What they do
Local authority governors are nominated by the local authority (LA). They serve as the link between the LA and the school but aren't political appointees.
The governance handbook states that:
LA governors must govern in the interests of the school and not represent or advocate for the political or other interests of the local authority; it is unacceptable practice to link the right to nominate local authority governors to the local balance of political power.
Who they are
Because each LA sets its own qualifying criteria, these governors can come from a variety of backgrounds and don't necessarily work for the LA directly.
In nominating an LA governor (paragraph 52):
Governing boards can either accept or reject an LA's nominee based on whether they have the