Governor meetings: attendance and absence

The governing board can't function without good attendance. Be clear on who can attend meetings, why proxies aren't allowed, and how absences are dealt with.

Last reviewed on 24 October 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 3904
Contents
  1. Who can attend meetings
  2. Proxies aren't allowed
  3. Use GovernorHub to track attendance
  4. What to expect when governors are absent from a meeting
  5. What happens when governors are regularly absent 
  6. Governors are disqualified for consistent absence

Our associate education experts Fred Birkett, Ray Gold, Bill Dennison, Jackie Beard, David Roche and Hayley James helped us to write this article.

This article is aimed at clerks, but if you're a chair or governor it'll also help you if you need clarity on the rules around attendance.

Who can attend meetings

Maintained schools

The following people are entitled to attend any meeting of the governing board:

  • A governor (unless they've been suspended)
  • The headteacher of the school (whether or not they're a governor)
  • The clerk to the governing board
  • An associate member (but they can be excluded from any agenda items which concern individual members of staff or pupils)
  • Any other person if it's agreed by the governing board

Any member of the committee (unless they've been suspended) The headteacher (whether or not they're a member of the committee) The clerk to the committee Any other person that the governing board

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