Our governance experts Fred Birkett, Keith Clover, Jane Edminson, Bill Dennison and Kate Foale helped us with this article, as well as governance consultant Nicki Wadley and the support service One Education.
What a conflict of interest is
A conflict of interest is any interest that you have that could potentially affect your ability to make impartial decisions.
Broadly speaking, conflicts can arise from:
- Personal relationships
- Business or financial activities
- Governance roles in any other educational establishments. There are many ways educational institutions can be linked which may not seem obvious at first. For example, independent pre-schools can be ‘feeder schools’ for primary schools, or staff can move between primary and secondary schools
Declare your conflict of interest
On the register of interests
You need to declare any interests on a declaration of interests form. Your clerk/governance professional is normally responsible for this, and will ask you to update it annually, or when your situation changes.