Key notes | The magazine for school governors
The parent governor : 1980-2022 ?
In this post taken from our Key insights blog , Oliver Kean offers his perspective on the impact of parent governors . Read this post and more at www . thekeysupport . com / blog
Since they first appeared on governing bodies , parent governors have been on the receiving end of many accusations : that they focus on their own children at the expense of the wider school population , that they dwell on insignificant detail or that they bring an axe to grind .
But only now that the government has announced its intention to remove the requirement for academy trusts to have parent governors does it bring into sharper focus what schools could lose . It ’ s important to remember the large part parent governors have played in improving schools over the past 30 years or so – not just in a theoretical sense , but in a concrete one too : with every meeting attended , every headteacher ’ s report read , every question asked and every school visit made .
First mandated by the Education Act 1980 ( one of Mrs Thatcher ’ s early pieces of legislation , no less !), parent governors have since gone on to play a significant role in school oversight . Their presence on governing bodies has emphasised that the business of schooling should be a shared endeavour . It helps to engage parents by recognising their critical interest in the education of their children , and headteachers are reminded of the need to consider and explain the reasons for their decisions . In doing so , headteachers and other leaders are provided with a crucial grounding . Many academy trusts , I ’ m sure , will want to hold on to this .
Responses to the announcement have undoubtedly been intensified by uncertainty over what parental accountability will look like in the future . While the government says it expects all academy trusts to “ ramp up ” representation on so-called “ parent councils ”, it ’ s likely , in the spirit of the academy programme , that whatever systems emerge will vary considerably .
The challenge for academy trusts will be to maintain a sense of shared purpose with parents . For more than 30 years , parents have been invited to take joint responsibility for the performance of their child ’ s school . If those overseeing schools seem distant and inaccessible , the risk is that parental participation could more quickly turn to protest , should something go wrong .
“ Many of us started life as parent governors and have gone on to fill roles in different schools bringing with us a wealth of experience , both from a governance and professional perspective . In a time of struggle to recruit governors , this is worth remembering .”
Claire Saul , Vice-Chair of Governors , Cuddington Croft Primary School
“ After almost 20 years as a governor , I am a chair of governors for two schools , vice-chair at another and an LA governor at a fourth . I think I bring a high degree of challenge and support , have helped several schools through failing times , and developed governance and accountability at all my schools . How did I start ? As a parent governor ; and many of the best governors I have and still know started in the same way .”
John Hoadly , Kent
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