Votes of no confidence

[Divaldo]

Hi,

 

I was wondering whether anyone on here as ever experienced a vote of no confidence in an academy's board of trustees before? How might one come about and how is it done?

[localzuk]

This all depends on your academy's articles of association and policies. If there's no "vote of no confidence" written into those policies and documents then such a vote wouldn't hold any legal power. However, any organisation has the right to remove a trustee/director if they have broken the rules, regardless of the articles of association - Companies Act 2006

 

Also, if it is not about a specific member of the the trustees, and you're talking about no confidence in the entire board then there's pretty much nothing anyone can do except contact the Regional Education Commissioner for your area or the Secretary of State.

 

This page is helpful - https://www.gov.uk/charity-trustees-resignation-and-removal (even if academy status is slightly different).

[Divaldo]

Thanks, that's what I was just reading through. There is nothing written into our Articles or policies, so I guess I'll read the Companies Act over a coffee later!

 

Cheers.

[Diello]

As above, if not written into Articles of Association - and I've never known them to be - you can't really. The Governing Board isn't responsible to staff or parents, they're responsible to the DfE, and effectively implemented via OFSTED. If the School is failing, or their has been gross negligence, then that may trigger an emergency inspection however, which could lead to the Board being replaced. Boards can't just be replaced because the decisions they make aren't liked by staff/parents.

[theriver]

Even where there is no legal weight it's certainly enough to raise eyebrows, and will likely cause a stir, particularly for those initiating it.

 

Just a reminder that this is a public forum, tread lightly . . . . .

[elsiegee40]

Not a hope of success I suspect.

 

The board members (as opposed to those who are merely the directors) are effectively the share holders in the business. They are all appointed and listed at companies house. The employees, students and parents are not shareholders; they have no vote. Discontent can be expressed, but the board has no reason to listen to it unless the DfE intervenes.... and the chances of that, unless Ofsted or the Education Funding Agency have expressed concern, are pretty much nil.