Documents for Review

From September 2026 Annual Review

The documents below relate to the September 2026 Annual Governance Review and are revisions of the governance documents that are currently in active use. They should not be considered current until actively adopted and are published here to aid review only.

NB: The Constitutional 'Rules' of Shildon Railway Institute do not change. 

These draft proposal documents have been fully cross-checked with the Rules to ensure consistency - but also cross checked against each other to try to ensure they fully complement and don't contradict each other.

New documents for review will be added to this page ahead of the formal review meeting for approval. 

1. Governance Philosophy (new)

The Governance Philosophy simply sets out on a single page core principles as a foundation stone for Governance and explain the underlying philosophy in the simplest terms.

Click here to access and review the new Governance Philosophy.

2. Responsibilities of the Management Committee (revised)

The former version was quite 'generic' drawing from several sources - while in reading this new version you should recognise that it 'fits' who we are at the Institute and what we do better and is more rounded and balanced.

Click here to access and review the new Responsibilities of the Management Committee

3. Management Committee Code of Conduct (revised)

Again this document has been fully revised and I think as you read it you'll recognise more of the Institute and our present and desired culture and expectations when reading it.

Click here to access and review the new Committee Code of Conduct. 

4. Standing Orders (new)

A clear gap identified in the 2026 annual review of Governance was that we did not have a Standing Orders document so this proposal will address that gap. Standing Orders are a keystone of how an organisation is run and sets out all of the principles under which meetings are run and decisions are made - it was a very important gap to address.

Click here to access and review the proposed Standing Orders. 

5. Conflict of Interest Policy (new)

Again the 2026 review identified that we did not have a Conflict of Interest policy, and as there was an incident with Project Sans Pareil in the early stages where there was a clear possible conflict of interest situation that emerged it felt important that we (like so many other organisations) take the possible emergence of conflicts of interest and make it part of our formal culture.

Click here to access and review the proposed Conflict of Interest Policy.

6. Management Committee Declaration of Interest (new)

A document produced to support the Conflict of Interest Policy and its execution - essentially just a questionnaire that will elicit any themes that might create a conflict of interest for Committee members. Interests declared are always kept within the Committee only but this will be our means to demonstrate that when we act we do so for the greater good and not our own interest.

Click here to access and review the proposed Declaration of Interest form.

7. Concerns, Complaints and Disputes Procedure (revised)

Events during 2025-2026 have raised questions about whether our current Complaints and Dispute Management procedure was fit for purpose, and while the 2026 review identified that the principle of 'written complaints' is hard coded into the Institute's constitutional Rules document and therefore cannot be simply dismissed, this 2026 revision, based on advice, offers new approaches that would still offer greater flexibility in the future whilst retaining the accountability that must be the foundation stone of a well governed organisation.

Click here to access and review that proposed Concerns, Complaints and Disputes Procedure. 

8. Volunteer Code of Conduct (revised)

Experience of onboarding Volunteers during 2026 has revealed that there were aspects of the Volunteer Code of Conduct that just didn't feel right when presented to volunteers and the 2026 review found that they were too generic and not really reflective of the Institute's culture - so this version attempts to address that.

Click here to access and review the Volunteer Code of Conduct.

9. Volunteer Agreement (revised)

Again, experience with volunteers during 2026 suggested that the Volunteer Agreement was trying to do too many things in one document. It behaved like an application form as well as capturing important details for the Institute but meant less to the Volunteer. Perhaps we draw on too generic a proposal for our original documents. This proposed revision is a more natural form of agreement, dispensing with the unnecessary aspects which we can deal with in different ways.

Click here to access and review the Volunteer Agreement.

Governance documents still in review and yet to be published.

The following are still undergoing review and are yet to be published for review:

• Reserves and Distribution Policy
• Privacy Policy
• GDPR Statement
• Emergency Procedures
• Safeguarding Policy
• Health & Safety Policy
• Site Security Policy
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
• Assistance / Service Dogs Policy

A note on governance documents that will not be revised as part of the 2026 annual review.

The following will NOT be revised as part of the 2026 annual review - for the reasons outlined:

• Rules of the Institute - we adopted a rules standard for a Community Benefit Society and should remain aligned.
• Share Withdrawal Policy and Sample Application Form - conforms to standard and functions well.
• Committee Electoral Nomination Form - conforms to standard and functions well.
• Register of Members - maintained on an ongoing basis.
• Membership Strategy - subject to separate review exercise not necessarily aligned to annual governance review.
• Corporate Risk Assessment - subject to separate annual review exercise within Committee.