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1 May 2026

Tag: National Governance Association

Ministers urged to rule on governance board conflict issue as trustees resign in protest

Governance experts have warned against a “fundamental conflict of interest” of school leaders also being trustees after all the non-staff members of an academy board resigned over the issue. Trustees at Denmark Road High School, a grammar school in Gloucester, quit in protest before Christmas after the headteacher refused to step down from the board. […]

Boosting finances a main driver for half of trusts that expand

Around half of academy trusts say boosting their finances is one of the main drivers to take on more schools, amid concerns chains feel “under pressure” to grow in size. The National Governance Association has today released the results of its annual school governance survey of multi-academy trusts. The survey, which included around 1,800 school […]

Chairs of governors at odds with boards over workload

The organisation that represents school governors has warned of a “disconnect” on workload between chairs and their boards. A survey by the National Governance Association found that while 81 per cent of chairs believed their school was effectively addressing the issue, just 49 per cent of staff governors and 61 per cent of other governors […]

Removing parent governors will be seen as power grab to stifle dissent

Three years ago the then education secretary Justine Greening announced she was dropping her predecessor’s proposal to remove the requirement for academy trusts to reserve places for elected parents. The Department for Education was taken aback by the strength of opposition, particularly from parents themselves. Greening’s statement that “parent governors play a vital role” was […]

MAT chairs work more than double recommended hours, study finds

Chairs of trustees work the equivalent of a fifth of a full-time job running academy trusts, a new study has found, raising concerns over whether the workload is sustainable. A survey by the National Governance Association found the average trust chair works 49.6 days a year – the equivalent to 21.4 per cent of what […]

Schools urged to nominate governors and trustees for NGA awards

Schools have just over a month left to nominate governors, trustees and clerks for the National Governance Association’s prestigious Outstanding Governance Awards 2019. The biannual awards ceremony, which recognises and celebrates the best examples of school governance, will take place in May 2019. Nominations are welcome up to December 3, 2018. The NGA awards are […]