Parent governor role to be scrapped in schools shakeup

[ROSM]

Try reading all that has been written and you will realise that finance does not come into play here. Your first sentence does not make sense - the whole purpose of the legislation IS to get independent governors involved, who can indeed ask pertinent questions, but whose potential involvement is denied, because the committee has to have parent governors who may or may not have the skills needed to ask those very same questions.

And that coming from a clerk to governors?

Is your school an academy currently? I suspect you've not been advising well on the selection of parent governors

 

[ROSM]

I'm a current chair of a governing body. Parent governors can be a pain in the area for a variety of reasons, but parents are an essential stakeholder in any school, and need to be represented. If they come with skills great. If they don't, they can still make a massive contribution. I've experienced shit parent governors, LA governors, associate governors and Co-opted governors. But also great ones from all groups.

Spot on

 

[beorhthelm]

Going forward there will be no elected governors so who Co opts? Who can hold governors accountable?

that is the really important question to ask and challenge ones MP about, to have that aspect addressed.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Seems reasonable enough

 

[ROSM]

In the case of the academies, where I now largely clerk, as the schools converted, the sponsor sends a representative to the meetings, and the Chair has to give a written report after each meeting, which is questioned. This did not happen under the old system, where no one read the minutes.

But who outside the governing body ( parents perhaps) have any right of recourse?

 

[Hastings gull]

And that coming from a clerk to governors?

Is your school an academy currently? I suspect you've not been advising well on the selection of parent governors

I do not have a clue what you are getting at. This seems as vague as your assertion that LEAs nominate governors . .

 

[ROSM]

I do not have a clue what you are getting at. This seems as vague as your assertion that LEAs nominate governors . .

You didn't read what was written re LEA and took
An element out of context.
There are nga guidelines for recruiting parent governors which assist in ensuring better quality candidates for election. Our clerk supports us in the election process including being clear the skills you are looking for, interviewing potential nominees/ nominees pre election

As I say, from experience we have had better quality parent governors

 

[Berty23]

I'm no fan of this government, or their educational policies, but I am a school governor and a parent of 2 kids at the school, but I'm not actually a 'parent governor' but I'm formally co-opted onto the governing body.

I don't think the idea is to get rid of parents being governors, it is having the right parents with the right skills doing the job. Therefore they are looking for accountants, solicitors, architects, engineers, human resources, educational professionals etc. etc. to be on governing bodies for those reasons - your role as parent is just your motivation for offering your time.

They'll never stop having parents as governors because who else would make up the majority of the governing bodies? But rather than having a playground election and Betty gets voted on because she has the most friends, the school needs to target their skills gap and try to attract the right people, the right parents, to their governing body.

At least this is how I've understood it, and how I personally was co-opted onto our governing body.

Oh, and as far as I'm aware, governors don't get paid. You can claim travel expenses, but I would think most rarely do.

This is all correct. Many of the other posts are not. So much information I have read on Internet forums and the media is wrong about academies bad what they are.

 

[drew]

This is all correct. Many of the other posts are not. So much information I have read on Internet forums and the media is wrong about academies bad what they are.

You're Yoda and I claim my prize.

 

[Berty23]

You're Yoda and I claim my prize.

Lol. Well spotted. And became bad. Oops.

 

[drew]

Try reading all that has been written and you will realise that finance does not come into play here. Your first sentence does not make sense - the whole purpose of the legislation IS to get independent governors involved, who can indeed ask pertinent questions, but whose potential involvement is denied, because the committee has to have parent governors who may or may not have the skills needed to ask those very same questions.

I'm not an expert on the existing system but perhaps you can confirm whether or not the current legislation prevents independent governors working alongside parent governors. Surely it's not a case of it being one or the other but could be both.

 

[ROSM]

This is all correct. Many of the other posts are not. So much information I have read on Internet forums and the media is wrong about academies bad what they are.

So what has been said that's wrong?

Be clear here the proposal is that not only should schools become academies but that they will be forced into chains. So standalone academies will be no more either

 

[ROSM]

I'm not an expert on the existing system but perhaps you can confirm whether or not the current legislation prevents independent governors working alongside parent governors. Surely it's not a case of it being one or the other but could be both.

Current school governing body guidelines actively encourage a mix of Governors amd lay down rule for what ratio can be parent governors

So you're correct, currently there is a balance with an element elected. Going forward less balance with no elected

 

[Hastings gull]

You didn't read what was written re LEA and took
An element out of context.
There are nga guidelines for recruiting parent governors which assist in ensuring better quality candidates for election. Our clerk supports us in the election process including being clear the skills you are looking for, interviewing potential nominees/ nominees pre election

As I say, from experience we have had better quality parent governors

This is much clearer and I see what you are getting at. I don't actually interview potential candidates though they are always made aware of what the school is looking for. However, they are elected by fellow parents, are they not, and herein lies the weakness. The playground friends who elect them may not necessarily be thinking as to how the Finance Committee would best gain from their expertise, or otherwise. And, trust me, some schools in more deprived areas of town do not have the luxury of several parents vying for one position, and thus take the only person who applies. It is all very well talking about ensuring better quality candidates, but not every one has that luxury. Can I assume that you are in an affluent area where there is little problem in getting potential governors to come forward -this is not meant as a dig whatsoever, but it might be that this affects your views on parent governors. At present, I clerk two academies and one maintained school, and parent governors tend to last the shortest period..
That having been said, there are undoubtedly very good and capable parent governors around, and I would not question that for one moment.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

I was a co-opted governor at a local secondary school in the 90s. It was evident that at the time there was a reluctance or restrictions imposed to manage out poor performing staff, and therefore an inability to improve the quality of staff. I suspect things have moved on a bit since then, but all schools are dependant on quality people running them at zero cost. It's OK if companies can support their staff in becoming co-opted governors but other than that governors need to have a real interest in the school if they are going to take the responsibility required whilst putting in hours for free. Parent governors provide this.

 

[Hastings gull]

I'm not an expert on the existing system but perhaps you can confirm whether or not the current legislation prevents independent governors working alongside parent governors. Surely it's not a case of it being one or the other but could be both.

Of course, you are quite right, it is not necessarily either or. Each school has its Instrument of Government, which stipulates the amount of governors it may have, and independent governors sit with parent governors. The possible disadvantage is that if you say you have to have parent governors, you may be forced to take one who is the only applicant, and in so doing, it might turn out that he or she was very half-hearted, and potentially a better independent person is denied involvement. That having been said, it could also be that the parent governor is the best of all the governors. I don't think there is any intention to get rid of parent governors, as such, - they are afterall vital stakeholders - just that if you have the pressure of having to keep places free, it might mean that eg a financial expert's knowledge could be missed out.

 

[Hastings gull]

I was a co-opted governor at a local secondary school in the 90s. It was evident that at the time there was a reluctance or restrictions imposed to manage out poor performing staff, and therefore an inability to improve the quality of staff. I suspect things have moved on a bit since then, but all schools are dependant on quality people running them at zero cost. It's OK if companies can support their staff in becoming co-opted governors but other than that governors need to have a real interest in the school if they are going to take the responsibility required whilst putting in hours for free. Parent governors provide this.[/QUOTE]

This is the ideal, and you are right in that this is what we should be striving for. However, not all parent governors are as you describe -some join because they think it like the PTA, and soon leave when the paperwork becomes too "dry", and others because they are there to purely check on their child's teaching. Some make a magnificent contribution as well, it must be said.

 

[Notters]

This comment that mirrors so many others on this thread, shows how important it is to be sure of one's facts, before you post. Firstly, governors are not paid, and the "professionals" to which you allude will NOT be paid either. Pressure is quite rightly on governing bodies to be an effective part of the school's management, and to this end they look for people in the wider community, who would have knowledge that they could bring to bear, that parents would not necessarily have. Knowledge of finance is usually snapped up, because the sub committee dealing with this aspect of the school tends to be very small, as so few governors understand the complexities, or are even interested. Governing bodies now do skills audits and check regularly that they have a range of talents. Parents will NOT be forced out, because they are parents, as such, but the fact remains that reserving places for parents, however committed they might be, is not always the best use of talent. Far too often, parents join governing bodies because they think it is rather like the PTA or because they have an intense interest in the fortunes of their own child rather than those of the school in general. Of course, some parents bring good outside experience to the governing body, such as a PCSO and a solicitor in one school, and they will doubtless continue to play an important role, but reserving places for them, simply because they are parents and volunteers, however laudable, does not always represent best practice. This is what the legislation is trying to address, and has nothing to do with privatisation etc.
By the way, I work as a clerk to governing bodies.

Woooooooosh!

 

[The Albion Roar]

This comment that mirrors so many others on this thread, shows how important it is to be sure of one's facts, before you post. Firstly, governors are not paid, and the "professionals" to which you allude will NOT be paid either. yak, yak, yak...

I KNOW they don't get paid. That was the whole point of my post.

I think that was the point being made. In fact, I'm sure of it because the partner of the poster you quoted runs a local school.

Quite.

 

[warmleyseagull]

Yep, another health trust fiasco hits education. More people being employed at ridiculous rates, hopping from one governing body to another, creaming another "pay off" each time they move.

We have a general modern day problem of creating more and more support roles that need serious funding when it didn't need fixing in the first place.

If they are looking for experts, who fills the role of understanding

Rant over.

Governors are unpaid. Misguided rant.