Rainford C E Primary School

`School, church and community working together'

 

Governors’ Allowances Policy

 

 

 

 

Approved by Full Governors:    20^th September 2016

To be reviewed on or before:      Autumn 2018

 

 

Signed……………………………………………  Chair of Governors

 

Signed……………………………………………  Headteacher

Rainford C E Primary School

GOVERNORS’ ALLOWANCES POLICY

 

Status: statutory for all maintained schools

This policy should be read in conjunction with the DFE non-statutory guidance ‘Paying allowances to school governors (from September 2003)’ and in conjunction with the legislation ‘The Education (Governors’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003’ SI 2003/523 for those to whom it applies.

Background

The 2003 regulations give governing bodies the discretion to pay allowances from the school’s delegated budget to governors for certain expenses which they incur in carrying out their duties. The DFE also considers that governors should not be out-of-pocket when carrying out their duties.

Allowances may be paid to governors and associate members of the governing bodies by the governing bodies of maintained schools that have delegated budgets. The local authority (LA) may pay allowances to governors of a maintained school that does not have a delegated budget and to persons appointed to represent the LA at an independent school or non-maintained special school. Additional governors and interim executive board members appointed by the Education Secretary, in the case of a school requiring special measures, are paid expenses by the DFE. If a school has its delegated budget withdrawn, payments will be met by the LA where there is a scheme and payments may differ from those used previously by the school.

Permitted expenses might include:

• Child care or babysitting expenses.
• Care arrangements for an elderly or dependent relative.
• Telephone charges, photocopying, stationery etc.
• Travel and subsistence (that is, reimbursement for meals purchased that would not have otherwise been bought).

Individual governing bodies should make their own decisions, but care should be taken not to make payments which incur tax.

Governors’ expenses should be paid on provision of a receipt at a rate determined by the governing body, and must be limited to the amount shown on the receipt. Mileage reimbursements should be at or below authorised HMRC mileage allowances, never above. Attendance allowance and payments for loss of earnings may not be paid.

Governor expenses are met from the school’s delegated budget or from any other sources of income to the school, so long as anyone providing those funds is aware that they may be used for this purpose.

Governor allowances are subject to audit and schools and/or LAs will need to ensure that there are no abuses and that school resources are being used efficiently. Schools should therefore ensure that effective financial systems for authorising and processing payment are in place and policies include statements to avoid inappropriate claims.

All members of the governing body are allowed to vote on the nature and rates of allowances, irrespective of the rules on declaring direct and indirect financial interests. However, if an individual governor’s claim is being considered or approved, that individual must withdraw from the meeting as he or she will have a financial interest in the outcome of the discussion. It would be good practice for schools to set criteria for paying claims to ensure that costs do not escalate and limit the need for claims to be approved individually.

 

GOVERNORS’ ALLOWANCES POLICY

Introduction

The governing body of Rainford C E Primary School believes that paying school governor allowances reflects the value that the school places on our governors in the amount of time, energy and sacrifice that they offer to the school.

Objectives and targets

The governing body of Rainford C E Primary School believes that using the specific categories as set out below, we will ensure equality of opportunity to serve as governors for all members of the community and so is an appropriate use of school funds. The specific items allowable reflect this objective.

Criteria and Operation Guidelines

The following criteria will be applied:

• Governors at our school will not be paid attendance allowance.
• Governors at our school will not be reimbursed for loss of earnings.
• All governors at our school will be entitled to claim the actual costs that they incur in carrying out their duties as a governor or representative of the school. Claims may be made for:

• Childcare or babysitting allowances.
• Cost of care arrangements for an elderly or dependent relative.
• The extra costs they incur in performing their duties either because they have special needs or because English is not their first language.
• The cost of travel, relating only to travel to meetings/training courses, at a rate reviewed and agreed annually by the Finance & Resources Committee, and which does not exceed the specified rates for school personnel.
• Travel and subsistence costs, payable at a rate reviewed and agreed annually by the Finance & Resources Committee, associated with attending national meetings or training events, unless these costs can be claimed from the local authority (LA) or any other source.
• Toner and/or Ink Cartridges, photocopying, printing, stationery and postage costs will only be reimbursed if the school office was not available to fulfil these items/services.
• Any other justifiable allowances.

Governors intending to claim allowances should ensure that prior approval has been obtained either from the Full Governing Body or the Chair of Governors as appropriate. Once prior approval has been received, governors wishing to make claims under these arrangements should complete a claims form obtainable from the School Office or by printing Appendix A. Attaching receipts where possible the form should be returned to the School Office within two weeks of when the expenses were incurred.

Claim forms will be submitted for approval by the Chair of Finance & Resource Committee. The Chair of the Finance & Resource Committee will report all claims to the Finance & Resource Committee at the next meeting.. All claims will be subjected to independent audit. Any claim that appears excessive or inconsistent will be referred by the Chair of the Finance & Resources to the Chair of Governors for investigation prior to any payment being made.

Monitoring and evaluation

This policy will be monitored throughout the year and evaluated annually by the Finance & Resource Committee and reported to the first Full Governing Body meeting of the academic year. The Committee will consider any changes that need to be made on the advice of auditors, or to reflect decisions made on any excessive or inconsistent claims that may have arisen during the year.

Reviewing

This policy will be reviewed annually, in the light of any changes to acceptable reimbursements or to regulations.