Basic rules for conducting parent governor elections in maintained schools are set out by law, with local authorities (LAs) offering further guidance. Academy election processes are set by each academy trust.
This page explains the law for maintained schools and suggests a procedure for holding elections based on common recommendations from local authorities.
Maintained schools must follow the legal rules and should follow the LA guidance as good practice. Academies must follow the rules set by their own trust but may wish to follow the processes explained here as good practice.
Parent Governor Election Pack
I strongly recommend asking your LA whether they produce guidance on parent governor elections, because if a parent complains you can show you followed your own LA’s guidance.
However, if your own LA doesn’t provide guidance this pack from Southampton LA is aimed at maintained schools and contains a vacancy letter, nomination form, ballot paper, “thank you for applying” letter and an election results letter.
Download parent governor election pack (.doc file)
The Law On Parent Governor Elections
Schedule 1 of the Constitution Regulations 2012 sets out the basic rules for holding parent governor elections in maintained schools.
Who organises the election?
The responsibility for organising the election lies with either the LA or the governing body, depending on the type of school.
However, in practice both the LA and the governing body usually delegate responsibility for organising the election to the headteacher, who will ask the clerk and/or office staff to arrange it.
“The appropriate authority must make all the necessary arrangements for the election of parent governors.
““Appropriate authority” means—
(a) in relation to a community school, a community special school, a maintained nursery school or a voluntary controlled school, the local authority; and
(b) in relation to a voluntary aided school, foundation school or foundation special school, the governing body.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
What happens if there is only one candidate?
You only need to hold a vote if there are more candidates than vacancies. If for example there are two candidates and two vacancies, both candidates are elected unopposed.
If you have more candidates than vacancies, for example two volunteers for one vacancy, you need to hold a vote.
“Any election which is contested must be held by ballot.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
Can parents vote online?
Yes, as long as it is permitted by your “appropriate authority”. I have written a complete, step-by-step guide to holding online governor elections.
The law says schools may offer an opportunity to vote by “electronic means”. However this cannot be the only form of voting offered so a completely online or virtual vote is not permitted; postal votes must still be available.
A vote by “post” can include delivery by hand; for example, a parent dropping off a vote in reception or voting by pupil post.
“The arrangements must provide for every person who is entitled to vote to have an opportunity to do so by post. “Post” includes delivery by hand.
“The arrangements may provide for every person who is entitled to vote to have an opportunity to do so by electronic means.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
Can we advertise the vacancy on our website?
You need to tell all parents they can stand for election and vote. The law says you must take steps that are “reasonably practicable” to make sure all parents are aware of the election.
Mentioning the vacancy on your website alone would not meet this standard, but sending out letters plus a notice on your website probably would.
“Where a vacancy for a parent governor arises, the appropriate authority must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that every person who is known to them to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school, and where the school is a maintained nursery school, a parent of a child for whom educational or other provision is made on the premises of the school is—
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
(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
(c) given the opportunity to do so.”
Who qualifies as a parent?
The law defines a parent as not just those with legal parental responsibility but also anyone who cares for a child. We’ll look at this more below.
““Parent” includes any individual who has or has had parental responsibility for, or cares or has cared for, a child or young person under the age of 19.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
Guidance On Parent Governor Elections
As you can see the law sets some basic rules but does not provide a guide to the election process itself.
Therefore this section looks at the more specific advice found in statutory guidance to the constitution regulations and the most common advice given by local authorities.
Who can stand for election? Who can vote?
The law quoted above defines a parent as anyone who has or has had parental responsibility plus anyone who cares or who has cared for a child, not just people who have legal parental responsibility.
My LA explains that generally anyone who has day-to-day responsibility for a child qualifies to stand for election and vote.
It’s not relevant whether parents are married or not, whether they live separately or not or whether someone is a step-parent, grandparent or foster parent. It’s not relevant whether someone is the biological or “natural” parent or not.
As long as someone cares for the child on a day-to-day basis and that child is registered at the school when the election is held they can participate. This is covered further in the article who can be a parent governor.
Do parents have one vote per family?
No! I’ve heard this myth a few times, but the law is clear. Every person who is a registered parent has a vote, not every family that has one or more parents within it.
The rule is one vote per parent per vacancy. So every parent can vote once for each vacancy that is open.
For example, if Bob and Sally have a child at your school and you have one parent governor vacancy, Bob can vote for one candidate and Sally can vote for one candidate.
If you have three parent governor vacancies then Bob can vote for three candidates and Sally can vote for three candidates.
What are the timescales for election?
Timescales are not set in stone but most LAs recommend the procedures described below.
- Send out the letter asking for nominations, explaining the governor role, explaining that all governors need DBS checks and listing the general disqualification criteria that apply to all types of governor.
You can also post a message on your website or send a text/email but make sure this is not the only method you use as it may exclude parents who do not use technology or have internet access.
You should also explain the two specific disqualifications for maintained school parent governors: you cannot be elected as a parent governor if (on the date of the election) you work at the school for more than 500 hours per year or are an elected member of the local authority. (You can vote in the election though.) - Candidates should be asked to write a short statement setting out why they are volunteering and what skills they can offer. This election statement will help other parents decide how to cast their vote.
- Set the closing date for nominations as at least six school days later (this gives parents the chance to nominate someone over a weekend). Some LAs recommend a minimum of 10 school days.
Check to see if your LA recommends delaying the election if a school holiday is coming up. For example, my LA recommends that if a vacancy arises near the end of the summer term the election should be delayed until the beginning of the autumn term. - If there are fewer candidates than vacancies there is no need to hold a ballot as the candidate(s) is elected unopposed.
- If the election is contested send out the ballot form as soon as possible with a deadline of at least six school days (some LAs recommend 10 school days) for votes to be received. Any late ballots are invalid.
- Include two envelopes with every ballot; this is called the “double envelope” system. The voter seals their ballot in one unmarked envelope and then seals that envelope in the second envelope, writing their name and “Parent governor election” on the outside envelope.
This lets the school check that the person is entitled to vote, remove the outside envelope and leave the ballot paper anonymous. - When voting the rule is one vote per parent per vacancy. (The rule is not one vote per family per vacancy.)
- Candidates have the right to attend the count. (I assume this rule comes from regulations that cover elections to public office as it does not appear in governor law.) The headteacher or clerk can act as the returning officer and count the votes.
What should we write in the letter to parents?
Statutory guidance explains what schools should write in the letter asking for volunteers. This includes information on the role of the governing body, the expectations you have in terms of how many meetings you hold and the time commitment, plus the skills that may be useful as a governor.
“The best governing bodies set out clearly in published recruitment literature:
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools: Statutory Guidance
• the core functions of the governing body and the role of a governor, and the induction and other training and development that will be available to new governors to help them fulfil it;
• the expectations they have of governors for example in relation to the term of office, the frequency of meetings, membership of committees and the willingness to undertake appropriate training and development; and
• any specific skills or experience that would be desirable in a new governor, such as the willingness to learn or skills that would help the governing body improve its effectiveness and address any specific challenges it may be facing.”
Be careful when writing the letter that you do not imply there are any qualifications or experience needed to be eligible. All parents are eligible if they meet the basic standards that apply to all governors; for example, that they have not been banned from working with children.
Your school may wish to find someone with financial skills or a background in education and you are free to mention this, but you cannot create any eligibility criteria just because you would prefer someone with certain expertise. This is explained in statutory guidance.
“The purpose of governing bodies providing and publishing information about the role of a governor and the skills they ideally require is not to create additional eligibility criteria for potential candidates – which they do not have the power to do.
“It is for the electorate to elect their choice of candidate(s). The purpose of publishing the information is to simply inform the electorate of the governing bodies’ expectations, circumstances and ideal requirements.”
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools: Statutory Guidance
Can candidates nominate themselves?
Yes, candidates can self-nominate.
Do candidates need to be proposed and seconded?
No, although I have seen guidance from some LAs that requires one parent to “propose” someone as a candidate and a different parent to “second” that proposal.
If your LA or trust requires this I would challenge them to explain why they think it is a reasonable requirement and the effect it might have on volunteers.
For example, if Bob’s children joined your school last week because he moved to the area he may not be able to find two parents to sign a form supporting his candidature as they’ve literally only just met him. However, he still has the right to stand for election and could well be an excellent candidate.
(You could argue that if he’s brand new to the area he will never get elected, but in many schools he would be the only candidate and would therefore be elected unopposed.)
Can candidates vote for themselves?
Yes, although this is rather a moot point as each candidate would presumably vote for themselves and the votes would cancel each other out.
Can a parent vote for their own husband, wife or partner?
Yes – a parent can vote for any candidate. Ballot papers should be anonymous so you would not be able to identify who a particular parent voted for even if you wanted to!
Can a current parent governor vote?
Yes. A current parent governor or trustee has the same right to vote as any other parent. It’s not a conflict of interest because the conflict of interest rules only apply to votes held at governing body meetings.
Can the governing body reject an elected parent governor they think is unsuitable?
In a maintained school the governing body does not have the power to reject an elected parent governor.
The most they can do is ask for specific skills they are looking for when advertising the vacancy, but if a parent does not have these skills they are still eligible to stand for election.
If the board believes an elected parent is totally unsuitable it is possible to remove elected parent governors in maintained schools, but the DfE advise in statutory guidance that elected governors should only be removed in “exceptional circumstances”.
“Governing bodies are expected only to exercise the power to remove an elected governor in exceptional circumstances where the actions or behaviour of the elected governor warrants removal rather than suspension.”
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools
In academies the trustees or members do not usually have the power to stop someone from being elected as a parent trustee.
The only exception to this that I am aware of is that a Catholic academy trust may have the power to “appoint the elected candidate at their discretion” as this power is contained in model articles for Catholic trusts.
If an elected parent trustee is considered totally unsuitable once they have joined the board the academy members do have the power to remove them.
I have seen terms of reference for local governors in multi-academy trusts that give the trust some degree of power to reject elected local parent governor candidates.
To my knowledge this is not a common practice, but check your own terms of reference for local governing bodies to make sure you are aware of the rules in your trust.
Parent local governors who are considered totally unsuitable once they have joined the local governing body can be removed by the board of trustees, because local governing bodies are committees of the main trust board and are always under the control of the trustees.
Can candidates canvass for votes?
Yes, there are no rules against canvassing (asking people to vote for you) or campaigning for votes. Candidates shouldn’t make unrealistic promises about what one governor can achieve but they can explain the skills and experience they can bring to the role.
Can a school employee vote if their child attends the school?
Yes. If a school employee also happens to be the parent of a child at the same school they are still eligible to vote in parent governor elections.
Can a couple both stand for election?
Yes, both halves of a couple can be candidates. So for example a husband and wife could both stand for the same vacant parent governor position, although for the sake of marital harmony they might decide not to…
How long should a parent governor statement be?
There is no set length but a statement of between 250 and 500 words would be reasonable. A shorter statement will not provide enough information and a longer one may not be read by the voters, especially if there are many different candidates.
Statutory guidance says that statements should be of “sufficient length” to include all of the information listed below. A separate article covers what you should write in a parent governor statement and includes some example statements of different lengths.
“Well run elections use secure and reliable voting systems and offer candidates the opportunity to publish a statement of sufficient length to set out:
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools: Statutory Guidance
• evidence of the extent to which they possess the skills and experience the governing body desires;
• their commitment to undertake training and development to acquire or develop the skills to be an effective governor;
• if seeking re-election, details of their contribution to the work of the governing body during their previous term of office; and
• how they plan to contribute to the future work of the governing body.”
What if the vote is tied?
Recount the votes first to check the result. If it is definitely a tie then local authorities recommend using a simple, random method like asking the candidates to toss a coin or draw lots.
Should we publish the number of votes received for each candidate?
You can do and I have seen the numbers published occasionally on school websites, but I would advise publishing only the name of the winning candidate. This will spare candidates embarrassment if they have received zero votes!
However, if anyone specifically asks to see the number of votes each candidate received I would release that information. The most likely person to ask for the numbers is a losing candidate, who should have been invited to the vote count anyway and would therefore be privy to the vote numbers.
If the request comes from someone who was not running in the election and you refuse they could submit a freedom of information request. Under the FOI rules I highly doubt that schools would be allowed to withhold the number of votes cast for each person because governors are being elected to public office.
Can we throw away ballot papers after the vote?
It’s recommended that ballot papers are kept for at least six months after the vote in case the result is challenged.