Taylor (1977)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Membership, Preface, Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Present arrangements for school government
Chapter 3 A new approach to school government
Chapter 4 Membership of the new governing bodies
Chapter 5 Communication and cooperation
Chapter 6 Curriculum
Chapter 7 Finance
Chapter 8 Appointments
Chapter 9 Other functions
Chapter 10 Training the new governors
Chapter 11 Procedural arrangements
Chapter 12 The government of voluntary schools
Chapter 13 Recommendations and implementation
Summary of recommendations

Notes of extension and dissent, minority report

Appendix A Evidence
Appendix B History of school managers and governors
Appendix C Visits
Appendix D Education Act 1944: selected extracts
Appendix E Administrative Memorandum No 25 (1945)
Appendix F Letter to parents
Appendix G Aims into practice

Index

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
© Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.

Chapter 10 Training the new governors
[pages 89 - 91]

10.1 If the tasks described in the previous four chapters are to be performed effectively, governors must be trained for the job. This is particularly necessary in view of the more active part which we wish governing bodies to play in formulating and developing the school's curricular policy. In our view all governors should be given the opportunity to inform themselves on matters of educational theory and practice which will play a more central part in their deliberations. In addition to this basic need, we believe that there are a number of difficulties faced by governors today which a basic training programme could help to overcome:

i. many are uncertain of the nature and extent of their powers and unfamiliar with committee procedures;

ii. they are sometimes confused by the complexities of laws and regulations and puzzled by educational terminology;

iii. they do not always understand how the administrative machine works or the process by which educational policy decisions are reached;

iv. some feel isolated because there are few opportunities for exchanges of views with other governors.

10.3 In some areas little or no action seems to be taken by the local education authority to keep governors informed of their duties and responsibilities, not even to the extent of supplying a copy of the instrument and articles of government. Fortunately a growing number of authorities are recognising the need for training and taking positive steps to establish training courses and issue written guidance in the form of handbooks and manuals. The standard of these booklets varies considerably. Some consist of little more than a copy of the relevant instrument and articles, others are more detailed and include such things as a glossary of educational terms, an explanation in lay terms of the practical effect of each article and information about educational finance.

10.4 Courses of the kind suggested by witnesses have in fact been organised in some areas. They have included lectures and discussions, group work, tutorial guidance and simulation exercises in which the participants play the part of governors at 'mock' meetings. In addition to 'core subjects' they have emphasised different aspects of school government ranging from broad topics such as 'Community Politics in Contemporary Britain' to 'The Disturbed and Disturbing Child'.

10.5 The introduction of participatory school government need not and should not be deferred until all the prospective participants have been trained. Nevertheless it will create a need for training in effective participation, not only for the parent and community governors but also for the local authority and teacher members who will in future have a broader and more specific obligation to explain their aims and techniques to those who are not familiar with them. The job of ensuring that the partnership foreshadowed in this report is successful should be conceived positively, the more so since education tends to be the subject of much unhelpful publicity. Clearly local education authorities are the right people to assume responsibility for this task, and the suggestions and recommendations which follow are intended to take account of their varying circumstances and resources.

10.6 As regards the content of programmes, we accept that, as at present, there will be differing views on local needs. We would not wish to lay down a rigid training format or advocate any particular pattern as being more effective than another. Clearly one basic requirement is to see that new governors know the powers and duties of governing bodies and the rules of procedure within which they operate. This, however, is only a beginning. They must also be familiar with the structure of the education service and have some knowledge of the working of a school. Further, high priority should be given to providing governors with an opportunity to become familiar with the more important current topics in education generally, so that they know something of the framework within which educational decisions are taken. It is important that they should be encouraged to think independently within this framework, not simply to obey the rules (written and unwritten). There is therefore positive advantage, from the point of view of effectiveness as well as economic sense, in the local education authority's sharing the task with other agencies.

10.7 We see merit in the suggestion that courses should, if possible, be provided at national and local level through radio and television and by the Open University. As we have already mentioned, some local education authorities have found it helpful to organise courses jointly with other bodies and indeed small authorities may not be able to provide the full range of training opportunities suggested above without such cooperation. Where there is no local university the local education authority might run a course in conjunction with an adult college or with the Workers' Educational Association, the National Association of Governors and Managers or the Confederation for the Advancement of State Education. As a minimum, governors need contact with members of other governing bodies; opportunities for this can be combined with lectures and question sessions. The suggested use of teachers' centres to provide a continuing back-up information service for school governors is also in our opinion worthy of consideration. We also think that there is scope for the governing body to build up its own collection of relevant books and documents (1). These might be housed in the school library where governors could be given reference facilities.

10.8 People holding other forms of public office are trained. In our view, it is important that school governors too should be trained. We therefore RECOMMEND that all local education authorities should be required to ensure that initial and in-service training courses are available for governors. We also RECOMMEND that:

i. all governors should have a short period of initial training as soon as this is practicable;

ii. all governors should attend in-service training courses regularly;

iii. a person to be designated by the local education authority should be responsible for coordinating the training of school governors.

Footnote

(1) For example the LEA's conditions of service relating to teachers referred to in paragraph 8.16.