Education (No. 2) Act 1986

Miscellaneous and supplemental

13Effect of change of circumstances on instrument of government

(1)Any instrument of government to which this Act applies shall (subject to subsection (2) below and paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 2 to this Act) make such provision as is appropriate having regard to all the circumstances of the school as at the date on which the instrument is made.

(2)Where a proposal of a kind mentioned in section l1(2)(a) or (b) of this Act has been implemented in relation to any school, the number of registered pupils at the school shall, for the purposes of subsection (1) above and until the number of registered pupils at the school reaches the maximum number of pupils provided for by the proposal, be deemed to be that maximum number.

(3)Where subsection (2) applies in relation to any school, the local education authority or (in the case of a proposal under section 13(1)(b) of the 1980 Act) the governing body may determine that it shall cease to apply (but without prejudice to its operation in relation to the implementation of any further proposal).

(4)Where the effect of any subsequent change in the circumstances of a school is that the provision made by the instrument of government for the school differs in any respect from the provision which a new instrument of government would be required to make, it shall be the duty of the local education authority (subject to subsection (7) below): —

(a)to vary the instrument of government in such manner as is required to remove any such difference ; or

(b)to make a new instrument of government.

(5)Any instrument of government to which this Act applies may make provision which would be appropriate in the event of such a change in the circumstances of the school as is anticipated by that provision (including in particular a change in the number of registered pupils at the school).

(6)No provision made by any such instrument in anticipation of a change in the number of registered pupils at the school shall have effect before it is established, by a review under section 11 of this Act, that a new instrument of government for the school in question would be required to make that provision.

(7)For the purposes of subsection (4) above, any change in the number of registered pupils at a school occurring after the instrument of government for the school is made, or (as the case may be) varied, may be disregarded until a review under section 11 of this Act establishes that the provision made by the instrument differs in any respect from the provision which a new instrument of government for the school would be required to make.

(8)Where subsection (2) above has applied in relation to any school but the local education authority or (as the case may be) governing body have subsequently determined that it should cease to apply, subsections (4) and (7) above shall have effect as if a change in the number of registered pupils at the school had occurred at the time when that determination was made.

(9)Subsections (6) and (7) above do not apply to aided or special agreement schools.

14Adjustment in number of governors

(1)Where—

(a)any county, controlled or maintained special school has more governors of a particular category than are provided for by the instrument of government for the school; and

(b)the excess is not eliminated by the required number of governors of that category resigning;

such number of governors of that category as is required to eliminate the excess shall cease to hold office.

(2)The governors who are to cease to hold office shall be selected on the basis of seniority, the longest serving governor being the first to be selected, and so on.

(3)Where it is necessary for the purpose of subsection (2) above to select one or more governors from a group of equal seniority, it shall be done by drawing lots.

(4)Subsections (2) and (3) above do not apply in relation to foundation governors.

(5)The instrument of government for every controlled school shall make provision for the procedure to be adopted whenever subsection (1) above requires any foundation governor to cease to hold office.

15Miscellaneous

(1)Where a school to which section 3 or 4 of this Act applies has more than one head teacher (whether or not as a result of two or more schools being grouped under section 9 of this Act), each of them shall be a governor unless he chooses not to be.

(2)It shall be for the local education authority, in the case of a county, controlled or maintained special school, and for the governing body, in the case of an aided or special agreement school—

(a)to determine, for the purposes of an election of parent governors or teacher governors to the governing body, any question whether a person is—

(i)a parent of a registered pupil at the school; or

(ii)a teacher at the school; and

(b)to make all necessary arrangements for, and to determine all other matters relating to, any such election.

(3)The power conferred by subsection (2)(b) above includes power to make provision as to qualifying dates but does not include power to impose any requirement as to the minimum number of votes required to be cast for a candidate to be elected.

(4)Any such election which is contested must be held by secret ballot.

(5)The arrangements made under subsection (2)(b) above shall, in the case of any election of a parent governor, provide for every person who is entitled to vote in the election to have an opportunity to do so by post or, if he so prefers, by having his ballot paper returned to the school by a registered pupil at the school.

(6)Where a vacancy for a parent governor of any county, voluntary or maintained special school is required to be filled by election, it shall be the duty of the appropriate authority to take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that every person who is known to them to be a parent of a registered pupil at the school is—

(a)informed of the vacancy and that it is required to be filled by election;

(b)informed that he is entitled to stand as a candidate, and vote, at the election; and

(c)given an opportunity to do so.

(7)The instrument of government for every voluntary school shall name the person or persons (if any) who are entitled to appoint any foundation governor.

(8)The instrument of government for any voluntary school may provide for any foundation governorship to be held ex officio by the holder of an office named in the instrument.

(9)The qualification of any person for election or appointment as a governor, of a particular category, of any county, voluntary or maintained special school, shall not have the effect of disqualifying him for election or appointment as a governor, of any other category, of that school.

(10)No person shall at any time hold more than one governorship of the same county, voluntary or maintained special school.

(11)Where the instrument of government for any county, voluntary or maintained special school provides for one or more governors to be appointed by persons acting jointly, any such appointment shall be made, in the event of failure on the part of those persons to make an agreed appointment—

(a)by the Secretary of State ; or

(b)in accordance with any direction given by him.

(12)No instrument of government for any county, voluntary or maintained special school which provides for one or more persons to be co-opted, by governors, as members of the governing body of the school shall make any provision (otherwise than by virtue of section 6 of this Act) which has the effect of restricting those governors in their choice of person to co-opt.

(13)In subsection (12) above, references to co-opted governors are to governors required to be co-opted by virtue of section 3 of this Act and do not include references to co-opted foundation governors.

(14)No person shall be qualified for membership of the governing body of any county, voluntary or maintained special school unless he is aged eighteen or over, at the date of his election or appointment.

(15)In subsection (6) above, " appropriate authority " means—

(a)the local education authority, in the case of a county, controlled or maintained special school; and

(b)the governing body, in the case of an aided or special agreement school.