Interim Executive Boards (IEB)

Interim Executive Boards An Interim Executive Board (IEB) is a small body appointed on a short-term basis by a local authority to turn around a school that is judged to be in urgent need of improvement. An IEB replaces the governing body of a school that has either been placed in special measures or given notice to improve by Ofsted, or that has not complied with a warning notice from its local authority (LA).

The IEB's main functions are to secure a sound basis for future improvement in the school and promote high standards of educational achievement.

Once a decision has been taken for the LA to put in place an IEB at a school, it issues a notice which provides that from a date specified, the governing body is to consist of interim executive members.  This notice may also specify the date when the IEB is to become a normally constituted governing body, or this may be specified in a later notice. The transition from an IEB to a post-IEB governance structure begins with the appointment of a shadow governing body by the local authority which works alongside the IEB for at least six months.

The School Governance (Transition from an Interim Executive Board) (England) Regulations 2010 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1918/contents/made Where a school is eligible for intervention there are a number of powers the local authority or the Secretary of State may use to drive school improvement. These interventions are set out in sections 63-66 of the 2006 Act in respect of local authorities and sections 67 to 69 in respect of the Secretary of State. Local authorities must give reasonable notice in writing to the governing body that they propose to exercise their powers under any one or more of sections 63 to 66. Local authority powers of intervention To require the governing body to enter into arrangements. Section 63 enables a local authority to require a school which is eligible for intervention1 to enter into arrangements with a view to improving the performance of the school. The local authority may give the governing body a notice requiring them: to enter into a contract or other arrangement for specified services of an advisory nature with a specified person (who may be the governing body of another school) to make arrangements to collaborate with the governing body of another school to make arrangements to collaborate with a further education body or to take specified steps for the purpose of creating or joining a federation. Timeframe Where the school is eligible for intervention as a result of being given a performance standards and safety warning notice, this power must be exercised within a period of two months following the end of the compliance period. If the local authority fails to exercise this power within this time, it can no longer be exercised and a new warning notice must be given in order to do so. Consultation Before the local authority can exercise this intervention power they must consult: the governing body of the school in the case of a Church of England school or a Roman Catholic Church school, the appropriate diocesan authority and in the case of any other foundation or voluntary school, the person or persons by whom the foundation governors are appointed. 1 Except where a maintained school is eligible for intervention under section 60A of the 2006 Act The appointment of additional governors Section 64 enables a local authority to appoint additional governors where a school is eligible for intervention. The local authority is likely to appoint additional governors when they would like a school to be provided with additional expertise and may appoint as many additional governors as they think fit. In the case of a voluntary aided school where the local authority have exercised the power to appoint additional governors, the appropriate appointing authority in relation to that school may appoint an equal number of governors to those appointed by the local authority. Timeframe Where the school is eligible for intervention as a result of being given a performance standards and safety warning notice, this power must be exercised within a period of two months following the end of the compliance period. If the local authority fails to exercise this power within this time, a new warning notice must be given in order to do so. Where the local authority appoints additional governors there is no requirement to consult.