Terms of office are usually 4 years
Governors and trustees have a 4-year term of office. This can be shortened, but must be at least 1 year (as explained in the final section of this article).
If they want to stay on longer, they can be re-appointed/re-elected if they're still eligible. Check the appointment rules for maintained schools and for academy trustees.
This doesn't apply to ex-officio governors and trustees (e.g. the headteacher or CEO), whose term of office ends when the position which entitles them to be a governor or trustee ends.
This information comes from:
- Regulation 18 of the School Governance (Constitution) (England) Regulations 2012 (for maintained schools), and
- Article 64 of the model articles of association (for academies – check your own articles in case they differ)