Policy A-Z

Paperwork & Policies Legal Requirements

To be effective, your policies should reflect the unique context of your school. The process of thinking about a policy and what your school requires determines how effective a policy will be. Simply copying a policy is of little use; you will be able to tick that it has been done but that is all. It will not suit the needs of your school and nobody will feel that it belongs to them.

There is no single correct format for a policy. Some people consider that it should be a very brief statement of principles, others that it should provide extensive detail about the procedures to be followed. By setting out explicit guidance for everyone involved in or affected by a policy, time that could otherwise be spent searching for necessary information will be saved when people consult the policy. However, this is not an excuse for unnecessary length. A policy should be concise, and normally it should be possible to contain the main message in one or two sides of A4.

New list of Statutory Policies for Schools

The DfE have recently published an updated list of statutory policies and documents that schools are required to have.  It includes information on how often each policy must be reviewed, and a reminder that governors do not have to write these themselves and can delegate the task to a member of staff.  

New list of Statutory Policies for Schools (Updated October 2012)

This review schedule contains a list of the statutory policies requested , together with a timetable for review. 

• Policies Review Timetable (Correct until September 2012)

Policy A-Z 

The Policy A to Z shows policies and other documents that Governing Bodies are required to have by law. Links are provided to KCC model policies and/or other policy links.  

• Accessibility Plan 
• Admissions
• Annual Governors Report to Parents
• Attendance Targets
• Bullying (anti-bullying)
• Charging & Remissions Policy
• Child Protection Policy (see Document Bank for Safeguarding Toolkit)
• Complaints Procedure (See Document bank for the model complaints procedure and LGO update)
• Curriculum
• Data Protection Policy (this link will take you to the Information Governance Teams webpage where you will find the 'Model data protection policy'.
• Exclusion of Pupils
• Finance Policies (scroll down the page to Appendix 4 to view the policies)
• Freedom of Information and Publication Scheme
• Governors' Allowances (schemes for paying)
• Health and Safety
• Home-School Agreements
• Instrument of Government
• Minutes of and Papers Considered at Meetings of the Governing Body and Its Committees
• Performance Management
• Prospectus
• Pupil Discipline (including Anti-Bullying)
• Race Equality
• Register of Business Interests
• Register of Pupils  
• Religious Education and Collective Worship in Schools Guidance
• Review of Staffing Structure Document 
• Risk Assessments (see Health and Safety Policy)  
• School Companies
• Sex Education 
• Special Educational Needs (SEN)
• Staff Discipline, Conduct and Grievance Procedures (only available to schools that buy in to the Schools' Personnel Service package) 
• Target Setting for Schools
• Teachers' Pay Policy (only available to schools that buy in to the Schools' Personnel Service package)
• Whistleblowing

Other policies not required by Law

• Guidance on Uniform Policy and LGA Guidance August 2009
• Governors Allowance Guidance - This link was published by the National Governors Association with the policy on page 10.  See Policies above for Governors' Allowances (Schemes for paying)
• Governor Visits Policy - Developing and operating an effective Governor Visits Policy
• Lettings Advice and Guidance - Please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page
• Model policies from the Schools' Personnel Service - available to all
• Model policies from the Schools' Personnel Service - available to schools that buy in to the Schools' Personnel Service package