School Governance Self Review Tool: Policies and Procedures

Policies and Procedures

1 Do you have all the legally required policies and procedures? (See list below)

2 Do you have all the appropriate policies and procedures to help the school achieve its goals and vision?

3 Do you have a proactive review regime to keep your policies and procedures up to date and to ensure their effectiveness?


All policies should be reviewed regularly (at least annually for those legally required) and could be included in a managed review cycle, spreading the review load across the Governing Body membership over an appropriate period.

The following documents are legally required:

• Accessibility Plan
• Admissions Policy
• Allegation of Abuse Against Staff Policy
• Attendance Targets (not nursery)
• Central Record of Recruitment and Vetting Checks (Single Staffing Record)
• Central record of recruitment and vetting checks
• Charging Policy
• Child Protection Policy
• Collective Worship Policy (not nursery)
• Community Cohesion Policy
• Complaints Procedures
• Curriculum Policy
• Disability Equality Policy
• Designated Teachers (for LAC)
• EYFS Policy
• Exclusions of Pupils Policy
• Freedom of Information Publication Scheme
• Gender Equality Policy (can be a join policy with Race)
• Governors’ Allowances (scheme for paying – if school has agreed to pay expenses)
• Governors Annual Report to Parents (only maintained Nurseries)
• Health and Safety Policy
• Home/School Agreements (not nursery)
• Instrument of Governance
• Minutes and Papers of GB meetings (non confidential)
• Performance Management Policy
• Prospectus (not nursery)
• Race Equality Policy
• Register of Business Interest of Head teachers and Governors
• Register of Pupils
• Review of Staffing Structure Document
• Risk Assessments
• School companies (all schools where a company is established)
• School Discipline and Pupil Behaviour Policy
• Sex Education Policy (not nursery)
• Special Educational Needs Policy
• Staff Discipline, Conduct and Grievance (procedures)
• Target Setting (not nursery)
• Teachers’ Pay Policy


Each question in the Self-Review Tool should be answered using a simple traffic light status indication by writing in the status column one of three letters:

G – green We fully meet the requirements in this area

A – Amber We partially meet requirement – see notes for outline action plan

R – red We do not meet significant elements in this area – see notes for outline action plan


The full Self Review Tool from Ealing

http://www.egfl.org.uk/categories/governance/support/selfreview.html