Sophie Lee (Clerk to Governors) – Page 9

What business interests must governors declare?

School governors and trustees must declare any business or financial interests that mean they could benefit personally from the decisions they make at the school.

Examples would be owning a business that sells equipment to schools, working for a cleaning agency which provides school cleaners or having a close relative who is a supply teacher.

In both maintained schools and academies the governors or trustees must leave the meeting room when there is a discussion relating to their business interest and are not allowed to vote on the subject.

This page offers a guide to what needs to be declared and a template for recording the interests of all governors. A separate article looks at what schools and academies must publish online.

Business Interests In Maintained Schools

For maintained schools the business interests register is a legal requirement from the School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2013.

These regulations set out what local authorities must have in their school funding schemes. This includes the “keeping of a register of any business interests of the governors and the headteacher”. Statutory guidance states that this register should be published online.

Maintained school governors are also bound by the Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) 2013 regulations which force governors to withdraw from the meeting if they have a “pecuniary interest”. Pecuniary means “relating to money”.

The principle is that governors must only cast a vote when they are impartial and therefore definitely voting in the best interests of the school.

“Where in relation to any matter a relevant person has a pecuniary interest, that person, if present at a meeting of the school at which the matter is the subject of consideration, must disclose his or her interest, withdraw from the meeting and not vote on the matter in question.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013

What is the definition of a business interest in a maintained school?

There is no definition of “business interests” in the 2013 Finance regulations or of “pecuniary interests” in the 2013 Roles, Procedures and Allowances regulations.

There is also no statutory guidance available for either of these laws. DfE departmental advice for the Roles, Procedures and Allowances law simply states that “governors must declare pecuniary interests” without offering any guidance as to what must be declared.

Statutory Guidance to the Constitution (England) Regulations 2012 refers to both business and pecuniary interests, as well as “material interests” that arise from close relationships. It states that the following three items must be recorded in the register of interests.

Relevant business and pecuniary interests.
Governance roles in other educational institutions.
Any material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and members of the school staff.

“A governing body should publish on its website relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests) including governance roles in other educational institutions [and] any material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives).

“Governing bodies should also publish this information for associate members.”
Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools: Statutory Guidance

Note the word “relevant” in the above quote. If a governor has an interest that is never going to cause a conflict, for example if they run a business abroad, they do not need to declare it.

If governors are unsure as to what to declare, a good rule of thumb is the local newspaper test – how would it look if the interest was undeclared and then reported in your local paper? Would it damage the reputation of the school?

How would it look if your local newspaper found out that a governor had voted in favour of giving a £5,000 contract to their brother? Or encouraged the school to buy 100 computers from their husband’s firm? Even in a situation where there has been no impropriety it would still reflect badly on the school if a governor has not revealed their interests.

Some common sense is needed when deciding what to declare. For example, if you own 50 shares in Apple and the school is buying an iMac this is highly unlikely to make you biased. On the other hand, if you are the director of a company that sells iMacs that could well be a conflict of interest.

Here is how my local authority describe a relevant business interest.

“Someone can be said to have a relevant business interest if they are an employee, the owner, a partner or a major shareholder of a business or have appointments of influence within a business or organisation (including the local authority) which might potentially be involved in providing goods or services to the school.”
Southampton City Council

My LA also list some job titles that may need to be declared because they could potentially deal with schools. These include accountant, building worker, cleaner, decorator, ground maintenance worker, insurance broker, solicitor, printer and supplier of books, stationery or electronics.

If you are still unsure about what constitutes a conflict of interest then you should ask your fellow governors for their verdict. The law says that if there is a dispute about whether a governor can vote or not due to a possible conflict of interest then the other governors present at the meeting must decide this among themselves.

“Where there is any dispute as to whether this regulation or Schedule 1 requires a relevant person to withdraw from a meeting of the school and not vote, that question must be determined by the other governors present at the meeting.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013

Do associate members need to declare business interests?

Yes. Statutory guidance to the constitution regulations says governors must declare relevant business and pecuniary interests and publish them online. It goes on to say “Governing bodies should also publish this information for associate members.”

Business Interests For Staff Governors

As all governors who are also school employees naturally have a financial “interest” in the school via their salary there is a paragraph in the law for maintained schools that says they only have to withdraw from meetings if their interest is greater than the interest of other staff members.

So if governors were discussing a proposal that would impact the pay packet of every staff member the governor would not have to leave the room. If the proposal would only impact the pay of the staff governor themselves, they would have to leave for that part of the meeting.

“A relevant person will not be treated as having a pecuniary interest in any matter provided that the value of the relevant person’s pecuniary interest is no greater than that of the pecuniary interest commonly held by those paid to work at the school.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013

Business Interests In Academies

For academies the requirement to declare business interests comes from the Academy Trust Handbook which all academies must comply with as a condition of their funding agreement.

“The academy trust’s register of interests must capture relevant business and pecuniary interests of members, trustees, local governors and senior employees, including:

– directorships, partnerships and employments with businesses

– trusteeships and governorships at other educational institutions and charities

– for each interest: the name and nature of the business, the nature of the interest and the date the interest began.

“The register must identify relevant material interests from close family relationships between the academy trust’s members, trustees or local governors. It must also identify relevant material interests arising from close family relationships between those individuals and employees.

“Trusts should consider whether other interests should be registered, and if in doubt should do so. Boards of trustees must keep their register of interests up-to-date at all times.”
Academy Trust Handbook (2021)

The Handbook states that for every member, trustee, local governor and accounting officer, details must be published online of “relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions”.

“The trust must also publish on its website up-to-date details of its governance arrangements in a readily accessible format, including:

– for each member serving at any point over the past 12 months, their full names, date of appointment, date they stepped down (where applicable), and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions

– for each trustee and local governor serving at any point over the past 12 months, their full names, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable), who appointed them, and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions. If the accounting officer is not a trustee their business and pecuniary interests must still be published.”
Academy Trust Handbook (2021)

In academies there is a minor difference between what must be shown online and what must be included in the register of interests itself. The Handbook states that the register must include the interests of “members, trustees, local governors and senior employees”. However, the accounting officer is the only employee who must have their interests online.

“Trusts must publish on their websites relevant business and pecuniary interests of members, trustees, local governors and accounting officers. Trusts have discretion over the publication of interests of other individuals named on the register.”
Academy Trust Handbook (2021)

Also in the Academy Trust Handbook is a succinct description of the principle being observed here: “Academy trusts must ensure that no member, trustee, local governor, employee or related individual or organisation uses their connection to the trust for personal gain.”

An academy’s articles of association will explain what to do when someone has a conflict of interest. The model articles of association (June 2021) say that trustees must leave the meeting while the subject is discussed.

“Any trustee who has or can have any direct or indirect duty or personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest) which conflicts or may conflict with their duties as a trustee shall disclose that fact to the trustees as soon as they become aware of it.

“A trustee must be absent from any discussions of the trustees in which it is possible that a conflict will arise between their duty to act solely in the interests of the academy trust and any duty or personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest).”
Model Articles of Association (June 2021)

What if a governor is unsure whether to declare a specific interest?

They should declare it anyway. It is always safer to err on the side of caution and the Academy Trust Handbook says that “if in doubt” the interest should be declared. This is sensible advice for maintained schools too.

A governor is never going to get into hot water for being too transparent about their interests, but they could cause real problems for the governing body if they have an interest that has not been declared.

Can the school buy from a company if a governor has declared an interest?

Yes. In both maintained schools and academies the governor with an interest must leave the room and not vote on the decision, but the remaining governors can still decide to buy goods or services from a company listed on the register of interests if they believe it would be best for the school.

The clerk should record the interest clearly in the minutes and state that the governor withdrew from the room during the discussion.

This is the advice given by my local authority for governing bodies which are considering doing business with a company included on the register of interests.

“It is possible for schools to let contracts with or make purchases from businesses listed on the register of interests provided they represent the best possible value for money for the school.

“However, in these circumstances, the governing body should ensure that:

– the usual rules should apply to the letting of high value contracts, eg: at least three quotes should be obtained for purchases over £10,000

– governors or the headteacher should not be involved in opening or evaluation of tenders or letting of contracts for which a business in which they have an interest has tendered

– if a purchase is made from a business included on the register the usual safeguards should be obtained to ensure that the goods and services will be of the required quality, eg: guarantees, insurance, maintenance agreements.”
Southampton City Council Guidance on Declarations of Interest

In academies, buying goods or services from someone close to the governor is known as a “related-party transaction” and has got a number of academies into serious hot water in the past because members or directors/trustees were paying out public money to companies connected to close relatives.

Because of this, any related-party transaction must now be reported to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) before it is agreed with the supplier. Any transactions over £20,000 must also be approved in advance by the ESFA; detailed advice is available here.

Business Interests Declaration Template

An editable business interests template is available on my templates and letters page. This form is sometimes called the ROBI, for Register of Business Interests. Governors with no business interests should write “None” or “Nil” in the first column and date and sign their entry.

There should also be an item at the start of every meeting agenda where governors are asked to declare any interests in the subjects under discussion that day. They will be asked to leave the room when that item is reached.

What happens if a governor does not complete the declaration?

All schools must keep a register of interests and publish it online. If a governor refuses to complete the register there is a danger that they may have a conflict of interest that will compromise the integrity of the board.

The board should make this clear to the governor. If they still refuse to complete the declaration the board should consider suspending or removing the governor. Failing to declare interests would also be a breach of your code of conduct (if you have one).

What questions should governors ask?

The role of school governors is to provide support and challenge to the school and asking the right questions is a key part of this.

Here are a wide range of questions that governors should be asking, either in meetings or as part of a governor self-evaluation process.

Questions From My Clerking Experience

These are some of the best questions that I have heard governors ask and points I have heard them raise over the years that I have been a clerk.

Being Strategic

Where do we want the school to go and how are we going to get there?
How can governors monitor the school improvement plan?
Do meeting agendas show that we are spending most time on the highest priorities of the school?
What needs to change for pupils?
What needs to change for staff?
Do we have the right committees in place? Would our governing body work better with fewer or no committees?
What difference is this idea going to make for pupils and how will we know that it works?
Who is going to take responsibility for this change and who is going to check that it has been done?
Is the clerk minuting action points showing the name of the person responsible and their deadline? Do we check at the next meeting that these actions have been completed?
What baseline evidence can we see before we start using this intervention or making this change?

Approving Policies

Do we have a policy schedule that means we review all policies as often as the law requires? Would we realise if we had not approved a policy for years?
Is this policy dictated by the local authority or a multi-academy trust or is it written by school staff? (If governors have no power to change it they may wish to approve it quickly and move on.)
Are we reviewing some policies too often or spending too long discussing policies that do not have much impact?
Do we give most time to the policies that really affect the education and wellbeing of the children?
Do we need to keep all our policies or could some be scrapped or merged together?
Are we rubber-stamping policies without questioning their purpose?
Are governors checking the grammar, spelling and minutiae of policies but not checking their overall impact on the children’s education?
How do we check that policies are being implemented in school and are having the desired impact?

Looking At Data

Which groups are doing well and which are struggling – boys versus girls, SEND pupils, pupil premium, ethnic minorities? How are we closing any gaps?
What are the strength and weaknesses of the school?
How often do we look at data on: attendance/exclusions, attainment and progress, staffing and class sizes, income and expenditure, trends in safeguarding data or accident reports, staff absence figures, satisfaction of pupils, staff and parents from feedback surveys and complaints.
How do our results compare with similar schools locally or nationally?
Is there are a class or a year group that is “stuck” and not making progress? How can we address that?
How do we know that this information is robust and accurate?
Can we triangulate data with a second source? What about the view of an external adviser? Or evidence from governors’ school visits?

Finance And Budgets

Why has spending on this item increased and how can we justify it?
Do governors ever say no to proposed spending? Why not?
How does our school compare to similar schools in terms of percentage of the budget spend on staffing, or training, or photocopying, or IT?
Can we use a benchmarking report to see how much local schools are spending compared to us and where we can make savings?
How much does the school get in pupil or sports premium and how do we know it is being spent wisely?

Offering Support

Do subject leaders have all the resources they need to work effectively?
How can we help teachers to improve – do they need extra training? Time? Textbooks? Computers?
How do governors engage with staff and parents and listen to their concerns?
Do staff worry about governor visits or find them stressful? Do they know that governors are not judging the quality of teaching?
Does the staff governor liaise well with other staff? Do all employees know who the staff governor is?
How is the work/life balance of staff and how do we monitor this?
Do we congratulate staff on their achievements and thank them for their efforts? While criticisms of named staff should be in confidential minutes, congratulatory messages can be public. The clerk can minute expressions of support, eg: “Governors congratulated all staff on the excellent GCSE results this year.”

Questions from the Old Governance Handbook (2020)

On Educational Performance

Which groups of pupils are the highest and lowest performing, and why? Do school leaders have credible plans for addressing under-performance or less than expected progress? How will we know that things are improving?
How is the school going to raise standards for all children, including the most and least able, those with special educational needs, those receiving free school meals and those who are more broadly disadvantaged, boys and girls, those of a particular ethnicity, and any who are currently underachieving?
Which year groups or subjects get the best and worst results and why? How does this relate to the quality of teaching across the school? What is the strategy for improving the areas of weakest performance?
Is the school adequately engaged with the world of work and preparing their pupils for adult life, including knowing where pupils go when they leave?
How is the school ensuring that it keeps pupils safe from, and building their resilience to, the risks of extremism and radicalisation? What arrangements are in place to ensure that staff understand and are implementing the Prevent duty?
Are senior leaders including (where appropriate) the CEO and finance director getting appropriate continuing professional development?
Does the school have the right staff and the right development and reward arrangements? What is the school’s approach to implementation of pay reform and performance-related pay? If appropriate, is it compliant with the most up-to-date version of the school teachers’ pay and conditions document? Is the school planning to ensure it continues to have the right staff?
Have decisions been made with reference to external evidence, for example, has the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Toolkit been used to determine pupil premium spending decisions? How will the board know if current approaches are working and how will the impact of decisions and interventions be monitored using appropriate tools such as the EEF DIY evaluation guide?
Are teachers and support staff being used as effectively and efficiently as possible and in line with evidence and guidance?
To what extent is this a happy school with a positive learning culture? What is the school’s record on attendance, behaviour and bullying? Are safeguarding procedures securely in place? What is being done to address any current issues, and how will we know if it is working?
How good is the school’s wider offer to pupils? Is the school offering a good range of sports, arts and voluntary activities? Is school food healthy and popular and compliant with the School Food Standards?
Is the school encouraging the development of healthy, active lifestyles by using the PE and sport premium for primary schools to fund additional and sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport?
Is the school promoting high-quality provision in literacy and numeracy using, where appropriate, the Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium, to make a positive difference in the attainment of pupils?
How effectively does the school listen to the views of pupils and parents?
How effectively does the organisation listen to the views of staff, and ensure work/life balance for their workforce, and how does the organisation review and streamline unnecessary workload whilst maintaining high standards?

On Finances

Are resources allocated in line with the organisation’s strategic priorities?
Does the organisation have a clear budget forecast, ideally for the next three years, which identifies spending opportunities and risks and sets how these will be mitigated?
Does the organisation have sufficient reserves to cover major changes such as re-structuring, and any risks identified in the budget forecast?
Is the organisation making best use of its budget (eg: by integrating its curriculum planning with its financial planning and using efficiency data to inform decision making)?
Does the organisation plan its budgets on a bottom up basis driven by curriculum planning (ie: is the school spending its money in accordance with its priorities) or is the budget set by simply making minor adjustments to last year’s budget to ensure there is a surplus?
Are the organisation’s assets and financial resources being used efficiently?
How can better value for money be achieved from the budget?
Is the organisation complying with basic procurement rules and ensuring it gets the best deal available when buying goods and services in order to reinvest savings into teaching and learning priorities?
Is the organisation taking advantage of opportunities to collaborate with other schools to generate efficiencies through pooling funding where permitted, purchasing services jointly and sharing staff, functions, facilities and technology across sites?

Twenty Questions Governing Bodies Should Ask Themselves

In 2015 the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Education Governance and Leadership, together with the National Governance Association, published a list of 20 questions that governing bodies can use to self-evaluate and reflect on how they can make more of an impact on the school.

Have we completed a skills audit which informs the governor specification we use as the basis of governor appointment and interview?
How well do we understand our roles and responsibilities, including what it means to be strategic?
Do we have a professional clerk who provides legal advice and oversees the governing board’s induction and development needs?
Is the size, composition and committee structure of our governing board conducive to effective working?
How do we make use of good practice from across the country?
Do we carry out a regular 360° review of the chair’s performance and elect the chair each year?
Do we engage in good succession planning so that no governor serves for longer than two terms of office and the chair is replaced at least every six years?
Does the chair carry out an annual review of each governor’s contribution to the board’s performance?
Does our vision look forward three to five years, and does it include what the children who have left the school will have achieved?
Have we agreed a strategy with priorities for achieving our vision with key performance indicators against which we can regularly monitor and review the strategy?
How effectively does our strategic planning cycle drive the governing board’s activities and agenda setting?
How well do we listen to, understand and respond to our pupils, parents and staff?
How do we make regular reports on the work of the governing board to our parents and local community?
What benefit does the school draw from collaboration with other schools and other sectors, locally and nationally?
How well do we understand the school’s performance data (including in-year progress tracking data) so we can properly hold school leaders to account?
Do governors regularly visit the school to get to know it and monitor the implementation of the school strategy?
How well does our policy review schedule work and how do we ensure compliance?
Do we know how effective performance management of all staff is within the school?
Are our financial management systems robust so we can ensure best value for money?
How much has the school improved over the last three years, and what has the governing board’s contribution been to this?

The 20 questions are also available as a pdf file.

What is the role of governors in an OFSTED inspection?

The inspector will invite as many governors as possible (not just the chair of governors/trustees) to attend a meeting at the school to discuss their roles and responsibilities and the impact they have had.

If the chair cannot attend in person a phone call will be arranged.

“The lead inspector will make arrangements for a meeting with the chair of the governing body or, if appropriate, the chair of the board of trustees and as many governors/trustees as possible. Inspectors will also ask the school to invite as many governors/trustees as possible to attend the final feedback meeting.”
School Inspection Handbook

“As many governors or trustees as possible are invited to meet inspectors during an inspection. An inspector may talk to the chair of governors by telephone if s/he is unable to attend a face-to-face meeting with the inspector in school.”
OFSTED inspection myths

Inspectors will study governing body minutes to see evidence of challenge, support and actions taken. They will look at the school improvement plan, governor visit reports and any action plans governors have written.

A school could also provide evidence of training governors have received and any skills audits or self-evaluations they have undertaken. At the end of the inspection all governors are entitled to attend a feedback meeting to hear the inspectors’ judgements.

OFSTED explain how they inspect schools in the document Education Inspection Framework, which applies to all maintained schools and academies. A longer document, the School Inspection Handbook, sets out the criteria that inspectors use to make judgements.

The school will be given an overall judgement of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate, plus judgements in four key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management. A judgement on governance will be made within the leadership and management section.

In a standard full section 5 or shorter section 8 inspection OFSTED will call the school the day before they arrive, although “no-notice” inspections can be made (with about 15 minutes’ notice given in practice) if there are serious concerns about the school such as safeguarding or very poor leadership and governance.

Can OFSTED see confidential minutes?

Yes. OFSTED have the right to see confidential governing body minutes under section 10 of the Education Act 2005.

“When inspecting a school under section 5 or 8, the Chief Inspector has at all reasonable times a right to inspect, and take copies of, any records kept by the school, and any other documents containing information relating to the school, which he considers relevant to the discharge of his functions.”
Education Act 2005

Inspectors will examine how governors are carrying out each one of their three core functions – to set the strategic direction, ethos and vision of the school, to hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and to oversee the budget and finances.

They also check that all statutory duties are being fulfilled, for example by examining the procedures for safeguarding, as well as looking for evidence that the governing body is actively improving the school.

This is what inspectors are looking for when examining governance:

“Those responsible for governance understand their role and carry this out effectively. They ensure that the provider has a clear vision and strategy and that resources are managed well. They hold leaders to account for the quality of education or training.

“They ensure that the provider fulfils its statutory duties, for example under the Equality Act 2010, and other duties, for example in relation to the Prevent strategy and safeguarding, and promoting the welfare of learners.”
Education Inspection Framework

“Inspectors will seek evidence of the impact of those responsible for governance.”
School Inspection Handbook

What questions will OFSTED ask governors?

There is no set list of questions as inspectors will ask about the issues your particular school is facing and how governors are tackling them. However, in a blog post OFSTED shared some general questions that governors and trustees may be asked during inspections.

What is the vision for the school is and how is this shared?
What are the strengths of our school, how do we know they are strengths and what needs to improve?
Do governors understand the issues the school faces?
Is the overall culture of the school one of high expectations for teaching, learning, pupil behaviour and safety?
How is excellent work recognised?
Do governors challenge school leaders by asking probing questions about pupil outcomes, assessment arrangements, safeguarding procedures etc?
What other sources of information do governors use to find out the views of parents, staff and children?
Are governors aware of how the school’s finances are being managed or how staff are recruited?

Governors may also be asked about:

Triangulation – how do you check that information from the headteacher correlates with what is really happening in the school? Have you read or commissioned external reports? Do you visit the school to see the impact of policies? How do you know that safeguarding procedures are sound?

Finance – what are your priorities for pupil premium spending and how do you know the money is closing the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children? How is the sport premium spent? Do governors have the skills they need to oversee the budget?

Groups of pupils – which groups of pupils are governors concerned about and how are they addressing that concern? For example, boys versus girls, SEND pupils, pupil premium children, one specific year group or class. Are all groups making progress? How do you know if interventions are working?

Is the headteacher present when governors meet OFSTED?

No, not when the inspection is ongoing. OFSTED state that they wish to meet governors alone without the presence of school staff while they are still forming judgements. In the feedback meeting at the end of the inspection the headteacher is present alongside governors, all of whom have the right to hear the results of the inspection immediately.

“Meetings or telephone discussions with those responsible for governance should take place without the headteacher or other senior staff being present.”
School Inspection Handbook

“All those responsible for governance need to know the outcome of the inspection as soon as possible.”
OFSTED inspection myths

“Grades may be shared with school staff and all those responsible for the governance of the school, irrespective of whether they attended the meeting, so long as they are clearly marked as provisional and subject to quality assurance.”
School Inspection Handbook

Once governors have been told the school’s grading they must keep it confidential until the final OFSTED report has been sent to the school. Before the report is finalised a draft copy will be sent.

Are governors present at the final feedback meeting?

Yes. As many governors or trustees as possible should attend the final feedback meeting. This is made clear in the School Inspection Handbook.

“The on-site inspection ends with a final feedback meeting with the school. Those connected with the school who may attend include:

– the headteacher and other senior leaders, agreed by the lead inspector and headteacher

– for maintained schools, the chair of the school’s governing body and as many governors as possible

– for academies, including academies that are part of a MAT, the chair of the board of trustees and as many trustees as possible.”
School Inspection Handbook

Can governors see a draft OFSTED report?

Yes, OFSTED say that governors can see draft inspection reports. Schools are always given a chance to make comments on the draft but unless they have been judged to be “causing concern” (in other words, judged to be inadequate) staff can only dispute the facts of the report, not the opinions of the inspector.

“The draft report is restricted and confidential to the relevant personnel (as determined by the school), including those responsible for governance.”
School Inspection Handbook

Once the report has been finalised it becomes available to the general public on the OFSTED website.

Will OFSTED recommend an external review of governance?

No. Previously OFSTED recommended that schools with weak governance received an external review from a governance expert, but that idea has now been scrapped.

“From September 2019, under the Education Inspection Framework, inspectors will no longer recommend that the school carries out an external review of the pupil premium and/or governance, where weaknesses have been identified.”
School Inspection Update July 2019 (pdf)

What is the clerk’s role in an OFSTED inspection?

This varies from school to school, but in the clerking roles I have held my only involvement has been to email the school some governor details such as terms of office on the day before the inspection.

Some clerks will be more involved though, perhaps being asked to invite as many governors as possible to meet the inspector, providing paperwork such as minutes or action plans or checking that the governance section of the website is up-to-date. It may be helpful for the clerk to keep a specific OFSTED file at the school that contains governance paperwork so there is no last minute panic!

The clerk is allowed to take notes at the final feedback meeting in both maintained schools and academies, although again whether the clerk is actually invited will depend on the school.

The clerk does not attend the initial meeting between governors and the inspector and I have never heard of a clerk who has actually been interviewed by OFSTED.

“The on-site inspection ends with a final feedback meeting with the school. Those connected with the school who may attend include:

– for maintained schools, the chair of the school’s governing body and as many governors as possible; the clerk to governors (or equivalent), or their delegate, may also attend to take notes

– for academies, including academies that are part of a MAT, the chair of the board of trustees and as many trustees as possible; the clerk to governors or the board (or equivalent), or their delegate, may also attend to take notes.”
School Inspection Handbook

Can a parent governor work at the school?

Yes, but in a maintained school you can only be elected or appointed as a parent governor if you work at the school for 500 hours per year or under on the date of the election or appointment.

This rule is not present in the current model articles of association for academies (June 2021).

However, academies should be aware that the current DfE advice is for no academy trust employees to serve as trustees at all apart from the senior executive leader. (Trust employees could still serve as members of committees, however, for example on local governing bodies.)

“Any newly appointed senior executive leader can only be a trustee if the members decide to appoint them as such, the senior executive leader agrees and the trust’s articles permit it. No other employees should serve as trustees.”
Academy Trust Handbook

In a maintained school local councillors are also banned from being parent governors if they are a councillor on the date of their election or appointment. This is what the law says about who is eligible to be a parent governor in a maintained school.

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

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

(b) is paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in any twelve consecutive months.”
Constitution Regulations (England) 2012

Why 500 hours?

The regulations do not explain why the limit is 500 hours, but it is probably to ensure that parents who work in very part-time roles such as lunchtime supervisors are not banned from volunteering as governors.

Anything over 500 hours would represent a more formal part-time or full-time job and there are restrictions in the law that force the governing body to have a balance between school employees and those who are not staff members.

This allows governors to challenge school leaders if they need to and ask the difficult questions that employees might not feel comfortable asking their boss.

What if a current parent governor starts working for the school?

In this case the governor can continue on as a parent governor, serving out the remainder of their term of office – they are not disqualified just because they now work for the school.

However, when their term of office ends they would no longer qualify to stand as a parent governor in a maintained school if their job involved more than 500 hours of work per year.

This is not clearly stated in the current law or DfE Maintained Schools Governance Guide but is spelled out in an old DfE document called the Governors’ Guide to the Law.

“If a serving parent governor subsequently starts to work at the school for more than 500 hours in a consecutive 12-month period, they would serve out their term of office.”
Old Governors’ Guide to the Law (2012)

Statutory guidance to the law also reinforces this point, although not quite so clearly. The guidance says says someone is disqualified from being a parent governor if they work for the school for more than 500 hours per year “at the time of election or appointment”.

“A person is disqualified from being a parent governor if they are paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours (ie: for more than one-third of the hours of a full-time equivalent) in any consecutive twelve-month period at the time of election or appointment.”
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools: Statutory Guidance

The reasoning behind this is that the law does not permit a parent governor to be elected or appointed if they work for a maintained school for more than 500 hours per year, but it does not state that a parent governor is disqualified if they are already a governor when they start their job.

If you are not eligible to be a parent governor because of your job at the school you could apply to be a staff governor, co-opted governor or foundation governor instead (although the diocese or trust may not allow school employees to become foundation governors).

Any maintained school employee is eligible to be the staff governor, whatever their job title or how many hours of work they do. Anyone from the community can be a co-opted governor. Foundation governor roles are only available in some schools such as church schools.

However, if you want to be a co-opted governor you should ask the clerk how many co-opted governors already work for the school, as the law for maintained schools puts a limit on the number of co-opted governors who are school employees.

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

Although academy model articles do not include the 500 hours rule, they do include a similar rule regarding the total number of employees who are staff members- no more than one third of the total number of trustees can be academy employees.

“The total number of trustees [including the chief executive officer/principal if they so choose to act as trustee] who are employees of the academy trust shall not exceed one third of the total number of trustees.”
Model Articles of Association (June 2021)

If there are no vacant governor positions that you are eligible for you could also apply to be an associate member in a maintained school, as the 500 hours rule does not apply to associate members and neither does the rule limiting the total number of employees on the board. There are also no restrictions on the total number of associate members governing bodies can have.

Academy schools may or may not use the name “associate member” but are permitted to appoint people who are not trustees to serve on committees, often on local governing bodies in a multi-academy trust.

Academy employees are eligible to serve on committees and the rule limiting the number of employees on the board applies to trustees only, not other committee members.

What training must school governors have?

All school governors and academy trustees must have safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety training.

The DfE Governance Guides also recommend that induction training is provided and at least one governor/trustee should complete cyber security training.

Safeguarding Training

The requirement to have safeguarding training comes from the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE).

KCSIE says that the training should be “regularly updated”, which I imagine most schools will interpret as updated annually.

“Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that all governors and trustees receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection (including online) training at induction.

“This training should equip them with the knowledge to provide strategic challenge to test and assure themselves that the safeguarding policies and procedures in place in schools and colleges are effective and support the delivery of a robust whole school approach to safeguarding.

“Their training should be regularly updated.”
Keeping Children Safe in Education

Your school may invite governors to attend the safeguarding training they give to staff members, although be aware that the governor role is different to staff roles so the training may not cover everything governors need to know.

Online courses such as Child Protection for School Governors from the NSPCC are also available.

Cyber Security Training

The DfE recommend in their Governance Guides that “at least one” governor or trustee should take cyber security training.

“Governing bodies need to understand the considerable damage cyber security attacks can cause to their schools. At least one governor should complete cyber security training.”
DfE Maintained Schools Governance Guide

“The board needs to understand the considerable damage cyber security attacks can cause to their trust. At least one trustee should complete the cyber security training.”
DfE Academy Trust Governance Guide

Induction Training

The DfE says that boards in both maintained schools and academies are responsible for providing induction training.

The quote below is from the Maintained Schools Governance Guide but the wording is very similar in the academy trust version.

“A governing body is responsible for…providing an induction for new governors, associate members and the governance professional and identifying specific training such as safeguarding, Prevent and how to keep pupils safe online.”
DfE Maintained Schools Governance Guide

I would not want to serve as a governor without induction training that explains the powers of governors and how they should be used. Governors have a wide range of responsibilities and poor governance can have a serious impact on the school.

Meetings can be difficult to understand at first, with lots of acronyms, jargon, policies and documents. Data sheets and budgets can be very difficult to understand when seen for the first time.

Induction training should cover:

the statutory responsibilities of governors
the difference between being “strategic” (the role of governors) and being “operational” (the role of the headteacher and staff)
introduction to budgets
how to use and interpret school performance data
staffing issues
safeguarding children (if not covered in a separate course)
how to ask challenging questions and when to offer support
how to conduct school visits and get to know your individual school
how to make an impact as a governor.

Do governors need Prevent duty training?

A separate article looks at Prevent duty training for governors. My interpretation of Keeping Children Safe in Education is that all governors need Prevent training.

Does the clerk need safeguarding or Prevent training?

Keeping Children Safe In Education states that all staff should receive safeguarding training, so if the clerk is a member of staff they should receive at least basic training in this area.

“All staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training which is regularly updated.

“In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection updates (for example, via email, e-bulletins and staff meetings), as required, and at least annually, to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.”
Keeping Children Safe In Education

Must we keep a record of governor training?

There’s no legal requirement to keep a training record but it is recommended. The record lets you ensure new governors receive appropriate training and keep track of any gaps in the board’s expertise.

OFSTED may ask to see this record and it’s also useful if you are evaluating the effectiveness of the board.

Governor Training Record Template

A downloadable, editable Word form to keep a record of governor training is available on my templates and letters page.

What governor information must be on school websites?

Both maintained schools and academies must publish basic information about their governors on the school website, including names, terms of office and business interests. The full list of information related to governance that you must publish is below.

This requirement is explained in statutory guidance from the DfE for maintained schools and the Academy Trust Handbook for academies.

Both sets of guidance state that the information should be in a “readily accessible” form, which the DfE define as being on a web page without needing to download or open a separate document. As modern browsers can open pdf files within the browser I’m not sure you need to worry about this guideline.

There is no legal requirement to publish meetings of governor minutes online but many schools do so. A separate article looks at whether governor minutes are public documents.

What diversity information should be published online?

I’ve written a separate post on the DfE recommendation that governor diversity data is published online.

Must we publish contact details for the chair of governors?

There is no duty to publish contact details for the chair on your website, but their full name must be online. If you choose not to list an email address or phone number for the chair it should be clear they can be contacted via the school’s office or the clerk to governors.

What Maintained Schools Must Publish Online

All items in the list below must be published on the website of a maintained school. The quotes are from the statutory guidance to the 2012 constitution regulations.

“The structure and remit of the governing body and any committees, and the full names of the chair of each.”

The “structure” refers to how your governing body is organised and what powers have been delegated. For example, you might have one finance committee and one standards committee. Say which governors are members of which committees and publish any terms of reference for your committees.

(Note that the DfE guide to What Maintained Schools Must Publish Online refers to the “structure and responsibilities” of the board rather than the structure and remit, but the meaning is the same.)

Here is an example of a short statement you could use on the responsibilities of the governing body:

“The governing body of [school] is responsible for setting the ethos and vision of the school, identifying areas where the school needs to improve and planning how to make those improvements. It makes sure that the educational performance of pupils is strong and that the budget is used properly and effectively.”
“For each governor who has served at any point over the past 12 months: their full names, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable), who appointed them (in accordance with the governing body’s instrument of government).”

The date of appointment is the day they were voted onto the board or the final day that votes could be cast in a staff or parent governor election.

The answer to who appointed them is usually the board itself or fellow parents/staff in elections for parent or staff governors, but some schools such as foundation schools will have other appointing bodies listed in their instrument of government.
“For each governor who has served at any point over the past 12 months: relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests) including governance roles in other educational institutions [and] any material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives).”

The law insists that maintained schools keep “a register of any business interests of the governors and the headteacher”.

This register should include any instances where someone could benefit from their role, eg: owning a playground equipment company that might sell to the school or working for a teaching agency. A separate article covers business interests in more detail.

It is quite common for governors to have relatives who work for the school. Parent governors in particular may have partners or family members who work part-time hours. All personal links must be declared to avoid any conflicts of interest.

Note that you must also disclose if you are a governor at another school or college.
“For each governor who has served at any point over the past 12 months: their attendance record at governing body and committee meetings over the last academic year.”
These records may be embarrassing for some governors as they show clearly who has been turning up and who has not!
“Governing bodies should also publish this information for associate members, making clear whether they have voting rights on any of the committees to which they have been appointed.“
Associate members in maintained schools cannot vote at full governing body meetings but can be given voting rights on committees. For associate members schools must publish all of the items listed in the bullet points above, plus details of their voting rights.

Note that the DfE guide to What Maintained Schools Must Publish Online confusingly omits the rule that details must be published for all governors and associate members who have served at any point in the last 12 months. However, maintained schools must still publish this information because it is required by statutory guidance.

What Academies Must Publish Online

Rules for academies are very similar but come from the Academy Trust Handbook, quoted below.

“The trust must provide details of its governance arrangements in the governance statement published with its annual accounts, including what the board has delegated to committees and, in trusts with multiple academies, to local governing bodies.

“The trust must also publish on its website up-to-date details of its governance arrangements in a readily accessible format, including:

– the structure and remit of the trust’s members, board of trustees, committees and local governing bodies (the trust’s scheme of delegation for governance functions), and the full names of the chair of each

– for each of the trust’s members serving at any point over the past 12 months, their full names, date of appointment, date they stepped down (where applicable), and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions

– for each trustee and local governor serving at any point over the past 12 months, their full names, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable), who appointed them, and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions. If the accounting officer is not a trustee their business and pecuniary interests must still be published

– for each trustee, their attendance records at board and committee meetings over the last academic year

– for each local governor, their attendance records at local governing body meetings over the last academic year.”
Academy Trust Handbook (2021)

In academies there is a minor difference between what must be shown online and what must be included in your register of interests. The Academy Trust Handbook states that the register must include the interests of “members, trustees, local governors and senior employees“. However, the accounting officer is the only employee who must have their interests published online.

“Trusts must publish on their websites relevant business and pecuniary interests of members, trustees, local governors and accounting officers. Trusts have discretion over the publication of interests of other individuals named on the register.”
Academy Trust Handbook (2021)

Can governors sack the headteacher?

Yes, the governing body of any school or academy has the power to sack the headteacher.

For maintained schools the legal right to fire the headteacher comes from the School Staffing Regulations 2009.

“The governing body or the headteacher may suspend any person employed or engaged otherwise than under a contract of employment to work at the school where, in the opinion of the governing body or (as the case may be) the headteacher, such suspension is required.

“Where the governing body determines that any person employed or engaged by the authority to work at the school should cease to work there, it must notify the authority in writing of its determination and the reasons for it.”
School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009

Regulations say that the governing body can delegate the power to sack the headteacher to a panel of one or more governors (although not including, of course, the headteacher themselves).

“Any delegation of—

(a) the determination that the headteacher should cease to work at the school; or

(b) the power to appoint or dismiss the headteacher

may be to one or more governors, other than a governor who is the headteacher.”
School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009

The same law also says that the governing body must have written procedures to deal with conduct and capability of staff.

“The governing body must establish procedures—

(a) for the regulation of the conduct and discipline of staff at the school; and

(b) by which staff may seek redress for any grievance relating to their work at the school.

“The governing body must establish procedures for dealing with lack of capability on the part of staff at the school.”
School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009

Single academies and multi-academy trusts also have the power to fire the headteacher. This decision would be made by academy trustees.

Governors should follow the ACAS Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance. Employment tribunals must have regard to this code of practice when they are hearing cases.

The DfE provides a model teacher appraisal and capability policy which covers all teachers, including the headteacher, setting out the steps which could lead to a headteacher being fired.

“If a teacher demonstrates serious underperformance, and has not responded to support provided within the appraisal process, the teacher will be notified in writing that the appraisal system will no longer apply and that their performance will be managed under the capability procedure, and will be invited to a formal capability meeting. “
Teacher Appraisal and Capability Model Policy

The model policy states that the formal capability meeting is conducted by the chair of governors and allows the headteacher to respond to the concerns raised. It may be the end of the process if concerns are adequately addressed but if not a timetable can be set for improvement or a formal warning issued.

The next step is a formal review meeting which could lead to a final written warning. The final step is a decision meeting where the headteacher can be dismissed or a recommendation given to the governing body that s(he) is dismissed. Employees have the right to appeal this decision and the appeal should be heard by governors who have not been previously involved in the process.

The government explain the legal reasons why employees can be dismissed in their guide to your rights in dismissals. Reasons governors could cite are listed below.

Misconduct – not carrying out the job properly, for example failing to develop good working relationships with staff and governors or issues such as poor timekeeping.

Gross misconduct would be serious issues such as stealing from the school, violence or discriminating against a certain group of people. In cases of misconduct you must be given a warning and a chance to improve. In cases of gross misconduct you could be summarily dismissed without warning.

Illness – in cases of long-term or recurring illness you must be offered support and given a reasonable period of time in which to recover before any action is taken against you.

Redundancy – this would not apply to headteachers.

Breaking a statutory restriction – this is only used when to continue to employ someone would cause a breach of the law. For example, if your right to work in the UK is expiring.

It is impossible to continue your employment – for example, the school is closing down and all staff are being let go.

Some other substantial reason – this is an umbrella category for issues such as refusing to accept a reasonable change to your terms and conditions, a major conflict of interest or a personality clash that is causing serious harm to the school.

Can a headteacher sack the chair of governors?

No. Neither the headteacher nor any other individual governor has the power to remove the chair of governors. However, the governing body as a whole can vote to remove their chair if they wish.

Can OFSTED sack the headteacher?

No. OFSTED has no power to fire a headteacher and they do not instruct governing bodies to do so either. However, a very poor OFSTED report may make a head feel they have no option but to resign. It can also mean that governors lose confidence in the headteacher and decide to take action.

What should I write in a parent governor statement?

If you are applying to be a parent governor or trustee you will be asked to write a short statement saying why you are interested in volunteering and what skills you would bring to the role. If an election is needed this statement will help other parents choose between the candidates.

In many schools volunteers are thin on the ground so the statement may not be vital, as you will be elected unopposed if you are the only volunteer. However, it is still a good idea to show you understand the role of governor/trustee in your statement.

This page provides guidance on what to include in your statement and some parent governor statement examples of 50, 100 and 250 words you can adapt for your circumstances.

Your Connection To the School

Say how old your children are and their current year. If your children have just joined the school you have a reason to want it to succeed for years to come and the same applies if you have more than one child attending.

Mention any other ties you have to the school such as previous volunteer work, helping out in classrooms or on trips, or supporting the PTA; anything that shows your commitment to the school and your reliability as a volunteer.

You could mention how long you have lived in the area and what the school means to you. If it is a church school talk a little about your faith and show you understand the aims of the school in this respect.

Your Understanding of School Governance

All school governors have three main roles.

To ensure the school has a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction.
To hold the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school.
To oversee the budget and finances and make sure money is well spent.

Write about any aspects of governance you could contribute to. Governor responsibilities are wide but include scrutinising budgets, approving policies on all aspects of school life, planning how the school will improve, discussing why some groups of children are not achieving as well as others, making sure children are safe and dealing with staffing issues.

Governors are often described as being a “critical friend” to the school. They are there to support the school and help it improve, but they must also be willing to challenge the headteacher and senior leaders when necessary, ask why the school is struggling in a particular area and what can be done to improve it.

Search for the school’s latest OFSTED report and look for any remarks about governance. Are there any weaknesses of governance you could help to improve? Do you understand the challenges a school might face in terms of catchment area, budget restrictions or high levels of children with special needs?

If you are volunteering at an academy within a multi-academy trust show that you understand whether you will be governing as a trustee on the main governing board or a local governor on a local governing body.

What skills can you bring to the role?

Any of the following skills will be useful on the governing body:

accounting, budgets and finance experience
management of buildings
health and safety
data analysis
human resources experience
interpersonal skills, working in a team
knowledge of education, the curriculum, special educational needs and safeguarding or child protection
managing staff and hiring employees
work where you had to keep things confidential.

You could also write about your commitment to undertake training and show that you understand governors need to attend regular meetings and visit the school.

What Not To Include!

If you mention any of the following items you will show that you do not understand the role of the governing body. Parent governors do not:

fundraise – this is usually done by a parent teacher association (PTA)
represent parents – this is a common misunderstanding but parent governors are not the voice of the parents. They have the same role as any other governor on the board
vote in favour of whatever the majority of parents want – if there is a controversial issue that parents are angry about it is any governor’s job to vote for whatever they believe is best for the school as a whole
discuss individual children (in most cases) – governors take an overview of the school and make strategic decisions about budgets, policies and development plans (although one exception would be if a child is at risk of exclusion)
interfere with the day-to-day running of the school – the headteacher runs the school, governors hold the headteacher to account
rubber-stamp everything that comes their way – you will need to be confident enough to ask some difficult questions if results are disappointing or mistakes are made
get paid!

Parent Governor Statement Examples

Here are some example statements you can use as a starting point. I have written these with the assumption that you are a new parent governor, but if you are already on the board you should also include details of your governance work, eg: feedback from OFSTED or external advisers about how the board is run or what contributions you have made in a link role.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a job that particularly fits in with governance (or you’re not working at all) as people from all walks of life can do the role – just show your enthusiasm and demonstrate your understanding of school governance.

Parent Governor Statement – 50 words

My son Tim has just joined the school in Y1. I work as an accountant and would like to use my financial skills and experience analysing budgets to give back in a volunteer role. I am keen to attend training and get to know the school.

Parent Governor Statement – 100 words

I am keen to join the governing body as many of my family members have attended this school. My two older children attended and my daughter Sarah is in Y9.

I have volunteered for many school trips and I would now like to become a governor to help steer the school in the right direction and retain its excellent reputation for academic success and happy, friendly children.

I have been in retail for 10 years where I have worked well with people from all backgrounds and gained knowledge of health and safety. I understand the need for governors to be demanding but fair.

Parent Governor Statement – 250 words

Malory Towers Primary is a terrific school with an outstanding OFSTED rating and I would like to help the school continue to improve and develop.

My name is James Mallow and my twins are in Y4. My day job is in data analysis and I believe these skills will transfer well to the work of school governance, helping the school to analyse the attainment gaps between groups of pupils and pinpoint where the school needs to be doing more for our children.

I am lucky enough to have the time to commit to a demanding volunteer role as my firm provide time off for school governors. This means that I am able to attend meetings, governor training and visit the school during the day.

I am particularly keen to ensure that all children are safeguarded well and can fulfil their full potential whatever their background, special educational needs or disabilities.

I am not afraid to ask difficult questions if necessary on behalf of all the children this school serves. I am also keen to support the school and all of its dedicated staff who work so hard to keep this place running smoothly.

Although I have no experience of school governance specifically I have served on the board of a small charity which had responsibility for a modest budget and made tough decisions about which projects to fund and how money could be best spent.

I hope that you will consider voting for me and thank you for reading.

Where can I find the Guide to the Law for School Governors?

The Department for Education’s Guide to the Law for School Governors was replaced by the Governance Handbook, which was itself replaced by two separate Governance Guides in 2024.

There is one Governance Guide for maintained schools and one Governance Guide for academies.

More info on the Governance Guides is available here.

The very last version of the Guide to the Law was published in May 2012 and can be read on the National Archives website.

It is worth a read as a great deal of information was cut to shorten the Governance Handbook and Governance Guides and some useful bits of guidance were removed, but bear in mind that some of the legislation has changed in the years since it was published.

You can also read the very last version of the Governance Handbook.

How often do governors meet?

School governors and trustees must hold at least three meetings of the full governing body each school year.

This is the minimum number of meetings allowed by law for maintained schools. It is also the minimum number allowed for academy trustees in the Academy Trust Handbook and the current model articles of association (June 2021).

Most governing bodies will meet more often than this, for example twice per term, as three meetings in a year will not give them enough time to carry out their statutory duties.

Other schools will have one meeting of the full governing body per term, plus a range of committee meetings which are attended by a smaller number of governors. On average a governor might be expected to attend two full governing body meetings plus two committee meetings per term.

This is what the law says for maintained schools.

“The governing body must hold at least three meetings in every school year.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013

This is what the model articles of association and Academy Trust Handbook say for academies.

“The trustees shall hold at least three meetings in every school year.”
Model Articles of Association for Academies (June 2021)

“Board meetings must take place at least three times a year, although trusts should consider meeting more frequently to discharge their responsibilities.”
Academy Trust Handbook

How often do committees meet?

There are no rules in maintained schools about how often committees should meet or how many committees governors should have. Governing bodies in maintained schools can choose not to have any committees at all if they prefer; this is known as the circle model of governance.

Academies must have an audit and risk committee (meeting at least three times per year) which must be a dedicated committee if the trust has an annual income of over £50 million. Academies should also have a finance committee according to the Academy Trust Handbook.

How long are governor meetings?

It varies, but the average full governing body meeting lasts about two hours and the average committee meeting around one hour.

I have clerked meetings that have been less than an hour long or up to three hours long, but in general most schools will hold meetings of around one to two hours.