Parent governor role to be scrapped in schools shakeup

[warmleyseagull]

Wow. What a lot of hot air about what is actually a small matter. Anyone would think that there is vast army of underemployed fat cat governors who want to parachute themselves into some well paid sinecure. If only....

The point is that Academies do not HAVE to have parent governors. I have been FD of an Academy chain and governor of three schools and know that problem is actually getting parents on Governing bodies, especially in secondary schools. One I was involved in was so desperate to get a PG because of fears of criticism from forthcoming OFSTED, SMT were trying to talk to any parents they could outside the school to get interest.

The situation goes back to the original Academy agreements that did have this clause in them; all the government is doing is to remove the clause to help schools that cannot find parent governors and thus technically be in breach of their agreement with DfE.

In practice,most schools will encourage (unpaid) parents to be governors as they can't find enough anywhere else.

 

[sagaman]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13274090

Interesting point re Academies-The policy, which originated under Labour!!!

There is no doubt that some secondaries have performed poorly but the Tory forced "academy-isation" is plainly wrong. Much of the budget is Osborne's pitch to be next PM and makes a joke of parliament

Parent governors should be represented as well as others with diverse skills on governing bodies

This country is badly missing the moderating influence of the much maligned Lib Dems in so many ways. Their success in advocacy of the pupil premium was one of the few real attempts to overcome inequality since the recession.

 

[Lenny Rider]

This gets worse and worse, doesn't it?

So to run an academy you don't need any experience in education. Nobody cares what the teachers think. And now parents are being sidelined.

Who voted for these twats?

Unfortunately due to our electoral system, a said majority.

For all that other on here may bang on about great Jeremy Corbyn is, my biggest fear is a real lack of a credible opposition, the Lib Dems were well and truly f***** or f***** themselves by the coalition years, it will take them a generation to get anywhere near back to where they were, meaning we could have total Tory rule for a period that dwarves Thatchers era or the Blair years, that kind of absolute power does no one any good, except the few wielding it.

 

[darkwolf666]

Unfortunately due to our electoral system, a said majority.

For all that other on here may bang on about great Jeremy Corbyn is, my biggest fear is a real lack of a credible opposition, the Lib Dems were well and truly f***** or f***** themselves by the coalition years, it will take them a generation to get anywhere near back to where they were, meaning we could have total Tory rule for a period that dwarves Thatchers era or the Blair years, that kind of absolute power does no one any good, except the few wielding it.

I fear you are right. The Lib Dems were so naive in believing they would come out of the coalition years with anything more than a handful of supporters. The Tories have neatly managed to whitewash their achievements while in coalition (i.e. higher personal tax allowances) out of the public perception and yet managed to lay all the ills at their doors, i.e. tuition fees.

At the same time Labour has retreated into its shell and gone back to the 70s, while the rest of the world has moved on!

I hated "new" Labour as a concept, as it was only really watered down Toryism, but at least it had the heart that full-blown Tories, with their "I'm all right Jack" mentality don't.

 

[Berty23]

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

This contains a bit that is wrong. Standalone academies are still allowed but schools will be encouraged to convert as a MAT or join an existing one. Any primary school would be daft to form a standalone trust imho. Some large secondary schools could manage but even then they would be better by collaborating with others.

Other points people have said that are wrong
1. Parent governors are not allowed. WRONG. Of course they are allowed but they can be other roles such as a community governor. All this does is remove the requirement to have one.
2. This is privatisation. WRONG. They are charitable trusts.
3. No oversight of finance. WRONG. The trusts have to go through a far tougher audit process than la schools used to and it is harder to run a deficit as the EFA will be onto them quickly.
4. Paid governors. WRONG. Currently none are paid but their might be a case for paying a few excellent chairs to work with struggling trusts. Not unlike the current IEB model used when governors are removed.
5. Loss of democratic accountability. This is odd. When has a poor local education system led to a change in council? There are also numerous examples of where council members have ignored recommendations from their officials and caved in to parent power and made odd decisions.

I could go on.

 

[drew]

Unfortunately due to our electoral system, a said majority.

For all that other on here may bang on about great Jeremy Corbyn is, my biggest fear is a real lack of a credible opposition, the Lib Dems were well and truly f***** or f***** themselves by the coalition years, it will take them a generation to get anywhere near back to where they were, meaning we could have total Tory rule for a period that dwarves Thatchers era or the Blair years, that kind of absolute power does no one any good, except the few wielding it.

Unfortunately, due to our electoral system the majority didn't vote for this!!!!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm not sure where to start with these recent proposals other than my overriding thought is that UK education is utterly chaotic at the moment. It can, and should be, very simple. Numerous other European countries seem to be on top of it and have been for decades. So is the UK still grappling with the very basic idea of what a school is? Why the constant need for reforms? And it totally overlooks the fact new teachers are not joining the profession, those that remain are at best demoralised, and at worst are leaving (I know 3 alone).

****ing madness.

 

[Peteinblack]

Parent governors are to be scrapped from school governing bodies in favour of professionals with the “right skills”, the government has announced.

Until now there have been places reserved for elected parents on school governing bodies, but under plans outlined in the education white paper published on Thursday those roles will now disappear.

The new emphasis will be on the skills an individual brings to a school governing body, rather than stakeholder representation. The government says it wants to change the way parents have a voice in the school system.

The white paper states: “We will expect all governing boards to focus on seeking people with the right skills for governance, and so we will no longer require academy trusts to reserve places for elected parents on governing boards.

Tory-speak for business-men/women from the private sector!

 

[Peteinblack]

I'm not sure where to start with these recent proposals other than my overriding thought is that UK education is utterly chaotic at the moment. It can, and should be, very simple. Numerous other European countries seem to be on top of it and have been for decades. So is the UK still grappling with the very basic idea of what a school is? Why the constant need for reforms? And it totally overlooks the fact new teachers are not joining the profession, those that remain are at best demoralised, and at worst are leaving (I know 3 alone).

****ing madness.

Agree! Every year, Tories (and before them, New Labour) say 'Schools and teachers are not efficient, so we must reform and reorganise.'

What they refuse to accept is that 99% of the problems in our education system are a consequence of endless political interference, repeated reorganisations, over-regulation and over-management.

But of course, to acknowledge this would mean trusting teachers, Head-teachers and parents to determine what goes on in the classroom, so instead teachers have to be constantly demonised and branded as incompetent, in order to justify political diktats and meddling.

Politicians are 99% of the problems, not the schools or teachers.

 

[Berty23]

I'm not sure where to start with these recent proposals other than my overriding thought is that UK education is utterly chaotic at the moment. It can, and should be, very simple. Numerous other European countries seem to be on top of it and have been for decades. So is the UK still grappling with the very basic idea of what a school is? Why the constant need for reforms? And it totally overlooks the fact new teachers are not joining the profession, those that remain are at best demoralised, and at worst are leaving (I know 3 alone).

****ing madness.

You need to make the distinction between England the the UK as education is devolved. Too often people overlook how much I better things are in England than other areas. While there is an achievement gap between those on fsm and not in England it is tiny compared to Scotland. The chances for disadvantaged kids in Scotland are shocking but at least they have a chance in England. This goes all the way to access to uni. Despite all we hear about tuition fees putting disadvantaged people off uni compared to Scotland it is actually the opposite. The gap in uni access has actually decreased since fees which did not have to be paid up front. Free uni tuition is so regressive it is untrue. It was basically a subsidy for the rich.

These points are always missed by media and politicians like the lady from the SNP on QT last night get away with it.

 

[Berty23]

Re finance for schools and need for efficiency. People talk about just giving more money. Over 22k schools. If each got 50k then that is over a billion. The numbers get big quickly.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Agree! Every year, Tories (and before them, New Labour) say 'Schools and teachers are not efficient, so we must reform and reorganise.'

What they refuse to accept is that 99% of the problems in our education system are a consequence of endless political interference, repeated reorganisations, over-regulation and over-management.

But of course, to acknowledge this would mean trusting teachers, Head-teachers and parents to determine what goes on in the classroom, so instead teachers have to be constantly demonised and branded as incompetent, in order to justify political diktats and meddling.

Politicians are 99% of the problems, not the schools or teachers.

Totally agree. I have said before education needs to be taken out of politics, now more than ever.

 

[ROSM]

This contains a bit that is wrong. Standalone academies are still allowed but schools will be encouraged to convert as a MAT or join an existing one. Any primary school would be daft to form a standalone trust imho. Some large secondary schools could manage but even then they would be better by collaborating with others.

Other points people have said that are wrong
1. Parent governors are not allowed. WRONG. Of course they are allowed but they can be other roles such as a community governor. All this does is remove the requirement to have one.
2. This is privatisation. WRONG. They are charitable trusts.
3. No oversight of finance. WRONG. The trusts have to go through a far tougher audit process than la schools used to and it is harder to run a deficit as the EFA will be onto them quickly.
4. Paid governors. WRONG. Currently none are paid but their might be a case for paying a few excellent chairs to work with struggling trusts. Not unlike the current IEB model used when governors are removed.
5. Loss of democratic accountability. This is odd. When has a poor local education system led to a change in council? There are also numerous examples of where council members have ignored recommendations from their officials and caved in to parent power and made odd decisions.

I could go on.

I suggest you read the white paper. By 2022 it will not be an encouragement to move from standalone, but a requirement

Nicky Morgan in her BBC interview yesterday said there were better ways for parents to get involved in schools. She said one was improving the complaints procedure, the second was use of the parent portal to become more informed

Neither of these actually answers how they replace parent governors or indeed the role of a parent governor which is to provide a parent view (not the view of a specific parent)

There are good and bad parent governors but they are elected (just like there are good and bad MP s and ministers). Effective Chairing can help to ensure that the parent governors are working to their brief.

Who will decide who will be the governors of a school and who will hold them accountable?

 

[ROSM]

Wow. What a lot of hot air about what is actually a small matter. Anyone would think that there is vast army of underemployed fat cat governors who want to parachute themselves into some well paid sinecure. If only....

The point is that Academies do not HAVE to have parent governors. I have been FD of an Academy chain and governor of three schools and know that problem is actually getting parents on Governing bodies, especially in secondary schools. One I was involved in was so desperate to get a PG because of fears of criticism from forthcoming OFSTED, SMT were trying to talk to any parents they could outside the school to get interest.

The situation goes back to the original Academy agreements that did have this clause in them; all the government is doing is to remove the clause to help schools that cannot find parent governors and thus technically be in breach of their agreement with DfE.

In practice,most schools will encourage (unpaid) parents to be governors as they can't find enough anywhere else.

But encouraged rather than elected?

Sorry, I don't disagree that academisation has its place in the education system but I do disagree that all schools should become one

So here's a question, with no lea, how do future expansion plans to support growing numbers work? Who runs the enrollment policy?

What's to stop academies in the future starting to charge a minimal fee for their services?

It goes on and on and on

 

[Bold Seagull]

There are good and bad parent governors but they are elected (just like there are good and bad MP s and ministers).

A Parent Governor is only elected IF there is more than one candidate per vacancy on the governing body. If there is only 1 volunteer for 1 governing position, then you don't need to hold a parent ballot.

 

[ROSM]

A Parent Governor is only elected IF there is more than one candidate per vacancy on the governing body. If there is only 1 volunteer for 1 governing position, then you don't need to hold a parent ballot.

Of course

I didn't have to be elected as I was the only candidate having received the required nominations, but the chair and clerk made it very clear to me what was expected in the role and what skills they were looking for. I them had to attend various training sessions and was buddied by an experienced governor. I also had the advantage of effective governor support provided by the lea

Finally the chair has the ability to accept or discount any comments made that breach the brief of a parent governor. Oh and parent governors are always a minority of the governing body as per the statutory governor guidelines

 

[Since1982]

I have a hankering for the time when schooling was a little simpler. You went to your local school like it or not and the head ran the place as he or she saw fit. Not perfect by any means but I wonder how much the constant meddling has achieved vs the benefit of good teachers, well led, serving the local community.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Of course

I didn't have to be elected as I was the only candidate having received the required nominations, but the chair and clerk made it very clear to me what was expected in the role and what skills they were looking for. I them had to attend various training sessions and was buddied by an experienced governor. I also had the advantage of effective governor support provided by the lea

Finally the chair has the ability to accept or discount any comments made that breach the brief of a parent governor. Oh and parent governors are always a minority of the governing body as per the statutory governor guidelines

I know but you clearly said there are good and bad parent governors but they are elected - that was misleading.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I have a hankering for the time when schooling was a little simpler. You went to your local school like it or not and the head ran the place as he or she saw fit. Not perfect by any means but I wonder how much the constant meddling has achieved vs the benefit of good teachers, well led, serving the local community.

They still had governing bodies and were subject to inspections from Her Majesty's Inspectors.

 

[scamander]

as with most things it's all about the timing. Anything announced the day after a budget (when discussion is likely to be focused on the Chancellor's plans) is there for a reason, it was obviously hoped this would pass unnoticed. For various reasons the Tory party wanted this to avoid being in the public eye.

It's a trick any party in government would undertake to doing, btw.