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An effective governing body:

• sets and safeguards high expectations for the school community, including:
  • the expected behaviours, progress and attainment of all pupils
  • the conduct and professionalism of its staff, the governing body and its committee members
• promotes its vision, culture, values and ethos across the whole school and ensures that is reflected in its policies and its practices – this includes how the whole school approach delivers on its duty to promote pupil wellbeing
• supports a whole school approach to safeguarding and child protection, ensuring all systems, processes and policies operate with the best interests of the child or young person at its centre

The school’s curriculum must meet the requirements set out in regarding promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development.

The governing body must demonstrate that it is actively promoting fundamental British values of:

• democracy
• the rule of law
• individual liberty
• mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs

Everyone involved in governance is expected to know about and follow The Seven Principles of Public Life, also known as the ‘Nolan Principles’.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has published a . This was supported by the National Governance Association who launched a to examine ethical decision-making and help school leaders understand the decisions they make.

2.1.1 Governor conduct and behaviour

Effective governing bodies create and maintain a code of conduct which is agreed by all governors.

Various organisations produce a model code of contact, which may help governing bodies in drafting or updating their code. Examples include the:

• National Governance Association’s
• Catholic Education Service’s 

Breaching the code of conduct could result in the governor suspension, or in more severe cases, the removal of a governor.

Legislative procedures for the suspension or removal of governors must be followed. More information is available in:

2.1.2 Equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) should be an integral part of the governing body’s strategy. It is important that this includes not just legal or regulatory obligations but also how EDI is championed and embedded throughout the school.

Schools must abide by the .

The responsible body of a school must not unlawfully discriminate including in relation to admission arrangements and the provision of education.

The responsible body must also adhere to positive duties including on making reasonable adjustments and drawing up accessibility plans. Whether the responsible body is the local authority or the governing body will depend on how responsibilities are split between them at each school. For example, if the local authority is the admissions authority for a school, it will be the responsible body in relation to any claim under the act in connection with the ordinary admissions round. However, the governing body is likely to be the responsible body in relation to a claim about exclusions.

Public sector equality duty (PSED)

Under the PSED, governing bodies must, in the exercise of their functions have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the act
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

Under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 governing bodies must also:

• agree on one or more equality objectives every 4 years, which must then be published to make their priorities for equality available to the public – the objectives should be clearly defined, specific and measurable
• publish annual information demonstrating PSED compliance

Further information is also available from:

• the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC)Ìý
• Government Equalities Office: Positive action in the workplace: guidance for employers
• Governor Hub : a free tool that boards can use to search for information about the diversity of a school’s community
• Council for Disabled Children:
• DfE: SEN and disability duties: guidance for school governing boards

The governing body as the employer should be aware of its employment responsibilities under the act.

Special rules apply to schools with a religious character. Find out more from:

• The , section 58
• DfE’s Guidance ‘Staffing and employment advice for  schools, chapter 6

The governing body ensures the school has a clear vision set out in a specific written statement, which includes its ambitions for:

• delivering an excellent education for current and future pupils
• the school’s relationship with other schools (or dioceses and diocesan families of schools and other organisations and partnerships within the education sector, where relevant)

It draws on, and ensures the school is connected and responsive to its pupils, parents and carers, and local communities it serves.

An effective governing body puts in place a strategy for achieving the vision, focusing on the significant strategic challenges. It provides a robust and costed framework for:

• setting priorities
• implementing and ensuring accountability
• monitoring progress in achieving the school’s vision
• addressing the strategic challenges and managing risk

The detail of all school improvement actions does not form part of the governing body’s strategy. These will be recorded in a separate school improvement plan (SIP) or school development plan (SDP) developed by the school executive leadership.

When setting direction, the governing body is encouraged to consider staff workload and wellbeing, in particular, how the school can foster a supportive working environment where:

• workload is managed
• wellbeing is prioritised
• action is taken to support all staff

Making data work: Teacher workload advisory group report) can help with understanding how to remove unnecessary workload linked with data management.

The governing body is accountable for all strategic decisions, and the head teacher is responsible for operational matters.

The governing body can delegate to its committees, or in some cases to individuals. However it retains overall legal responsibility for all decisions made. School leaders operate within the autonomy, powers and functions delegated to them by the governing body.

In making strategic decisions the governing body:

• must act in the best interests of the school and its pupils
• must act in accordance with its governing documents including any trust deed, where applicable
• should act in the best interests of its pupils
• is well informed by the available evidence of what works or is likely to be effective
• considers the impact on staff workload and wellbeing
• fully understands the cultural and religious diversity of the school and the community it serves
• welcomes open debate from a diverse range of individuals, views and experiences
• considers the views and needs of the religious body, where appropriate
• considers the views of the school’s key stakeholders, particularly parents and carers

The governing body can decide whether governors will have a focus on certain areas to support in strategic decision-making, often referred to as link or lead governor. However, all governing bodies should have governors to take specific strategic lead responsibility on behalf the governing body for its:

• safeguarding arrangements, including the Prevent duty obligations
• special education needs and disabilities (SEND) arrangements
• careers education, in secondary schools or federations that contain secondary schools

Additional guidance on these roles is available from other organisations, including:

•  by Child Protection
• by Governors for Schools
• by The Careers and Enterprise Company

Managing conflicts ensures the governing body meets its duty to act in the school’s best interests and can prevent negative consequences for the school and its governors.

Governors, associate members and governance professionals must declare their interests to ensure that transparent strategic decision-making can take place.

When a meeting is held on a matter where a governor, associate member or governance professional has a conflict of interest, whether between their own interests and those of the governing body, the governor, associate member, or governance professional must:

• disclose their interest
• withdraw from the meeting
• not vote on the matter

This is in accordance with regulation 16 of .

Where a person is working or doing voluntary work at the school where they are a governor, they need to:

• ensure the role being undertaken is separate from their governance role
• give assurances that their lines of accountability are clear and do not become blurred
• avoid or manage any conflicts of interest appropriately

(regulation 16 and Schedule 1) provides further details.

The Charity Commission has published guidance on managing potential conflicts of interest.

Further information is available in the Schools Financial Value Standard checklist guidance (section A.4 under Governance).

Managing risk is essential to ensure the school is meeting its key objectives and to protect its funds and assets.

An effective governing body manages risk by:

• overseeing a whole school approach to risk management
• having a risk management framework for identifying, managing and recording risks and incidents
• making sure risk assessments are in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils, staff and visitors
• reviewing all risks regularly including those associated with strategic priorities and SIPs or SDPs

A governing body has legal responsibility for the conduct of its school (or schools)Ìýas outlined in the ).

Governors are generally protected from personal liability, provided they act honestly, reasonably and in good faith. explicitly provides that governors will not be liable in respect of their powers to spend a delegated budget where they act in good faith.

Schools must have adequate insurance cover to comply with its legal obligations or be a member of the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) for schools, DfE’s alternative to commercial insurance. Not all risks are covered in the RPA and schools should read the membership rules for full details of cover.

Governing bodies have a statutory duty under the to have regard to any parental views expressed.

An effective governing body builds relationships with parents, the local community, including the church community and diocese where relevant, to create a sense of trust and shared ownership of the school strategy and its vision. It makes sure its school (or schools) has systems and processes in place to communicate regularly with parents and carers, helping them to understand:

• the structure of the school
• how the school operates
• how they can support their child’s education
• how they can put forward their views

The governing body ensures that:

• the schools regularly seek and consider the views of, and feeds back to, parents, carers, pupils, staff, the local community and employers
• parental and community views influence and inform its decisions
• decisions are communicated clearly to pupils, parents and carers, staff and communities

Guidance and training on building better partnerships with parents is available through .

Read more about from the National Governance Association.

2.7.1 Parent councils

Certain foundation schools must have a parent council, as set out in the .

Other types of maintained schools can choose whether to establish a parent council and to determine its membership in line with .ÌýÌý

It is the governing body that must establish the parent council. Arrangements for the structure, role and support of the parent council are set out in the above parent council regulations.

Parent councils allow parents to put forward their views to the governing body and school leaders. These include matters relating to the conduct of the school and the governing body’s powers to provide community facilities (see Education Act 2002 section 23A).