Guidance

Creating an effective and agile governance structure: resources

Published 24 September 2025

Applies to England

Designing your governance structure

Design your governance structure around your organisation’s current context and challenges. Governance structures that were established in different circumstances can limit innovation and responsiveness.

For governing bodies and academy trust boards, make sure there is clarity about:

• roles and responsibilities
• lines of accountability

Simplify your governance structure by:

• reducing the number of standing committees
• using focused working groups to help sharpen strategic oversight and reduce unnecessary burdens

DfE has the following guidance on governance structures:

• Maintained schools governance guide – gives an overview of how governing bodies must be constituted in section 5
• Academy trust governance guide – explains how to develop a strong academy trust governance structure in section 4.1

Resources: governance structures

Academy trust governance code – describes the importance of structures to fulfil the goals of the academy trust in principle 4.

Scheme of delegation checklists – guidance to support governance professionals and boards to develop delegations appropriate to their academy trusts.

Clerking handbook – a guide to governance structures and model annual cycle checklists for maintained schools and academy trusts.

Charting the course to good governance – a report analysing common challenges found through external reviews of governance in maintained schools and academy trusts.

Assurance framework for academy trust governance – a 20-element assurance framework with descriptors of what strong and weak assurance might look like at academy trust board level.

Being flexible in your approach to board structure

Consider associate members

Maintained school governing bodies can choose to appoint associate members to one or more of their committees.

Associate members:

• can be registered students or staff at the school, or external people who want to contribute to an area of expertise
• are not full governors but can be assigned voting rights at committee level if they are aged 18 or over
• cannot vote at full governing body meetings

Associate members are particularly useful when specific expertise is limited on committees. The flexibility of the role:

• allows the member to contribute without committing to full membership
• provides an opportunity for students to bring their unique point of view to the governing body and gain experience of governance in education settings

Academy trusts do not have the same flexibilities as maintained schools regarding associate members. They should refer to their articles of association and funding agreement for further clarification. 

Section 5 of DfE’s maintained schools governance guide has guidance on appointing and using associate members.

Resources: flexibility in governance structures

Building diversity into our workforce strategies – a discussion paper on encouraging diversity among staff working in education and academy trusts.

Next-gen governance – describes the importance of being flexible with governance structures in academy trusts.

Governing a school trust – focuses in domain 2 on the importance of a dynamic governance structure in academy trusts.

The mature MAT model: success, innovation and challenges in the academy trust system – explores the academy trust system’s evolution, with a focus on governance.

Growing good governance – a report based on the analysis of external reviews of governance for maintained schools and academy trusts.

Evaluate your governance

Modern governance recognises the growing demands placed on governors and academy trustees and responds with innovative approaches to how governance is constituted.

Governance systems that prioritise clarity, purpose and agility are more likely to be effective. By continuously evaluating whether structures support or hinder their strategic aims, boards remain proactive rather than reactive.

DfE’s guidance on external reviews of governance sets out what’s involved in effective external reviews of maintained schools and academy trusts to improve performance.

Resources: evaluating governance

Governing board self-evaluation questions – supports the annual evaluation of maintained school and academy trust board effectiveness to help inform future training, development or recruitment needs.

Using technology to increase board efficiency 

Technology can help to streamline governance processes and enable faster, more efficient feedback loops. Using tools that eliminate administrative burdens, such as automated minute-taking or a digital reporting platform, can instil a governance culture that focuses on what matters most. 

Virtual meetings 

Virtual meeting platforms offer alternatives to in-person meetings. The benefits of virtual meetings include: 

• improved attendance, especially if governors and academy trustees have childcare or carer commitments 
• increased accessibility for those unable to travel or who find accessing the meeting place in person difficult 
• time and cost efficiency due to the lack of required travel  
• continuity of meetings when there are travel disruptions or issues with the meeting space, which would usually result in meetings being cancelled 

Through the benefits of virtual meetings, governing body and academy trust board meetings may be better attended. This maintains a quorum for effective discussion and decision-making.

Schools and academy trusts need to determine when virtual meetings are appropriate as outlined in specific DfE guidance. In certain situations – for example, exclusion appeals panels – virtual meetings are not permitted unless requested by the parent, carer or excluded pupil.

Technology can be perceived as a barrier to some governors and academy trustees. An effective induction to the platform can help mitigate any difficulties in its use. 

Artificial intelligence 

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) can help increase the efficiency of governance practices by reducing administrative burdens. Any use of generative AI by staff and pupils should be carefully considered and assessed.

Schools and academy trusts may wish to create or amend an existing policy to include use of AI to monitor effectiveness, safety and risks.

Potential uses of AI in school and academy trust governance include: 

• meeting agenda preparation 
• meeting minute-taking and summarisation 
• board-reporting and information-sharing 
• policy drafting 

DfE has the following guidance on use of virtual meetings in governance and AI in education:

• Academy trust governance guide – gives an overview of conducting board meetings in section 4.3, in line with articles of association in academy trusts
• generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education – offers guidance on using AI safely and effectively

Resources: using technology in governance

Navigating AI: essentials for school governance – an introduction to AI and its potential impact on education for school governors and academy trustees.

Good practice for virtual board and committee meetings – how to hold remote governing body, academy trust board and committee meetings.

Remote governance – information on carrying out governance remotely in maintained schools and academy trusts.