Anyone who is invited by the governing body can attend school governors’ meetings. Unless you are a member of the governing body you must ask if you can attend, because meetings are not open to the public by default.
Attending In Maintained Schools
For maintained schools the law says that only the following people have the right to attend meetings of the full governing body:
- governors
- the headteacher
- the clerk
- associate members
- any other person who is invited by the governors.
“The following persons are entitled to attend any meeting of the governing body—
(a) a governor
(b) the headteacher of the school, whether or not that person is a governor
(c) the clerk to the governing body
(d) an associate member; and
(e) such other persons as the governing body may determine.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013
If it is a committee meeting then the same attendance rules apply, except that not all governors and associate members have a legal right to attend, only the ones who are members of that particular committee.
Either the committee or the governing body as a whole can invite anyone else they wish to, however, including governors who are not committee members.
The clerk also has the right to attend committee meetings and the headteacher can attend whether or not they are a member of that committee.
Although maintained school governors have the right to exclude people from their meetings the law also requires them to be as transparent as possible.
Regulations from 2013 state that governors should “be open about the decisions they make and the actions they take and in particular shall be prepared to explain their decisions and actions to interested parties”.
Any governor or associate member who has a conflict of interest will have to leave the room during any discussion relating to that interest. Associate members do not have as many right as governors and can be asked to leave any meeting if the discussion is about a specific school employee or pupil.
“The governing body may exclude an associate member from any part of its meeting which the associate member is otherwise entitled to attend when the business under consideration concerns an individual member of staff or pupil.”
Roles, Procedures and Allowances (England) Regulations 2013
Attending In Academies
Just as in maintained schools, governance meetings in academies are not automatically open to the public.
For trustee meetings the model articles of association (June 2021) do not state who has the right to attend. The board of trustees is the board that is equivalent to the board of governors in maintained schools.
The articles do say that “Subject to these articles, the trustees may regulate their proceedings as they think fit”, so it is reasonable to assume that attendance is by invitation only unless you are a trustee. Academy members may occasionally attend meetings of trustees.
For meetings of local governors in a multi-academy trust the local governors themselves or any person appointed to the local governing body can attend. Trustees may sometimes attend. Others attend by invitation.
For meetings of academy members, called general meetings or annual general meetings (AGMs), all members can attend of course and the model articles also specify that all trustees are allowed to attend and speak. Local governors may be invited and if they wish the academy trust could invite parents or local residents.
“A trustee shall, notwithstanding that they are not a member, be entitled to attend and speak at any general meeting or annual general meeting.”
Model Articles of Association (June 2021)
Can governor candidates attend meetings?
Yes, possible volunteers can be invited to attend a meeting to observe and see what the role entails.
Statutory guidance for maintained schools recommends that boards make “every effort” to help candidates understand the role, including inviting them to attend a meeting before they have been elected or appointed.
“Governing bodies should make every effort to help all prospective governors understand clearly the role of a governor.
“For example, before they are nominated for appointment or election prospective governors may be invited to observe a governing body meeting and to meet the chair and other governors and the headteacher.”
The Constitution of Governing Bodies of Maintained Schools: Statutory Guidance
If you do invite someone who is not on the board to attend you will need to consider beforehand whether any items will be confidential; these can be left to the end of the meeting, when the guest will be (politely!) asked to leave. The board can also use this time to vote on the appointment.
Can parents attend governor meetings?
Parents can attend if they are invited, but it is wise to read through the minutes of previous meetings first – all schools and academies must make minutes available – to get a feel for the subjects discussed.
You may be surprised to discover how rarely governors talk about individual children and how much of the meeting is about budgets, policies, facts and figures. If you are a parent concerned about your child’s progress, coming to a governors’ meeting is unlikely to help you.
You should also bear in mind that if you have a complaint about the school you must go through the complaints policy first. Many complaints will not be in the governors’ remit and will be dealt with by school staff.