Education (No. 2) Act 1986

15 Miscellaneous

(1) Where a school to which section 3 or 4 of this Act applies has more than one head teacher (whether or not as a result of two or more schools being grouped under section 9 of this Act), each of them shall be a governor unless he chooses not to be.

(2) It shall be for the local education authority, in the case of a county, controlled or maintained special school, and for the governing body, in the case of an aided or special agreement school—

(a) to determine, for the purposes of an election of parent governors or teacher governors to the governing body, any question whether a person is—

(i) a parent of a registered pupil at the school; or

(ii) a teacher at the school; and

(b) to make all necessary arrangements for, and to determine all other matters relating to, any such election.

(3) The power conferred by subsection (2)(b) above includes power to make provision as to qualifying dates but does not include power to impose any requirement as to the minimum number of votes required to be cast for a candidate to be elected.

(4) Any such election which is contested must be held by secret ballot.

(5) The arrangements made under subsection (2)(b) above shall, in the case of any election of a parent governor, provide for every person who is entitled to vote in the election to have an opportunity to do so by post or, if he so prefers, by having his ballot paper returned to the school by a registered pupil at the school.

(6) Where a vacancy for a parent governor of any county, voluntary or maintained special school is required to be filled by election, it shall be the duty of the appropriate authority to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that every person who is known to them to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school is—

(a) informed of the vacancy and that it is required to be filled by election;

(b) informed that he is entitled to stand as a candidate, and vote, at the election; and

(c) given an opportunity to do so.

(7) The instrument of government for every voluntary school shall name the person or persons (if any) who are entitled to appoint any foundation governor.

(8) The instrument of government for any voluntary school may provide for any foundation governorship to be held ex officio by the holder of an office named in the instrument.

(9) The qualification of any person for election or appointment as a governor, of a particular category, of any county, voluntary or maintained special school, shall not have the effect of disqualifying him for election or appointment as a governor, of any other category, of that school.

(10) No person shall at any time hold more than one governorship of the same county, voluntary or maintained special school.

(11) Where the instrument of government for any county, voluntary or maintained special school provides for one or more governors to be appointed by persons acting jointly, any such appointment shall be made, in the event of failure on the part of those persons to make an agreed appointment—

(a) by the Secretary of State ; or

(b) in accordance with any direction given by him.

(12) No instrument of government for any county, voluntary or maintained special school which provides for one or more persons to be co-opted, by governors, as members of the governing body of the school shall make any provision (otherwise than by virtue of section 6 of this Act) which has the effect of restricting those governors in their choice of person to co-opt.

(13) In subsection (12) above, references to co-opted governors are to governors required to be co-opted by virtue of section 3 of this Act and do not include references to co-opted foundation governors.

(14) No person shall be qualified for membership of the governing body of any county, voluntary or maintained special school unless he is aged eighteen or over, at the date of his election or appointment.

(15) In subsection (6) above, " appropriate authority " means—

(a) the local education authority, in the case of a county, controlled or maintained special school; and

(b) the governing body, in the case of an aided or special agreement school.