Category: Clerk to Governors

On this page you can download my quick reference cheat sheet which provides answers to the most common questions a clerk to governors will be asked in a meeting. This sheet is designed to help clerks navigate those tricky moments when a governor asks a question and all eyes turn to you for advice!

It covers the most common questions I have been asked as a clerk on subjects like the quorum, conflicts of interest, election of chair, governors missing meetings and more. A complete list of questions is shown at the base of this page.

How To Use The Clerk’s Cheat Sheet

This cheat sheet contains advice for maintained school clerks, based on the law, but it could easily be edited to fit academy rules based on your trust’s articles of association and terms of reference. (If anyone would like me to create a version based on the model articles let me know and I would be happy to.)

Download the Clerk’s Meeting Cheat Sheet (.docx Word file)

Clerks in single maintained community schools can follow the advice exactly as it is written. You will need to add in the quorum number for your school’s full governing body (based on the number of governors in post) and any committees.

Clerks in federations (a group of schools legally joined together) should edit the section on parent governors to say they must have only two parent governors, rather than at least two. The rules for appointing parent governors are also slightly different in federations and can be found at the end of this law.

Clerks in voluntary-aided, voluntary-controlled or foundation schools will also need to edit one question. For the question “Can we recruit more governors?” you will need to add in details of any foundation or partnership governors your school must have.

Unfortunately the rules around these types of governor are complicated and vary for each type of school, so they don’t squish into a small space! They can be found in section 14 of this law for single schools or section 22 of this law for federated schools.

Clerks in special schools will need to edit the information on appointed parent governors because they should prioritise parents of children with SEN. The rules are in section 11 of this law.

Answered Questions in the Clerk’s Meeting Cheat Sheet

These are all the answers listed in the Cheat Sheet. In the answers below I’ve also included links to relevant articles on Ask A Clerk so you can see the reasoning behind each answer.

Q. Are we quorate?
A. The quorum for our full governing body (FGB) is __ because we have __ governors in post. (FGB quorum is 50% of governors in post rounded up to a whole number. Ignore associate members.)

Our data committee quorum is ___. (Committee quorums must be a minimum of three governors; ignore associate members. But remember associates can be given voting rights on committees.)

Q. What happens if we are not quorate?
A. The meeting can continue but no votes can be held. Governors may wish to postpone or cancel but can hold discussions if they wish. The clerk should take minutes that state the meeting was inquorate. Governors who leave the room due to a conflict of interest cannot vote. Governors who leave the room or abstain do not count towards the quorum.

Further reading: What is the quorum for a school governor meeting?

Q. Is a governor disqualified if they miss meetings?
A. There is no automatic disqualification but a governor can be disqualified if they miss all FGB meetings for six months without the consent of the board, counting from the first meeting missed. The board can withhold their consent by not accepting apologies.

Further reading: What happens if a governor is not attending meetings?

How To Record Apologies

Q. How do we elect the chair and vice-chair?
A. Candidates must leave the room and not vote. Staff and associate members cannot stand for election. You may have standing orders that set other rules. Usual practice is to allow candidates two minutes to state their case with a vote by ballot. If there is only one candidate governors should vote to accept/reject them.

Further reading: Procedure for Electing the Chair of Governors

Q. Who can sign the minutes?
A. The person chairing. It is irrelevant whether they attended that meeting as they are signing the minutes to show the board or committee has approved them.

Further reading: Who can sign the minutes?

Q. Who can be our staff governor?
A. Staff governors must have a contract of employment at the school. All staff are eligible, not just teachers. They are elected by other staff members.

Further reading: Who can be a staff governor?

Q. Do I have to leave the room during this item?
A. Governors and associate members must leave the room and not vote when they have a conflict of interest. This often happens when a) their own appointment/reappointment is discussed and b) the pay or appraisal of school employees is discussed.

They must also withdraw when they have a business or personal interest, as shown in the register of interests.

The Headteacher does not have to leave while the pay or appraisal of his staff are discussed. He does have to leave if his own pay or appraisal is discussed.

Further reading: When do governors have a conflict of interest?

Q. Who can be a parent governor?
A. A parent governor cannot work at the school for more than 500 hours per year or be an elected LA member. Parents must be elected by parents or appointed by the board if no-one stands for election.

Elected parent governors can be anyone who “has or has had parental responsibility for, or cares or has cared for, a child”. Appointed parents must meet the same criteria OR (in order of preference) be a) the parent of a former pupil or b) a parent of any child under or of compulsory school age.

Further reading: Who can be a parent governor?

Q. What if the chair and vice-chair are both absent?
A. The board decides what happens but it is reasonable to elect a governor to act as chair (not a school employee). Consider postponing important items.

Further reading: What happens if a governor is not attending meetings?

Q. Should this item go in a confidential minute?
A. Governors can make any item confidential if they are “satisfied” it should not be in public minutes. They need to balance this with their legal duty to be open about their decisions and actions. They must also consider that all minutes may be obtainable under freedom of information or subject access requests (if they contain personal data). Try to keep as much as possible in the main minutes.

Further reading: Are minutes of school governor meetings public?

Q. Can we recruit more governors?
A. Yes, if you have spaces in your instrument of government. If there are no spaces the board can either vote to “reconstitute” and add them or recruit them as associate members.

You cannot add extra LA or staff governor roles, but school staff can be co-opted governors as long as they do not make up more than one third of the board when counted with the head and the staff governor. You need at least two parent governors. There is no limit on the number of co-opted governors, associate members or overall number of governors. The minimum overall number of governors is seven.

Further reading: What is the instrument of government?

What are the different types of school governor?

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 questions and offering support.

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.

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.”

Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013

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

— administrative and organisational support.”

Academy Trust Handbook

Training For Clerks To Governors

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.)

Download Job Description for Clerk to Governors (pdf)

Download Person Specification for Clerk to Governors (pdf)

Example Job Description for a Clerk To Governors

1. 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.
2. Circulate minutes to board members within agreed timescales.
3. Produce draft agendas for meetings with the chair of governors and headteacher and distribute the agenda with any relevant reports and papers.
4. Provide advice on school governance legislation and procedural issues to ensure the board is compliant, effective and constituted correctly.
5. Provide advice on the core functions of the governing body and any changes to the responsibilities of school governors.
6. Provide advice during the election of the chair and vice-chair.
7. Ensure terms of reference for committees and any other delegated responsibilities are reviewed at appropriate intervals.
8. Keep records of governing body membership and report any vacancies to the governing body.
9. Keep records of committee membership, terms of office, link roles, attendance at meetings and completed training.
10. 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.
11. Maintain a register of financial and other interests to ensure conflicts of interest are declared and managed.
12. Ensure all required governance information is published online.
13. Arrange induction training and ongoing training for board members.
14. Support the induction of new governors by providing the documents, mentor links and training opportunities they need.
15. Undertake induction training and further training as required.
16. Provide support for parent and staff governor elections and advice on how other governors are appointed or removed.
17. Ensure Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and section 128 checks are carried out and recorded.
18. Ensure that the Get Information About Schools (GIAS) database is kept up-to-date.
19. 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.

How can I find vacancies?

Have a look at my article on recruiting a clerk to governors to see where vacancies are advertised.

What questions will I be asked at interview?

A separate article provides a list of possible interview questions and answers for a clerk to governors.