Bid to Ban Parent Governors
Sunday January 3,2010
By Hilary Douglas
PARENT power in the classroom is under threat from teachers who want to dominate school governors’ boards once again, experts warn.
Their aim is to ban pushy mother and father governors. Local government insiders claim if teachers get their way parents playing an active role in the day-to-day management of their children’s education could come to an end in the next year. In recent years, the balance of power has shifted to give parents more say, but many experts now feel that parental influence has gone too far. The warning comes from senior local government sources who told the Sunday Express authorities have already mounted a drive to redress the balance of power in schools in an attempt to put head teachers firmly back in charge. The source said: “A couple of years ago one of the biggest teaching unions attacked parents by suggesting that many were not fit to serve on school governing bodies. “They were accused of only caring about the welfare of their own children and it was felt that people without children, but who were experts in the field of education, would provide a better balance on a governing body.“What is happening is that more experts are being put forward for consideration and then voted on to the board of governors. “Parents who are deemed unsuitable, or perhaps too vocal, are being put off by the fact that the places are filled so quickly when a vacancy arises.
“Difficult parents who are too demanding have been a problem for a while, and it has been discussed as to how they can be kept off the governing boards. Teachers would really prefer it if parents were simply banned, but for now it is a case of trying to make sure that only the most ‘suitable’ parents find their way on to the governing bodies.” The outspoken union man was David Hart, then general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers.
He said the Government was wrong to promote “parent power”. In 2005 he called for the number of parents to be slashed from three to one on any board.
Head teachers send parent governors on courses taking them away from the meetings and cut off from school business. One ex-parent governor explained how the tactics worked and how local authority governors, community governors and heads held the power.She said: “They send you on health and safety courses, curriculum courses and throw money at you to keep you out of the way and not bothering them. “The hope seemed to be that you would get sick of it, and just leave. It was a tactic that worked in many cases. It was obvious they didn’t want you.”Several teachers contacted confirmed they do everything in their power to keep pushy parents off the boards, preferring teachers to make up the quota.
Margaret Morrissey, founder of lobby group ParentsOutloud, said: “Even if you are mainly interested in one child – that is to say your own – it is likely to be about issues which will benefit every other child in the school. Teachers have their own agenda, often the one of least resistance and that is not always to the benefit of the child. They are often against change simply for the sake of it and often parents can see how something should be done, rather than simply going along with how it has always been done. Any local authorities thinking of trying to cut the power of parents should think long and hard about the amount of insight parents bring to the table.”
Read More : Daily Mail Article
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Schools do not belong to the Teachers or head Teachers, Schools belong to the community, they are OUR schools where OUR children attend and it is OUR parent view that then matters, seeming Teachers and Head Teachers have OUR children in their hands.
Professionals of this nature should work with the community and where professionals of this nature do not work with the community it becomes a dictatorship, a “We know best” scenario which is more relevant in dodgy tin pot regime countries and I’m sure all parents want to be living in a free England rather than a dictatorship.
This has more to do with whether the headteacher has the emotional maturity to lead the parent governors and teach them how to be a “Critical friend”.
There are ways and means of suggesting change in a school or any organisation. If you wish to complain, do so, but go in with proposed solution(s). Be a part of the team, not an agitator.
Perhaps if we sent the Parent Governors on compulsory training to help them learn how to act in this way it would help. There seems to be a disparity between the quality and quantity of training provided by local authorities.
My local authority seem to be leaders in Governor training - and I have found their courses appropriate, accessible, interesting and well pitched.
To exclude parent governors because we cant reach/teach/manage the “challenging” ones, would be a failure - and would send a clear message to parents in general. Surely we can make allies of Parent Governors? We can provide a head with essential word “from the playground” on the perception of the head and his/her teams actions. Free feedback!
Parents should always have a say when it comes to their children, they are after all………. theirs.
Parents today having to work harder to support their kids and families are already further removed from their kids than they were in the past. It’s important to guard the influence they still do have in their kids lives, what is taught, how it is taught and the way it’s taught…. parents should have some say in what is going on in school- after all it will be where their kids will spend almost half of their lives growing up.
lifeinthehome.com
I do not recognise this description of governing bodies. Each GB can set what proportion of the body is made up of parents, staff etc. Our largest proportion is for parents. Also - in my experience - training courses are at various times and are organised by the governors themselves - I do not know of any Head who orders Governors along to courses that happen to occur at the same time as meetings- that is likely to make meetings inquorate and unable to continue - in other words a very stupid tactic. Our biggest problem is actually getting parents involved!! And where is this money to through at Parent Govs to keep them quiet!! Not in my School!!
I should have explained that I am a Parent and Chair of Governors. I have been involved in Governance for 6 years.
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