Education Act 1996

228 Foundation governors

(1) The instrument of government for the governing body of a grant-maintained school which—

(a) is a voluntary school immediately before it becomes grant-maintained, or

(b) is established in pursuance of proposals published under section 212,

shall provide for the governing body to include foundation governors.

(2) The instrument shall provide for such number of foundation governors as will secure that they outnumber the other governors.

(3) Subject to subsection (5), the instrument may provide for any foundation governorship to be held ex officio.

(4) Subject to subsection (7), the instrument—

(a) where it provides for a foundation governorship to be held ex officio, shall specify the office the holder of which is to be a foundation governor, and

(b) shall name the person or persons (if any) who are entitled to appoint any foundation governor.

(5) An additional foundation governor appointed by virtue of provision made in the instrument of government in pursuance of section 230(2) may not be appointed to hold office ex officio.

(6) Subject to subsections (8) and (9), the instrument shall provide for at least two of the foundation governors to be (on the date or dates on which they respectively take office) parents of registered pupils at the school.

(7) The initial instrument shall—

(a) provide for the number of foundation governors to be such number (being a number which will secure that they will outnumber the other governors) as is specified;

(b) (in the case of a grant-maintained school which is a voluntary school immediately before it becomes grant-maintained) provide for the person or persons who, immediately before the incorporation date, were named in the school’s instrument of government as being entitled to appoint foundation governors (as defined by section 78(2)) to the existing governing body to be entitled to appoint the foundation governors for the governing body of the grant-maintained school;

(c) (in the case of a grant-maintained school established in pursuance of proposals under section 212) provide for the promoters to be entitled to appoint the foundation governors;

(d) (where the instrument provides for a foundation governorship to be held ex officio) provide for it to be held by the holder of a specified office;

and in this subsection “specified” means specified in the proposals for acquisition of grant-maintained status or, as the case may be, the proposals for the establishment of a new grant-maintained school.

(8) In the case of a grant-maintained school which is a voluntary school immediately before it becomes grant-maintained, the instrument shall (despite anything in subsection (6)) have effect in relation to the determination of initial foundation governors as if it provided for the foundation governors to include at least two persons who on the date of their selection or appointment are parents of registered pupils at the school.

(9) In the case of a grant-maintained school established in pursuance of proposals published under section 212, subsection (6) above shall not apply in relation to the appointment of any foundation governor before the date of implementation of the proposals.