This page provides revised, consolidated versions of the three main sets of School Governance Regulations, incorporating all amendments made since the original laws came into force.
The School Governance Regulations for maintained schools are only made available on www.legislation.gov.uk in their original form, which means that the text does not show the changes made by amendments from the following years.
This can cause confusion, particularly for new clerks who might for example wonder why governors do not need DBS checks in the original 2012 Constitution Regulations. The DBS requirement was added as an amendment in 2016, but unfortunately the text of the 2012 original law has not been updated to make this clear.
This page provides the most up-to-date version of the Constitution Regulations 2012, the Roles, Procedures and Allowances Regulations 2013 and the Federations Regulations 2012. Amendments are colour-coded in the downloadable files so you can see when they were introduced.
Revised Constitution Regulations 2012
This is a revised copy of The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012. It incorporates the amendments published in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Download revised copy of The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 (.docx Word file)
Download revised copy of The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 (.pdf)
List of Amendments in the Revised Copy of the Constitution Regulations 2012
Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 are in RED
The 2014 amendment:
- revoked the Constitution Regulations 2007
- added a requirement that LA, foundation, appointed parent and partnership governors must have the skills to contribute to effective governance and the success of the school
- changed the procedure for removing surplus governors from “first in, last out” to a process based on skills
- added one disqualification criteria so governors and associate members are now disqualified if they are on the section 128 list.
Amendments from The School Governance (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2015 are in BLUE
The 2015 amendment:
- allowed boards to set terms of office of between one and four years for any individual governor within a category
- stated that the instrument of government must show if a term of office for a governor of a particular category can be chosen by whoever appoints them.
Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 are in BROWN
The 2016 amendment made it mandatory to apply for an enhanced criminal record check for any governor who did not already hold one within 21 days of their election or appointment.
Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 are in PURPLE
The 2017 amendment:
- removed a requirement that you should round numbers up or down to a whole number when calculating how many foundation or partnership governors you need
- allowed boards to remove elected parent or staff governors
- stated that an elected parent or staff governor who is removed is disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor for five years
- removed a requirement that a person must notify the clerk if they are disqualified under any of the criteria in the regulations (although this requirement still exists in statutory guidance to the 2012 constitution regulations).
Revised Roles, Procedures and Allowances Regulations 2013
This is a revised copy of The School Governances (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013. It incorporates the amendments published in 2013 and 2014.
Download revised copy of The School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013 (.docx Word file)
List of Amendments in the Revised Copy of the Roles, Procedures and Allowances 2013 Regulations
Amendments from The School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 are in GREEN
The 2013 amendment:
- added a requirement that reports and other papers must be sent out with the agenda seven clear days in advance of full governing body and committee meetings (unless the chair determines there are urgent matters to address)
- allowed virtual attendance at committee meetings by phone, video link or other methods.
Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 are in RED
The 2014 amendment stated that a decision to remove surplus governors must be specified as an item of business on the agenda.
Revised Federations Regulations 2012
This is a revised copy of the The School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012. It incorporates the amendments from 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
(Note: The Federations Regulations 2012 only apply to federated schools, where one governing body oversees two or more schools. Single schools follow the Constitution Regulations 2012 instead.)
Download revised copy of The School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012 (.docx Word file)
Download revised copy of The School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012 (pdf)
List of Amendments in the Revised Copy of the Federations Regulations 2012
Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 are in RED
The 2014 amendment:
- revoked the Federations Regulations 2007
- stated that local authority, foundation, appointed parent and partnership governors must be appointed for their skills
- amended the rule on co-opted governors who are school employees, which used to say they must not exceed one third of the board (and now says co-opted school employees plus headteachers plus the staff governor must not exceed one third of the board)
- changed the procedure for removing surplus governors.
Amendments from The School Governance (Federations) (England)
(Amendment) Regulations 2015 are in BLUE
The 2015 amendment said numbers must be rounded up in academy orders decisions.
Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 are in BROWN
The 2016 amendment requires federations to have only two parent governors (from any federated school), rather than one parent governor from each school in the federation. It also made minor amendments to the list of preferred candidates when appointing parent governors.
Amendments from The School Governance (Constitution and Federations)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 are in PURPLE
The 2017 law amended the rules on applying for an academy order.