Governance and Leadership Standards

General Principle

An accredited school must have clear, documented, and effective governance arrangements, under which authority and accountability are unambiguously vested in identifiable persons.

Governance is a substantive standard, not a formal one. A school that has the appearance of governance without the substance — for example, a board that never meets, or a senior officer who is not in fact authorised to bind the school — does not satisfy this page.

The governance requirements set out in this page apply irrespective of the legal form of the school — whether it is a company, a trust, a society, a foundation, a partnership, a sole proprietorship, or a public institution.

Senior Officer — Authority and Accountability

Every accredited school must have a Senior Officer — designated as Principal, Director, Head, Headmaster, Headmistress, Rector, or equivalent, according to the usage of the school's jurisdiction — who is accountable to WEQSC for the school's compliance with the WEQSC framework.

The Senior Officer must have, and must be able to demonstrate on request, authority to bind the school in respect of:

• Its accreditation and all obligations arising under it;
• The payment of fees to WEQSC;
• The accuracy and timeliness of data submitted to WEQSC through the Portal;
• The conduct of WISE examinations;
• The issue of WISE credentials;
• Cooperation with audits and inspections.

The Senior Officer may delegate functions to other members of staff, but may not delegate ultimate accountability for compliance. Delegations must be in writing, must specify the scope and limits of the delegation, and must be recorded in the school's governance file.

The Senior Officer must complete the WEQSC leadership induction within ninety days of appointment. Where the Senior Officer has not completed the induction within that period, the school must notify WEQSC and provide an explanation.

The Senior Officer must maintain current knowledge of the WEQSC framework, and must complete any refresher induction required by WEQSC following an amendment to the framework that affects the school's obligations.

Change of Senior Officer

Where the Senior Officer of an accredited school ceases to hold office, the school must notify WEQSC in writing within seven days, stating:

• The date on which the office became vacant;
• The name of any person appointed as Acting Senior Officer, together with the anticipated duration of the acting appointment;
• The proposed process for the appointment of a permanent successor;
• The date by which a permanent successor is expected to be appointed.

The school must appoint an Acting Senior Officer within fourteen days of the office becoming vacant, and must appoint a permanent successor within one hundred and eighty days.

Where a permanent successor is not appointed within the period specified, the school must apply to WEQSC for an extension, giving reasons. WEQSC may grant an extension of up to a further one hundred and eighty days, on such terms as it considers appropriate.

Failure to appoint a permanent Senior Officer within the period specified, or any extension granted, may result in the school being placed on Provisional Accreditation.

A change of Senior Officer does not affect the school's obligations under the WEQSC framework. The school remains bound by all obligations subsisting at the date of the change, and the incoming Senior Officer assumes accountability from the date of appointment.

Governing Body

Where an accredited school has a governing body — a board of directors, a board of trustees, a management committee, a governing council, a school management committee, or equivalent — that body must:

• Have a written constitution, charter, or terms of reference specifying its composition, powers, and procedures;
• Meet not less than twice per academic session, with minutes recorded and retained;
• Have at least one member with responsibility for academic matters, whether by designation or by the member's own qualification;
• Have a clear procedure for the appointment, evaluation, and removal of the Senior Officer;
• Act at all times in the best interests of the school and its students.

Where an accredited school does not have a governing body in the sense described above — for example, a school operated as a sole proprietorship or by a single proprietor — the school must establish a documented advisory mechanism under which at least three persons, including at least one parent representative and at least one member of the teaching staff, are consulted on significant governance matters. The advisory mechanism must meet not less than twice per academic session.

Where the school is a public institution subject to statutory governance arrangements under the law of its jurisdiction, the arrangements required by that law satisfy this section, provided the school can produce evidence of the arrangements and of the meetings held.

The composition of the governing body — or of the advisory mechanism — must be documented and provided to WEQSC at the time of application and updated within thirty days of any change.

Governing Body — Duties

The governing body — or, where none exists, the Senior Officer with the advisory mechanism — is responsible for:

• Approval of the school's annual budget and financial statements;
• Oversight of the school's compliance with the WEQSC framework;
• Appointment, evaluation, and where necessary removal of the Senior Officer;
• Adoption of written policies in respect of admission, discipline, grievance, and fee structure;
• Oversight of the annual audit and of any audit finding;
• Setting the school's strategic direction.

The governing body must receive, not less than once per academic session, a report from the Senior Officer on:

• The school's compliance status under the WEQSC framework;
• Any material litigation or regulatory action affecting the school;
• The school's financial position.

Minutes of governing body meetings must be retained for the retention period specified in the Data and Technology section of this portal, and must be available for inspection at audit.

Conflicts of Interest

The school must maintain a written policy on conflicts of interest, applying to members of the governing body, the Senior Officer, and senior academic and administrative staff.

A person has a conflict of interest if their personal, financial, or family interests, or the interests of any entity with which they are associated, could reasonably be seen to influence the discharge of their duties to the school.

Every person to whom the policy applies must declare any interest that could reasonably be considered to give rise to a conflict, whether actual or potential, at the time of appointment and upon any subsequent change. Declarations must be recorded in a conflict of interest register maintained by the school.

Where a conflict is declared, the person concerned must not participate in the deliberation or decision to which the conflict relates. The recusal must be recorded in the minutes of the meeting at which the matter is considered.

The conflict of interest register must be made available to WEQSC on request, and its existence and current maintenance are verified at audit.

A failure to declare a conflict of interest, or participation in a decision in which a declared conflict subsists, is a breach of the WEQSC framework, and may be classified as a Major Finding at audit where it relates to a matter of significance to the school's compliance or finances.

Management Structure and Reporting Lines

The school must maintain a documented management structure showing the reporting lines from each member of staff to the Senior Officer.

The management structure must identify, for each of the following functions, the person responsible:

• Academic leadership and curriculum delivery;
• Examination conduct and integrity;
• Student records and Portal submissions;
• Financial management and fee collection;
• Data protection and cybersecurity;
• Student welfare and safeguarding;
• Grievance handling.

A single person may hold responsibility for more than one function. The school must ensure, however, that no person is responsible for both the approval of a financial transaction and the verification of that transaction.

The management structure must be documented in writing, kept current, and provided to WEQSC upon request.

Succession and Continuity

The school must maintain a written succession plan in respect of the Senior Officer and each person identified as responsible for a critical function.

The succession plan must identify, for each critical function, at least one person capable of assuming the function on a temporary basis in the event of the absence or incapacity of the person normally responsible.

Where the school is unable, at any time, to identify a successor for a critical function, it must notify WEQSC within thirty days and propose a remedy.

In the event of a prolonged absence or incapacity of the Senior Officer — for example, by reason of illness, legal incapacity, or loss of liberty — the school must appoint an Acting Senior Officer within fourteen days, and must notify WEQSC within the same period.

Relationship with WEQSC at Governance Level

The relationship between the school and WEQSC is a regulatory relationship, not a commercial partnership. The Senior Officer and the governing body must conduct the relationship in a manner consistent with that character.

Neither the governing body nor the Senior Officer may accept, and neither may offer, any inducement, gift, or benefit, in cash or in kind, to any WEQSC officer, employee, or contractor, in connection with any matter arising under the WEQSC framework. This prohibition applies whether the benefit is offered directly or indirectly.

Where the school becomes aware that a WEQSC officer has been offered, or has solicited, any such benefit by any person connected to the school, it must report the matter to WEQSC within seven days.

A breach of the preceding provisions is a Critical Finding, and may constitute grounds for Termination, whether the benefit was accepted or merely offered.

Financial Governance

The governing body — or, where none exists, the Senior Officer — must approve the school's annual budget before the commencement of each financial year, and must review actual performance against the budget not less than once per academic session.

The school must maintain appropriate internal financial controls, including the segregation of duties between authorisation and verification of expenditure, and must document those controls.

The school must maintain reserves or committed funding sufficient to meet its operating costs and its obligations to WEQSC for a period of not less than three months, at all times during the accreditation cycle.

Where the school becomes aware that it is likely to breach the requirement in the preceding paragraph, it must notify WEQSC within fourteen days and propose a remedy.

Breach — Consequences

A breach of any provision of this page is subject to the audit regime and, where applicable, to the suspension and termination regime set out in the Accountability section of this portal.

A breach involving an inducement, gift, or benefit offered to or accepted from a WEQSC officer is classified as Critical.

Conclusion

The governance and leadership standards set out in this page are the foundation on which the integrity and accountability of an accredited school depend. All governance procedures not expressly set out in this portal must follow the Secretariat's official bylaws.