FE colleges must publish:

• their submitted annual accountability statement (part 2) within 3 months of the start of the academic year –that is, by 1 December
• regular reviews of how well the education or training provided by the college meets local needs, in particular those related to employment
• a statement in their annual report on the development of governors and governance professionals

They should publish a summary of the outcomes of their external governance review and the associated action plan (at least every 3 years, with updates following the annual governance self-assessment).

What academy trusts must publish

Academy trusts must publish the following in an easily accessible format on their website:

• a memorandum of association
• their articles of association
• the names of trust members and academy trustees
• the relevant business and financial interests of members, trustees, local governors and accounting officers
• their funding agreement
• any supplemental funding agreement
• up-to-date details of governance arrangements

Further guidance is available in the academy trust handbook.

What academy trusts should publish

DfE encourages academy trusts to publish easily accessible data about the diversity of:

• their board
• any associated committees

There is no prescriptive way to collect this data, but trusts may choose to follow a similar approach to that they use to publish the diversity data of pupils.

Board or committee members can opt out of sharing their information, such as protected characteristics, including after the data has been published.

Trusts must ensure that individuals cannot be identified, which may be a particular issue when board or committee member levels are low. Guidance on the Equality Act 2010 and data protection in schools is available.

What FE colleges should publish

FE colleges should publish the following:

• their governing body’s structure and responsibilities
• details of any committees
• the names of the chair and governors
• information on governor recruitment, such as selection procedures and the work of any search committee

They may wish simply to publish their governors’ handbook, which should include all of this information.

They should also publish their instrument and articles of government.

DfE encourages FE colleges to make an energy and carbon reporting disclosure equivalent to that set out in the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018. Guidance is available in the college accounts direction.