Frequently Asked Questions
There are three main roles that governors should fulfil, that is to:
- Provide a strategic view
- Act as a critical friend; and
- Ensure accountability
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In Wales we are currently following Welsh Assembly guidelines, and do not carry out checks on all school governors. However, if Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks are felt necessary, we reserve the right to complete them at our own discretion.
If checks are carried out, the nature of the offence and the relevance of the conviction will be taken into account. Strict rules apply to who is allowed to be party to information revealed in a CRB check.
In addition to the CRB checks, governors are asked to sign a declaration, which confirms they are eligible to be a school governor. Each year governors will be reminded of the requirement to declare business interests. The register of the business interests is maintained by and kept at the school and is subject to audit.
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Decisions cannot be taken at a governing body meeting unless a minimum number (quorum) of governors is present. A quorum is usually one third of the seats on the governing body, rounded up to the nearest whole number (but no less than three). For example, if there were 12 governors, then quorum would be 4. However, a larger quorum of two thirds is needed when the governing body is dealing with it’s own membership (election of chair and vice chair, removal or appointment of any member or deciding the powers and membership of committees).
A meeting must not be held if it is not quorate and it must terminate if it ceases to be quorate.
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The following committees are recommended to undertake the work of the governing body effectively:
- teaching staff appointments (inc. headteacherand deputy headteacher);
- non-teaching staff appointments;
- finance/pay review committee;
- voluntary early retirement of staff committee;
- staff discipline;
- staff discipline appeals committee;
- pupil exclusion committee;
- redundancy committee;
- performance management committee;
- curriculum and sex education working group and;
- premises committee;
Once established, committees need to be monitored on a regular basis to ensure they meet the needs of the governing body. The Education (School Government, Wales) Regulations 1999 prescribe that this should be done at least once a year.
Reviews could be undertaken at other times, when changes likely to affect the working of the committees arise (e.g. changes in legislation/recommended practices or procedures/increasing or reducing responsibilities).
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5. I find it difficult to get to my governing body meetings because they take place at teatime. Can they start at 7 o’clock instead?
The governing body meeting can take place at a time determined by the governing body. However, if your governing body has purchased a service level agreement from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, the clerk’s time will have been carefully costed and also subject to when they are available.
Membership of the governing body is also an important part of the head teacher’s role. There are strong national and local concerns about not adding to their workload. Extending the headteacher’s day (and teacher and staff governors too) may be considered by some as unreasonable.
Many governors are parents of young children and they may prefer to be at home for evening and bedtime routines.
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The answer often lies with the chair and their skills of chairing meetings.
There are some strategies for speeding up a governing body meeting, which all governors could consider:
- Be prepared for the meetings;
- Spend less time on matters arising and committee minutes (the purpose is not to re-discuss matters);
- Be more business like with questions and observations;
- Discuss governance issues and not management issues. Some matters are best left to committees on working parties;
- There is no place for any other business (AOB); all items to be discussed must appear on the agenda.
- Do not discuss issues where the governing body has no locus e.g. matters where the governing body do not have the facts, expertise, information regarding legal requirements etc;
- Use committees effectively. A smaller group best deals with lots of matters.
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As a new governor you would have received an up to date governor training brochure with your letter of appointment, detailing all the courses available to you, dates, times and venues. You will receive a new brochure at the start of each new term. In each brochure there ia a booking form at the back for you to complete and return to the Governor Suport Team. You can secure your place on any of the courses and will receive a confirtmation letter closer to the date of the course.
Your governing body also has a link governor with responsibility for training, who would be more than happy to advise you on appropriate courses
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