AN INTERIM board appointed to replace a dysfunctional governing body at a Bradford school was itself lacking expertise in governance, a review has concluded.

As reported in the Telegraph & Argus yesterday, a report into the sacking of the entire governing body at Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise College last April concluded that Bradford Council was right to step in to remove the governors over concerns that they were not doing their jobs effectively.

A full copy of the report has now emerged, and it reveals that the review panel described the interim executive board set up by the council as also lacking specialist expertise in governance procedures.

The review, commissioned by the council's children's services overview and scrutiny committee, concluded that Bradford Council lacked experts it could use when imposing interim executive boards.

Review panel chairman Les Walton has recommended that the council works with schools, Trusts and other partners to clarify statutory responsibilities with regard to governance.

"The outcome should be a clear statement of the responsibilities of all parties in relation to good governance, taking account of the different school legal frameworks," said Mr Walton.

He urged the council to review the role of School Improvement Officer and the terms for the School Specific Monitoring Group so they have the expertise to challenge governing bodies and senior leadership teams.

He concluded: "The role of local authority governors and officers is not clear with regard to governance oversight. Therefore, the role of local authority governors should be reviewed so that they can develop the skills to support schools with clear guidance in this area."

Governors should be given written guidance on their role and offered training, said Mr Walton.

The review concluded that the previous board of governors lacked the expertise to hold the school's leadership to account and spent too much time discussing minor matters.

It also said that the governors and the local authority "did not demonstrate the unity of governance, leadership and strategy for improvement that we would expect".

The review was critical of the work of the interim executive board for failing to get to grips with management issues at Laisterdyke.

One of its first tasks should have been an immediate review of senior management skills in light of the former principal's admission that she was "out of her depth" with regard to governance and her long-standing desire for a "strategic partnership" relationship with the governing body.

The review said there were "no clear guidelines and protocols for such a relationship" which became evident when relations between the two deteriorated, a situation "which should have been addressed earlier."

In September an interim principal was appointed to run the school in place of Jen McIntosh, who had led the school since January 2011.

Bradford Council has committed itself to implementing the recommendations.

Council leader David Green said there were "important lessons to be learned by all parties," adding: "We accept the findings in full and we will act quickly to implement the recommendations."