such as updating Get Information About Schools (GIAS).
Q. What are the most important functions of the clerk? A. Keeping accurate minutes but also advising the board on procedural and legal matters and helping them to comply with the regulations.
Q. What skills and knowledge do you have that would be useful in this role? A. Minute-taking, IT skills, proofreading, literacy, relationship-building, working to deadlines, ability to understand complex documents, knowledge of and interest in education, local knowledge of the school.
Q. Do you understand how a governing body is formed? A. A candidate could talk about the different types of governor, how governors are elected or appointed, whether the headteacher can be a governor, how many governors the school is allowed to have.
Q. What are the most important aspects of a meeting to record in minutes? A. Decisions made, any challenging questions, support given to headteacher and staff, action points for individual governors or committees to address. Also basic features such as apologies, attendance (to check if quorate), declarations of interest.
Q. Have you looked at past minutes? Can you think of ways we could improve them? (If minutes are on the school website or you have provided them.)
Q. Do you have experience of taking minutes/setting agendas/providing admin support to a board?
Q. Can you give an example of when you were required to show keen attention to detail?
Q. Have you been in situations where you needed to keep issues confidential?
Q. Have you dealt with sensitive issues before and how did you go about it?
Q. Can you be flexible if meetings are held at different times of day or change times?
Q. Would you feel confident advising governors on the law and procedural issues if we provided appropriate training?
Q. Are you able to work mostly from home when typing minutes and preparing agendas?
Q. Are you self-motivated?
Questions For An Experienced Clerk
I would not expect a brand new clerk to be able to answer the questions below -it is the school’s responsibility to provide them with training – but it may be useful to ask an experienced clerk more detailed questions and see how they would respond to some common situations.
Q. What is the regulatory framework for this school’s governing body? A. For a maintained school the main regulations are the Constitution Regulations 2012 and the Roles, Procedures and Allowances Regulations 2013. Also statutory guidance and terms of reference for any committees. For an academy it is the articles of association, Academy Trust Handbook, your funding agreement, terms of reference and scheme of delegation.
Q. What would you do if the board was badly criticised by OFSTED? A. Answers could include seeking external advice from LA governor services or the National Governance Association. Asking for an external review of governance. Asking local chair of governors in a successful school for advice. Helping the board produce an action plan and conduct a skills audit to identify training needed. Recruit governors where skills are lacking. Suggest removing or establishing committees.
Q. What has been the most challenging situation you faced as a clerk and how did you overcome it? A. Possibly solving disputes between governors, handling situations where your advice is questioned or ignored, understanding complex and changing legislation.
Q. What happens if the chair and vice-chair both fail to attend a meeting? A. Usual practice is for another governor to be chosen by the board to chair that one meeting. You could consider postponing the meeting if there are important decisions to be made.
Q. What happens if a meeting becomes inquorate? A. In a maintained school the meeting can continue if governors wish it to, but no decisions can be made. In an academy it depends on your articles of association – they may say the meeting must end immediately.
Q. For what reason might a board wish to remove a governor and can all types of governor be removed? A. Reasons for removal can include long-term failure to attend meetings or school visits, repeatedly breaking confidentiality, misunderstanding of governor roles (eg: interfering in operational matters). All types of governor can be removed by somebody (even ex officio governors can be fired from the office that allows them to be a governor) but who has that power will depend on whether it is a maintained school or academy and the governor category.
Q. Describe a situation where a governor has a conflict of interest and how you would deal with that. A. A governor could own a business that the school wishes to buy from or be married to a staff member. They would need to declare the interest on the business interests register and whenever it arose at a meeting, leave the meeting and not vote on the matter.
Yes, in most cases. In maintained schools you do not automatically stop being a governor because your child leaves the school, even if you have joined the board in the specific “parent governor” role.
In academy trusts it is possible that terms of reference for a local governing body (LGB) say that a parent local governor must step down if their child leaves that academy. I think the norm though is to allow parent local governors to serve out their term of office.
If your child has left any school or academy you will not be able to volunteer for another term as an electedparent governor when your current term of office ends. Elected parent governors must have children at the school at the time of their election.
However, if no current parents come forward then schools can appoint parent governors instead of holding elections. Appointed parent governors are voted onto the board by the existing governors.
The requirements for appointed parents are less strict. For example, in a maintained school any parent with children of compulsory school age or below is eligible for appointment.
Can I become a parent governor before my child starts at the school?
In maintained schools every school must offer parent governor roles to their current parents via an election, so they may already be filled. However, if there are not enough volunteers the roles can be offered to parents of former pupils or any parent whose child is of compulsory school age or below.
It is also worth asking if the school has other governor vacancies which are open to members of the public, eg: co-opted governor roles. Vacancies should be shown the school website.
In academies rules can vary, but the model articles of association (June 2021) say that current parents must be offered parent trustee or local governor roles first (via an election). If there are not enough volunteers from current parents you may qualify – see the section below on parent trustees in academies.
Other governor roles at the academy may also be open to you, eg: co-opted trustee or co-opted local governor.
Parent Governors In Maintained Schools
In maintained schools a law from 2012 says that elected parent governors must have a child at the school at the time of their election.
“In these regulations “parent governor” means 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
The same law makes it clear that any parent governor can continue to be a governor if their child leaves the school – they are not disqualified.
“A person (“P”) is not disqualified from continuing to hold office as a parent governor because P ceases to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school or to fulfil any of the requirements set out in paragraphs 10 and 11 of Schedule 1 (as the case may be).”
The second half of the above paragraph refers to requirements that boards must consider in relation to appointed parent governors. Most parent governors will be elected by other parents (or elected unopposed if there is only one volunteer) but if no volunteers come forward boards can also appoint parent governors.
To be appointed as a maintained school parent governor you must be either (in order of preference):
a parent of a registered pupil
a parent of a former pupil, or
a parent of any child under or of compulsory school age.
(Rules are slightly more complicated for community or foundation special schools – see who can be a parent governor for full details.)
These requirements are set out in Schedule 1 of the Constitution Regulations. The law quoted above explains that appointed parent governors can continue to serve as governors if they stop fulfilling any of the requirements listed in Schedule 1 – for example, if their child leaves the school or reaches an age where they have left all schooling completely.
This means that there are no circumstances where a parent governor must leave their role just because their child has left the school or become old enough to leave education entirely.
However, if their term of office ends and they want to volunteer for another term they will need to meet the eligibility requirements on the date that they are elected or appointed. Elected parent governors will need a child at the school; appointed parent governors will need a child at the school, one who used to go to the school or a child of compulsory school age or below.
If you do not qualify as a parent governor you could become a different type of governor instead. For example, co-opted governor roles are open to anyone who meets the basic qualification standards that apply to all governors.
Parent Trustees In Academies
In academies the model articles (June 2021) say that parent trustees only need to have a child at the academy at the time of their election to the governing body, not for their full term of office, so they are not disqualified when their child leaves the academy.
Parent trustees in academies are either elected by parents or, if there are no volunteers, can be appointed by the board. Model articles make it clear that for both elected and appointed parent trustees it is their status at the time of the election or appointment that matters.
Wording for multi-academy trusts, which may have local governing bodies, is below. Elected parent trustees must have a child at one of the trust’s academies. If a multi-academy trust is appointing a parent trustee or parent local governor it can appoint:
a) a parent of a child at any of the academies
b) a child within the age range of one of the academies, or
c) in the case of a local governing body, a child within the age range overseen by that LGB.
“The elected or appointed parent trustees must be a parent of a registered pupil at one or more of the academies at the time when they are elected or appointed.
“The elected (or, if the number of parents standing for election is less than the number of vacancies, appointed) parent local governors of the local governing body must be a parent of a registered pupil at one or more of the academies overseen by the local governing body at the time when they are elected or appointed.
“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; or where the trustees are exercising their power to appoint a parent trustee or parent local governor and 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.”
Wording for single academies is below. Elected parent trustees must have a child at that academy. When appointing a parent trustee in a single academy the board can either appoint a parent of a registered pupil at that academy or, if that’s not “reasonably practical”, the parent of a child of compulsory school age.
“A parent trustee must be a parent of a registered pupil at the academy at the time when they are elected.
“The number of parent trustees required shall be made up by parent trustees appointed by the board of trustees if the number of parents standing for election is less than the number of vacancies.
“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.”
You are welcome to use the following text as your advert for a co-opted governor or trustee in a school or academy. It can also be adapted to advertise for other types of governor.
For maintained schools I have shown how to adapt the eligibility criteria for all the different governor types just by adding in a paragraph, so you can search for a staff, parent, local authority, partnership or foundation governor. (You would also need to change the references to “co-opted” governor of course.) You may also wish to edit the skills I have listed to fit your own requirements.
If you are looking for a foundation or partnership governor for a religious school you may wish to add a paragraph explaining that you need someone who can help to preserve and develop the religious character of the school.
For academies you will need to check your articles of association/terms of reference to see what the eligibility criteria are for the different types of trustee.
Advert For A Co-opted Governor
At Malory Towers School we are looking for a co-opted governor to join our governing body. As a governor you will be a volunteer who makes a vital contribution to the success of the school.
School governors have three main roles.
Governors ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction. The governing body helps to set long-terms plans for the school, decide where improvements need to be made and how to make them.
Governors hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and the effective and efficient performance management of staff. The governing body looks at the quality of education being offered and ensures the head is doing everything possible to improve results.
Governors oversee the financial performance of the school and make sure its money is well spent. Governors examine budgets and spending proposals to monitor whether the school is getting value for money and ensure the money is spent in the right areas.
This role may be particularly of interest if you have skills in finance/accounting, human resources, data or education but we invite applications from anyone who is interested in helping the school be the best it can be. Full training is available and governors are encouraged to attend regular training sessions, either in person or online.
We are looking for someone who can attend approximately six full governing body meetings per year and around six committee meetings per year. Meetings are held in school, usually on Wednesday evenings from around 6pm to 8pm. Governors also spend time in school during the day (around two visits per term).
You must be 18 or over to apply and all governors must have Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. If you would like to find out more please email clerk@malorytowers.com for an application form.
[Add this text for a staff governor vacancy: To be eligible for this role you must have a contract to work at Malory Towers School.]
[Add this text for a parent governor vacancy: To be eligible for this role you must be the parent of a child at Malory Towers School or be caring for/have cared for a child at the school. You cannot be an elected member of the local authority. If you work for the school this must be for a maximum of 500 hours per year.]
[Add this text for a local authority governor vacancy: To be eligible for this role you must not work for Malory Towers School.]
[Add this text for a partnership governor vacancy: To be eligible for this role you cannot be a parent of a pupil at Malory Towers School, employed by the school, an elected member of the local authority or employed by the local authority in connection with education (unless you work only in a school or schools). If it is a religious school you may wish to add that the governor will be asked to help preserve and develop the religious character of the school.]
[Bear in mind for a foundation governor vacancy:If it is a religious school you may wish to add that the governor will be asked to help preserve and develop the religious character of the school.]
These minutes from the worst governing body in the world mysteriously came into my possession and bear no resemblance to any governors’ meeting I have ever attended. If you would like to share them please remember to credit askaclerk.co.uk
1. Apologies Two governors sent apologies to the chair, two to the head and two to the nice lady who runs the breakfast club. The meeting was (barely) quorate.
2. Declarations of Business Interests A nervous new governor asked if he needed to declare £10 in premium bonds and the fact that he owns a bicycle. A less nervous governor was affronted at the clerk’s slanderous suggestion that he may wish to declare his ownership of a teaching supply agency.
Two governors filled in the form without signing it and two signed it without filling it in.
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting The Headteacher conveyed his disappointment that the clerk minuted the phrase “We have decided to hire two NQTs” when he obviously meant “We have decided not to hire two NQTs”, contrary to the actual words that came out of his mouth. The clerk apologised for the error.
4. Matters Arising All action points are incomplete.
6. Terms of Reference for Finance Committee Terms of reference for the finance committee were approved after a 50-minute discussion on the meaning and derivation of the word “of”.
5. Approval of Budget 2020-21 The school business manager explained the 2020-21 budget. Harold asked why photocopying costs had risen 6% from last year and whether worksheets could be printed instead of photocopied. The business manager noted that would cost considerably more, not less.
Harold asked whether they could dilute the printing ink with water; the business manager gazed at him helplessly. Harold asked if worksheets could be written by hand to give teachers something to do in the summer holidays. The staff governor expressed himself freely.
The school business manager asked if governors had any questions about the three million pounds of spending that did not relate to photocopying. Jeremy questioned why the gas bill is so high and has the school tried changing the bulbs.
6. Report From Finance Committee Committee minutes were read out in full, despite the clerk raising an eyebrow; there were no questions. The clerk elbowed Harold to stop the snoring.
7. Headteacher’s Report The headteacher’s report was read out in full, despite the clerk raising both eyebrows; there were no questions. Derek cleared his throat and the clerk waited hopefully, but in vain.
8. SATs Results The headteacher summarised the SATs results. Compared to last year’s cohort there was a 34% drop in reading, 45% drop in writing and a 50% drop in maths.
Jeremy stated that he did not have a head for figures and was more of a blue-sky thinking ideas guy, but he was sure the headteacher was actioning strong inter-departmental change going forward that would square all our ducks into a circle.
Mabel stated children’s desks should all face the front like they did when she was at school. The headteacher muttered darkly about the late 18th century.
8. Staffing Update Governors discussed whether to hire a new office manager. The staff governor stated that he will vote in favour as so many staff members had told him to. The clerk explained that this was not how staff governors work. The staff governor voted in favour.
Governors discussed whether to make two teaching assistants redundant. The local authority governor stated that it was his duty to immediately inform the LA of this proposal as he is their “eyes and ears on the ground”.
The clerk explained that this was not how LA governors worked. The LA governor immediately informed the LA.
9. Policies The lettings and safeguarding policies were discussed. Governors disagreed on the subject of whether to raise the hall hiring price from £10 an hour to £10.50 an hour and whether the current Brownie group should be allowed to continue using it, bearing in mind Brown Owl’s “inappropriately blue” hair.
They voted in favour of raising the price to £10.24 an hour with the cost to be reviewed monthly pending a full investigation into the hair. They also noted a spelling mistake on page five.
The safeguarding policy was approved unchanged.
10. Chair’s Power to Act The chair reported that he had used “chair’s action” to establish a new committee that had met three times so far and coincidentally elected him as its chair. The clerk made a small unhappy noise.
11. Any Other Business A parent governor asked why the canteen had stopped serving sausage rolls on Fridays as her Billy was devastated and it was her safeguarding duty to over-rule this cruel decision.
The clerk explained that was not how either safeguarding or parent governors worked.
12. Meeting Dates for the Year Governors tried to decide on meeting dates for the year. Bill stated that the best time would be 7.34 on a Friday evening as this fits in with his bridge club. Jemima can do any day of the week except Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday and Derek would prefer a 5am start.
Governors postponed the decision to the next meeting. The clerk pointed out that the date of the next meeting had not been set yet. Governors postponed the decision to not the next meeting, but the meeting to be held after that. The clerk cried.
The job of a clerk to school governors is to take minutes of governor meetings, help to draft agendas, advise the board on legal and procedural issues and keep records of membership, training and attendance. In some schools clerks are known as governance professionals or governance leads.
School boards have to follow some quite complex rules on governance that are set by either the law for maintained schools or documents such as “articles of association” for academies.
The clerk needs to have a detailed knowledge of these rules so that governors carry out their role within the legal and regulatory framework.
For example, there are rules about who can vote and how the chair of governors should be elected and it is the clerk’s job to answer questions about these issues.
The role of a maintained school clerk is briefly described in school governance law. The law states that the clerk must produce minutes of meetings, keep a record of governing body membership and offer advice to governors about their responsibilities.
“The governing body must appoint a clerk with a view to ensuring their efficient functioning and must have regard to advice from the clerk as to the nature of the governing body’s functions.
“The clerk to the governing body must—
(a) attend meetings of the governing body and ensure minutes of the proceedings are produced in accordance with regulation 15(1);
(b) maintain a register of members of the governing body and of associate members and report any vacancies to the governing body; and
(c) perform such other tasks as may be determined by the governing body from time to time.”
The role of an academy clerk is described in the Academy Trust Handbook, although the Handbook refers to clerks as “governance professionals”. The Handbook confirms that clerks need to offer both administrative support and expert advice.
“The academy trust must appoint a governance professional to support the board of trustees who is someone other than a trustee, principal or chief executive of the trust.
“A governance professional can contribute to the efficient functioning of the board by providing:
— guidance to ensure the board works in compliance with the appropriate legal and regulatory framework, and understands the potential consequences of non-compliance
— independent advice on procedural matters relating to operation of the board
Ask A Clerk offers training for maintained school clerks, covering procedures at meetings, voting rights, how to call meetings, electing the chair, conflicts of interest, the role of the governing body versus the role of the clerk and much more.
Job Description for a Clerk to Governors
Here is a suggested job description and person specification for a clerk to governors. Exact tasks will vary from school to school so you will need to tailor it to your setting.
I’ve also provided pdf files of the job description and person specification for a clerking role I held so you can see an “official” version.
You can also look at the clerk’s skills audit I provide. The audit lets you rate your own skill level in key areas on a scale of one to five so you can identify any weaknesses or training needs.
(Note that the clerk reports to the full governing body, via the chair of governors; they do not report to the headteacher.)
Take minutes at full governing body and committee meetings, showing who is responsible for agreed actions (with timescales) and ensuring any confidential items are minuted separately.
Circulate minutes to board members within agreed timescales.
Produce draft agendas for meetings with the chair of governors and headteacher and distribute the agenda with any relevant reports and papers.
Provide advice on school governance legislation and procedural issues to ensure the board is compliant, effective and constituted correctly.
Provide advice on the core functions of the governing body and any changes to the responsibilities of school governors.
Provide advice during the election of the chair and vice-chair.
Ensure terms of reference for committees and any other delegated responsibilities are reviewed at appropriate intervals.
Keep records of governing body membership and report any vacancies to the governing body.
Keep records of committee membership, terms of office, link roles, attendance at meetings and completed training.
Keep a record of school policies (both statutory and non-statutory) to show when they were last approved and ensure they are reviewed at the appropriate interval.
Maintain a register of financial and other interests to ensure conflicts of interest are declared and managed.
Ensure all required governance information is published online.
Arrange induction training and ongoing training for board members.
Support the induction of new governors by providing the documents, mentor links and training opportunities they need.
Undertake induction training and further training as required.
Provide support for parent and staff governor elections and advice on how other governors are appointed or removed.
Ensure Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and section 128 checks are carried out and recorded.
Ensure that the Get Information About Schools (GIAS) database is kept up-to-date.
Undertake other tasks as required.
Example Person Specification for a Clerk to Governors
Key Skills: Essential
Ability to take clear and accurate minutes.
Ability to keep accurate records and organise complex information.
Literacy and IT skills.
Ability to work without supervision, meet deadlines, use own initiative and work as part of a team.
Knowledge and Experience: Essential
Experience of administrative work at NVQ level 3 or similar.
Knowledge and Experience: Desirable
Knowledge of governing board procedures and relevant legislation.
Experience of taking minutes, drafting agendas and servicing meetings.
Knowledge of data protection legislation.
Clerking accredition qualification.
Personal Qualities
Ability to maintain impartiality and keep sensitive items confidential.
Willingness to work during evenings at times convenient to the board.
Willingness to undertake ongoing professional development opportunities.
Ability to develop professional relationships with the chair of governors, headteacher and governing body.
What is the salary for a clerk to governors?
This varies across the country and depending on the type of school you work for, but to give you an idea of pay rates I’ve included below two recently advertised salaries from local authorities.
Because academies have more freedom to set their own salaries pay rates at academies may be higher that at maintained schools. Secondary schools may offer higher pay than primaries. Higher rates are also available for clerks in more senior roles, for example a Governance Lead in a multi-academy trust who supervises a number of clerks to local governing bodies.
Hampshire County Council Salary £21,403 to £24,055 (pro rata), plus an allowance for your home office. Equivalent to £11.12 to £12.50 hourly rate (based on 37 hour working week). The council offer a minimum of 66 hours work per year.
North Yorkshire County Council Salary £19,945 – £22,021 (pro rata). Equivalent to £10.34 – £11.41 per hour. They also offer expenses for travel to school at 42p per mile.
You can also read the report Putting A Price On Effective Clerking which was produced by the National Governance Association in 2020 and lists average salaries for clerks working in different areas of the country and different types of school.
Salaries in the report are from a few years ago but are useful as a benchmark. The NGA looked at advertised salaries in 2019 and found that a clerk in the West Midlands could earn an average of £10.58 per hour, a clerk in Yorkshire might earn £12.60 per hour and a London clerk could be on £17.77 per hour. The average wage across the country (excluding London) was £11.50 an hour.
How many hours does a clerk work per week?
Clerking is usually a part-time job and can be a very part-time job if you only work for one school. A single school may only need to employ a clerk for around 10-14 hours per month, equivalent to around three or four hours hours work per week.
Because of this many clerks work for multiple schools, either through the local authority clerking service for maintained schools, through individual contracts with each school or through a multi-academy trust.
There will also be single schools that offer more work than this, depending on their needs. A secondary school may offer more hours than a primary, for example.
Is the work term-time only?
Almost all meetings should be held in term-time and most of the work can be completed in term-time too, although there may be rare occasions when a meeting is held very near to the end of term (or half-term) and minutes will need completing in a school holiday. Agendas may also need drafting just before the start of term or in a half-term holiday.
A clerk may be expected to reply to some emails and calls during school holidays but because the main body of work results from meetings this should not be onerous.
What time are meetings held?
Meetings are commonly held in the later afternoons or early evenings, perhaps from 5-7pm or 6-8pm. Some schools hold meetings during the school day or in the early morning.
Full governing body meetings tend to last for about two hours. Committee meetings tend to last for about an hour. The longest meeting I have ever clerked was about three hours; the shortest about 45 minutes.
Do clerks work at the school site?
The most common arrangement is for clerks to visit the school site to attend meetings but to type up minutes and complete their additional work from home.
Some clerks are based at the school site though, particularly if they combine their clerk to governors role with another job such as PA or if their role is more senior or complex such as governance lead for a multi-academy trust.
What qualifications are needed?
There are no specific qualifications needed to become a clerk to governors. Some schools ask for applicants who have completed accredited training (or say that completion of this training is required if you get the job) but many accept applications from those with no clerking accreditations.
The NGA studied clerk job adverts for their report Putting A Price On Effective Clerking and found that almost half of adverts do not ask for any qualifications. They did not find any adverts that asked for a degree but a minority requested GCSEs.
How are clerks employed?
Some clerks are employed directly by the school or local authority under a contract for a set number of hours per year. Others are employed through a local authority clerking service or a privately-owned agency. Some clerks are self-employed and freelance.
If you wish to complain to governors please read this whole page before sending in a complaint. There are many situations where it’s not appropriate or possible to complain to the governing body.
If you wish to contact governors for another reason the school may list a contact number or email address for the chair of governors/trustees on its website. I would not expect email addresses for individual governors to be listed.
If there are no contact details for the chair you can phone, email or write to the school office and ask for your message to be passed on.
There may also be an email address listed for the clerk to governors who can pass on a message to any member of the governing body. The clerk may be known as a governance professional or governance lead.
All schools must publish online the full name of their chair of governors/trustees and every person who sits on their governing body. However, there is no statutory duty to publish a contact email or phone number for the chair or any governor individually.
All schools must also publish details of their governing body in Get Information About Schools (GIAS). You can search for a school name to find a list of all governing body members and their terms of office, or search the name of an individual to see which schools they govern.
When should I contact school governors?
If you would like to see minutes from governor meetings they are public documents. They may be on the school website (but do not have to be) and the clerk to governors will have copies.
The clerk can also help if you wish to find out more about volunteering as a governor or you would like to attend a governors’ meeting. Meetings are not automatically open to the public but governors can invite anyone to attend.
Can I complain to the governors?
Before complaining to a school you should read the school’s complaints policy which must be on a maintained school’s website and should be online in academies. (If you would like a paper copy the school should provide you with one free of charge.)
This policy will explain how complaints are handled and when governors get involved. Complaints will usually be considered in a series of stages, beginning with an attempt to resolve the issue informally. A separate article looks at the details of complaints policies and procedures.
Governors will typically only be involved in school complaints when the headteacher or another member of staff has investigated first and the complainant is unhappy with their response.
Bear in mind that contacting school governors is not the equivalent of asking to speak to someone’s supervisor! The headteacher is in charge of the day-to-day running of the school, its internal management and organisation. Governors have neither the power nor the expertise to over-rule operational decisions.
Template Complaint Letter To School Governors
The form below is adapted from the Department for Education’s model complaints policy. It allows you to send a complaint to a school and explain what actions you are looking for in order to resolve the complaint, eg: an apology or a discussion with a staff member.
Make sure you read your school’s own complaints policy before filling out this form, as the school may provide its own form instead.
Yes, but not to register a complaint. You can certainly speak to governors about any aspect of school life, although bear in mind they have a strategic remit that means they are not involved in the everyday running of the school.
It is not a good idea to speak to an individual governor about a complaint instead of following the complaints policy. The individual will have no power to act on your complaint, as the governing body itself has collective responsibility.
Speaking to them may also mean they cannot have further involvement in the complaint as the school may need to find “untainted”, unbiased and impartial governors with no prior knowledge of the situation to sit on the complaints panel.
“If there’s any reasonable doubt as to a person’s ability to act impartially, they should withdraw from considering the complaint.
“When making decisions, you must not act in a way that is biased. The appearance of bias may be sufficient to taint a decision even if there is no actual bias.
“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.”
Occasionally parents mistakenly believe that parent governors or trustees are “on their side” and will sort out complaints for them because they think that is part of their role. However, parent governors have exactly the same role and power as any other governor. They are not the voice of the parents and have no power to address complaints individually.
