Education Secretary scraps plans to drop school governors
The Education Secretary has suggested that plans to drop parents from the governing bodies of schools will be scrapped.
Justine Greening told the Education Committee praised the "vital role" that parent governors play, saying they are often involved in improving schools.
Her comments are a turnaround from her predecessor Nicky Morgan, who in March unveiled plans that would remove the guarantee of a place for parents on the governing board of academy trusts.
Parents as part of success
Responding to a question from Labour's Stephen Timms, on whether removing elected parents from boards of academy trusts would be a matter she was prepared to reconsider, Ms Greening said:
"One way we can ensure that schools who are doing a less good job improve is getting parents more involved.
"Often, and I've seen this as a constituency MP, when schools turn around it's when parents become more engaged and more invested in the school's success and that helps build the school from the outside as well as the hard work teachers are doing on the inside.
"It doesn't happen overnight; it takes years to do but parents are part of how success gets delivered so I do not think we should proceed with that."
'Silenced'
The previous proposal stated that while parents would still be able to sit on governing boards, they would instead place an emphasis on individuals with the "right skills", rather than their position as a "stakeholder".
That proposal was condemned by MPs, schools, teaching unions and parents.
Responding to the announcement, Christine Blowers, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said:
"Voices of parents, governors and the local community are being silenced by a Government that does not believe in proper democratic accountability in our schools."
Gillian Allcroft, deputy chief executive of the National Governors’ Association called on the government not to change the current rules. She said: "Parents of children and young people studying at a school bring an important perspective to the governance of schools that others are unlikely to bring."
Sex education
Whilst Greening commends the "vital role" parent governors play in school improvements, the notion of mandatory sex education in all schools undermines the crucial role and responsibility of parents.
Ms Greening still supports her predecessor’s plan to encourage all schools to become academies, with the exception of grammar schools which she intends to introduce.
Related Links:
Parents to lose guarantee of school governor roles
Parent governors are spared the axe (Times £)
Greening U-turns on plan to drop parent governors from academy trusts (TES)
