A clerk to the governing board is the governance professional, required to provide advice, guidance and effective administrative support.
High quality professional clerking is crucial to the effective functioning of the board. Clerking is not only about good organisation and administration, but also and more importantly, about helping the board understand its role, functions and legal duties. This is crucial in helping the board exercise its duties confidently in a timely manner to stay focused on its core functions.
The role of a clerk is about helping the board to understand its role, functions and legal duties and to provide clear impartial advice to the board. The clerking role should be a discrete and independent function but remain accountable to the chair. The board must have regard to advice from the clerk as to the nature of their functions.
All maintained schools and academy trusts must appoint a clerk/governance professional to their governing board. Boards governing different types and sizes of organisation will have different clerking needs but should set demanding standards for the service they expect from their clerk and assure themselves that they are employing a clerk with suitable skills and training. Consequently, they should expect to pay an appropriate amount commensurate to the professional service they expect their clerk to deliver.
A clerk is expected to demonstrate a commitment to developing and improving their own knowledge and skills; learning from others to improve their own practice; sharing their skills with others, including board members; and undertaking relevant training and development opportunities.
Professional clerking is recognised as one of the key steps to effective governance. An effective clerk builds and maintains professional working relationships within the board as the foundation for providing impartial advice and support. Good relationships are also essential to establishing open communication and ensuring smooth information flow between the board, the executive leaders and where required, staff, parents and the local community.
The voluntary nature of governance makes it essential that boards conduct their business efficiently to make the best possible use of everyone’s time. Professional clerking has a vital role to play in meeting the administrative and procedural requirements of boards and enabling efficient and effective discussion and decision making.
There are many sources of help and information available to a clerk and their board, some of which are listed within the following pages. This clerking handbook aims to lead a clerk or governance professional through the majority of procedures they will be dealing with within their board and committee meetings.
Extracted from the NAGAS Clerking Handbook 2024
The NAGAS Clerking Handbook is a practical guide for governing board clerks and governance professionals in maintained and academy schools. The guide is produced by the National Association for Governance Advisory Services and is recommend by the Department for Education.
Download the Clerking Handbook