All maintained schools, including Maintained Nursery Schools, have a governing body. The governors work in close partnership with the headteacher to determine the strategic direction of the school. The governing body reflects a range of interests. Its representatives include:
Parents elected by other parents with children at the school
Headteacher, if the headteacher chooses to be
Teachers elected by other teachers
Non-teaching staff elected by other non-teaching staff
People appointed by the local authority
People chosen by governors from the local community
People appointed by the church or foundation (in church and some other types of school)
Governing bodies may also include representatives from the church, charitable trust or business interests.
The size and membership will depend on the category and size of the school.
Responsibilities
Governing bodies have a wide range of responsibilities and powers, including:
Helping to raise standards of pupil achievement
Planning the school's future direction
Selecting the headteacher
Making decisions on the school's budget and staffing
Establishing and implementing a performance management policy for appraising all staff
Making sure the national curriculum is taught
Deciding how the school can encourage children’s spiritual, moral and cultural development
Making sure the school provides for all its pupils, including those with special needs, children with disabilities, children from different social and cultural backgrounds, children from different ethnic groups (including travellers, refugees and asylum seekers), and those from diverse linguistic backgrounds
Accounting for the performance of the school to parents and the wider community
