Constitution of the School Governing Body

Constitution of Governing Body

Constitution of Governing Bodies

The Education School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/348) set out the arrangements for the constitution of governing bodies of maintained schools, including maintained nursery schools, in England.


The instrument of government of a school must specify the size of the membership of the governing body, which must be no fewer than 9 or more than 20 governors, which must not include any sponsor or additional foundation governors.


In calculating the number of governors required in each category in accordance with regulations 13 to 16 the number must be rounded up or down to the nearest whole number.


In calculating the number of staff governors required, the headteacher must be included whether or not he has resigned his governorship.

Community schools, maintained nursery schools and community special schools

The governing body of a community school, a maintained nursery school or a community special school must comprise the following:
(a) one third or more must be parent governors;
(b) at least two but no more than one third must be staff governors;
(c) one fifth must be LA governors; and
(d) one fifth or more must be community governors.
The governing body may in addition appoint up to two sponsor governors.

Foundation schools and foundation special schools

The governing body of a foundation school or a foundation special school must comprise the following:
(a) one third or more must be parent governors;
(b) at least two but no more than one third must be staff governors;
(c) at least one but no more than one fifth must be LA governors;
(d) one tenth or more must be community governors; and
(e) at least two but no more than one quarter must be foundation governors or, where the school does not have a foundation, partnership governors.
The governing body may in addition appoint up to two sponsor governors.

Voluntary controlled schools

The governing body of a voluntary controlled school must comprise the following:
(a) one third or more must be parent governors;
(b) at least two but no more than one third must be staff governors;
(c) at least one but no more than one fifth must be LA governors;
(d) one tenth or more must be community governors; and
(e) at least two but no more than one quarter must be foundation governors.
The governing body may in addition appoint up to two sponsor governors.

Voluntary aided schools

The governing body of a voluntary aided school must comprise the following:
(a) at least one but no more than one tenth must be LA governors;
(b) at least two but no more than one third must be staff governors;
(c) at least one must be a parent governor;
(d) such number of foundation governors as out number all the other governors listed in sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) by two; and
(e) such number of foundation governors appointed in accordance with regulation 8(2) as, when they are counted with the parent governors, comprise one third or more of the total membership of the governing body.
In addition –
(a) the governing body may appoint up to two sponsor governors; and
(b) the person who is entitled to appoint foundation governors may appoint such number of additional foundation governors (up to two) as are required to preserve their majority.

Academy governing bodies

The governing body is appointed by the academy trust. The process for governor elections is set out in the articles of association and agreed between the academy trust and the Secretary of State.

Membership of the governing body should include at least two parent governors and the principal, but academies are free to choose whether to have for example a local authority governor, staff governor or co-opted governor. If there is a sponsor then they usually appoint the majority of governors and for predecessor voluntary and foundation schools converting to academy status, the foundation or trust may appoint the majority of governors.

The Instrument of Government (IoG)

The Instrument of Government (IoG) is the document that records the name of the school and the constitution of its governing body. A model Instrument of Government can be found at annex B of the relevant version of the statutory guidance on the school governance constitution regulations. This can be adapted to suit individual circumstances. The governing body drafts the instrument and submits it to its local authority (LA). The LA must check if the draft instrument complies with statutory requirements, including the relevant guiding principles for the constitution of governing bodies. If the instrument complies, the LA will make the instrument. The governing body and LA can review and change the instrument at any time.

In voluntary-controlled, voluntary-aided and foundation schools, before the governing body submits the draft instrument to its LA it has to be approved by the foundation governors, any trustees and the appropriate religious body. For foundation special schools, the instrument should also record the name of the body that has the right to nominate a person for appointment as a community governor.

Roles and actions

Under the Education School Governance (Constitution)(England) Regulations 2003, governing bodies had until 31 August 2006 to reconstitute and therefore draw up a new instrument of government. It is possible that during the process of reconstitution, there will be more governors on the governing body than are recorded in the instrument of government. This is because governors who were serving up to September 1, 2003 are allowed to serve out their term of office even if they are no longer eligible to serve under the new Instrument of Government.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Is there any legislation or guidance on who is to approve the name of a school – should it be the governing body or the LA?

A: Responsibility for approving the name of a school falls to the governing body of the school rather than the LA. Section 20 of the Education Act 2002 stipulates that each school shall have an Instrument of Government (IoG) and that the name of the school shall be that which is described in the IoG. If the governing body wishes to change the name, it should contact the LA to amend the IoG. The Department should also be informed of any name change.

The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2007 

http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/t/the%20school%20governance%20constitution%20england%20regulations%202007.pdf

Surrey Schools are not coasting!

The Prime Minister recently delivered a speech in Norwich on Education on Friday 9th September.  The full text can be found below.


http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/pms-speech-on-education-2/


The speech was picked up by a number of papers included the London Evening Standard 


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23985284-david-cameron-schools-in-affluent-areas-are-coasting.do 


The prime minister accused some leafy suburbs schools of coasting and mentioned Surrey and Oxfordshire.


This got many head teachers, teachers and school governors in Surrey hoping mad.


The Conservative county councillor and cabinet member for Schools and Children, Peter Martin  wrote a strongly worded letter to David Cameron complaining that his facts about Surrey schools were plain wrong. I have reproduced  that letter below.


Dear Prime Minister

I was disappointed and concerned to hear your view of Surrey’s schools as expressed in your speech in Norwich last Friday.   Surrey’s schools are among the best in the country and I cannot accept your charge that they are coasting or flat-lining.  Surrey is one of the largest authorities in the country with 53 secondary and over 300 primary schools.  Ofsted rates nearly three quarters of our schools as good or outstanding – way above the national average.

Over the last five years the percentage of our students gaining 5 GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths has risen from 49% to 62%.   Surrey’s performance is seven points above the national average and five points above the average in London.   That puts Surrey 19^th in the league table of some 150 local authorities.   Four of our schools have risen by more than 20% over the last 2 years and five rose by 10% this year alone.  Nearly a quarter of our schools exceed 75%.

You mentioned in your speech the need for greater focus on the core subjects that comprise the new English Baccalaureate.   I am pleased to say that 22% of all Surrey students achieved that new benchmark measurement last year, with our top performing school registering 64%.  I note that Walworth and Burlington Danes Schools, to which you referred in your speech, registered 2% and 4% respectively.   We have strength in depth.

Surrey offers a curriculum which is broad and balanced allowing a full range of opportunity both academic and vocational.   Our schools are also inclusive as evidenced by a very low exclusion rate.

School improvement is a high priority in Surrey.  We have five of the newly announced Teaching Schools in Surrey and among our headteacher community we have 30 Local Leaders of Education and 5 National Leaders of Education engaged in raising standards with schools other than their own. 

We are intensely proud of our track record in education, though in no way complacent.   Our greatest challenge at present is an increased demand for school places arising from both a 20% increase in the birth rate and because people keep moving in to Surrey to gain access to our outstanding schools.   We have therefore embarked on the biggest school building programme in the history of the county.

 

I would be delighted to welcome you to the county to come and see for yourself the quality and success of our schools.

Yours sincerely

Peter Martin

Cabinet Member for Children and Learning

The full text of the letter can also be found on Surrey's Website


http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspublications.nsf/docidLookupFileResourcesByUNID/docid7E8948E1EB050B8C8025790C005A1A16?openDocument