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Parent governor role to be scrapped in schools shakeup
Plans to scrap parent governors sparks row in schools shakeup
(about 5 hours later)
Parent governors are to be scrapped from school governing bodies in favour of professionals with the “right skills”, the government has announced.
Parent governors are to be dropped from all school governing bodies England in favour of professionals with the “right skills”, prompting warnings from unions that parents will be sidelined in the running of schools.
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.
Until now, places have been reserved for elected parents on school governing bodies, but under plans outlined by education secretary Nicky Morgan in the white paper published on Thursday those roles will now be abolished.
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 new emphasis will be on the skills – for example in business or finance – that an individual brings to a governing body, rather than their value as a stakeholder, such as a parent with children in the school.
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.
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“We will offer this freedom to all open academies, and as we move towards a system where every school is an academy, fully skills-based governance will become the normal across the education system.”
As we move towards a system where every school is an academy, fully skills-based governance will become the normal [sic] across the education system,” the white paper said.
Parents with the right skills will be encouraged to serve on governing boards, but the move marks an end to a mandatory role for parents in the governance of schools.
Christine Blower, 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.”
Instead of “symbolic representation on a governing board”, the government is promising a new online “parent portal” to help parents navigate the school system, with information on the key things a parent needs to know about their child’s education.
Governors also condemned the move. One former parent governor, who worked her way up from novice governor to become chair and now director of a multi-academy trust, said: “I think it’s a mistake. I would never have become a governor under these rules.
The government has also announced a radical shakeup of teacher qualifications, scrapping qualified teachers status (QTS) and introducing a more open-ended system of accreditation.
“After 12 years, I feel like an expert governor, but it would not have happened if I hadn’t had the opportunity to be elected as a parent governor. There aren’t enough ready-made skilled governors – we have to grow our own and plan for succession, just as we do with school leaders.”
Currently, new teachers in England complete their training and then spend around a year in the classroom before being awarded QTS. Ministers want a more challenging accreditation brought in, which will be based on a teacher’s performance in the classroom and judged by their headteacher and another senior school leader.
Gillian Allcroft of the National Governors’ Association called on the government to keep parents on boards. “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.”
Some teachers will qualify quickly, but others could take years to be approved, rather like learner drivers attempting to pass a driving test.
She agreed that the right mix of skills was vital, but added: “Recruiting a small number of board members from certain stakeholder groups and having a skilled board are not mutually exclusive.
“This new accreditation will raise the quality and status of the teaching profession,” the white paper states. “The new process will put the best headteachers in charge of accrediting new entrants to the profession, and give schools more scope to bring in experts from other fields – for example, a talented musician or coder – and put them on a pathway to full accreditation where their skills can be recognised.”
In another key development, education secretary Nicky Morgan announced a radical shakeup of teacher qualifications, scrapping qualified teacher status (QTS) and introducing a more open-ended system of accreditation.
The announcements on parent governors and teacher accreditation are key elements of a white paper described as a blueprint for “a fundamentally different education system”. At its core are controversial plans to turn all schools into academies.
Currently, new teachers in England complete their training and then spend a year in the classroom before being awarded QTS. Ministers want a more challenging accreditation, based on a teacher’s performance in the classroom and judged by their headteacher and another senior school leader.
In a speech on Thursday launching the white paper, the education secretary, Nicky Morgan, said: “All of us in education, from politicians and civil servants in Westminster to our phenomenal teaching workforce in classrooms across the country, do what we do because we believe in the potential of the next generation.
Some teachers will qualify quickly, but others could take years to be approved, rather like learner drivers attempting to pass a driving test. One consequence is that it will be easier for schools to hire experts, including scientists and historians who have not been through official teacher training, and prepare them for accreditation.
“This white paper is about ensuring that all of us can play the role that we do best. It’s a blueprint for how we can work together, not just to improve standards, important though that is, but to create a fundamentally different education system – an education system fit for the 21st century, an education system which is truly focused on the future.”
Launching the white paper on Thursday, Morgan said: “Rather than being an almost automatic award to staff who complete initial teacher training and a year in the classroom, the new accreditation will be awarded when teachers have demonstrated deep subject knowledge and the ability to teach well.
The government is keen to stress that though mandatory roles for elected parent governors are to be scrapped, their vision is to empower parents to hold schools and the system to account with the help of the new parent portal.
“Most fundamentally – as in other mature professions like medicine and law – it will be for the teaching profession itself to decide when a teacher is ready to be accredited. This will ensure that the decision is made by those who know best what makes a great teacher: outstanding schools and heads.”
The education secretary said: “This portal will provide parents with everything they need to understand their children’s education. It will cut through the jargon we’re all guilty of using and explain what they should be able to expect and when. It will show them how to raise complaints and what the options are available to them.”
The changes to teacher qualifications were welcomed in some quarters. Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We believe this will help to ensure the highest standards and that it will be good for new teachers and schools.”
The National Governors’ Association (NGA), which represents school governors, said parents of children studying at a school brought an important perspective that others were unlikely to bring.
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the changes were “highly problematic” and that she would be seeking safeguards to stop exploitation of trainee teachers. “At a time when school budgets are being cut in real terms, there will be pressures on school leaders to delay accreditation as a way of saving wage costs.”
Gillian Allcroft, the NGA’s deputy chief executive, said the organisation agreed that skills were “a vitally important part of the genetic makeup of any board”, adding: “Recruiting a small number of board members from certain stakeholder groups and having a skilled board are not mutually exclusive.
On other new measures, there was enthusiasm from some teachers’ leaders for government plans to introduce a 30-month “improvement period” for heads who take on challenging schools, during which they they will not be inspected by Ofsted, to give them a proper chance to lift standards.
“We think it is important that parents continue to have a seat at the board table. This is particularly the case in single academies or in a multi-academy trust if there is no parental involvement at local academy level.”
Ministers are also considering scrapping Ofsted’s separate judgment on the quality of teaching to make clear that schools are being held to account for the outcomes their pupils achieve, not the teaching styles they use.
The changes to teacher qualifications, which are intended to give teaching the same professional status as doctors and lawyers, were welcomed by some within the profession. Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “We believe this will help to ensure the highest standards and that it will be good for both new teachers and for schools.”
As schools, teachers and education experts absorbed the detail of the changes, it was the government’s announcement earlier this week that all schools are to be turned into academies that continued to raise concerns – even among lifelong Tories.
The National Union of Teachers was however highly critical. “Getting rid of QTS is a clear indication of how little this government respects teachers or parents, who believe their children should be taught by a qualified teacher.
Conservative councillor Peter Edgar, executive member for education on Hampshire county council, told the Hampshire Chronicle he was “horrified” the council’s role in education was to be scrapped under plans for mass academisation.
“Leaving schools and heads to decide whether a teacher has reached suitable standards lacks coherence. The shift towards school-based teacher education has contributed to current shortages, yet it is a policy that the white paper wants to take even further.”
Schools in Hampshire had had one of their most successful years academically, with 84% of schools judged good or outstanding, and the authority had been congratulated by the prime minister for its work with schools in neighbouring authorities.
There was enthusiasm from other teachers’ leaders about government plans – aimed at protecting school leaders who take on challenging schools – for the introduction of 30-month “improvement periods” during which they will not be inspected by Ofsted.
“What on earth are we doing so wrong that we need to be abolished? I am a lifelong Conservative, but this statement of policy could lead to the country’s education system imploding.”
Ministers are also considering scrapping separate judgments on the quality of teaching to make clear that schools are being held to account for the outcomes their pupils achieve, not the teaching styles they use.
Shadow education secretary Lucy Powell said the white paper did little to address the real issues facing education – teacher shortages, particularly in maths, English and science, a crisis in school places, a widening attainment gap between the disadvantaged and the rest, and exam chaos with the new SATs and GCSEs not yet finalised.
The white paper makes clear the government wants all schools to become part of multi-academy trusts (MATs) “apart from in exceptional circumstances”. The chief inspector of schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw, recently told the education secretary that a number of England’s largest academy chains had “serious weaknesses”, as bad as the local authorities they were intended to replace.
“In this challenging context, to ask school leaders to take time away from educating our children to spend time and money – mainly on lawyers – to convert to an academy is irresponsible. As with the costly and disrupting reorganisation of the NHS, the government will live to regret this approach, but it will be our children who pay the price.”
Ministers are considering how parents might be able to petition regional schools commissioners for their child’s school to move to a different MAT where there is underperformance or in other exceptional circumstances.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, welcomed some elements of the white paper, but complained they were overshadowed by the drive to make all schools academies.
“There are positive elements to this white paper, things that NAHT has been pushing for for several years, sadly overshadowed by the distraction of universal academisation.
“Giving school leaders a period of time to set in motion their plans for school improvement before Ofsted comes to call is a sensible step. School improvement is not instant and it happens more sustainably in an environment that is calm and focused.”
Hobby also welcomed government plans for a national register of school governors. “As more and more schools convert to academy status, the role of governors will become increasingly important. It will be vital that the quality of school governance is kept as high as possible. We are disappointed not to see mandatory training in the paper though.”
The shadow education secretary, Lucy Powell, said the white paper did little to address the real issues facing education today – teacher shortages particularly in maths, English and science, a crisis in school places, a widening attainment gap between the disadvantaged and the rest, and exam chaos with the new SATs and GCSEs not yet finalised.
“In this challenging context, to ask school leaders to take time away from educating our children to spend time and money, mainly on lawyers, to convert to an academy is irresponsible. As with the costly and disrupting re-organisation of the NHS, the government will live to regret this approach, but unfortunately it will be our children who pay the price.”
