Explanation of terms
Updated 12 February 2024
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-corporations-and-sixth-form-college-corporations-governance-guide--2/explanation-of-terms
An explanation of the terms used in this guide:
Accounting officer
The senior executive leader of the college, personally accountable to ESFA and Parliament for regularity, propriety and value for money.
Assurance
Confidence, based on credible evidence, that internal controls are in place and operating effectively.
Assurance framework
A structure in which a corporation identifies the key risks to the achievement of its objectives, and maps out its internal controls and how it will gain credible evidence on the effectiveness of those controls.
Board
Responsible for the governance of the corporation. It consists of governors who have been duly appointed and are entitled to vote. It does not include the governance professional or anyone who may attend board meetings in an advisory or other capacity.
Charity trustees
The people who have general control and management of the administration of a charity.
Cognitive diversity
Also known as diversity of thought, cognitive diversity refers to the wide differences in people’s perspectives, thought patterns and how they solve problems.
Exempt charity
An organisation established for a purpose recognised by the Charities Act 2011 and which benefits the public.
An exempt charity is a charity which is not directly regulated by the Charity Commission because it is overseen by another principal regulator.
The principal regulator of FE and sixth-form college corporations is the Secretary of State for Education.
Governance
The Chartered Governance Institute for UK and Ireland defines governance as ‘a system that provides a framework for managing organisations. It identifies who can make decisions, who has the authority to act on behalf of the organisation and who is accountable for how an organisation and its people behave and perform. Governance enables the management team and the board to run organisations legally, ethically, sustainably, and successfully’.
Governor
A member of the board of the corporation. A governor is also a charity trustee within the terms of the Charities Act 2011.
High needs students
Students who are the subject of an education, health and care plan and who require additional support.
Instrument and articles of government
The governing document that sets out how an FE or sixth-form college corporation is run.
Political activities
Activities which aim to secure, or oppose, a change in the law or in public policy.
Principal
The senior executive leader of a college. The role is sometimes also known as principal and chief executive for a stand-alone college or chief executive where a corporation is responsible for several colleges.
Regularity
Regularity means that public money is spent for the purposes intended by parliament and in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Propriety
Standards of conduct, behaviour and corporate governance. Propriety includes matters such as fairness, integrity, even-handedness in the appointment of staff, open competition in the letting of contracts and avoidance of waste and extravagance.
Statutory corporation
A corporate body created by an act of parliament or Royal Charter.
Standing orders
Rules and procedures concerning the conduct of meetings.