Local authority governors in maintained schools

If you're a maintained school, you're required to have a local authority governor on your board. Find out what an LA governor is, how they're appointed and the restrictions on who can fill the role.

Last reviewed on 3 November 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 3815
Contents
  1. What they do
  2. Who they are
  3. Restrictions

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 explains this on page 64:

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. 

For the LA to nominate a governor:

Governing boards can either accept or reject an LA's nominee based