How many is the Quorum? – In response to questions received...
The quorum is the number of governors who must be present to validate the proceedings of a governors’ meeting.
In Maintained Schools - for a full governing board meeting the quorum must be half or rounded up, excluding vacancies.
Example: If the full membership of the governing board is 15, the quorum is, therefore, 8. However, should there be 3 vacancies the quorum is now 6. The quorum for a committee can be found in the terms of reference for the committee which are agreed annually; the majority of governing boards have a quorum of 3 for committees.
Quorum in Committee Meetings (Academies)
Academy trusts should ‘satisfy themselves’ that they are meeting the requirements set out in their articles of association as this will set out the rules around the governance of the trust, including around delegating to committees and voting on proceedings.
No Set Quorum for Academy Committees
Articles 100 - 104 of the model articles of association for academy trusts deal with committees and local governing bodies.
They do not mention a specific quorum for academy committees, but say that a vote on any matter can only take place if a majority of those present are trustees. However, this requirement does not apply in local governing bodies.
Specifically, the articles say:
- The trustees may establish any committee
- The constitution, membership and proceedings of any committee shall be determined by the trustees
- The establishment, terms of reference, constitution and membership of any committee of the trustees shall be reviewed at least once every 12 months
- The membership of any committee of the trustees may include persons who are not trustees, provided that, with the exception of local governing bodies, a majority of members of any such committee shall be trustees
- Except in the case of local governing bodies, no vote on any matter shall be taken at a meeting of a committee of the trustees unless the majority of members of the committee present are trustees
The latest version of the model articles can be viewed here.