Governors

Main responsibilities

• Hold legislative responsibility and strategic oversight for safeguarding.
• Make sure the school meets statutory, financial, safeguarding, equality and SEND requirements.
• Appoint and appraise the headteacher; hear certain staff, pupil and complaint panels.
• Take specific link roles (for example safeguarding, SEND, careers, filtering and monitoring).

Statutory duties and official sources

England, maintained schools unless stated.

• Core functions: define vision, ethos and strategic direction; ensure the headteacher performs their responsibilities for educational performance and the performance management of staff; ensure the sound, proper and effective use of financial resources. Governors must act with integrity, objectivity and honesty and be open about decisions. Source: School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013, regulation 6; Maintained schools: governance guide, section 1.1.
• The governing body must meet at least three times in every school year; notice, agenda and papers must be sent at least seven clear days before a meeting, unless the chair directs a shorter period because matters demand urgent consideration. Source: 2013 Regulations, regulation 13.
• Governors must have an enhanced DBS check (without a barred list check unless they also do regulated activity); schools should also check for a section 128 direction. Source: KCSIE 2026, paragraphs 391–394; governance guide, section 4.3.
• All governors should receive safeguarding and child protection (including online) training at induction, updated regularly; the board should have a senior board-level safeguarding lead. Source: KCSIE 2026, paragraphs 86–87.
• The board should assign a governor, with an SLT member, responsible for filtering and monitoring standards. Source: DfE filtering and monitoring standard.
• Standard term of office is four years unless the instrument of government varies it. Source: Governance guide, section 5.4; School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012.
• Agree and publish equality objectives at least every four years and publish annual information on compliance with the public sector equality duty. Source: Governance guide, section 2.1.3.
• Employers must give employees who serve as governors reasonable time off. Source: Governance guide, section 4.9 (Employment Rights Act 1996).
• SEND duties sit with the governing body: best endeavours, designate a SENCO, publish the SEN information report. Source: SEND code of practice, chapter 6; SEN and disability duties: guidance for governing boards.

Academies. Trustees hold the board's legal duties; local committee members hold only what the scheme of delegation gives them (Academy trusts: governance guide, section 4.3.5). Local committee members need enhanced DBS checks (section 4.6).

Key dates in the school year (2026 to 2027, England)

• Autumn term: first meeting; elect or confirm the chair and vice-chair as the board's procedures require; review committee terms of reference (SFVS guidance recommends annual review).
• At least three meetings a year (regulation 13).
• 31 December 2026: pupil premium strategy statement published; inclusion strategy statement published where the school receives the inclusive mainstream fund — governors are expected to scrutinise it (conditions of grant).
• 1 May–30 June 2027: three-year budget forecast to the local authority, on its set date (SFVS guidance).
• Each year: SFVS checklist to the local authority; child protection policy reviewed; filtering and monitoring review reported to the board (KCSIE paragraph 173).

Questions governors can ask

Each question tests a duty the board holds, not an operational detail.

• Filtering and monitoring. When was this year's review done, who did it, and where is the record of checks on each type of device? (KCSIE 2026, paragraph 173: at least once every academic year, led by the responsible senior leader with the DSL and IT support.)
• DSL cover. If the DSL is off tomorrow, how does a member of staff raise a concern, and who checks that route? (KCSIE 2026, paragraph 129.)
• Volunteers. Which volunteers moved into regulated activity on 1 September 2026, and have their barred list checks been done? (KCSIE 2026, paragraphs 383–385.)
• Safer recruitment. Has at least one member of every interview panel completed safer recruitment training? (KCSIE 2026, paragraph 289; in maintained schools a legal requirement.)
• Data. How has this data been checked, and what does it not tell us? (Governance guide, sections 3.2 and 3.3.1.)
• Money. Where did the SFVS show weakness, and what has changed since? (Governance guide, section 3.4.)
• SEND and inclusion. Does the SEN information report describe the provision pupils actually receive, and how has the inclusion strategy changed funding decisions? (SEND code, chapter 6; school inspection toolkit, inclusion.)
• Leaders' workload. What have we asked leaders to produce this year that they would not otherwise produce? (The toolkit asks whether the responsible body takes account of leaders' workload and wellbeing.)

Common challenges and good practice

• Strategic, not operational. The guide says the board avoids routine operational involvement but may intervene where the school is or may be in breach of a duty (section 3.1).
• Skills. At least one person should be able to interpret detailed performance data (section 3.3.1); collectively the board needs financial skills (SFVS guidance).
• Training. The board allocates a training budget and makes sure all governors and the governance professional have read and follow Part 2 of KCSIE (section 4.1.2).
• What the board cannot delegate. These include functions on headteacher duties and performance, staff conduct and capability procedures, safer recruitment training for interviewers and the appointment of the headteacher and deputy headteacher cannot be delegated (School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 and the 2013 Regulations, regulation 19(4), as summarised in the governance guide).
• Workload of volunteers. Agree what reports governors receive so data serves decisions rather than duplicating management.

Common questions

• Are governors paid? No; governance is voluntary.
• What is the difference between a governor and a trustee? Trustees are the legal decision-makers of an academy trust; maintained school governors form the governing body; academy local governors hold delegated roles only.