There is no overall limit on how many parents can be governors or trustees in either the law for maintained schools or model articles of association for academies.
However, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the number of parents on the board and consider restricting their numbers. This article explains why.
(Note that when I refer to “parents” in this article I mean parents whose child attends the same school where they are a governor.)
Maintained School Parent Governors
Single maintained schools must have at least two parent governors. Federated maintained schools must have only two.
Parents of registered pupils are also legally eligible for every other governor role at a maintained school except partnership governor.
A parent who wants to be a staff governor must work for the school. If they want to be a parent governor then on the date of their election or appointment they must not work for the school for more than 500 hours per year or be an elected LA member.
The law does not place an overall limit on the number of parents of registered pupils who can sit on the board.
Academy Parent Trustees
Single academy trusts must have at least two parent trustees. Multi-academy trusts must have either at least two parent trustees or at least two parent local governors on each local governing body.
Whether parents of registered pupils are eligible for other trustee or local governor roles will depend on the rules set by the academy trust.
I have never seen articles or terms of reference that set an overall limit on parents of registered pupils sitting on a trust board or local governing body.
Should boards place their own limit on the overall number of parents?
Possibly. Boards do need to consider the balance between staff, parents and independent people who have no other connection to the school.
If parents are appointed to many of the roles outside of the specific parent governor positions it could result in a very parent-heavy board. In many maintained schools you could follow the law to the letter and still end up with a board where every single governor is a parent of a registered pupil!
A parent-heavy board could cause problems. Some parents may not feel able to properly challenge the headteacher because they think it might affect their child’s schooling. Others may be overly supportive because their child is doing well and they are grateful or don’t wish to rock the boat.
Any governor is appointed or elected to serve in the best interests of the whole school, but a few parents may wish to focus on issues that are most relevant to their child. In the worst case scenario meetings may start to feel like parent councils rather than board meetings.
A sensible rough balance might be a maximum of one third parents. The one-third figure reflects the three groups of stakeholders: parents, staff and people from the community with no other connection to the school.
This is only a rough suggestion and I would not expect boards to stick to it rigidly, not least because they wouldn’t be able to! The board itself does not control all the appointments/elections and governors should largely be appointed or elected for their skills.
This list of questions for the safeguarding link governor to ask was produced by my local authority’s safeguarding team.
It can help the safeguarding governor check that policies and processes are robust and that the board does not just rely on what they are being told by the Headteacher in meetings.
Questions Your Safeguarding Governor Should Ask
How do governors really know safeguarding is effective?
Is your evidence of effectiveness based on what you are told or what you have observed and checked first-hand through monitoring?
Do you receive, read and ask questions about the safeguarding updates provided to Headteachers and Designated Safeguarding Leads, including updates from the LA, police, health and the Local Safeguarding Children’s Partnership?
Do you review first-hand information or observations on the progress against actions identified through the annual LA safeguarding self-evaluation or external safeguarding audits?
Have you read documents such as Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and Working Together To Safeguard Children, published practice reviews and their recommendations and then considered what questions may be appropriate to ask your own setting as a result?
Do you know what Early Help services are available locally and do all staff know how they might refer to Early Help as set out in KCSIE?
Are staff proactively seeking early intervention within and beyond school?
Do you know how effective safer recruitment processes are?
Are all the required recruitment checks completed for all staff?
Do you know what checks or assurances (depending on employment status) are undertaken for visitors? Or before and after school provision? Or volunteers? Or offsite provision?
Do you know how assurance for offsite trips is undertaken?
Do you know how effective online safety considerations are and how secure systems are?
Are online filters set up and effective?
Do you know how you check pupils feel safe at school and who they could talk to if they had any worries?
Do you consider if you always ask the same questions? Consider who selects pupils for you to speak to on school visits – is it governors, the school or is it random? What are the limitations of this approach?
How do you know that records of concerns are kept securely? Or information is shared appropriately on a need-to-know basis with staff?
Are records dated with the relevant staff member identifiable?
Is there a clear record and timeframe of actions and chronology of events and outcome?
Do you know what the process is for managing peer-on-peer abuse? Is it in line with government guidance? Is there sufficient consistency in implementation, clear records and timeframes for actions but also evidence that young people are supported effectively?
Do you know how many allegations of sexual abuse or harassment have been recorded by the school, what patterns, trends or themes have been noted and what actions have been taken as a result? How will the effectiveness of this be monitored?
Do you check whether your complaints policy and processes clearly indicate what constitutes a complaint versus an allegation of harm? Do they identify a clear process for managing complaints or allegations when these are made against the Headteacher or Chair of Governors?
Do you know what safeguarding training governors have undertaken this academic year? What impact has that training had?
Do you know that all governors have read the whole of KCSIE?
Every maintained school must have a local authority (LA) governor and some academies have LA trustees.
This page explains how LA governors and trustees are appointed, how they can be removed and whether LA governors have to report back to the local authority or vote on their behalf.
LA Governors In Maintained Schools
There is only ever one LA governor in a maintained school.
“The governing body of a maintained school must include the following…one local authority governor.”
In maintained schools LA governors must be nominated by the local authority but appointed by the governing body (via a majority vote at a quorate full governing body meeting).
This means of course that local authority governors can only join the governing body if both the LA and the governing body approve of them.
When making the appointment the governing body must consider whether the candidate has the required skills. The governing body can set any eligibility criteria they wish. For example, they could specify that they need someone with experience of finance or previous governance experience.
“In these Regulations “local authority governor” means a person who—
(a) is nominated by the local authority; and
(b) is appointed by the governing body as a governor having, in the opinion of the governing body, the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school and having met any additional eligibility criteria set by the governing body.”
The exact procedure for finding and nominating LA governors will differ according to your region.
In my area the local authority are happy to consider candidates suggested by the school itself. If an LA governor vacancy arises I contact governor services and either ask if they will nominate a candidate the school have found or ask if they know someone suitable.
In other areas the local authority may already have a set list of potential candidates and may not accept suggestions from schools. The governor services department will be able to advise you of the process.
What happens if the school and LA disagree?
The governing body can reject anyone the local authority have nominated, so legally maintained schools have the right to reject every candidate suggested to them.
In practice, statutory guidance says that the local authority should be flexible and make “every effort” to understand the board’s requirements and nominate someone suitable. This places the onus on the local authority to compromise if there is a disagreement about the suitability of a candidate.
“Local authorities should therefore make every effort to understand the governing body’s requirements and identify and nominate suitable candidates.”
LA governors in maintained schools can only be removed by the local authority, not by the governing body. This is a slight anomaly in the law because it means the governing body has the power to appoint the LA governor, but not to remove them.
“Any local authority governor may be removed from office by the local authority who nominated the local authority governor.”
If the board want to have an LA governor removed they should tell the local authority why they feel this is necessary. If the local authority refuse to remove them the only power the board could use is to suspend the governor, which would prevent them from attending meetings for a fixed period.
Can LA governors be reappointed?
Yes, the governing body can vote to reappoint the LA governor at the end of their term of office, but note that the local authority will need to renominate the governor first.
It’s unlikely that the local authority will refuse to endorse someone they already nominated a few years ago, but you do need to check they are still in favour. If the LA renominate the governor they need to be appointed at a quorate meeting of your full board.
LA governors have the standard four-year term of office by default, but check your instrument of government to see whether your school has changed the term length for any governor.
Can school employees or parents be the LA governor?
School employees cannot be the LA governor in a maintained school if they would qualify to be a staff governor. This means they cannot be the LA governor if they are employed by the school or local authority under a contract.
“A person is disqualified from appointment as a local authority governor if the person is eligible to be a staff governor of the school.”
Do LA governors lobby on behalf of the local authority?
No. LA governors are not on the governing body to fight for whatever the local authority want or to be “on the side” of the authority. They have exactly the same mission as any other governor, which is to serve the school.
If there is a disagreement between the governing body and the local authority then the LA governor must vote in the best interests of the school as a whole, not vote in favour of whatever the local authority would prefer.
“In exercising their functions the governing body shall…act with integrity, objectivity and honesty and in the best interests of the school.”
Do LA governors report back to the local authority?
No. Local authorities have the right to read minutes of the governing body of course, but it is not the role of the LA governor to keep the local authority informed of the board’s business.
I have seen some guidance that describes the LA governor as being a “link” between the school and the local authority. This is true in one sense, because the authority does nominate the LA governor candidate, but it’s also confusing because it sounds like the LA governor should report back to the local authority or even take orders from the authority.
This is not the case. The LA governor has no allegiance to the local authority and does not act as a line of communication between the board and the authority.
Are LA governors political appointments?
No. Local authorities are not allowed to only nominate people who share the political views of whichever political party controls that authority.
“A local authority governor, like any other governor, must govern in the interests of the school and not advocate the interests of the local authority.”
It would be possible for a local councillor to become an LA governor, but it would not be acceptable for the local authority to only nominate those councillors who came from the party in power. There is certainly no rule that says the LA governor must be a councillor.
LA Trustees in Academies
Some academies have an LA trustee, particularly those using older articles of association, but many do not. The current DfE model articles do not include an LA trustee.
I had a quick look at a variety of articles from different trusts that do include LA trustees. In the articles I saw the LA trustee was appointed by the local authority alone, so the board of trustees had no say in the appointment.
The articles I saw also contained the standard clause that any trustee (except a parent trustee) can be removed by the “person or persons who appointed him”, which would be the local authority in this case.
However, in academy trusts the members have the right to remove any trustee under the Companies Act 2006, so the members also have the power to remove the LA trustee if they wish.
You must check your own articles though to see the specific rules for your trust.
Are LA-associated persons the same as LA governors?
No. Articles of association for academy trusts contain a rule that no more than 19.9% of the voting rights of trustees can be held by “LA-associated persons”, known as LAAPs.
Any trustee could be an LA-associated person. If you have an LA trustee they may or may not also be an LA-associated person.
The definition of an LAAP is found in this law, which explains that a person qualifies as an LAAP if they:
are currently an elected member of a local authority (eg: a councillor)
have been an elected member of a local authority in the past four years
currently work for a local authority
are both an employee and either a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of a company which is under the control of the authority.
If someone meets the definition of an LA-associated person they can only be appointed or elected to the board with the permission of the relevant local authority.
School employees can serve as governors at their own school, but there are limits on the number of employees who can sit on the governing body. There are also restrictions on the types of governor a school employee can be.
This page explains the rules for employees who become governors at the school where they work. (School staff are also allowed to govern at a different school and this is actively encouraged by the National Governance Association.)
co-opted governors (but only within the limits explained below)
parent governors (but only if they work for the school for 500 hours per year or less), and
foundation governors (if the diocese or foundation body allow it).
Maintained school employees cannot be:
the local authority governor
partnership governors.
The 500 hours rule for parent governors is explained in a separate article on parent governors who work for the school. There is also a place on the governing body reserved for the headteacher, which cannot be taken by any other employee if the headteacher resigns as a governor.
” A person is disqualified from election or appointment as a parent governor of a school if the person…is paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in any twelve consecutive months.
“A person is disqualified from appointment as a local authority governor if the person is eligible to be a staff governor of the school.
“A person is disqualified from nomination or appointment as a partnership governor of a school if the person is…eligible to be a staff governor of the school.”
How many co-opted governors can be school employees?
In maintained schools there is a limit to the number of co-opted governors who can be employed by the school.
The number of co-opted governors who are school employees must not exceed one third of the total board when added to the staff governor and the headteacher.
“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 head teacher, must not exceed one third of the total membership of the governing body.”
So if you have nine governors in total on your board you can only have one co-opted governor, because that co-opted governor plus the head plus the staff governor equals three out of nine, so one-third of the board exactly.
The rule is not simply that a maximum of one third of governors overall can be employed by the school. It is only the number of co-opted governors who are employed by the school that are added to the head and staff governor, not governors from any other category.
Co-opted Governor Calculations For Maintained Schools
If you have seven to 11 total governors you can have only one co-opted school employee.
If you have 12 to 14 total governors you can have two co-opted school employees.
If you have 15 to 17 total governors you can have three co-opted school employees.
If you have 18 to 20 total governors you can have four co-opted school employees.
Here are some more detailed examples to show what happens in specific situations.
Example one – the board has 12 governors overall, with two co-opted governors who are school employees. The headteacher, plus the staff governor, plus two co-opted school employees equals four out of 12, so one third exactly. This school cannot appoint another employee as a co-opted governor.
However, if the school advertises for a parent governor and one of their lunchtime supervisors wins the election that is fine. The total number of governors who are employees is now greater than a third, but the law permits that (and parent governors can work for the school within the 500 hours limit).
Example two – the board has 15 governors overall, with three co-opted governors who are school employees. No more co-opted employees can be appointed. However, it is a faith school and the diocese can appoint a foundation governor who is a school employee if they wish.
What if we have vacancies on the board?
Ignore vacancies when making these calculations – it is the total number of governors in your constitution that count, so the total number of positions shown on your instrument of government.
Say you had 12 governors in total, including two co-opted governors who are employed by the school. Remember that these two governors are added to the head and the staff governor in this sum.
Your LA governor resigns leaving you with 11 governors in total and one vacancy, but the board does not have to remove one of its co-opted governors who are school employees, even though 4/11 is more than one-third.
(If the board did have to include vacancies when making these calculations they would immediately be able to reinstate the co-opted employee as soon as a new LA governor was appointed. But would then have to remove the co-opted employee again if the new LA governor resigned…in other words, the rule wouldn’t work in practice.)
Having said that, boards should always try to fill vacancies and keep an eye on situations where the board has become staff-heavy, but they don’t have to immediately jettison a co-opted employee if a vacancy arises.
What if someone is paid by the school but not employed?
The law restricts the number of co-opted governors who are “also eligible to be elected as staff governors”. A person is eligible to be a staff governor if they are employed by either the governing body itself or the local authority under a contract.
Therefore if someone does not have a contract at the school, perhaps providing a service to the school and invoicing them or working as a self-employed flute teacher for example, they do not need to be counted in the one-third rule.
“In these Regulations “staff governor” means a person who—
(a) is elected in accordance with Schedule 2 as a governor by persons who are employed by either the governing body or the local authority under a contract of employment providing for those persons to work at the school, and
Yes. There are no legal limits on the number of associate members who are school employees, although all associate members should be appointed for their skills.
Boards should also try to maintain a decent balance between different stakeholders: school employees, parents and members of the community.
Rules For Academies
The Academy Trust Handbook recommends that the only trust employee to serve as a trustee is the senior executive leader, so the CEO or principal. The Handbook says that no other employees should be trustees.
“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.”
However, many academies do have staff trustees, so check your own articles to see how many staff trustees are allowed.
The current model articles of association allow academy trust employees to be trustees as long as the total number of trust employees does not exceed one third of the total board.
“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.”
The model articles also specify that academy employees cannot be appointed as co-opted trustees if this would result in more than one third of trustees in total being employees.
“The trustees may not co-opt an employee of the academy trust as a co-opted trustee if thereby the number of trustees who are employees of the academy trust would exceed one third of the total number of trustees [including the [chief executive officer]/[principal] to the extent they are a trustee].”
The rules for local governing bodies are set by each academy trust, so check the terms of reference for a local board to see whether academy employees can join. The LGB may adopt a similar “one-third only” rule to the total number of local governors who can be trust employees.
No. For elected governor roles the board cannot simply vote to renew a governor’s term of office. All eligible parents or staff must be offered a chance to stand for election.
The board cannot decide to “convert” an elected role into an appointed one just because they have found a governor they like. However, parent governor or trustee roles can be filled by appointment, but only if not enough volunteers stand for election.
Elected Staff Governors and Trustees
In maintained schools the staff governor is never appointed by the board. They are either elected by staff in a ballot or elected unopposed if there is only one candidate. At the end of their term of office all staff must be given the opportunity to stand for election.
Academies may have staff trustees or local governors who are either elected or appointed. If your articles of association/terms of reference state that a staff vacancy is an elected role then all staff must be given the chance to volunteer when the current governor reaches the end of their term.
Elected Versus Appointed Parent Governors in Maintained Schools
If you have a parent governor who is nearing the end of their term of office the law for maintained schools says you must tell every parent of a current pupil about the vacancy. You must also tell them that they have the right to stand as a candidate in the election and vote.
“Where a vacancy for a parent governor arises, the appropriate authority must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that every person who is known to them to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school…is—
(a) informed of the vacancy and that it is required to be filled by election;
(b) informed that the person is entitled to stand as a candidate and vote in the election; and
The phrase “where a vacancy for a parent governor arises” may cause confusion, because if you have a current parent governor who is happy to carry on in the role it may seem like there isn’t a “vacancy” as such.
However, parent governors have fixed terms of office like all governors who are not ex officio. Whenever a parent governor reaches the end of their term of office they must be re-elected or reappointed under the same rules that applied to their role when they first joined the board. The default term of office is four years (but may be less if your board has changed it).
If a governing body could simply vote to extend an elected parent governor’s term of office for another four years, then four again (and then four again) it’s possible that other parents at your school wouldn’t be offered the chance to stand for election for decades!
Can current parent governors stand in the election?
Yes, but only if they still have children at your school on the election date. The law for maintained schools says a parent governor is elected by parents of registered pupils and must be “such a parent at the time of the election”.
“In these Regulations “parent governor” means—
(a) a person who—
(i) is elected in accordance with paragraphs 4 to 8 of Schedule 1 as a governor by parents of registered pupils at the school, and
So if the governor’s child or children have left the school they are not eligible to be elected as a parent parent governor.
However, as a parent of a former pupil they will always be eligible to be appointed as a parent governor. The next section explains when the board can appoint parents.
You also need to check that the current parent governor does not work for the school for more than 500 hours a year and is not an elected member of the local authority, because both of these things disqualify someone from being elected or appointed as a maintained school parent governor.
What happens if not enough parents stand for election?
This is where boards can appoint a parent governor – in other words, hold a vote at a full governing body meeting. The law says that if the number of election candidates is less than the number of vacancies, parents can be appointed in the following order of preference:
“(a) a parent of a registered pupil at the school,
(b) a parent of a former registered pupil at the school, or
(c) a parent of a child under or of compulsory school age.”
So if you have two volunteers, one with children who used to attend your school and the other with children at a different school, the first parent must be given preference. (Note that parents of children who are over school age are not eligible for appointment, but parents with children under school age are.)
Remember that even if the board appoints a parent governor they have still not “converted” that role into an appointed role. When the appointed parent governor reaches the end of their term of office they cannot simply be reappointed; all parents must be given the chance to stand for election. It is only if enough volunteers cannot be found via the election that the board can consider reappointing the parent governor.
A final point is that boards must consider the skills of any volunteer before appointing them.
“The governing body may only appoint as a parent governor a person who has, in the opinion of the governing body, the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.”
What happens if more parents stand for election than vacancies?
A ballot must be held and parents are given one vote per parent, per vacancy. Your current parent governor may be re-elected, but if they lose the election they are replaced by the winning parent. (If the number of candidates is the same as the number of vacancies they are all elected unopposed with no ballot needed.)
If your current parent governor loses the election it is possible to appoint them to another vacancy as a different type of governor. For example, all members of the community are eligible to be co-opted governors. If you do this you will need to consider the balance of parents on the board, as it may not be wise to have too many governors from one stakeholder group.
You may also need to consider the fact that other parents may object, because of course they have just voted this person out of office!
Elected Versus Appointed Parent Governors in Academies
The current model articles for academies say that academies can appoint parent trustees or local governors only if the number of election candidates is less than the number of vacancies.
The quote below shows the wording for MATs but the rule is the same for single academy trusts too.
“Parent trustees and parent local governors shall be elected or, if the number of parents standing for election is less than the number of vacancies, appointed.”
In MAT model articles parents can only stand for election as a trustee if they have a child at one of the MAT academies on the date of election. To be an elected parent local governor they must have a child at an academy overseen by the local governing body on the date of the election.
In a multi-academy trust (MAT) if not enough candidates stand for election trustees can appoint as a trustee (in order of preference) either the parent of a child at one of the academies, or the parent of a child within the age of range of at least one of the MAT academies. (When appointing parent local governors they should appoint the parent of a child within the age range of one of the academies overseen by the local governing body.)
“In appointing a parent trustee or parent local governor the trustees shall appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at an academy [within the trust]…
“or [if] it is not reasonably practical to appoint a parent…then the trustees may appoint a person who is the parent of a child within the age range of at least one of the academies
“or, in the case of an appointment to a local governing body, the age range of at least one of the academies overseen by that local governing body.”
In a single academy trust (SAT) the board can appoint the parent of a registered pupil or, if they can’t find one, any parent who has children who are of compulsory school age.
“In appointing a parent trustee the board of trustees shall appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at the academy; or where it is not reasonably practical to do so, a person who is the parent of a child of compulsory school age.”
Ex officio means “by virtue of the office” and refers to a governor role that comes with someone’s job. For example, the headteacher of a maintained school always has the right to be an ex officio governor.
Ex officio is a Latin phrase that literally translates as “from the office” or “out of the office”. The DfE gave a good definition of the term in an old publication called The Governors’ Guide to the Law.
“Ex officio governor – someone who is automatically a governor or able to attend meetings of a governing body by virtue of the office they hold, for example a headteacher, parish priest or vicar, ie: the position of governor comes with the job.”
There are only two types of ex officio governor that can exist on the governing body of a maintained school. Many schools only have one of these types.
The headteacher is always ex officio. They do not have to be a governor but there is always a place reserved for them on the governing body. If they do not take up this place it cannot be filled by another governor.
Foundation governors are sometimes ex officio. They can exist in foundation, voluntary-aided or voluntary-controlled schools and are often the parish priest.
What is the term of office for ex officio governors?
Their term of office starts from the day they were appointed to their job, but unlike other governors who have a fixed term of office of a certain number of years they have no set “expiry” date.
However, their term of office ends automatically if they leave their job.
“A person who is a governor by virtue of being headteacher of the school or who is an ex officio foundation governor may not hold office for longer than the position from which the governorship derives is held by that person.”
This means the headteacher has a right to be a governor for as long as they remain the headteacher. If a governing body wanted to stop the headteacher from being a governor and the head refused to give up their governor role the only way to prevent them from governing would be to fire the headteacher!
However, an ex officio foundation governor can be removed from the board, even though they do not have a fixed term of office. In a foundation, VA or VC school your instrument of government will say who has the power to remove an ex officio foundation governor.
“The governing body may, in accordance with the procedure set out in regulation 25, remove any ex officio foundation governor at the request of the person named in the instrument of government as the person entitled to make such a request.
“A person requesting the removal of an ex officio foundation governor must give written reasons for the request to the clerk to the governing body and the governor in question.”
The instrument of government will also tell you who has the power to appoint a substitute governor.
A substitute can be appointed if the original governor has been removed or if they are “unable or unwilling” to act as a governor. For example, if the parish priest is so ill they cannot attend meetings a substitute can be appointed.
“‘Substitute governor’ means a foundation governor appointed to act in the place of an ex officio foundation governor who is unwilling or unable to act as a governor or has been removed from office under regulation 21(1).”
If a substitute governor is appointed their term of office is four years unless the original foundation governor becomes able to fulfil the role again (assuming they were just unable to fulfil the role and not removed from the board) or is replaced in their job by someone else.
Ex Officio Trustees In Academies
Any ex officio trustees in an academy will be listed in the articles of association. The current model articles (2021) do not list any specific ex officio positions, but do say that the standard four-year term of office does not apply to ex officio trustees.
“The term of office for any trustee shall be four years, save that this time limit shall not apply to any post which is held ex officio.”
Although the main model articles don’t contain ex officio posts and neither do model articles for Catholic academies, the model articles for Church of England academies do contain (optional) ex officio roles.
Here’s the wording from model articles for a C of E academy converting from a voluntary-aided school.
“The company shall have… the following ex officio directors: [insert incumbent(s), Area Dean, Archdeacon, Diocesan Bishop if required or delete and mark “Not used”].”
(Note that these articles call the trustees “directors” but the role is the same; they sit on the main academy trust board.)
Academy trusts can also assign ex officio positions to committees such as local governing bodies, so for example a local governor within a multi-academy trust could be an academy employee. Check the terms of reference for each committee to see whether any of these positions exist.
Ex Officio Roles in Committee Terms of Reference
You may come across terms of reference for committees that say someone is an ex officio member of that committee because of their role on the governing body rather than their job role.
For example, terms of reference for a finance committee may say the chair of governors is a member of that committee “ex officio”.
This means that the chair of governors always has a right to be a member of that committee. If the current chair resigned your new chair would now have the right to be on that committee and the old chair would not.
Both maintained schools and academy trusts are free to set terms of reference for their committees so there’s nothing wrong with this practice, as long as the board understands what “ex officio” means in this context.
Can ex officio governors be disqualified for not attending meetings?
In a maintained school ex officio governors cannot be disqualified for missing meetings. The usual rule is that governors who are absent for more than six months of meetings can be disqualified if the board does not consent to the absences.
However, the law says that this rule does not apply to ex officio governors.
“This paragraph applies to every governor, other than governors who are governors by virtue of the office that they hold.
“A governor who, without the consent of the governing body, has failed to attend their meetings for a continuous period of six months beginning with the date of the first such meeting the governor fails to attend, is, on the expiry of that period, disqualified from continuing to hold office as a governor of that school.”
As explained above an ex officio foundation governor can be removed from the board, so if this governor is missing lots of meetings check your instrument of government to see who has the power to remove them and appoint a substitute.
In academies the rules will depend your articles of association (for trustees) and terms of reference for any committees such as local governing bodies.
Are ex officio governors disqualified for some criminal offences?
Yes. In all types of school a person must meet certain criteria to join the governing body. There is a full list of disqualification criteria in this article but they include specific criminal convictions and being removed from office as a charity trustee.
There are slightly different criteria for maintained schools and academies but they apply equally to ex officio governors/trustees.
Can ex officio governors vote?
Yes. Ex officio governors and trustees have the same voting rights as any other governor or trustee.
Yes, in most cases. In maintained schools you do not automatically stop being a governor because your child leaves the school, even if you have joined the board in the specific “parent governor” role.
In academy trusts it is possible that terms of reference for a local governing body (LGB) say that a parent local governor must step down if their child leaves that academy. I think the norm though is to allow parent local governors to serve out their term of office.
If your child has left any school or academy you will not be able to volunteer for another term as an electedparent governor when your current term of office ends. Elected parent governors must have children at the school at the time of their election.
However, if no current parents come forward then schools can appoint parent governors instead of holding elections. Appointed parent governors are voted onto the board by the existing governors.
The requirements for appointed parents are less strict. For example, in a maintained school any parent with children of compulsory school age or below is eligible for appointment.
Can I become a parent governor before my child starts at the school?
In maintained schools every school must offer parent governor roles to their current parents via an election, so they may already be filled. However, if there are not enough volunteers the roles can be offered to parents of former pupils or any parent whose child is of compulsory school age or below.
It is also worth asking if the school has other governor vacancies which are open to members of the public, eg: co-opted governor roles. Vacancies should be shown the school website.
In academies rules can vary, but the model articles of association (June 2021) say that current parents must be offered parent trustee or local governor roles first (via an election). If there are not enough volunteers from current parents you may qualify – see the section below on parent trustees in academies.
Other governor roles at the academy may also be open to you, eg: co-opted trustee or co-opted local governor.
Parent Governors In Maintained Schools
In maintained schools a law from 2012 says that elected parent governors must have a child at the school at the time of their election.
“In these regulations “parent governor” means a person who—
(i) is elected in accordance with paragraphs 4 to 8 of Schedule 1 as a governor by parents of registered pupils at the school, and
The same law makes it clear that any parent governor can continue to be a governor if their child leaves the school – they are not disqualified.
“A person (“P”) is not disqualified from continuing to hold office as a parent governor because P ceases to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school or to fulfil any of the requirements set out in paragraphs 10 and 11 of Schedule 1 (as the case may be).”
The second half of the above paragraph refers to requirements that boards must consider in relation to appointed parent governors. Most parent governors will be elected by other parents (or elected unopposed if there is only one volunteer) but if no volunteers come forward boards can also appoint parent governors.
To be appointed as a maintained school parent governor you must be either (in order of preference):
a parent of a registered pupil
a parent of a former pupil, or
a parent of any child under or of compulsory school age.
(Rules are slightly more complicated for community or foundation special schools – see who can be a parent governor for full details.)
These requirements are set out in Schedule 1 of the Constitution Regulations. The law quoted above explains that appointed parent governors can continue to serve as governors if they stop fulfilling any of the requirements listed in Schedule 1 – for example, if their child leaves the school or reaches an age where they have left all schooling completely.
This means that there are no circumstances where a parent governor must leave their role just because their child has left the school or become old enough to leave education entirely.
However, if their term of office ends and they want to volunteer for another term they will need to meet the eligibility requirements on the date that they are elected or appointed. Elected parent governors will need a child at the school; appointed parent governors will need a child at the school, one who used to go to the school or a child of compulsory school age or below.
If you do not qualify as a parent governor you could become a different type of governor instead. For example, co-opted governor roles are open to anyone who meets the basic qualification standards that apply to all governors.
Parent Trustees In Academies
In academies the model articles (June 2021) say that parent trustees only need to have a child at the academy at the time of their election to the governing body, not for their full term of office, so they are not disqualified when their child leaves the academy.
Parent trustees in academies are either elected by parents or, if there are no volunteers, can be appointed by the board. Model articles make it clear that for both elected and appointed parent trustees it is their status at the time of the election or appointment that matters.
Wording for multi-academy trusts, which may have local governing bodies, is below. Elected parent trustees must have a child at one of the trust’s academies. If a multi-academy trust is appointing a parent trustee or parent local governor it can appoint:
a) a parent of a child at any of the academies
b) a child within the age range of one of the academies, or
c) in the case of a local governing body, a child within the age range overseen by that LGB.
“The elected or appointed parent trustees must be a parent of a registered pupil at one or more of the academies at the time when they are elected or appointed.
“The elected (or, if the number of parents standing for election is less than the number of vacancies, appointed) parent local governors of the local governing body must be a parent of a registered pupil at one or more of the academies overseen by the local governing body at the time when they are elected or appointed.
“In appointing a parent trustee or parent local governor the trustees shall appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at an academy; or where the trustees are exercising their power to appoint a parent trustee or parent local governor and it is not reasonably practical to appoint a parent then the trustees may appoint a person who is the parent of a child within the age range of at least one of the academies or, in the case of an appointment to a local governing body, the age range of at least one of the academies overseen by that local governing body.”
Wording for single academies is below. Elected parent trustees must have a child at that academy. When appointing a parent trustee in a single academy the board can either appoint a parent of a registered pupil at that academy or, if that’s not “reasonably practical”, the parent of a child of compulsory school age.
“A parent trustee must be a parent of a registered pupil at the academy at the time when they are elected.
“The number of parent trustees required shall be made up by parent trustees appointed by the board of trustees if the number of parents standing for election is less than the number of vacancies.
“In appointing a parent trustee the board of trustees shall appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at the academy; or where it is not reasonably practical to do so, a person who is the parent of a child of compulsory school age.”
A biological parent, step-parent, grandparent, foster parent, guardian or any other person can be a parent governor or trustee as long as they have parental responsibility for a child or care for that child on a day-to-day basis.
The Department for Education produces detailed guidance for both maintained schools and academies on issues of parental responsibility. This includes an in-depth description of who is considered to be a “parent” under education law.
This guidance refers to the definition of a parent under education law. Under this law any of the following people qualify as a parent:
biological parents
anyone with parental responsibility
anyone who has care of a child.
“For the purposes of education law, the department considers a ‘parent’ to include:
– all biological parents, whether they are married or not
– any person who, although not a biological parent, has parental responsibility for a child or young person – this could be an adoptive parent, a step-parent, guardian or other relative
– any person who, although not a biological parent and does not have parental responsibility, has care of a child or young person.
“A person typically has care of a child or young person if they are the person with whom the child lives, either full or part-time and who looks after the child, irrespective of what their biological or legal relationship is with the child.
“This may be a foster carer or family and friends carer who does not have parental responsibility but has been delegated the responsibility for taking day-to-day decisions about the child.
“In cases where a person is not the biological parent of a child, does not have ‘parental responsibility’ for that child and that child no longer lives with them, it’s unlikely that they will be recognised as a ‘parent’.”
Do parent governors need to have parental responsibility for a child?
No. The DfE guidance makes clear that parent governors do not need to have what’s called “parental responsibility” for a child – the legal right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing, education and medical treatment.
Someone who does not have legal parental responsibility but does care for the child day-to-day is still eligible.
“Schools must not restrict eligibility to nominate, vote or otherwise participate in parent governor elections, to parents holding parental responsibility.
“Under the School Governance Constitution (England) Regulations 2012, ‘parent’ includes not just those with parental responsibility but biological parents and anyone who cares for a child.”
(The DfE quote the Constitution Regulations 2012 in their above paragraph which is a law that only applies to maintained schools. However, they also state that their guidance document applies equally to both maintained schools and academies.)
Do parent governors need to live with the child?
Not if they are the biological parent or have legal parental responsibility for the child. For example, if biological parents are divorced and live in separate houses the parent who lives alone could still be a parent governor.
However, if if there is no biological link and no legal parental responsibility held, the question is whether someone qualifies as having “care of” a child.
In this case the guidance says someone has care of a child “if they are the person with whom the child lives, either full or part-time and who looks after the child, irrespective of what their biological or legal relationship is with the child”.
The guidance clarifies that this could be a foster carer, a family member or a friend; whoever has been “delegated the responsibility for taking day-to-day decisions about the child”.
Parent Governors In Maintained Schools
The law for maintained schools includes a definition of “parent” which echoes the DfE guidance quoted above.
“‘Parent’ includes any individual who has or has had parental responsibility for, or cares or has cared for, a child or young person under the age of 19.”
If there is a disagreement about who qualifies as a “parent” the law says that the “appropriate authority” which is responsible for all parent governor elections is either:
– the local authority (LA) for a community school, community special school, maintained nursery or a voluntary controlled school or
– the governing body for a voluntary aided school, foundation school or foundation special school.
However, the LA can choose to delegate this power to the headteacher (and most will) and the governing body of a VA, foundation or foundation special school can choose to hand over power to the LA.
Whoever ends up with the power to serve as the “appropriate authority” can make judgements as to who is eligible to stand in the election.
There are two other eligibility criteria to be elected or appointed as a parent governor in a maintained school.
On the date of the election or appointment parent governors must not be elected members of the local authority (councillors) and they must not be employed for the school for more than 500 hours per year.
“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.”
If you cannot find a current parent to volunteer for election in a maintained school, or the number of candidates is less than the number of vacancies, the governing body can choose to appoint someone instead.
Rather than holding an election with votes cast by current parents, the new governor will be voted onto the board by existing governors instead. (Boarding and hospital schools also have special dispensation to appoint parent governors if an election would not be practical.)
The appointed parent governor must have “the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school”.
In single maintained schools (except community/foundation special schools) there are three types of people who are eligible to be appointed as a parent governor:
a parent of a currently registered pupil
a parent of a former registered pupil
anyone who has children of compulsory school age or below.
The law lists these three types in order of preference. So for example if you have two candidates and one is a parent of a former pupil and the other is a parent of children who go to a different school, governors should give preference to the parent of a former pupil.
“The number of parent governors required must be made up by parent governors appointed by the governing body, if one or more vacancies for parent governors arises and the number of parents standing for election is less than the number of vacancies.
“The governing body must appoint as a parent governor in the following order of preference —
(a) a parent of a registered pupil at the school,
(b) a parent of a former registered pupil at the school, or
(c) a parent of a child under or of compulsory school age.
“The governing body may only appoint as a parent governor a person who has, in the opinion of the governing body, the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school.”
In federations the law on appointed parent governors is slightly different.
“In appointing a parent governor, the governing body of a federation must appoint in the following order of preference—
(a) a parent of a registered pupil at a federated school (or, in respect of any maintained nursery school in the federation, a parent of a child for whom educational or other provision is made on the premises of the school (including any such provision made by the governing body under section 27 of EA 2002));
(b) a parent of a former registered pupil at a federated school;
(c) a parent of a child with special educational needs for which a federated school is approved; or
(d) a parent of a child, including a child who has special educational needs and is over compulsory school age.”
The most recent model articles of association for academies contain a new definition of “parent”. The definition matches the definition for maintained schools contained in the law, in that it includes both people with parental responsibility and those who “care for” a child.
“‘Parent’ includes any person with parental responsibility or care for a pupil, student, or child.”
Check your articles to see if they contain a definition of “parent” for your academy trust. If you need a more detailed definition the DfE guidance quoted at the top of this page applies to academies as well as maintained schools.
The current model articles say that parent trustees and parent local governors must be a parent of a registered pupil at a single academy, or a pupil at one of the academies within a multi-academy trust.
“Parent trustees and parent local governors shall be elected or…appointed. The elected or appointed parent trustees must be a parent of a registered pupil at one or more of the academies at the time when they are elected or appointed.
“The elected or…appointed parent local governors of the local governing body must be a parent of a registered pupil at one or more of the academies overseen by the local governing body at the time when they are elected or appointed.”
Note that the guidance from the DfE quoted above advises both schools and academies that under education law someone does not have to hold legal “parental responsibility” to be considered a parent, they just have to provide day-to-day care for the child.
Academies can appoint parent trustees just like maintained schools can if the number of candidates standing for election is less than the number of vacancies. Model articles from June 2021 contain the following rules.
In a multi-academy trust an appointed parent should preferably have a child attending one of your academies.
If that’s not “reasonably practical” they should have a child within the age range served by one of your academies or, for local governing bodies, within the age range of the pupils served by at least one academy overseen by that local governing body.
In a single academy an appointed parent should preferably have a child attending the academy. If that’s not “reasonably practical” they should have a child of compulsory school age.
Model articles make it clear that the academy trustees have the power to decide whether someone qualifies as a “parent”.
“The trustees shall make all necessary arrangements for, and determine all other matters relating to, an election of the parent trustees or parent local governors, including term dates and any question of whether a person is a parent of a registered pupil at one of the academies.”
In maintained schools any school employee who is employed under a contract is eligible to be the staff governor. They can be employed by the school directly or by the local authority, but they must work at the school they wish to govern.
In academies the DfE recommends that the chief executive officer or principal is the only employee to serve as a trustee, but staff can sit on committees such as local governing bodies.
Maintained School Staff Governor
In maintained schools the staff governor is one of the types of governor that make up the governing body.
The staff governor post can be filled by a teacher, member of support staff, catering staff or anyone else who has an employment contract to work at that school. It cannot be filled by someone who volunteers at your school.
An explanatory note in governor law makes it clear that staff governors do not have to be teachers.
“Regulation 7 deals with staff governors. This category includes both teaching and non-teaching staff.”
(The previous constitution law from 2007, which allowed schools to have multiple staff governors, insisted that at least one was a teacher unless no teachers volunteered for the role. That law has been revoked.)
The law says that it does not matter whether someone’s contract is with the school directly or with the local authority; both employees qualify to be a staff governor. This is also explained in statutory guidance.
“Staff governor means a person who—
(a) is elected as a governor by persons who are employed by either the governing body or the local authority under a contract of employment providing for those persons to work at the school, and
“Teaching and support staff who, at the time of election, are employed by either the governing body or the local authority to work at the school under a contract of employment, are eligible to be staff governors.”
The Academy Trust Handbook recommends that the CEO or principal is the only staff trustee, with no other trust employees serving on the trust board.
However, this recommendation only applies to trustees, not to committee members. So academies are free to recruit staff onto their local governing bodies and committees if their trusts allow it.
“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.”
However, school employees are also eligible to serve as co-opted governors and foundation governors. They can be parent governors too as long as they work for the school for fewer than 500 hours per year.
“A person is disqualified from election or appointment as a parent governor of a school if the person is paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in any twelve consecutive months.”
School employees cannot serve as local authority governors or partnership governors.
“A person is disqualified from appointment as a local authority governor if the person is eligible to be a staff governor of the school.
“A person is disqualified from nomination or appointment as a partnership governor of a school if the person is eligible to be a staff governor of the school.”
If you wish to appoint a school employee as a co-opted governor you must make sure that the total number of school employees on the board, counted with the headteacher and staff governor, do not make up more than a third of the total membership of the governing body.
This is to ensure a good balance between school employees and governors who are independent from the school.
“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.”
For example, if you have nine governors in total you can have one co-opted governor who is an employee, because that employee, plus the headteacher, plus the staff governor equals three people out of nine.
If you have twelve governors in total you could have two employees as co-opted governors. (Ignore vacancies when making these calculations.)
(Co-opted governors in maintained schools used to be called “community governors” and school employees were banned under the law from serving as community governors. This law has now been revoked so the rule does not apply to co-opted governors.)
For academies the DfE recommends that the CEO/principal is the only trustee who is also an academy employee.
Despite this the current model articles of association (June 2021) do allow for employees to be trustees but state that the total number of employees who are also trustees must not exceed one third of total trustees.
“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.”
Academy trusts can decide to appoint academy employees to committees such as local governing bodies. The number of employees allowed on each committee will depend on the rules of your own trust.
Can the deputy head be a staff governor?
Although the deputy head is not specifically banned from being a staff governor/trustee in the law or model articles it is not seen as good practice.
Governors need to challenge senior leaders to fulfil their role and that is difficult if there are too many members of the senior leadership team on the board.
In the schools I have clerked for the deputy head has either been an associate member or has not been a member of the board, attending meetings purely to take part in discussions and answer questions.
Can a member of the SLT be a staff governor?
Yes. If a member of the senior leadership team (SLT) becomes a staff governor the board should take their job role into account when allocating link roles and other responsibilities to ensure the governor does not end up “marking their own homework”.
For example, if the SENCO is a staff governor they should not also be the link governor for SEN, because of course they cannot ask themselves challenging questions about their own role. Another example is that the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) should not be your link governor for safeguarding.
It may also be difficult for the school business manager to serve as a staff governor because the budget is a major part of their job and oversight of the budget is one of the three core functions of school governance.
Therefore they would attend meetings where they were supposed to explain the budget to governors as business manager and then ask questions about the budget as a governor…
Indeed, any member of the SLT who joins the board must remember that they are in meetings as a governor, not a member of staff. They must challenge the headteacher if necessary, ask probing questions and vote in the best interests of the school, not just the staff. They are not in meetings to assist the headteacher.
However, neither the business manager nor any other member of SLT is banned from being the staff governor in the law for maintained schools or model articles for academies.
Can a parent be a staff governor?
In a maintained school the law allows someone who is a parent at that school to be the staff governor.
In an academy trust you would need to check whether your own trust has set rules on whether a staff trustee or staff governor role can be filled by a parent, but the model articles do allow staff trustees to be parents.
Can a union rep be a staff governor?
Yes, although it’s important to realize that the two roles are very different. Staff governors do not fight for the rights of staff, they make decisions in the best interests of the whole school.
The rep would also need to declare their union role in the register of interests as it may give rise to a conflict.
Do staff governors represent staff?
No. Statutory guidance for maintained schools explains that the role of the staff governor is the same as any other governor, not to argue in favour of anything that might benefit staff and canvass the views of school employees on issues raised.
“Their role will not be to represent staff, nor to stand alongside the headteacher in being held to account by the governing body, but to operate as part of the governing body to provide strategic leadership and to hold the headteacher to account.”
This is also made clear in the DfE Maintained Schools Governance Guide.
“Staff governors act as any other governor does. They are there to operate and make decisions in the best interest of their school, not their own or other staff interests.”
What happens if a staff governor leaves their job?
In maintained schools staff governors automatically stop being governors if they leave their job, as this role must always be held by a current school employee.
“Upon ceasing to work at the school, a staff governor of a school is disqualified from continuing to hold office as such a governor.”
However, school employees who are co-opted governors, parent governors or foundation governors can continue to be governors if they wish to, even after leaving their job.
In academies if your CEO/principal is a trustee they lose that role when they leave their job.
If you have other staff trustee or staff local governors their term of office will be stated in your articles or terms of reference.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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 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.”
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.”
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.
