Know when and how to make minutes confidential
Maintained schools: most minutes from governing board meetings must be made available to anyone who is interested and wishes to see them. This is laid out in The School Governance (Roles, Procedures and Allowances) (England) Regulations 2013.
Some confidential portions can be withheld, including anything which relates to:
- A named person who works, or who it's proposed should work, at the school
- A named pupil at, or candidate for admission to, the school
- Any other matter that the board thinks should remain confidential because of the nature of it
This applies to committee meetings as well as full board meetings.
Academies: the Department for Education's (DfE) model articles of association (articles 124 and 125) include the same requirements. Make sure you check your own articles of association, as they might differ from the model.
When the board decides that particular items are