Education Act 1996

Governing bodies of county, controlled and maintained special schools

79 Constitution of the governing body of a county, controlled or maintained special school

(1) Subject to section 80 (representative governors for certain schools), the instrument of government for a county or maintained special school shall provide for the governing body to consist of the following (and no others)—

(a) the head teacher, unless he chooses not to be a governor, and

(b) governors of each of the categories specified in the first column of the following table, in the numbers specified in whichever of the other columns relates to the size of the school.

Category of governor	School with less than 100 registered pupils	School with 100 or more but less than 300 registered pupils	School with 300 or more but less than 600 registered pupils	School with 600 or more registered pupils
Parent governors	2	3	4	5
Governors appointed by the local education authority	2	3	4	5
Teacher governors	1	1	2	2
Co-opted governors	3	4	5	6

(2) Subject to section 80, the instrument of government for a controlled school shall provide for the governing body to consist of the following (and no others)—

(a) the head teacher, unless he chooses not to be a governor, and

(b) governors of each of the categories specified in the first column of the following table, in the numbers specified in whichever of the other columns relates to the size of the school.

Category of governor	School with less than 100 registered pupils	School with 100 or more but less than 300 registered pupils	School with 300 or more but less than 600 registered pupils	School with 600 or more registered pupils
Parent governors	2	3	4	5
Governors appointed by the local education authority	2	3	4	5
Teacher governors	1	1	2	2
Foundation governors	2	3	4	4
Co-opted governors	1	1	1	2

(3) Where the instrument of government so provides, a county, controlled or maintained special school with 600 or more registered pupils shall be treated for the purposes of this section as one with 300 or more but less than 600 registered pupils.

(4) Where the head teacher of a county, controlled or maintained special school is a governor he shall be treated for all purposes as being an ex officio governor.

80 Appointment of representative governors in place of co-opted governors

(1) The instrument of government for a primary school which is a county or controlled school serving an area for which there is a minor authority shall provide for one governor to be appointed by that authority.

(2) The instrument of government for a maintained special school which is established in a hospital shall provide—

(a) (if the hospital is vested in the Secretary of State) for one governor to be appointed by the Health Authority; or

(b) (if the hospital is vested in a National Health Service trust) for one governor to be appointed by that trust.

(3) The instrument of government for a maintained special school which is not established in a hospital shall, if the school has less than 100 registered pupils, provide for one governor to be appointed—

(a) by a voluntary organisation designated by the local education authority, in relation to the school, as the appropriate voluntary organisation concerned with matters in respect of which the school is specially organised; or

(b) jointly by two or more voluntary organisations so designated as appropriate voluntary organisations concerned with such matters;

or, if the school has 100 or more registered pupils, shall provide for two governors to be appointed as mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b).

(4) Where, by virtue of subsection (3) above, an instrument of government is required to provide for the appointment of two governors, it may make different provision in relation to the appointment of one governor from that made in relation to the appointment of the other.

(5) Where a local education authority are satisfied, in relation to any special school, that there is no voluntary organisation which it would be appropriate to designate for the purposes of subsection (3), that subsection shall not apply to the instrument of government for the school.

(6) An instrument of government which is required by this section to provide for the appointment of a governor shall name the person or persons by whom the governor is to be appointed.

(7) Subject to subsection (8), an instrument of government which is required by this section to provide for the appointment of one or (as the case may be) two governors shall in consequence provide for the appointment of one or two fewer co-opted governors than would otherwise be provided for.

(8) If that instrument of government is for a controlled school which—

(a) has less than 600 registered pupils, or

(b) is, by virtue of subsection (3) of section 79, to be treated for the purposes of that section as having less than 600 such pupils,

the instrument shall not provide for the appointment of any co-opted governor.

(9) In subsections (7) and (8) references to co-opted governors are references to governors required to be co-opted by virtue of section 79 but do not include co-opted foundation governors.

81 Appointment of parent governors by governing bodies

(1) The instrument of government for a county or controlled school, or for a maintained special school which is not established in a hospital, may provide that if at the time when the instrument is made, or at any later time when there is a vacancy for a parent governor—

(a) at least 50 per cent. of the registered pupils at the school are boarders, and

(b) it would, in the opinion of the local education authority, be impracticable for there to be an election of parent governors,

the parent governors, or (as the case may be) the parent governor required to fill that vacancy, shall be appointed by the other members of the governing body.

(2) Where, in the opinion of the local education authority, it is likely to be impracticable for there to be elections of parent governors at a maintained special school which is established in a hospital, the instrument of government for the school may provide for the parent governors to be appointed by the other members of the governing body.

(3) The instrument of government for a county, controlled or maintained special school at which parent governors are to be, or may be, elected shall provide for the required number of parent governors to be made up by parent governors appointed by the other members of the governing body if—

(a) one or more vacancies for parent governors are required to be filled by election; and

(b) the number of parents standing for election as parent governors is less than the number of vacancies.

(4) The instrument of government for a county, controlled or maintained special school shall require governors, in appointing a parent governor under a provision made by virtue of this section—

(a) to appoint a person who is the parent of a registered pupil at the school, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, and

(b) where it is not, to appoint a person who is the parent of one or more children of compulsory school age.

(5) Such an instrument shall also provide that governors shall not appoint as a parent governor under such a provision any person who is—

(a) an elected member of the local education authority, or

(b) an employee of the authority or of the governing body of any aided school maintained by the authority.

82 Review of the constitution of governing bodies

(1) The constitution of the governing body of a county, controlled or maintained special school shall be reviewed in accordance with this section on, or as soon as is reasonably practicable after, the occurrence of any event which is a relevant event in relation to the school.

(2) For the purposes of this section any of the following is a “relevant event” in relation to a school—

(a) the implementation of any proposals falling within subsection (3);

(b) where no such proposals have been implemented in relation to the school before the fourth anniversary of the date on which the current instrument of government for the school was made, that anniversary; and

(c) where a relevant event has previously occurred in relation to the school, the fourth anniversary of the latest such event.

(3) Proposals fall within this subsection if they provide for an increase in the number of registered pupils at the school and are—

(a) proposals under section 35(1)(c) or (d) (alteration of character or premises of a county school or transfer to a new site) or proposals which would fall to be published under section 35(1)(d) but for section 35(2)(b);

(b) proposals under section 41(2)(a) or (b) (alteration of character or premises of a voluntary school or transfer to a new site);

(c) proposals that the Secretary of State should make an order under section 47 (transfer of voluntary school to a new site); or

(d) proposals under section 339(1)(b) (prescribed alteration to maintained special school).

(4) Any review which is required by virtue of the implementation of proposals falling within subsection (3)(a) or (d) shall be carried out by the local education authority; and any other review which is required by this section shall be carried out by the governing body.

(5) Whenever a local education authority or governing body are required to carry out a review under this section, they shall consider—

(a) whether the governing body are properly constituted; and

(b) whether the provision made by the instrument of government for the school is in any respect different from that which a new instrument of government would be required to make.

(6) Where a governing body have carried out a review under this section and have established that the provision made by the instrument of government is in one or more respects different from that which a new instrument of government would be required to make, they shall report the fact to the local education authority.

(7) Where proposals falling within subsection (3)(a) or (d) have been implemented in relation to a school, the local education authority shall determine the date on which, for the purposes of this section, they are to be taken to have been implemented and shall notify the governing body accordingly.

83 Adjustment in number of governors

(1) Where—

(a) a county, controlled or maintained special school has more governors of a particular category than are provided for by the instrument of government for the school, and

(b) the excess is not eliminated by the required number of governors of that category resigning,

such number of governors of that category as is required to eliminate the excess shall cease to hold office.

(2) The governors who are to cease to hold office shall be selected on the basis of seniority, the longest-serving governor being the first to be selected, and so on.

(3) Where it is necessary for the purposes of subsection (2) to select one or more governors from a group of equal seniority, it shall be done by drawing lots.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in relation to foundation governors.

(5) The instrument of government for a controlled school shall make provision for the procedure to be adopted whenever subsection (1) requires a foundation governor to cease to hold office.