Welcome to day 6 of Blogmas 2022 in collaboration with Governors’ Virtual Office (GVO)!
Find out how to get involved with our Blogmas Bingo giveaway here and don’t forget to download your Blogmas Bingo card!
(Use this to mark your response or simply send in a list of answers, for example: Day 1: name of symbol, Day 2: name of symbol etc. to contact@proclerking.co.uk between 16th December and 11th January to be in with a chance of winning!)
Here’s today’s symbol to note down:
Myth Busting
Today we’ll be looking at a few common areas of misunderstanding in governance……
Myth 1 : All governors are appointed the same way
- There are several different categories of governor
- The category reflects the route by which governors are appointed or elected
- Governors are appointed according to the school’s Instrument of Government (maintained) or Articles of Association (academies)
Myth 2: Apologies must always be accepted
- Governors have the right to reject apologies
- Governors can be recorded as absent
- Apologies cannot be given following a meeting
- Governors can be disqualified for persistent absence of 6 months without consent of the governing body
Myth 3: Associate Members have the same voting rights as governors
- Associate Members are not governors
- They may have voting rights on the committee(s) to which they are appointed
- They may attend FGBs (without voting rights and don’t count towards quorum)
Myth 4: Governing Bodies can appoint as many additional governors as they please
- Additional Governors are appointed by the LA (maintained schools only)
- They are appointed on a need’s basis
- They are appointed in addition to the number of governors set out in the school’s constitution
Myth 5: Governing Bodies do not need to elect a Chair
- A Chair should ideally be elected/appointed at the first meeting of the year
- If no-one steps forwards a Chair is elected for the meeting and the opportunity to appoint a Chair is given at every meeting that follows
- The appointment of Chair is a formal procedure and nominees are expected to temporarily leave a meeting for governors to discuss and vote on the appointment
- Academies within a MAT may be required to nominate a Chair for the Trust Board to appoint
Myth 6: Clerks must be “seen and not heard” during meetings
- It is important that governors understand the role of the Clerk, including the provision of statutory guidance and best practice
- It is important to have an effective working relationship between the Chair, Head and Clerk
- We will cover more about Clerking with confidence within this briefing
Myth 7: A governor’s term of office changes if they are appointed as Chair
- A governors’ term of office stays the same regardless of if or when they are appointed as Chair
Myth 8: It doesn’t matter if the information on GIAS, the school website etc. is different
- All statutory information should always match, including the consistent use of full names
Coming up in Day 7 of Blogmas – Spreading the News
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All my best
Ellie
In collaboration with Governors’ Virtual Office
