Education CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by The National Union of Teachers (NUT)

The purpose, roles and responsibilities of school governing bodies within the wider context of school governance and leadership

1. Governing bodies have a strategic overview of the schools they serve. They should not have day to day management responsibilities for the school or indeed oversee how classrooms are managed. The NUT believes however that school governors have a role to play in the delivery of quality education. A majority of governors see their role as governors as giving encouragement and support to teachers, supporting staff and schools in their communities.

2. The stakeholder model of governance, based on the principle that no one stakeholder group is more important or has more value than any other, is one that should be maintained. All governors are equal members of the corporate body. The 1986 Education Act established the “stakeholder model” of governing bodies, consisting of representatives from groups with an interest in the school, parents, teachers and support staff.

3. This model is breaking down with the introduction of less democratic forms of governance. The increasing numbers of academies and free schools means that there are a significant number of secondary schools and a growing number of primary schools being run without appropriate governance accountability.

4. Governing bodies will be less accountable to local people, and more accountable to central Government or the organisations now sponsoring schools. Governing bodies, have a crucial job to perform so that community cohesion is prioritised in school development plans. Building community partnerships, therefore, is an important part of the business of governing bodies.

5. Local democratic accountability should be safeguarded at school level. Representation of parents, staff, local authorities and the wider community must be maintained on governing bodies rather than allowing them to fall into the ownership of individual sponsors or unaccountable groups.

6. The NUT believes that governing bodies have a general responsibility for the conduct of a school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement. They should serve their immediate communities and be made up of parental and other community representatives through the co-option route if necessary.

7. The NUT is concerned that there is a move towards smaller, more “professional” governing bodies. Governing bodies do not need such barriers which prevent parents from being involved in decisions about their school’s future.

The important role of the staff governor

8. The role of the staff governor is crucial to the strategic work that governing bodies undertake. Staff governors ensure that when an issue is raised at governing body meetings, the views of the staff are brought to the attention of the meeting, as well as any professional and educational implications of decisions made by the governing body.

9. Where stakeholder models of governance are threatened, local authorities should have a duty to ensure proper support and training for governors and should be able to offer incentives such as childcare payments to ensure that all sections of the community can be represented on governing bodies.

The implications of recent developments for governing bodies of their roles

10. With the wider emphasis on governance in the latest Ofsted framework, it is important that the role of governing bodies should remain a strategic one. One important task for governing bodies is to seek the views of parents, staff and pupils in order to understand fully the school it represents.

Recruiting and developing governors, including the quality of current training provision and challenges facing recruitment

11. The NUT supports the need for training for governors, chairs of governors and clerks. Ideally, training should be mandatory for all governors in the same way that it is for magistrates or citizens advice bureau advisers. Whilst governing bodies are represented by individuals with very useful skills gained from other walks of life, it is important that the responsibilities which governing bodies carry, including their legal responsibilities, are fully understood in order for them to function effectively.

12. One of the key issues facing schools today in England is that, more than half of secondary schools are outside the remit of local authorities. The consequent reduction in funding to local authorities has led, in many cases, to cutbacks in the services they are able to provide to their remaining schools, including governor support and training.

13. This situation presents a major challenge to the recruitment and development of Governors. It is important that the online “School Governors’ One-Stop Shop” (SGOSS) continues to promote a free online service for schools wishing to recruit new governors. Funding should be earmarked by the Government and released to local authorities so that support services, such as training for governing bodies, are made available.

14. Governing bodies need to have the appropriate skills and knowledge needed to carry out their responsibilities. Statutory powers are already in place for the compulsory training of new governors and chairs of governors, but training must be made available to all governing bodies. Training for governing bodies will help ensure that governors understand their role and carry it out in ways which help and support the schools they work in.

The structure and membership of governing bodies, including the balance between representation and skills

15. The NUT believes that it was a mistake to abolish the category of community governor/s. This undermines the importance of “community governance” in the planning of schools. Local democratic accountability commonly needs to be safeguarded; and the role of the community governor fulfilled this role. Governance should involve the community as well as individual institutions. Recruiting co-opted governors is therefore crucial to the structure and membership of governing bodies.

Remuneration of governors

16. The NUT believes that governors should not be financially penalised for being a Governor. In carrying out these duties, they should be awarded allowances, such as childcare whilst attending meetings/training, etc. It is good practice to pay such allowances to reimburse governors for “out of pocket” expenses.

Conclusion

17. The NUT values the important work that governing bodies do and so should the Government. Recent negative comments from the Secretary of State about the work of governing bodies undermines this.

18. The staff are a school’s main resource. Governing bodies must value the staff of schools and show that they do. Governing bodies should support the head teacher in promoting job satisfaction with staff, in supporting staff development and in constructive dialogue with staff on issues such as school development. The governing body has an important role to play in ensuring that staff governors are free to express their views at governor meetings and should pay close attention to what they say.

19. The role of the governing body should be strategic, supportive and representative of the school and its community.

20. Governing bodies should continue to be made up of key stakeholders: such as parents, staff, the community, with community governors, representing the wider school community and representation from the local authority. No one group, such as a trust or sponsor should have the power to nominate the majority of governors on any school governing body.

December 2012

Prepared 2nd July 2013