The governing body is an essential structure at a charitable independent school and every thriving school owes a significant part of its success to them. The Governors themselves often receive little in the way of appreciation or thanks. Yet as part-time, unpaid, non-executives they are at risk of personal liability and must ensure they carry out the charity's objectives and do not act in excess of their powers.
We understand governance from your perspective and many of our lawyers and partners are themselves governors of independent schools. We are trusted legal advisers and friends to many chairs of governors who we have helped through challenging times and who regularly use us as a sounding board.
An informed and well trained governing body is the key starting point for good governance. We can support good governance in your school through our Schools Law Brief, OnStream and with bespoke training for your governing body to keep you up-to-date with the latest law and best practice.
We also support the Association for Governing Bodies in Independent Schools (AGBIS) by acting as their lawyers and speaking at their conferences.
In times of crisis and opportunity, Governors have an important role in taking some of the pressure off the head and also in dealing with professional advisers, the media, staff and parents. We know that you need practical advice, often out of normal office hours, to have confidence to act in the best interests of your school. We also have good working relationships with key players at the Charity Commission which helps us find practical cost efficient solutions but we also experienced at challenging their decisions where necessary or desirable.
VWV's education team are commercially astute and keep up to speed with trends and moves in the independent school sector - they are therefore able to provide relevant and up-to-date advice to clients.
Our independent schools lawyers have a broad variety of legal expertise and offer a full legal service to the independent schools sector
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