Persons ineligible to act as governors

There are some circumstances which may affect your eligibility to become a school governor or to remain a governor.

These are set out in The School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations and the Constitution of governing bodies of maintained schools - statutory guidance for governing bodies of maintained schools and local authorities in England (August 2017) and the details are listed below. Anyone proposed or serving as a governor who is disqualified for one of these reasons must notify the clerk to the governing board.

Please read them and check if you are eligible. If you need any help interpreting these regulations please email governor.services@salford.gov.uk.

Qualifications and disqualifications (regulation 17 and Schedule 4 to the Regulations)

Grounds for disqualification fall into three broad categories:

• general grounds
• grounds that apply to particular categories of governor
• grounds that arise because of particular failings or actions on the part of the governor.

All the grounds for disqualification apply also to associate members except that associate members can be registered pupils at the school and can be under 18.

General grounds

• Registered pupils cannot be governors.
• A governor must be aged 18 or over at the time of election or appointment.
• A person cannot hold more than one governor post at the same school at the same time.

Grounds that apply to particular categories of governor

• A person is disqualified from being a parent governor if they are an elected member of the LA or paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours (i.e. for more than one-third of the hours of a full-time equivalent) in any consecutive twelve month period at the time of election or appointment.
• A person is disqualified from being a local authority governor if they are eligible to be a staff governor at the school.
• A person is disqualified from being a partnership governor if they are:
  • a parent of a registered pupil at the school
  • eligible to be a staff governor at the school
  • an elected member of the local authority
  • employed by the local authority in connection with its education functions.

Grounds that arise because of particular failings or actions on the part of the governor

• A person is disqualified from being a governor of a particular school if they have failed to attend the meetings of the governing body of that school for a continuous period of six months, beginning with the date of the first meeting they failed to attend, without the consent of the governing body. This does not apply to the headteacher or to foundation governors appointed by virtue of their office.
• A foundation, local authority, co-opted or partnership governor at the school who is disqualified for failing to attend meetings is only disqualified from being a governor of any category at the school during the twelve month period starting on the date on which they were disqualified.

A person is disqualified from holding or continuing to hold office as a governor of a school if, in summary, that person:

• is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order; an interim bankruptcy restrictions order; debt relief restrictions order; an interim debt relief restrictions order; or their estate has been sequestrated and the sequestration has not been discharged, annulled or reduced;
• is subject to a disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986; a disqualification order under the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 2002; a disqualification undertaking accepted under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002; or an order made under section 429(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (failure to pay under county court administration order)
• has been removed from the office of trustee for a charity by an order made by the Charity Commission or Commissioners or High Court on grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity, or under section 34 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 from being concerned in the management or control of any body.
• has been removed from office as an elected governor within the last five years.
• is included in the list of people considered by the Secretary of State as unsuitable to work with children or young people
• is barred from any regulated activity relating to children.
• is subject to a direction of the Secretary of State under section 142 of the Education Act 2002 or section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.
• is disqualified from working with children or from registering for child-minding or providing day care.
• is disqualified from being an independent school proprietor, teacher or employee by the Secretary of State.
• subject to certain exceptions for overseas offences that do not correlate with a UK offence, has been sentenced to three months or more in prison (without the option of a fine) in the five years ending with the date preceding the date of appointment/election as a governor or since becoming a governor.
• subject to certain exceptions for overseas offences that do not correlate with a UK offence, has received a prison sentence of two and a half years or more in the 20 years ending with the date preceding the date of appointment/election as a governor.
• subject to certain exceptions for overseas offences that do not correlate with a UK offence, has at any time received a prison sentence of five years or more.
• has been convicted and fined for causing a nuisance or disturbance on school or educational premises during the five years ending with the date immediately preceding appointment/election or since appointment or election as a governor.
• refuses a request by the clerk to make an application to the Disclosure And Barring Service for a criminal records certificate.