Standing orders are a set of rules that guide how school governing bodies work. They are not legal rules that boards must follow, but governors often choose to adopt standing orders to clarify points of procedure.
For example, when electing a chair of governors the law for maintained schools does not describe whether the election should be held by ballot or how long the term of office should be. Because this can cause confusion governors may wish to set the rules for the election beforehand in a set of standing orders.
Standing orders may be less common in academies than maintained schools as academies may already have more precise procedures set out in their articles of association and terms of reference.
How are standing orders approved?
Governors should vote to approve standing orders at a quorate meeting. Before the vote the clerk should check that the proposed orders do not contradict any relevant laws, terms of reference or articles of association (in academies).
Download Model Standing Orders
I have produced a short set of editable model standing orders for maintained schools, available on my templates and letters page.
I’ve also posted the text at the end of this page so you can read them before downloading. (Academies will probably find that many points are already in your articles of association and terms of reference, but may still find them useful.)
I have seen some sets of standing orders that are very long and contain many items which are statutory in maintained schools, for example that governors must have DBS checks, a chair must be elected at the next meeting if the role is vacant or that governors must meet at least three times a year.
In my view it’s not helpful to include these mandatory items in standing orders because governors may then believe they have the power to alter them. The clerk should advise on the statutory requirements that the board must work within. Standing orders simply clarify optional procedural issues and work as a framework to fill in the blanks in law.
My model standing orders cover the following points:
how the chair and vice-chair are elected
length of term of office for chair/vice-chair
what to do if the chair and vice-chair are both absent from a meeting
what to do if a meeting is inquorate
virtual meetings
voting procedures
revoking decisions
drafting agendas and adding items of business
signing the code of conduct.
Model standing orders for governing bodies
These model standing orders can be used to clarify procedures in maintained schools (academies may already have many of these rules in their articles/terms of reference). I have not included any statutory requirements, so governing bodies can edit items as they wish within existing laws or terms of reference.
Chair and Vice-Chair
The chair and vice-chair will be elected for one calendar year.
The term of office for chair and vice-chair will end at the first full governors’ meeting held after this one-year term.
The election will specified as an agenda item.
Nominations can be made in advance or at the meeting. Governors can self-nominate.
If there is more than one candidate each candidate will be given two minutes to state why they should be elected. If a candidate cannot attend the meeting they can submit a written statement to the clerk.
The election will be held by ballot. If there is only one candidate a ballot will still be held with governors voting either in favour or against that candidate.
If the vote is tied governors will discuss the result and vote again to reach a resolution. They can also ask for another candidate to come forward.
If the chair and vice-chair both fail to attend a meeting the board will elect a chair for that meeting who is a) a governor, not an associate member and b) not a school employee.
Quorum and Voting
If a meeting is inquorate it will be postponed. (You may wish to use instead: “If a meeting is inquorate it will continue and be minuted but no votes can be held.”)
Unless governors are voting for the chair or vice-chair or specifically request a secret ballot all votes will be cast by verbal agreement.
Votes do not need to be seconded.
If governors wish to revoke a decision at a future meeting this proposal must be specified as an agenda item.
Virtual Meetings
Governors may attend meetings via telephone or video link.
Governors attending meetings virtually have the right to vote.
Agendas
The draft agenda will written by the clerk, chair and headteacher.
A governor can place an item on the agenda by sending it to the clerk.
Code of Conduct
All new governors and associate members must sign the code of conduct.
Governors and associate members will also sign the code of conduct annually.
School governors have a conflict of interest when their financial or personal circumstances mean they have split loyalties and cannot act impartially.
Examples include a governor who owns a business that sells to schools or a governor who is married to a member of staff.
This article covers any conflict of interest that can occur. It should be read in conjunction with the more specific article on governors’ business interests.
Managing Conflicts of Interest
The rules for maintained schools and academies are explained below, but the three basic points for all schools are:
Governors (including local governors), trustees and associate members must declare any conflicts of interest and allow them to be published online.
If a governor, trustee or associate member with a conflict of interest is present when the governing body is talking about or making a decision that relates to the conflict, they must leave the room and not vote on the matter.
Most conflicts of interest can be “managed” by the governor leaving the room; they do not automatically prevent a person from joining the governing body. The exception to this is when conflicts are so major they are likely to arise frequently and interfere with the responsibilities of the governor.
Conflicts of Interest in Maintained Schools
School governor law from 2013 defines conflicts of interest in maintained schools. It applies to any “relevant person”, which it defines as any governor, headteacher, associate member or clerk.
“Where in relation to any matter—
(i) there may be a conflict between the interests of a relevant person and the interests of the governing body
(ii) a fair hearing is required and there is any reasonable doubt about a relevant person’s ability to act impartially, or
(iii) a relevant person has a pecuniary interest, that person, if present at a meeting of the school at which the matter is the subject of consideration, must disclose his or her interest, withdraw from the meeting and not vote on the matter in question.”
The first point in the law simply acknowledges the principle that conflicts of interest can arise between the governing body and an individual. Note that it does not limit the conflict to financial interests; any split of loyalty is to be avoided as decisions must be made solely in the best interests of the school.
The second point refers to a “fair hearing” and the importance of acting impartially. This applies, for example, if governors form a disciplinary committee or exclusions panel.
In that case a fair hearing may be compromised if a governor has already discussed the case with the headteacher and helped her to reach the decision to exclude. Having taken part in this decision, the governor is not impartial enough to sit on the exclusion panel that examines this decision.
The third point is about pecuniary (financial) interests, which means any business interests the governor might have or any other way they could make money from a decision made at a governing body meeting.
The business interests that must be declared are covered in more detail in a separate article, but any interest should be declared if it could benefit the governor financially.
When does the clerk have a conflict of interest?
The clerk does not have a vote so cannot have a conflict of interest in the way that governors can. However, the law for maintained schools says there are certain situations when the clerk must leave the room:
when governors are discussing either appointing or firing the clerk
when governors are discussing the clerk’s pay or performance appraisal
when disciplinary action is being considered against the clerk.
It’s possible that your academy trust may have similar rules but there are none in the current model articles.
There is no duty to add the clerk to the register of interests in either maintained schools or academies. Despite that, it may be prudent to declare a relevant interest if it could create a conflict.
The Academy Trust Handbook says that trusts should consider whether they need to register “other interests” even if they are not strictly required to “and if in doubt should do so”, which is a good rule of thumb for any school.
For example, if a clerk is married to a school employee the clerk can still minute meetings because they are not a decision-maker and are bound by confidentiality, but they should not take minutes of a disciplinary hearing involving their spouse as they could be accused of bias.
Similarly, a clerk with a child at the school should not take minutes of an exclusion panel regarding their child.
If the clerk wishes to declare their interests they can either be added to the register of interests or they could be declared annually in the minutes of a full governing body meeting.
Can a clerk work for more than one school?
Yes and many clerks do – I’ve worked for more than one school myself. The clerk needs to maintain confidentiality and not share information between schools, but there’s no reason why a clerk to governors cannot work at multiple schools.
Is it a conflict of interest for the clerk to be the headteacher’s PA?
There are no regulations that forbid the clerk from also working as the headteacher’s personal assistant or secretary, or indeed any other role at the school.
Law for maintained schools says that the clerk cannot be a governor or the headteacher and this is mirrored in academy model articles (June 2021) which say that neither a trustee nor the principal can be the “governance professional”. These are the only restrictions however, so it is possible for the clerk to have another job at the school.
A clerk with a second job must remain objective when writing minutes and clerking panels. They must also maintain confidentiality if they hear details of salaries or disciplinary issues.
It may be inadvisable for the clerk to be the school business manager because the business manager may need to take an active part in meetings, explaining the budget and answering governors’ questions, making it impossible to take minutes at the same time.
It is important to remember that clerks report to the governing body itself, not the headteacher. If you have two jobs at the school I would request a separate contract for the clerking role to reflect this.
Conflicts of Interest in Academies
The rules for academies are more complex because they are schools, companies and charities all at once. However, the principles remain the same: all conflicts must be publicly declared and if the board is discussing a relevant issue the trustee must leave the meeting and not vote.
“Any trustee who has or can have any direct or indirect duty or personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest) which conflicts or may conflict with their duties as a trustee shall disclose that fact to the trustees as soon as they become aware of it.
“A trustee must be absent from any discussions of the trustees in which it is possible that a conflict will arise between their duty to act solely in the interests of the academy trust and any duty or personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest).”
Possibly. This will depend on the staff member’s job and whether the conflict of interest can be effectively managed by ensuring the governor does not vote on any relevant issues.
For example, if a governor’s sister works as a lunchtime supervisor this should not be a problem. The governor can still take part in the vast majority of discussions but would need to leave the meeting if there was a proposal that would benefit or affect their sister, for example to increase the pay of lunchtime staff or make some of them redundant.
On the other hand, if a governor was married to the deputy headteacher or another senior leader that conflict could be impossible to manage. A key part of the board’s role is to hold senior leaders to account and this governor would surely have a conflict of loyalty in almost all discussions.
Any relationships between governors and staff members must be publicly declared in the register of interests.
Can a governor be related to another governor?
Yes. This situation is unlikely to cause problems because it would not cause split loyalties when decisions are being made; governors can still act solely in the best interests of the school.
They may be asked to vote on the appointment of their relative to the board, or the election of their relative to chair or vice-chair, but they are permitted to make these decisions even if a personal tie exists between them. If any governors who became friends had to avoid voting on appointments then some governing bodies would become unworkable.
Note though that any relationships between governors must be publicly declared in the register of interests, although this would only apply to romantic relationships or relatives, not to the usual working friendships that would arise between governors over the years.
Governors in maintained schools must take part in interviews for the headteacher and deputy head and can take part in interviews for less senior staff if they wish.
Academy trusts are free to decide whether trustees attend interviews or not.
The relevant law for maintained schools is the School Staffing Regulations 2009. This law explains that when appointing a head or deputy a minimum of three governors must form a selection panel to interview applicants and recommend a candidate for appointment.
“Appointment of headteacher and deputy head
Where the governing body advertises any such vacancy or post, it must appoint a selection panel, consisting of at least three of its members, other than a governor who is the headteacher or (as the case may be) a deputy headteacher, to—
(a) select for interview such applicants for the post as it thinks fit and, where the post is that of headteacher, notify the authority in writing of the names of the applicants selected;
(b) interview those applicants who attend for that purpose; and
(c) where it considers it appropriate, recommend to the governing body for appointment one of the applicants interviewed.”
An older version of this document, back when it was called Guidance on Managing Staff in Schools, recommended that governors should only be involved in appointments for members of the leadership team.
“It is recommended that the governing body delegates functions relating to staff appointments outside of the leadership group and all dismissals to the headteacher, unless it thinks this would be inappropriate.”
This advice also appears in old DfE guidance called The Governors’ Guide To The Law.
“The School Staffing Regulations allow the governing body to delegate many of its staffing functions to the headteacher, one or more governors, or a combination of the two.
“Where these functions relate to staff appointments outside the leadership group, the governing body should delegate them to the headteacher unless there are good grounds not to do so.
“The governing body of a voluntary aided school with a religious character may agree staffing policies, which provide for governor involvement in the interests of preserving the school’s religious character.”
The National Governance Association (NGA) produce a delegation planner to help maintained schools delegate responsibilities. Their planner recommends that the full board appoints the selection panel for the headteacher, deputy head and other seniors leaders and also approves the decisions of the panel.
When appointing other teachers and support staff the NGA recommends that the responsibility is delegated to the headteacher.
Safer Recruitment Training
Maintained schools must also comply with the law on safer recruitment outlined in the 2009 staffing regulations. This requires one member of every selection panel to have received training on safer recruitment, which will help them identify and reject unsuitable candidates.
“With effect from 1st January 2010, the governing body must ensure that—
(a) any person who interviews an applicant for any post under these regulations has completed the safer recruitment training; or
(b) in the case where—
(i) a selection panel is appointed for that purpose under regulation 15 or 27; or
(ii) the governing body delegates the appointment of a member of staff to two or more governors or one or more governors and the headteacher under regulation 4(1),
at least one member of that panel or group has completed the safer recruitment training.”
In academies these regulations do not apply, but DfE guidance states in the section on safer recruitment that it is good practice for panel members to be trained “appropriately”.
“Academies have responsibilities in relation to the health and safety and protection of their pupils; it would therefore be good practice for appointment panel members in academy schools to be appropriately trained.”
The DfE guidance recommends that schools can also seek advice from their human resources manager and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) when recruiting staff.
“Selection panels should also take into account any advice provided by the school’s HR manager or provider. ACAS provides employers with a range of advice and guidance on its recruitment page.
“It covers many areas around recruitment that employers and governors who will be involved in the appointment process should familiarise themselves with.”
There is no statutory requirement for governing bodies to have a code of conduct for governors or trustees, but many schools find a code of conduct useful in order to set expectations on behaviour and explain the role.
It can also be useful if a governor causes problems at a later stage because the governing body can point to the values the governor agreed to uphold when they joined the board and signed up to the code of conduct.
If necessary the code can also form part of the evidence needed when considering suspending or removing a governor.
The DfE Governance Guides for maintained schools and academies recommend that governing bodies set up a code of conduct.
“Effective governing bodies create and maintain a code of conduct which is agreed by all governors.”
The Governance Guides also say that a governor/trustee who “persistently fails to attend training or development” may be in breach of the code and it “may be necessary to consider their position”.
A code of conduct can explain the main governor responsibilities: the ethos, vision and strategic direction of the school, holding the headteacher to account and financial oversight.
It can also clarify frequent areas of confusion such as the difference between the strategic role of governors and the day-to-day, operational role of the headteacher.
Bear in mind that codes of conduct do not carry any legal weight. A code is a set of expectations but it cannot over-ride the law that maintained schools must follow, or articles of association for academies.
For example, a maintained school could write in their code of conduct that governors must attend every single meeting without fail, but if a governor was missing meetings you would have no legal power to disqualify them unless they missed a full six months of meetings.
Model Code Of Conduct
The National Governance Association (NGA) produce a model code of conduct which they provide free to all schools, whether they are members of the NGA or not.
Two versions of the code are provided, one for maintained schools and one for academy trusts.
The NGA recommend that the whole board review and agree the code annually in the first meeting of the academic year. It’s probably not a good idea to hand this document to a brand new governor without any further explanation as the long list of expectations could be quite daunting.
“Boards should review and approve their code of conduct annually, ideally at the first meeting of the autumn term. When reviewing your code, reflect on the events of the previous year and consider if any changes are required as a result.”
The NGA code only contains space for the chair’s signature, because the expectation is that once the code of conduct has been agreed by the full governing body then all governors are bound by it.
“Once this code has been adopted by the governing board, all members agree to faithfully abide by it.”
Despite this I would recommend asking all governors to sign the code individually. If a governor breaches the code and is challenged they may try to argue that they did not personally agree to abide by it.
That would not be true, even if the governor did not attend the specific meeting where the code was adopted, because governing bodies make decisions collectively and governors must always enact the decisions of the majority.
However, it makes a difficult conversation easier if you can prove that the governor in question did sign the code themselves. If you use GovernorHub governors can sign up to the code electronically.
In a maintained school governors can be suspended for up to six months. Some academies have the power to suspend trustees, depending on the wording of their articles of association.
The law gives governing bodies in maintained schools the power to suspend a governor for a fixed period of up to six months.
“The governing body may by resolution suspend a governor for all or any meetings of the school, or of a committee, for a fixed period of up to 6 months.”
A governor can be suspended in one of four circumstances only, details of which are described below.
The law says that “the governing body may by resolution suspend a governor for all or any meetings of the school, or of a committee”, so suspension is not automatic if one of these situations arises and the board will need to assess the seriousness of the issue before taking action.
When a Governor Can Be Suspended
The governing body of a maintained school can decide to suspend a governor if one of the following situations arises.
The governor also works for the school and disciplinary proceedings are bring brought against them in relation to their job. For example, a staff governor who is going through the disciplinary process.
They are part of proceedings in a court or tribunal which could lead to them being automatically disqualified as a governor if found guilty (see the long list of disqualification criteria). It really is a very long list, but examples would include being disqualified as a company director, being disqualified from working with children or being sentenced to three months or more in prison (without the option of a fine) in the last five years.
Note that this applies when the proceedings could lead to a disqualification, so a suspension rather than permanent removal is used in this instance so that a governor can be reinstated if they are found innocent of the charges.
The governor has behaved in a way that is inconsistent with the ethos or religious character of the school, which is bringing the school, governing body or the office of governor into disrepute. This is a vague definition which could be interpreted in a number of ways. It may help to have a code of conduct in place so that your board can agree on the desired conduct of governors for areas that are not laid down in law.
They have breached confidentiality. An obvious example would be revealing the contents of confidential minutes from governing body meetings to non-governors such as parents or colleagues.
The proposal to suspend a governor must be specified as an item of business on the agenda. This means it cannot come as a surprise to the governor in question and you cannot sneak it in as an Any Other Business item at the end of a meeting.
The agenda must be sent out at least seven clear days before the meeting. This applies to all agendas as standard practice, but in some cases the chair of governors can decide to hold a meeting at short notice. Theycannotdecide to do that if the suspension of a governor is being discussed.
Before a vote is held at the meeting the person who is calling for the suspension must say why they think the governor should be suspended. They should explain how the governor’s actions qualify them for a suspension under one of the four categories listed above.
The governor who is at risk of suspension must be allowed to make a statement in response.
The governor at risk of suspension must then leave the room.
The remaining governors vote on the question and if necessary vote on how long a period the suspension will cover. If a majority vote in favour the governor is suspended.
If the governor is suspended they still have the right to receive messages from the clerk telling them the date and time of the meetings, as well as agendas and papers from meetings, so the clerk can continue to send these as normal.
During their suspension the usual rule that governors can be disqualified for missing six months of meetings in a row do not apply.
One final item to note is that the restrictions placed on delegation in the 2013 regulations say that governing bodies must not delegate the power to suspend one of their governors to any individual governor.
This is common sense, as you would not want one person suspending a governor because of a personality clash or power struggle, but it does clarify that not even the chair of governors can suspend a governor without the approval of the board.
Can associate members be suspended?
The law on suspension in maintained schools refers to “governors” only rather than associate members, so there is no mechanism to suspend associate members.
However, the law also states that associate members may be removed from office by the governing body at any time, so boards may wish to remove the associate member completely.
Suspending Trustees In Academies
The current model articles of association, dated June 2021, do not refer to suspensions at all and so academies using these articles cannot suspend trustees. If your academy uses an earlier version of the articles the board may have different powers.
Let’s look at the December 2014 version of the articles, which say that the board of trustees can suspend a trustee for up to six months if they have acted in a way that contradicts the “professional ethos” of the board (including a failure to undertake training) or has brought the academy into disrepute.
“The board of trustees may by special resolution passed at a meeting of the trustees suspend a trustee for all or any meetings of the academy trust, or of a committee, for a fixed period of up to 6 months where the trustee has acted in a way that is inconsistent with the professional ethos of the board of trustees (which shall include a failure to undertake training appropriate to their role, whether or not directed to do so by the board of trustees) and has brought or is likely to bring the academy trust/any of its academies/the academy or the office of the trustee into disrepute.”
Old Model Articles of Association (December 2014)
How To Suspend A Trustee In An Academy
It is important to check what your own academy’s articles say, but the model articles from December 2014 use the following approach.
Note that a suspension requires a special resolution, as opposed to an ordinary resolution. This means that 75% of trustees must vote in favour, rather than the simple majority (anything over 50%) that is needed to pass an ordinary resolution.
As is the case in maintained schools, suspended trustees retain the right to receive agendas and papers from meetings of the trustees.
The suspension must be specified as an agenda item.
The trustee proposing the suspension must say why they feel it is necessary. The trustee at risk of suspension must be allowed to make a statement in response and then leave the meeting.
A special resolution must be passed in favour of suspension.
“A resolution to suspend a trustee from office does not have effect unless the matter is specified as an item of business on the agenda for the meeting.
“Before a vote is taken on a resolution to suspend a trustee, the trustee proposing the resolution must at the meeting state the reasons for doing so.
“In addition the trustee who is the subject of the resolution must be given the opportunity to make a statement in response before withdrawing from the meeting.
“Nothing in [these] articles may be read as affecting the right of a trustee who has been suspended to receive notices of, and agendas and reports or other papers for, meetings of the board of trustees during the period of their suspension.”
Old Model Articles of Association (December 2014)
If a multi-academy trust wishes to suspend a local governor who sits on a local governing body they will need to check the rules set out in the terms of reference for that local governing body.
Can suspended governors appeal?
Neither the law for maintained schools nor the 2014 model articles for academies require boards to have an appeals process for suspended governors.
It would be possible for a governor to complain to their own school about the suspension, because complaints policies should allow complaints to be lodged by anyone.
However, complaints must be heard by impartial people, so the school would need to recruit an unbiased investigator or panel from outside their own board. These people would have no power to reinstate the governor even if the complaint was upheld.
If all stages of the school complaint policy have been completed it may be possible to escalate the complaint to the DfE (maintained schools) or ESFA (academies), but these bodies will not normally reinvestigate the complaint. They will only check that the school has followed education legislation and statutory policies correctly.
If a headteacher has excluded a pupil there are some circumstances where school governors must set up an exclusion panel to consider whether the decision was correct.
For example, any decision to permanently exclude a pupil must be considered by the governing body.
The exclusion panel is often known as a governors’ disciplinary committee (GDC) because pupils can only be excluded for disciplinary reasons. It may also be known as a PEX panel, for Permanent Exclusion. The decision of the panel will be based on whether the child has broken the school’s behaviour policy.
In maintained schools this exclusion panel can be made up of a committee of no less than three governors. In academies it can consist of less than three governors if your articles of association allow it.
The governor panel must meet within 15 school days of receiving notice of the exclusion if any of the following apply:
the pupil has been permanently excluded (also known as being expelled)
it is a fixed term exclusion which means that the pupil has now been excluded for more than 15 days in a single term
it is going to mean a pupil misses a public exam or national curriculum test.
In a case where a pupil has been excluded for five days or fewer in total in a term, governors must listen to the views of parents but cannot overturn the headteacher’s decision.
If the pupil will be excluded for more than five days but less than 15 in a term, the panel must sit within 50 school days, but only if the parent has asked to be heard.
If a pupil is going to miss an exam or test governors must try to sit before that test; in maintained schools the chair or vice-chair of governors can hear the case alone if no other governors are available at short notice.
However, if it is impossible for governors to meet within these timeframes their decision is still considered valid, as long as they have made “reasonable” efforts to convene the panel within the limits.
Statutory guidance from the DfE says that the following people must be invited to the governor panel:
the parents
a friend or representative of the parents if they would like one to attend
the headteacher
a person from the local authority if it is a maintained school.
What happens if parents fail to attend?
The panel can go ahead if parents are absent. However, governors must have made “reasonable endeavours” beforehand to find a date and time that was convenient for parents to attend, within the time limits set out above.
Note that the decision of a governor panel is not invalid if it is made outside of the time limits, but governors must always try to stick to them.
“The governing board must make reasonable endeavours to arrange the meeting for a date and time that is convenient to all parties, but in compliance with the relevant statutory time limits.
“However, its decision will not be invalid simply on the grounds that it was not made within these time limits.”
The DfE do not provide an example agenda for the panel, but many LAs produce their own suggested agenda. If yours does not I have provided one on my templates and letters page.
LA exclusion agendas usually follow the same formula. The headteacher is asked to explain why the pupil was excluded and takes questions from those present. The parent and pupil can then explain their own case and take questions.
The LA representative comments on the case and takes questions. Once all questions have been heard the headteacher and parent/pupil summarise their views. Finally, everyone except the governors and clerk leave the room to allow governors to make their decision.
How should governors prepare for an exclusion panel?
Evidence should be gathered about the pupil’s behaviour and circumstances. This will include written witness statements and information held by the school such as details of an education and health care plan (EHCP) and the special educational needs of the child.
Depending on the reason for exclusion it might also include items such as attendance figures, referrals to outside agencies or a behaviour log. Include any letters sent to parents and relevant policies such as the behaviour policy.
This evidence, plus a list of those attending the panel, should be sent to everyone invited at least five school days before the panel will sit. That is the absolute minimum time acceptable, so in reality evidence should be sent sooner than this.
If a child under 18 is invited to be a witness their parents should be invited as well and asked for their consent. Governors should also make reasonable adjustments for any disability or language barrier.
They should think about how best to encourage the excluded pupil to contribute to the panel, bearing in mind their age, or how they could submit their views if they cannot attend in person. The clerk should be invited to the meeting to take minutes.
Should governors receive training on exclusions?
There is no requirement for governors to receive training before they sit on a governor exclusion panel, but it would be good practice for governors to be trained.
(Note however that members of an independent review panel, the next stage of appeal that is described later in this article, must receive training.)
Can staff governors sit on exclusion panels?
Although there is no ban on staff governors sitting on exclusion panels it would be very difficult for them to take part because panels must be unbiased, impartial and fair.
Any member of staff is likely to have had at least some contact with the child or heard other employees discuss them and so cannot be unbiased. They already know some information about the case and could have expressed their opinion already.
Similarly, if a parent governor knows the child in question or knows they are friends with their own child they should not sit on the panel. Governors should also not be involved if they have discussed the child’s situation with the headteacher prior to his or her decision to exclude.
“The decision to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair.”
Yes. Statutory guidance explains that “all parties” should have access to minutes of the governor exclusion panel.
“The governing board should ensure that clear minutes are taken of the meeting as a record of the evidence that was considered by the governing board. These minutes should be made available to all parties on request.“
Everyone except the governor panel members and the clerk should be asked to leave the meeting before a decision is made. The panel should decide whether the exclusion was correct, using the following advice from statutory guidance.
“The governing board should consider whether the decision to exclude the pupil was lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair, taking account of the headteacher’s legal duties and any evidence that was presented.”
The panel must think about the interests and circumstances of the child but also the interests of the other pupils and the staff working at the school. If governors are not sure whether something is true or not they only need to believe that on balance it is probably true; they do not need be certain if there is enough evidence to strongly suspect that the evidence is true.
“When establishing the facts in relation to an exclusion the governing board must apply the civil standard of proof; ie: ‘on the balance of probabilities’ (it is more likely than not that a fact is true) rather than the criminal standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.”
The governor panel can only make one of two decisions.
Uphold the original exclusion.
Cancel the exclusion and reinstate the child, allowing the child to return to school immediately or at a set date in the future.
The decision and an explanation of the panel’s reasoning should be sent in writing to the parents, headteacher and the local authority. This should be a detailed letter that allows everyone involved to understand why the decision has been made; it should not simply state the decision itself.
Can parents appeal the governors’ decision?
If the child has been given a short, fixed-period exclusion then the governors’ decision is final. However, if a child has been permanently excluded and the governor panel have agreed with the original decision of the headteacher to exclude, the parents can appeal and the decision will be looked at by a second panel.
This second panel is called an independent review panel(IRP) and is arranged by the local authority or the academy trust, not the school itself.
Can the headteacher appeal the governors’ decision?
No. The parents are the only people who can ask for an appeal. If governors have decided to reinstate a pupil the headteacher will presumably disagree, unless further information has come to light during the panel, but the head cannot request an appeal.
Holding An Independent Review Panel
The IRP will be formed of either three or five people, made up of headteachers (or former headteachers), governors and a lay person to chair the panel (someone who does not work at any school).
The panel members must not be governors or employees from the original school. They must all have received training on how to run an independent review panel and the law around exclusions.
Governors from the original school have the right to be represented, so the chair will usually attend to explain their decision and defend it.
The independent review panel can either:
agree with the governors’ decision
recommend that the governors reconsider their decision, or
“quash” the decision (reject it because it is invalid) and direct governors to reconsider. The decision will only be quashed if there was a flaw in the way the original panel came to their conclusions.
Following the IRP the panel must write to “all parties” to explain their decision and the reasoning behind it.
If the independent review panel has recommended or directed that a decision must be reconsidered, governors must hold another meeting to review their original decision within 10 school days. If their original decision was quashed and governors still refuse to reinstate the child the school can be fined £4000.
The IRP can go ahead if the parents are absent. The LA or academy trust arranging the review must take “reasonable steps” to find a date that all parties can attend, but once parents have asked for the review it must begin within 15 school days.
“The local authority/academy trust must take reasonable steps to identify a date for the review that all parties, and any SEN expert appointed to give advice in person, are able to attend.
“However, the review must begin within 15 school days of the day on which the parent’s application for a review was made (panels have the power to adjourn a hearing if required).”
Can the same governors sit on the reconsideration panel?
Statutory guidance does not ban governors who sat on the original governor panel from also sitting on the reconsideration panel.
However, the National Governance Association recommends that governors involved in the original decision do not form the reconsideration panel. This will make sure that the case is being considered by fresh governors who have not already formed a view.
Do parents have a right to see minutes of the reconsideration meeting?
Yes. If an independent review panel has told governors to reconsider their decision they should make minutes of the reconsideration meeting available to “all parties”.
“The governing board should ensure that clear minutes are taken of the meeting as a record of the evidence that was considered by the governing board. These minutes should be made available to all parties on request.“
School governors and trustees must declare any business or financial interests that mean they could benefit personally from the decisions they make at the school.
Examples would be owning a business that sells equipment to schools, working for a cleaning agency which provides school cleaners or having a close relative who is a supply teacher.
In both maintained schools and academies the governors or trustees must leave the meeting room when there is a discussion relating to their business interest and are not allowed to vote on the subject.
This page offers a guide to what needs to be declared and a template for recording the interests of all governors. A separate article looks at what schools and academies must publish online.
These regulations set out what local authorities must have in their school funding schemes. This includes the “keeping of a register of any business interests of the governors and the headteacher”. Statutory guidance states that this register should be published online.
Maintained school governors are also bound by the Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) 2013 regulations which force governors to withdraw from the meeting if they have a “pecuniary interest”. Pecuniary means “relating to money”.
The principle is that governors must only cast a vote when they are impartial and therefore definitely voting in the best interests of the school.
“Where in relation to any matter a relevant person has a pecuniary interest, that person, if present at a meeting of the school at which the matter is the subject of consideration, must disclose his or her interest, withdraw from the meeting and not vote on the matter in question.”
What is the definition of a business interest in a maintained school?
There is no definition of “business interests” in the 2013 Finance regulations or of “pecuniary interests” in the 2013 Roles, Procedures and Allowances regulations.
There is also no statutory guidance available for either of these laws. DfE departmental advice for the Roles, Procedures and Allowances law simply states that “governors must declare pecuniary interests” without offering any guidance as to what must be declared.
Statutory Guidance to the Constitution (England) Regulations 2012 refers to both business and pecuniary interests, as well as “material interests” that arise from close relationships. It states that the following three items must be recorded in the register of interests.
Relevant business and pecuniary interests.
Governance roles in other educational institutions.
Any material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and members of the school staff.
“A governing body should publish on its website relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests) including governance roles in other educational institutions [and] any material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives).
“Governing bodies should also publish this information for associate members.”
Note the word “relevant” in the above quote. If a governor has an interest that is never going to cause a conflict, for example if they run a business abroad, they do not need to declare it.
If governors are unsure as to what to declare, a good rule of thumb is the local newspaper test – how would it look if the interest was undeclared and then reported in your local paper? Would it damage the reputation of the school?
How would it look if your local newspaper found out that a governor had voted in favour of giving a £5,000 contract to their brother? Or encouraged the school to buy 100 computers from their husband’s firm? Even in a situation where there has been no impropriety it would still reflect badly on the school if a governor has not revealed their interests.
Some common sense is needed when deciding what to declare. For example, if you own 50 shares in Apple and the school is buying an iMac this is highly unlikely to make you biased. On the other hand, if you are the director of a company that sells iMacs that could well be a conflict of interest.
Here is how my local authority describe a relevant business interest.
“Someone can be said to have a relevant business interest if they are an employee, the owner, a partner or a major shareholder of a business or have appointments of influence within a business or organisation (including the local authority) which might potentially be involved in providing goods or services to the school.”
Southampton City Council
My LA also list some job titles that may need to be declared because they could potentially deal with schools. These include accountant, building worker, cleaner, decorator, ground maintenance worker, insurance broker, solicitor, printer and supplier of books, stationery or electronics.
If you are still unsure about what constitutes a conflict of interest then you should ask your fellow governors for their verdict. The law says that if there is a dispute about whether a governor can vote or not due to a possible conflict of interest then the other governors present at the meeting must decide this among themselves.
“Where there is any dispute as to whether this regulation or Schedule 1 requires a relevant person to withdraw from a meeting of the school and not vote, that question must be determined by the other governors present at the meeting.”
Do associate members need to declare business interests?
Yes. Statutory guidance to the constitution regulations says governors must declare relevant business and pecuniary interests and publish them online. It goes on to say “Governing bodies should also publish this information for associate members.”
Business Interests For Staff Governors
As all governors who are also school employees naturally have a financial “interest” in the school via their salary there is a paragraph in the law for maintained schools that says they only have to withdraw from meetings if their interest is greater than the interest of other staff members.
So if governors were discussing a proposal that would impact the pay packet of every staff member the governor would not have to leave the room. If the proposal would only impact the pay of the staff governor themselves, they would have to leave for that part of the meeting.
“A relevant person will not be treated as having a pecuniary interest in any matter provided that the value of the relevant person’s pecuniary interest is no greater than that of the pecuniary interest commonly held by those paid to work at the school.”
For academies the requirement to declare business interests comes from the Academy Trust Handbook which all academies must comply with as a condition of their funding agreement.
“The academy trust’s register of interests must capture relevant business and pecuniary interests of members, trustees, local governors and senior employees, including:
– directorships, partnerships and employments with businesses
– trusteeships and governorships at other educational institutions and charities
– for each interest: the name and nature of the business, the nature of the interest and the date the interest began.
“The register must identify relevant material interests from close family relationships between the academy trust’s members, trustees or local governors. It must also identify relevant material interests arising from close family relationships between those individuals and employees.
“Trusts should consider whether other interests should be registered, and if in doubt should do so. Boards of trustees must keep their register of interests up-to-date at all times.”
The Handbook states that for every member, trustee, local governor and accounting officer, details must be published online of “relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions”.
“The trust must also publish on its website up-to-date details of its governance arrangements in a readily accessible format, including:
– for each member serving at any point over the past 12 months, their full names, date of appointment, date they stepped down (where applicable), and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions
– for each trustee and local governor serving at any point over the past 12 months, their full names, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable), who appointed them, and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions. If the accounting officer is not a trustee their business and pecuniary interests must still be published.”
In academies there is a minor difference between what must be shown online and what must be included in the register of interests itself. The Handbook states that the register must include the interests of “members, trustees, local governors and senior employees”. However, the accounting officer is the only employee who must have their interests online.
“Trusts must publish on their websites relevant business and pecuniary interests of members, trustees, local governors and accounting officers. Trusts have discretion over the publication of interests of other individuals named on the register.”
Also in the Academy Trust Handbook is a succinct description of the principle being observed here: “Academy trusts must ensure that no member, trustee, local governor, employee or related individual or organisation uses their connection to the trust for personal gain.”
An academy’s articles of association will explain what to do when someone has a conflict of interest. The model articles of association (June 2021) say that trustees must leave the meeting while the subject is discussed.
“Any trustee who has or can have any direct or indirect duty or personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest) which conflicts or may conflict with their duties as a trustee shall disclose that fact to the trustees as soon as they become aware of it.
“A trustee must be absent from any discussions of the trustees in which it is possible that a conflict will arise between their duty to act solely in the interests of the academy trust and any duty or personal interest (including but not limited to any personal financial interest).”
What if a governor is unsure whether to declare a specific interest?
They should declare it anyway. It is always safer to err on the side of caution and the Academy Trust Handbook says that “if in doubt” the interest should be declared. This is sensible advice for maintained schools too.
A governor is never going to get into hot water for being too transparent about their interests, but they could cause real problems for the governing body if they have an interest that has not been declared.
Can the school buy from a company if a governor has declared an interest?
Yes. In both maintained schools and academies the governor with an interest must leave the room and not vote on the decision, but the remaining governors can still decide to buy goods or services from a company listed on the register of interests if they believe it would be best for the school.
The clerk should record the interest clearly in the minutes and state that the governor withdrew from the room during the discussion.
This is the advice given by my local authority for governing bodies which are considering doing business with a company included on the register of interests.
“It is possible for schools to let contracts with or make purchases from businesses listed on the register of interests provided they represent the best possible value for money for the school.
“However, in these circumstances, the governing body should ensure that:
– the usual rules should apply to the letting of high value contracts, eg: at least three quotes should be obtained for purchases over £10,000
– governors or the headteacher should not be involved in opening or evaluation of tenders or letting of contracts for which a business in which they have an interest has tendered
– if a purchase is made from a business included on the register the usual safeguards should be obtained to ensure that the goods and services will be of the required quality, eg: guarantees, insurance, maintenance agreements.”
Southampton City Council Guidance on Declarations of Interest
In academies, buying goods or services from someone close to the governor is known as a “related-party transaction” and has got a number of academies into serious hot water in the past because members or directors/trustees were paying out public money to companies connected to close relatives.
Because of this, any related-party transaction must now be reported to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) before it is agreed with the supplier. Any transactions over £20,000 must also be approved in advance by the ESFA; detailed advice is available here.
Business Interests Declaration Template
An editable business interests template is available on my templates and letters page. This form is sometimes called the ROBI, for Register of Business Interests. Governors with no business interests should write “None” or “Nil” in the first column and date and sign their entry.
There should also be an item at the start of every meeting agenda where governors are asked to declare any interests in the subjects under discussion that day. They will be asked to leave the room when that item is reached.
What happens if a governor does not complete the declaration?
All schools must keep a register of interests and publish it online. If a governor refuses to complete the register there is a danger that they may have a conflict of interest that will compromise the integrity of the board.
The board should make this clear to the governor. If they still refuse to complete the declaration the board should consider suspending or removing the governor. Failing to declare interests would also be a breach of your code of conduct (if you have one).
Both maintained schools and academies must publish basic information about their governors on the school website, including names, terms of office and business interests. The full list of information related to governance that you must publish is below.
Both sets of guidance state that the information should be in a “readily accessible” form, which the DfE define as being on a web page without needing to download or open a separate document. As modern browsers can open pdf files within the browser I’m not sure you need to worry about this guideline.
What diversity information should be published online?
I’ve written a separate post on the DfE recommendation that governor diversity data is published online.
Must we publish contact details for the chair of governors?
There is no duty to publish contact details for the chair on your website, but their full name must be online. If you choose not to list an email address or phone number for the chair it should be clear they can be contacted via the school’s office or the clerk to governors.
What Maintained Schools Must Publish Online
All items in the list below must be published on the website of a maintained school. The quotes are from the statutory guidance to the 2012 constitution regulations.
“The structure and remit of the governing body and any committees, and the full names of the chair of each.”
The “structure” refers to how your governing body is organised and what powers have been delegated. For example, you might have one finance committee and one standards committee. Say which governors are members of which committees and publish any terms of reference for your committees.
(Note that the DfE guide to What Maintained Schools Must Publish Online refers to the “structure and responsibilities” of the board rather than the structure and remit, but the meaning is the same.)
Here is an example of a short statement you could use on the responsibilities of the governing body:
“The governing body of [school] is responsible for setting the ethos and vision of the school, identifying areas where the school needs to improve and planning how to make those improvements. It makes sure that the educational performance of pupils is strong and that the budget is used properly and effectively.”
“For each governor who has served at any point over the past 12 months: their full names, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable), who appointed them (in accordance with the governing body’s instrument of government).”
The date of appointment is the day they were voted onto the board or the final day that votes could be cast in a staff or parent governor election.
The answer to who appointed them is usually the board itself or fellow parents/staff in elections for parent or staff governors, but some schools such as foundation schools will have other appointing bodies listed in their instrument of government.
“For each governor who has served at any point over the past 12 months: relevant business and pecuniary interests (as recorded in the register of interests) including governance roles in other educational institutions [and] any material interests arising from relationships between governors or relationships between governors and school staff (including spouses, partners and close relatives).”
This register should include any instances where someone could benefit from their role, eg: owning a playground equipment company that might sell to the school or working for a teaching agency. A separate article covers business interests in more detail.
It is quite common for governors to have relatives who work for the school. Parent governors in particular may have partners or family members who work part-time hours. All personal links must be declared to avoid any conflicts of interest.
Note that you must also disclose if you are a governor at another school or college.
“For each governor who has served at any point over the past 12 months: their attendance record at governing body and committee meetings over the last academic year.” These records may be embarrassing for some governors as they show clearly who has been turning up and who has not!
“Governing bodies should also publish this information for associate members, making clear whether they have voting rights on any of the committees to which they have been appointed.“ Associate members in maintained schools cannot vote at full governing body meetings but can be given voting rights on committees. For associate members schools must publish all of the items listed in the bullet points above, plus details of their voting rights.
Note that the DfE guide to What Maintained Schools Must Publish Online confusingly omits the rule that details must be published for all governors and associate members who have served at any point in the last 12 months. However, maintained schools must still publish this information because it is required by statutory guidance.
What Academies Must Publish Online
Rules for academies are very similar but come from the Academy Trust Handbook, quoted below.
“The trust must provide details of its governance arrangements in the governance statement published with its annual accounts, including what the board has delegated to committees and, in trusts with multiple academies, to local governing bodies.
“The trust must also publish on its website up-to-date details of its governance arrangements in a readily accessible format, including:
– the structure and remit of the trust’s members, board of trustees, committees and local governing bodies (the trust’s scheme of delegation for governance functions), and the full names of the chair of each
– for each of the trust’s members serving at any point over the past 12 months, their full names, date of appointment, date they stepped down (where applicable), and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions
– for each trustee and local governor serving at any point over the past 12 months, their full names, date of appointment, term of office, date they stepped down (where applicable), who appointed them, and relevant business and pecuniary interests including governance roles in other educational institutions. If the accounting officer is not a trustee their business and pecuniary interests must still be published
– for each trustee, their attendance records at board and committee meetings over the last academic year
– for each local governor, their attendance records at local governing body meetings over the last academic year.”
In academies there is a minor difference between what must be shown online and what must be included in your register of interests. The Academy Trust Handbook states that the register must include the interests of “members, trustees, local governors and senior employees“. However, the accounting officer is the only employee who must have their interests published online.
“Trusts must publish on their websites relevant business and pecuniary interests of members, trustees, local governors and accounting officers. Trusts have discretion over the publication of interests of other individuals named on the register.”
Yes, the governing body of any school or academy has the power to sack the headteacher.
For maintained schools the legal right to fire the headteacher comes from the School Staffing Regulations 2009.
“The governing body or the headteacher may suspend any person employed or engaged otherwise than under a contract of employment to work at the school where, in the opinion of the governing body or (as the case may be) the headteacher, such suspension is required.
“Where the governing body determines that any person employed or engaged by the authority to work at the school should cease to work there, it must notify the authority in writing of its determination and the reasons for it.”
Regulations say that the governing body can delegate the power to sack the headteacher to a panel of one or more governors (although not including, of course, the headteacher themselves).
“Any delegation of—
(a) the determination that the headteacher should cease to work at the school; or
(b) the power to appoint or dismiss the headteacher
may be to one or more governors, other than a governor who is the headteacher.”
The DfE provides a model teacher appraisal and capability policy which covers all teachers, including the headteacher, setting out the steps which could lead to a headteacher being fired.
“If a teacher demonstrates serious underperformance, and has not responded to support provided within the appraisal process, the teacher will be notified in writing that the appraisal system will no longer apply and that their performance will be managed under the capability procedure, and will be invited to a formal capability meeting. “
The model policy states that the formal capability meeting is conducted by the chair of governors and allows the headteacher to respond to the concerns raised. It may be the end of the process if concerns are adequately addressed but if not a timetable can be set for improvement or a formal warning issued.
The next step is a formal review meeting which could lead to a final written warning. The final step is a decision meeting where the headteacher can be dismissed or a recommendation given to the governing body that s(he) is dismissed. Employees have the right to appeal this decision and the appeal should be heard by governors who have not been previously involved in the process.
The government explain the legal reasons why employees can be dismissed in their guide to your rights in dismissals. Reasons governors could cite are listed below.
Misconduct – not carrying out the job properly, for example failing to develop good working relationships with staff and governors or issues such as poor timekeeping.
Gross misconduct would be serious issues such as stealing from the school, violence or discriminating against a certain group of people. In cases of misconduct you must be given a warning and a chance to improve. In cases of gross misconduct you could be summarily dismissed without warning.
Illness – in cases of long-term or recurring illness you must be offered support and given a reasonable period of time in which to recover before any action is taken against you.
Redundancy – this would not apply to headteachers.
Breaking a statutory restriction – this is only used when to continue to employ someone would cause a breach of the law. For example, if your right to work in the UK is expiring.
It is impossible to continue your employment – for example, the school is closing down and all staff are being let go.
Some other substantial reason – this is an umbrella category for issues such as refusing to accept a reasonable change to your terms and conditions, a major conflict of interest or a personality clash that is causing serious harm to the school.
Can a headteacher sack the chair of governors?
No. Neither the headteacher nor any other individual governor has the power to remove the chair of governors. However, the governing body as a whole can vote to remove their chair if they wish.
Can OFSTED sack the headteacher?
No. OFSTED has no power to fire a headteacher and they do not instruct governing bodies to do so either. However, a very poor OFSTED report may make a head feel they have no option but to resign. It can also mean that governors lose confidence in the headteacher and decide to take action.
The Department for Education’s Guide to the Law for School Governors was replaced by the Governance Handbook, which was itself replaced by two separate Governance Guides in 2024.
There is one Governance Guide for maintained schools and one Governance Guide for academies.
The very last version of the Guide to the Law was published in May 2012 and can be read on the National Archives website.
It is worth a read as a great deal of information was cut to shorten the Governance Handbook and Governance Guides and some useful bits of guidance were removed, but bear in mind that some of the legislation has changed in the years since it was published.
