woops ----'in noted that they paid for advice'----- should have read ---'I noted that they paid for advice from other professionals'---

I agree with a lot of what achrn has been saying. Schools have traditionally had help from parents, staff and others in the community on a goodwill basis to enrich the school experience, improve facilities or opportunities for children and of course in governance. School governors in a maintained school (i.e. still under LA control) are there for oversight and assurance - i.e. checking and ensuring that Head and staff are doing what they should rather than "doing" the work themselves. However if a governor has particular skills in H&S, HR, Finance etc then there is no harm in helping and advising the staff in their role, so long as it's understood that the Head and staff and the LA as well as the governing body have the legal liability. There is a wealth of government guidance on the limited liabilities of school governors which I have found pretty reassuring as I recently became a school governor. The phrase "Maintained school governing bodies are corporate bodies that are legally responsible for the conduct of the school. Because of this, individual governors are generally protected from personal liability because of the governing body's decisions and actions. Provided they act honestly, reasonably and in good faith, any liability will fall on the governing body even if it exceeds its powers, rather than on individual members" is a good summary. More detail is in the DFE guide book for governors available online. Governors in academies have a slightly different role but again should be protected from personal liability if they act reasonably and in good faith as in the definition in the handbook.