A governor must be aged 18 or over at the time of their election or appointment and cannot be a registered pupil at the school. A person cannot hold more than one governorship at the same school.
A person is disqualified from holding or from continuing to hold office as a governor or associate member1 if they:
- are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 during their period of office;
- fail to attend the governing body meetings – without the consent of the governing body – for a continuous period of six months, beginning with the date of the first meeting missed (not applic. to ex-officio governors);
- are subject to a bankruptcy restriction order or an interim order;
- have had their estate sequestrated and the sequestration order has not been discharged, annulled or reduced;
- are subject to:
– a disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Act 1986
– a disqualification order under Part 2 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1989
– a disqualification undertaking accepted under the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002
– an order made under section 492(2)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (failure to pay under county court administration order);
- have been removed from the office of charity trustee or trustee for a charity by the Charity Commissioners or High Court on grounds of any misconduct or mismanagement, or under Section 34 of the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 from participating in the management or control of any body;
- are included in the list of people considered by the Secretary of State as unsuitable to work with children;
- are disqualified from working with children or subject to a direction under section 142 of the Education Act 2002;
- are disqualified from registration for childminding or providing day care;
- are disqualified from registration under Part 3 of the Childcare Act 2006;
- have received a sentence of imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for a period of not less than three months (without the option of a fine) in the five years before becoming a governor or since becoming a governor;
- have received a prison sentence of two-and-a-half years or more in the 20 years before becoming a governor;
- have at any time received a prison sentence of five years or more;
- have been fined for causing a nuisance or disturbance on school premises during the five years prior to or since appointment or election as a governor;
- refuse to allow an application to the Criminal Records Bureau for a criminal records certificate.
(Source: Guide to the Law)
1 Associate Member – The definition of associate member is wide and pupils, school staff and people who want to contribute specifically on issues related to their area of expertise (for instance finance) can be appointed.