When governors cannot attend a meeting they should send their apologies in advance. This lets the clerk calculate whether the meeting will be quorate. However, apologies do not automatically have to be accepted by the board.
Apologies matter because the law for maintained schools and model articles for academies state that governors or trustees who miss six months of meetings without the permission of the governing body are disqualified.
If the governing body wishes to withhold permission to miss a meeting they can refuse to accept the apologies of a particular governor.
Rules for disqualification of academy committee members, including local governing bodies, will be set by your own academy trust.
“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.”
Constitution (England) Regulations 2012
“A trustee shall cease to hold office if they are absent without the permission of the trustees from all their meetings held within a period of six months and the trustees resolve that the trustee’s office be vacated.”
Model Articles of Association (June 2021)
Neither the law nor the model articles say how apologies should be recorded. However, older law for maintained schools from 1999 (now revoked) says that clerks should record whether consent was given or not and this is still good practice.
“Where a governor has sent an apology to the clerk to the governing body before a meeting which he does not propose to attend, the minutes of the meeting shall record the governing body’s consent or otherwise to his absence.”
Education School Government (England) 1999
Clerks can record whether consent was given by writing “Apologies received from John Smith were not accepted” or by having separate lists of governor names, one list for the people present at the meeting and one for those who sent apologies. If apologies were sent but not accepted the clerk can write (apologies refused) beside the governor’s name.
If a governor misses one or two meetings and forgets to send apologies the clerk can just remind them to do so next time, both as a courtesy but also to avoid everyone traipsing into school only to find that you don’t have enough governors to form a quorum.
If a governor regularly misses meetings with no apology an agenda item could remind everyone of the need for apologies or governors may wish to discuss whether they wish to stop giving consent for the absences. A separate article looks at what to do if a governor is not attending meetings.
Should we record apologies if a guest cannot attend?
There is no need to record apologies for invited guests or observers. A staff member such as the deputy head may have a standing invitation to attend meetings but they have no governing responsibilities and their absence does not affect the quorum.
If someone has been invited to one meeting only and cannot attend the clerk can mention this in the minutes, but don’t include them in the “apologies” section. It should be clear from the apologies how many governors attended and how many sent apologies so you can see if the meeting was quorate at a glance.
Can apologies be accepted after a meeting?
Yes, in my view. I’ve seen guidance from local authorities that insists apologies can only be accepted if they are received before the meeting takes place, but this is not based on the law or current model articles (June 2021) which set no rules at all on how to deal with the specifics of apologies.
Old law from 1999 did refer to apologies being sent “before a meeting” but this law no longer applies. Neither the current law nor the current model articles include the word “apologies” at all.
The only rules outlined in the current law and model articles relate to whether governors give their consent for the absence. It seems harsh to refuse consent for every single apology sent retrospectively, even if Miss Jones has been run over by a truck on the way to a meeting and emails an apology a week later.
It’s also the case that a governor could have a family crisis or other urgent problem and simply forget to send apologies at all, but the board can still give their consent for the absence even if a fraught governor has failed to send an apology.
A board may also wish to give consent for a sustained period of absence for maternity leave for example, without demanding that the governor provide apologies for each meeting missed, particularly if they are not sure when they will be able to return.
In practice boards should not be spending valuable time arguing about the specifics of apologies as the only situation where it becomes relevant is when a governor is regularly absent and the board wishes to consider disqualification.