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Taylor (1977) Notes on the text
Chapter 1 Introduction
Notes of extension and dissent, minority report Appendix A Evidence
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The Taylor Report (1977)
A new partnership for our schools Report of the Committee of Enquiry appointed jointly by the Secretary of State for Education and Science and the Secretary of State for Wales under the chairmanship of Mr Tom Taylor CBE London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1977
Chapter 5 Communication and cooperation
5.1 To achieve their full potential the newly constituted governing bodies should maintain good communications and work in close cooperation with the groups from which their members are drawn. In this chapter we consider ways and means of establishing effective communication and cooperation, first arrangements within the school and then the school's relations with the parents and the community as a whole. Underlying problems 5.2 In their evidence the Association of County Councils argued that if governing bodies did not exist they would have to be created in order to provide channels of communication between school, parents, local community and local education authority. This was the argument most commonly advanced by witnesses in favour of governing bodies (1). Although we believe that governing bodies should play a more positive part than serving as channels of communication, and should include nominees from the interests mainly concerned, provision for efficient lines of communication remains essential. However they are composed, governing bodies will, in our view, remain susceptible to two structural failings. First, because their members comprise only a small number of the many people concerned with the schools, they run the risk of becoming detached from the very people they are intended to serve. Second, in looking after the interests of their schools, there is a danger of their becoming inward-looking and single minded, little concerned with the wider implications of their policies. We believe that both risks can be significantly reduced. 5.3 We believe that the new governing bodies, with their broadened composition, will interest more people in their work and that of the schools. But in our view the involvement of the staff, parents and the local community in general should not cease once they have chosen their nominees to sit on the governing body. On the contrary they should all be given the opportunity to keep abreast of developments within and about the school and to offer their views and suggestions upon these and other matters to the governing body. 5.4 A governing body with responsibility for one school will, quite naturally and properly, tend to concentrate on the interests of that school. We believe that this partisanship must be modified to ensure that every school plays its proper part in the education system of which it is part. Clearly the local education authority has the major responsibility in this respect, but there is also scope for action by the governing bodies themselves. We develop this point later in this chapter. 5.5 At this point, however, we must strike a note of caution. An excess of consultation and participation could prove more harmful than the problems they are designed to solve. We have no intention of creating an elaborate system in which formal consultation must take place at every turn. The schools must not be deflected from their basic task of educating their pupils and the simple and informal measures which we propose below have been worked out with this overriding objective in mind. Relations and communications within the school 5.6 Under this heading we consider the organisation and relations of the three groups who work and study in the school: the head and other teachers, the supporting staff, and the pupils. The head teacher and his teaching staff 5.7 In his letter of 5 May 1975 to the Chairman the then Secretary of State for Education and Science took the opportunity 'to pick out for special mention one issue among the many which will fall to be examined under the Committee's terms of reference. This is whether the arrangements for the management and government of schools should impose an obligation on the head to consult his staff on matters relating to the internal organisation, management and discipline of the school. I know that strong views are held on this by various interests concerned in the running of the schools. John Morris and I have no doubt that the Committee will accept, as we do, that such consultation is always desirable; we trust that the Committee, in the course of reviewing the present arrangements, will consider whether or not it should be made a mandatory requirement. If the Committee conclude that it should, we would expect them to want to offer advice on the scope and form of the provision which would be needed to ensure its smooth and effective working, to identify the various elements having a part to play in the procedure and to express their views on the respective functions which each of the parties would need to be given.'5.8 We accept the desirability of consultation between the head teacher and his colleagues. Indeed in our view it would be wrong for schools to attempt to operate without adequate and suitable arrangements for such consultation. 5.9 The 1945 model articles provide for the head teacher to 'control the internal organisation, management and discipline of the school'. Of course he can exercise this control in different ways. As one head teacher noted in his submission of evidence, 'some head teachers in the past have been excessively authoritarian and have been reluctant ... to discuss matters of importance concerning the school with their own staff ... such heads have tended to be used as a model ...'Despite the hold of this authoritarian model upon the popular imagination, our evidence suggests that head teachers are increasingly preferring a consultative style of leadership. According to the National Association of Head Teachers 'the vast majority of head teachers consult with their teaching staff frequently and effectively'; the National Union of Teachers noted that 'well-developed consultative procedures exist in many schools'. The value of consultation between the head teacher and his colleagues is not at issue. The question is whether such consultation should be made mandatory. 5.10 We have recommended that, subject to the overriding functions of the local education authority, governing bodies should be in a position to determine the lines on which their particular schools are organised and run. Against this background the need is for consultative arrangements which will give teachers the opportunity to submit their views or proposals to the governing body on matters for which it is responsible and to the head teacher on day to day decisions within the policies approved by the governing body. We do not envisage any major difficulty in arranging for a full interchange of views and information between the head teacher, the teaching staff and the governing body. The first point of contact would be the teacher governors, to and through whom the other teachers could express their views; though, as we made clear in the previous chapter, the teacher governors would not be delegates of their colleagues. It should be open to the teaching staff generally to present papers on particular issues through the head teacher for consideration by the governing body. The governing body and the teaching staff will, we hope, invite each other to present contributions on specific topics at their own meetings. 5.11 We RECOMMEND that, subject to our recommendation (2) concerning confidentiality, the minutes of the governors' proceedings, together with the notices and agenda for their meetings, should be made available in the teachers' common room. 5.12 It is more difficult to ensure that the head teacher consults his colleagues on day to day decisions. The proponents of mandatory consultation see it as a means of compelling those heads who are unwilling to engage voluntarily in genuine consultation with their colleagues to do so. Its opponents argue that mandatory consultation would not only fail to change the attitude of those few head teachers who have no use for consultation, but would also provide the opportunity for a minority of teachers bent on obstruction to insist upon consultation about the most trivial matters. We believe that the newly constituted governing bodies which we propose - whose members will include the head and at least one other teacher - will be able to deal with either of these rare eventualities. We RECOMMEND that the governing body should invite the head teacher to submit his general proposals for consultation with his staff on day to day matters, should satisfy itself upon the adequacy and suitability of these proposals in general and in particular satisfy itself that they afford facilities for discussion between members of the teaching staff and the expression of collective views (3). Whenever necessary, the governing body should examine the operation of the consultative arrangements. 5.13 We recognise that the arrangements adopted for this purpose will differ, just as the size, character and circumstances of schools differ. The consultative machinery used in a small village primary school will bear scant resemblance to that adopted in a large secondary school. We believe that the detailed arrangements should be left to the judgement of those on the spot. The supporting staff 5.14 Depending upon their size, schools employ a wide range of non-teaching personnel such as caretakers, cleaners, cooks, groundsmen, school meals staff, secretaries and technicians. These supporting staff play an important part in the effective running of a school and their work and working conditions can be directly affected by many decisions reached by the governing body and the head teachers. We believe that such decisions should take account of the views of the supporting staff. 5.15 Given their widely assorted occupations, the supporting staff may not always find it necessary or appropriate to formulate views as a whole. In such cases the occupational group concerned could make their views known to the governing body or the head teacher independently. Where a member of the supporting staff is appointed as a governor, he would provide a first point of contact with the governing body for his colleagues. In schools where this does not prove possible other means should be found. 5.16 We RECOMMEND that: a. supporting staff be kept informed of the governing body's work by means to be determined by the governors after consultation with the staff concerned;Secondary school pupils 5.17 School councils or similar pupil organisations are fairly common in secondary schools today. They are generally composed of elected representatives - usually of classes or tutor groups - who are given facilities to raise and discuss matters which affect the pupils of the school and to make representations to the head or other responsible teacher. The initiative for the creation of these organisations has come mainly from teachers, who regard them as a means of increasing the pupils' awareness of the issues involved in running their school and of introducing them to some of the basic procedures and realities of representative democracy. 5.18 Although not all school councils have succeeded in achieving these two purposes, we believe that their efforts deserve encouragement and support. The governing body is well-placed to provide such backing. Contact between the governing body and the pupils would be enhanced by inviting pupils to sit in on a regular basis at governors' meetings. In any event we RECOMMEND that: a. the governing body should be empowered to authorise the establishment of a school council or similar organisation by the pupils, and should be responsible for ensuring that arrangements within the school are adequate and suitable for its effective operation;Relations and communications with parents 5.19 Both individually and collectively the parents constitute a major source of support for the school. It is not a source which has been tapped fully in the past. We believe that governing bodies should encourage the widest and deepest possible parental commitment to their schools. We go on to consider how the parents as a whole might most effectively contribute to the work of the governing body, and also how the relation between the school and the individual parent, with his special interest in his own children's work and welfare, might be given open recognition on a basis that will benefit both. The parent body 5.20 We look first at the parents as a group. We have already recommended that they should have at least one quarter of the places on the governing body of every school. The special role of the parent governors is to foster relationships between the school and its governing body and the general body of parents. We do not underestimate the difficulties. In the past parent governors have often found themselves isolated and without a base from which to draw upon the full potential support of their fellow parents. Many of the latter have either been unaware of the parent governors' existence or have had no part in the process by which they were chosen. We believe that these problems can be solved. We have already recommended that every governing body should include representatives of the parents and that these should be elected by the general body of parents. In addition we RECOMMEND that parents' organisations should be encouraged and facilities for their work should be made available within the school. 5.21 The election of parent governors should be one of many activities bringing together parents and involving them in the life of the school and so a valuable way of developing their sense of collective identity and purpose. Although they have a common interest in the school which their children attend, parents have no readily available means for the regular expression of that interest. Special arrangements must therefore be made for parents to be able to meet and exchange views. 5.22 In recent years a popular means of pursuing these ends has been the parent-teacher association (PTA). Many of these associations have increased parents' commitment to their schools and have established closer and better relations between parents and teachers. Some PTAs however, have succeeded in attracting the more articulate and committed proponents of parental participation but have failed to win the support of the generality of parents as well. With a view to involving a wider group of parents many school associations have adopted a more informal approach, giving automatic membership to all parents, dispensing with subscriptions and inviting all those interested in the welfare of the school and its children to take part in their functions. Whilst we welcome the spread of this looser form of association, we believe that the parents themselves should be free to choose what type of organisation, if any, is best suited to their needs. We therefore confine ourselves to the RECOMMENDATION that the parents should have the opportunity to set up an organisation based upon the school, developing its aims and methods of working in consultation with the head teacher and the governing body. 5.23 Whether or not the parents take up this opportunity we RECOMMEND that as a basic minimum the governing body should ensure that parents have access to the school for a weekday evening meeting once a term and the means of publicising their activities. 5.24 We are confident that in most schools the teachers would welcome and assist a more active parental contribution, but we have stipulated these minimum requirements because there is evidence that in a small minority of schools parents are discouraged from meeting. It is worth noting the benefits which would accrue from just a termly meeting and opportunities for publicity. Parents would be given opportunities for getting to know other parents with similar interests, choosing their candidates for the governing body and referring queries and proposals through them to the governing body. In their turn parent governors would be better able to keep their fellow parents informed of the issues facing the school and their fellow governors informed of the parents' views. 5.25 Thus even the most rudimentary parent organisation would perform an important service to both the parents and the governing body. Of course we would not expect such an organisation to achieve the active involvement of all parents. While most parents are interested in the progress and prospects of their own children, fewer show a desire to participate in school affairs generally or take an interest in broader questions of educational theory and practice. Yet decisions on such matters affect, directly or otherwise, the education of the individual children. The best approach, we think, is to seek to build on the natural interest of parents in their own children to the point where they can be drawn into collective discussion of wider educational issues. By helping the parents to speak and act collectively the governing body could more effectively draw upon the views of the parents in exercising its responsibility for the school. Moreover, we would expect the parents to join with the teachers in arranging regular contact and discussion on both an individual and a group basis. The individual parent 5.26 It is the individual parent who is in law responsible for securing his child's education (4) and whose support in this task is vital. There should therefore be at the individual level also a partnership between home and school. The individual parent will want the school to be an open and welcoming place. He will expect it to provide a framework within which he can communicate with his own child's teachers, in a spirit of partnership, about the child's welfare and progress. 5.27 We believe that such aspirations are wholly reasonable and that every parent has a right to expect a school's teachers to recognise his status in the education of his child by the practical arrangements they make to communicate with him and the spirit in which they accept his interest. If there is no such recognition, the measures we have advocated for parents collectively will be of limited value, and may be seen by many parents and teachers as no more than a means of increasing the influence of those who are already enthusiastic participators. We wish to produce a structure within which every parent will have a role in supporting the school and increasing its effectiveness. We believe that the governing body should continually seek to improve the arrangements for individual parents to inform themselves of their children's education, behaviour and development in the school. We sympathise with the many teachers who feel that their increasing problems in educating poorly-motivated children with a low level of home support are not enough appreciated. They often say, rightly, that the priority given to education in many homes of all classes is too low, that talk of parents' 'rights' often ignores their corresponding responsibilities, that parents indeed often expect teachers, especially in disciplinary matters, to assume responsibilities which they are no longer able or willing to assume themselves. A minority of parents feel only a slight commitment to their child's school, but most conscientious parents would welcome positive encouragement and help from teachers in doing their duty to see that their children are educated. 5.28 We have therefore considered what the head teacher and his colleagues can do to build on parents' sense of responsibility and enlist their support in the education of their children. The staff of a good school already tries to make parents feel at ease there, welcomes their help and continuously seeks better ways of communicating which are appropriate to local needs. The head teacher will encourage parents to join the school association and make arrangements for parents to see their child's teachers regularly, by individual appointment if necessary. Where problems arise with a child the head teacher will at once contact parents, encouraging them to contact him about any problems they have encountered. He will give clear information about school rules and the reasons for them, seek parents' support in upholding them and try to make sure that parents understand the school's teaching aims and how they can help. He will make it clear that parents can have access to a teacher by reasonable arrangement especially if they are worried, puzzled or dissatisfied, and that they have a right to information and explanation on school policies, and to regular reports on the progress of the individual child. (5) We repeat that we endorse the right of every parent to expect these things, and RECOMMEND that the governing body should satisfy itself that adequate arrangements are made to inform parents, to involve them in their children's progress and welfare, to enlist their support, and to ensure their access to the school and a teacher by reasonable arrangement. 5.29 We believe that better forms of communication will, in time, increase parents' sense of commitment. We think there is one measure which could make an immediate contribution to a recognition of linked rights and responsibilities. We RECOMMEND that the nature of the relation between the school and the individual parent should be set down in a letter sent by the governors to every parent at the time of their formal acceptance of a place at the school. The letter would set out, in the terms indicated in paragraph 5.28, what those concerned at the school are doing to involve parents and what parents can in turn do to support their child at school, reminding them of their legal responsibility for ensuring regular attendance but also indicating the many other ways they can help the staff of the school in their task. An idea of the kind of letter a governing body might send is given in Appendix F. We would, however, emphasise that we do not wish this to be taken as a model for all schools in England and Wales: the form and content is very much a matter for decision by individual governing bodies in the light of their knowledge and experience of the local situation. 5.30 There is of course no suggestion that what the school has to offer the child is in any way conditional on home support but to issue such a letter at the same time as inviting the parents formally to confirm their acceptance of a place at the school would give more solemnity both to the act of enrolment and to the contents of the letter. It would have the incidental benefit of acquainting new parents with the governors and their role in promoting good relationships. Its main object would be to increase parents' sense of commitment to the school, to remind teachers of their responsibility to parents, to encourage both to value their partnership in the education process, and to increase the sum of the joint effort made on the child's behalf. The school in its wider setting 5.31 Under this heading we consider ways and means of improving communications and encouraging cooperation between governing bodies and the community or communities which their schools serve. We also look at communication and consultation between local education authorities and the governing bodies of their schools. 5.32 Some schools serve a compact and readily identifiable community. Others draw their children from a wide or diverse area and cannot easily be identified with a single community. For a school in this position, a first task of the governing body is to survey the range and nature of the community interest. This task could usefully begin when the local education authority, staff and parent governors meet to co-opt their 'community' colleagues, as the latter will be seen and will act as intermediaries between the school and the different elements of its community. 5.33 Whether or not it provides a community governor, any organisation or group operating in or connected with the community should be able to put questions, views or proposals to the governing body. Governing bodies should make known their readiness to consider representations from members of the community, perhaps looking to the local press and radio to publicise their intention to work in cooperation with the community. Another means of demonstrating this intention would be to encourage local people to attend school functions and to make the school premises available, when practicable, for use by the local community. (We discuss this aspect of school-community cooperation in chapter 9). 5.34 The practical details of such cooperation are obviously best left to those on the spot. Nevertheless we urge all governing bodies to pay particular attention to liaison with other governing bodies, with prospective employers, and with agencies concerned for children's welfare. 5.35 When children move up from one stage of primary education to the next, and especially when they move from the contained world of the primary school to the larger world of secondary school life, there is a danger that they may lose direction and momentum in the crossing of the transfer gap. We are told that the danger often becomes fact. Too often this is because of inadequate communication between schools. The need for children to gain the maximum advantage from their obligatory time at school is clear, and their education should be a continuous progression. Now that this country is moving rapidly to the point at which all maintained schools, both primary and secondary, are comprehensive in character and in which the vertical relationships between receiving and contributory schools are more clearly established, there is every good reason for unnecessary discontinuity to be avoided. Governing bodies should take it as an important task to develop these relationships and to look for the coordination that will enhance the overall effectiveness of the school system. 5.36 Another matter of considerable concern, which has given rise to substantial public discussion is the recognition of a gap between schools and the wealth-producing sector of the economy. We RECOMMEND that governing bodies should do what they can to narrow this gap. 5.37 There has also been a good deal of disquiet recently about the inadequate liaison between the various professions and agencies which have responsibility for the well-being of children. This has been highlighted by several well-publicised tragedies. We believe that governing bodies should encourage the further extension of cooperation between teachers and other people concerned for the welfare of children, such as school doctors, dentists, nurses and social workers. Each governing body will wish to keep itself informed of the child health service arrangements in its own school and in particular of any changes in the service which may be made in the light of the Court Report (6). 5.38 It will not be possible for all the governors nominated by local education authorities under our proposals to be members of local authorities, because there will not be enough of them. As well as ensuring that all governors whom they nominate are briefed on authority policy, local education authorities should consider further measures to ensure efficient communication and informed consultation with the governing bodies of their schools. We believe that such measures are best worked out locally. We therefore confine ourselves to the RECOMMENDATION that on those occasions when the local education authority wishes to obtain local opinion on educational issues it should ensure that the consultation process draws on the knowledge and experience of the members of the newly constituted governing bodies. 5.39 We believe that cooperation between groups of governing bodies can be very useful. Reference has already been made in paragraph 5.35 to cooperative arrangements between schools catering for the same pupils at different stages; we RECOMMEND that in the same way governing bodies with other shared interests or concerns should be encouraged to make arrangements for consulting each other about them.
Footnotes (1) It was concisely stated in the evidence of the Society of Education Officers: 'Since our objective must be to provide the best possible education in our schools, it is essential that there should be some machinery to facilitate cooperation between the various interests who contribute to this end - the local education authority, the head and staff, parents and the local community. This should provide a framework for fostering relationships between them, for developing an appreciation of the issues involved, and for formulating policies through a creative interchange of ideas.' (2) See paragraph 11.9. (3) In smaller schools all members of staff might take part. In larger schools this might not be practicable; in such cases consultation could take place between the head teacher and representatives elected by the staff. (4) Section 36, Education Act 1944. (See Appendix D). (5) After giving careful consideration to the question of parental access to educational records kept in the school on their own children, we decided that it would be premature to express a view since we understand that this matter is at present being considered by the DES and that the local authority and teacher associations and other interested bodies are being consulted. (6) Department of Health and Social Security. Fit for the Future. The Report of the Committee on Child Health Services; Chairman Emeritus Professor SDM Court, CBE, MD, FRCP, FCST. (Cmnd. 6684-1) HMSO 1976. 
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