Evidencing good trust governance

Use our questions and checklist to think about and evidence how effective governance is in your trust. This will help you demonstrate that you're meeting the trust quality descriptions.

Updated
on 4 June 2026
See updates
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 43089
Contents
  1. When you'll need to show that your board is providing effective governance
  2. Use our checklist to keep track of governance evidence
  3. Questions for trustees to demonstrate effective governance

When you'll need to show that your board is providing effective governance

Having an overview of where your board is effective, and understanding where to target improvement, is vital to providing good governance of your trust. You're probably already using self-evaluation, skills audits and external reviews to do just this.

There are some occasions, though, when you'll need to be able to demonstrate this to other bodies, including showing evidence.

If you're looking to grow your trust

Guidance on commissioning high-quality trusts and the trust quality descriptions (annex A) define what the Department for Education (DfE) wants trusts to deliver. Read our summary to help you get to grips with this guidance.

If you're aiming to grow, you'll need to be able to demonstrate