[Flyboy]

Usually governors don't have the full powers to sack a headteacher, as typically the headteacher will ultimately be employed by the local authority. They can recommend dismissal and declare a state of no confidence, in which the local authority will have little choice but to accept. I think the lack of action, in terms of her employment, was probably down to both bodies not coming to an agreement as to how they should proceed. But Roger's assessment of governors, as a whole, is not too distant from what really does go in many schools. If there any claims of this nature, they could potentially be personally responsible for any compensation. There was a case recently when a school was shut down by the health and safety executive because some very serious breaches of fire regulations (fire extinguishers not working, fire escapes sealed etc. I think), the governors were fined and had to pay the penalty themselves. I'll see if I can find a link to it somewhere.