Governors and trustees are "generally protected" from personal liability
Although the board is legally responsible for the conduct of its school(s), individual governors and trustees are "generally protected" from personal liability.
As long as you act honestly, reasonably and in good faith, you shouldn't be held personally liable.
This is explained in section 2.6 of the maintained schools governance guide and section 6.7 of the academy trust governance guide.
Chairs and vice-chairs aren't more liable than others
The Department for Education (DfE) told us that all governors/trustees are equally protected from personal liability.
Liability beyond period of office
If a governor/trustee hasn't acted in good faith, it's uncertain how long they'd remain personally liable – it will be judged on a case-by-case basis. The DfE explained this to us.