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The governing board: purpose and responsibilities (maintained schools)

Save time with our summary of your board's responsibilities in different types of maintained schools.

Last reviewed on 7 November 2024See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 3334
Contents
  1. The 3 core functions of the governing board
  2. Key tasks and responsibilities
  3. Admissions
  4. Attendance
  5. Behaviour, suspensions and exclusions
  6. Curriculum
  7. Finance
  8. Governance
  9. Parents/carers and the community
  10. Health and safety
  11. Pupil wellbeing
  12. Safeguarding
  13. Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
  14. Staffing
  15. Pay and appraisal

The 3 core functions of the governing board

The maintained schools governance guide explains in section 1.1 that these include, but are not limited to ensuring:

  • That the vision, ethos and strategic direction of the school are clearly defined
  • That the headteacher performs their responsibilities for the educational performance of the school
  • The sound, proper and effective use of the school’s financial resources

Find our overview of the 3 core functions here.

Key tasks and responsibilities

These vary depending on your school type

Remember, you might delegate some of your responsibilities. Find out more about schemes of delegation for maintained schools.

Admissions   Community Voluntary aided (VA) Voluntary controlled (VC) Foundation Comply with the local authority’s (LA’s) admission arrangements       ✓         ✓   Determine the school’s admission arrangements annually, including the published admission number (PAN) and the oversubscription criteria