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.

Summary of recommendations
[pages 111 - 119]

Chapter 3: A new approach to school government

1. All the powers relevant to school government should be formally vested in the local education authority. (3.15)

2. There should be as much delegation of these powers by the local education authority to the governing body as is compatible with the local education authority's ultimate responsibility for the running of the schools in its area, and as much discretion in turn granted to the head teacher by the governing body as is compatible with the latter's responsibility for the success of the school in all its activities. (3.17)

3. Section 20 of the Education Act 1944 should be repealed as soon as possible and, from a date to be fixed by the Secretaries of State, every school should have its own separate governing body. (3.24)

4. The term governing body should be retained and applied by law to all bodies whether they serve primary or secondary schools. (3.26)

Chapter 4: Membership of the new governing bodies

5. The membership of governing bodies should consist of equal numbers of local education authority representatives, school staff, parents (with, where appropriate, pupils) and representatives of the local community. (4.6)

6. There shall never be less than two members in any one category and 24 members shall normally be regarded as the maximum for efficient operation. (4.7)

7. The provisions of Section 18 of the Education Act 1944 relating to the representation of minor authorities on the managing bodies of primary schools should be repealed. (4.10)

8. Any elected member of a local authority in the area served by the school should be eligible for appointment to the school governing body in either the 'local education authority' or the 'community' category. (4.11)

9. The head teacher of a school should always be a member of its governing body and be included ex officio in the group of members representing the school staff. (4.16)

10. Priority in the allocation of places within the school staff group on the governing body should be given to teachers, the opportunity being taken to add representatives of the supporting staff where size permits. (4.17)

11. Those to be appointed as the school's parent governors should be elected by the parents of the children attending that school. (4.22)

12. The local education authority should be made responsible for drawing up the rules and procedures for the election of parent governors in its area, and for ensuring that they are put into effect. (4.23)

13. All elections of parent governors should be school-based, and combine meetings and other procedures to ensure maximum participation; and the procedures should satisfy the following broad criteria: (4.23)

i. communications with parents should be in plain words;

ii. every parent with a child at the school should be eligible to nominate candidates, to stand for election, and to cast one vote;

iii. nomination and voting papers should be sent to every eligible parent;

iv. the results of the election should be communicated to all eligible parents.

15. Senior secondary school pupils should participate in school government to the fullest extent allowed by law until they are eligible for membership. (4.26)

16. The procedures for the appointment of community representatives should be based on the principle that the individuals concerned should be co-opted by the governors representing the three other interest groups. The task of drawing up lists of people willing to serve in this capacity should be the responsibility of the local education authority. In compiling such lists for secondary school governing bodies, local education authorities should always invite both local employers' (or business) organisations and trade unions to submit nominations. (4.30)

17. A person should be disqualified if he is an undischarged bankrupt, has been convicted of a serious offence or if, having been appointed, he has not attended an ordinary governors' meeting for a year or is incapacitated from acting as a governor. (4.37 i)

18. Any person who, holding office as a governor, ceases to be qualified for appointment as a governor, either in one of the respects mentioned in recommendation 17 (paragraph 4.37 i) or in respect of the capacity in which he was appointed should forthwith cease to be a governor. (4.37 ii)

19. The term of office for governors should in general be within a four year framework. (4.39)

20. No person should be eligible to serve on the governing body of a primary or secondary school catering for children in an age group served by any other school of which he is already a governor. (4.42)

Chapter 5: Communication and cooperation

21. Subject to recommendation 76 (paragraph 11.9) the minutes of governors' proceedings, together with the notices and agenda for their meetings, should be made available in the teachers' common room. (5.11)

22. The governing body should invite the head teacher to submit 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 should satisfy itself that they afford facilities for discussion between members of the teaching staff and the expression of collective views. (5.12-5.13)

23. Supporting staff should be kept informed of the governing body's work by means to be determined by the governors after consultation with the staff concerned. (5.16a)

24. Supporting staff should be given the opportunity to submit their views or proposals to the governing body and the head teacher on any matter which is of special concern to them. (5.16b)

25. Arrangements for consultation between the supporting staff and the head teacher should be made by the governing body on the same basis as that proposed for teaching staff in recommendation 22. (5.16c)

26. 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. (5.18a)

27. As a general rule the pupils themselves should decide upon the agenda for their organisation's meetings. (5.18b)

28. Pupils should be given access to the governing body should they wish to express a view on a particular matter or to question the adequacy or suitability of the arrangements made for them to do so. (5.18c)

29. Parents' organisations should be encouraged and facilities for their work should be made available within the school. (5.20)

30. 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. (5.22)

31. 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. (5.23)

32. 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. (5.28)

33. 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. (5.29)

34. Governing bodies should do what they can to narrow the gap between schools and the wealth-producing sector of the economy. (5.36)

35. 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. (5.38)

36. Governing bodies with shared interests or concerns should be encouraged to make arrangements for consulting each other about them. (5.39)

Chapter 6: Curriculum

37. The governing body should be given by the local education authority the responsibility for setting the aims of the school, for considering the means by which they are pursued, for keeping under review the school's progress towards them, and for deciding upon action to facilitate such progress. (6.23)

38. In setting the school's aims the governing body should give consideration to constructive suggestions made by any individuals or organisations with a concern for the school's welfare. (6.25)

39. The governing body should invite the head teacher in consultation with his staff to prepare papers setting out the means by which they propose to pursue the aims adopted. (6.27)

40. Within the framework of any general policy made by the local education authority the governing body should have the responsibility for formulating guidelines which promote high standards of behaviour and for making such minimum rules and sanctions as are necessary to maintain such standards in the school. (6.33)

41. Where the governing body considers it appropriate and desirable and has worked out with the teachers procedures for the purpose, individual governors should have the opportunity of seeing classes at work. (6.37)

42. Every local education authority should take steps to ensure that the services of a general adviser are regularly available to each of its schools and that the general adviser will be available for consultation with, and report to, the governing body on request. (6.42a)

43. AIl local education authorities should review the adequacy of their advisory/inspection service in the light of the requirements proposed for the new governing bodies and should take early steps to strengthen these services as necessary, aiming at a minimum of one adviser to every 20,000 of its total population at the earliest possible date. (6.42b)

44. Local education authorities, grouped on an area basis and in collaboration with HM Inspectorate, should establish panels consisting of LEA advisers, HM Inspectors, and other appropriate agencies to arrange in-service training to assist LEA advisers to identify and to develop the necessary skills to work effectively as general advisers. (6.42c)

45. Information and advice on the life and activities of the school should be brought together in each school with the purpose of creating an effective but unobtrusive information system for the governing body. The head teacher should be made responsible for the development of the system, working with general guidance provided by the governing body about the aspects of the school's activities on which information is required and the form in which it is required. (6.44)

46. Every governing body should produce a first general appraisal of the school's progress, however incomplete, within four years of its formation. The exact term for subsequent appraisals should be decided by the local education authority after consultation with the governing bodies of the schools in its area. (6.46)

47. The governing body of every school should send the local education authority a short report upon the completion of its periodic general appraisal. (6.55)

Chapter 7: Finance

48. Provisions corresponding to those in the 1945 model articles on the submission of estimates should be applied to all schools as soon as this is practicable. (7.13)

49. Authorities should study the possibilities of making financial arrangements to facilitate initiative and independent action at the school level. (7.16)

50. Early action should be taken by the Secretaries of State on the Bullock Committee's proposal that a joint working party of representatives of the Department of Education and Science and local education authorities should be established to investigate the whole question of determining the allowances for schools and the ways of distributing them. (7.18)

51. Local education authorities should see that there is the maximum possible consultation with individual governing bodies before decisions are taken about building work, major or minor, at their schools, and also that the governing bodies are consulted about developments during the subsequent planning and building stages. (7.26)

Chapter 8: Appointments

52. The procedure for the appointment of heads should provide for a small selection committee consisting equally of members of the governing body and representatives of the local education authorities. (8.10)

53. One of the education committee members on the selection committee should be elected by the latter to serve as its chairman and should if necessary have a casting vote. (8.11)

54. The selection of deputy heads and other teachers should rest with the governing body, who should give due weight to the professional advice made available through the local education authority and in particular to the responsibility of the local education authority to find suitable posts for teachers whose schools are closed or reorganised. (8.12)

55. Every governing body should have access to a copy of the LEA's staff code relating to teachers. (8.16)

56. The Secretaries of State should initiate discussions with the local education authority and teachers' associations as soon as possible about the problem of teachers who find it difficult to meet their professional obligations. (8.17)

57. The present arrangements for the appointment and dismissal of supporting staff should continue. (8.18)

Chapter 9: Other functions

58. The present arrangements for determining the responsibility for admissions to school should continue. (9.5)

59. When the local education authority has settled its admissions policy, it should make public the principles and criteria upon which school places are to be allocated. (9.5)

60. The terms 'exclusion', 'suspension' and 'expulsion', wherever they are used in statutory regulations or in local education authorities regulations or instructions, should be authoritatively defined and differentiated in the way we have suggested. (9.18 i)

61. Every local education authority should be required to make and publish arrangements for the procedures to be followed in its area with regard to the suspension of pupils from attendance at school which satisfy the following general requirements:

i When a pupil's behaviour over a period gives rise to a real possibility that he will have to be suspended from attendance if it continues, opportunity for consultation and discussion should be accorded to his parents;

ii it should be clearly known by all concerned who has the power to decide that a pupil should be suspended from attendance, or should remain suspended after a specified period;

iii a time limit of not more than three days should be fixed for the duration of any suspension by the head teacher;

iv provision should be made to avoid danger to the pupil concerned, or to others, as a result of his suspension;

v when a decision is made to suspend a particular pupil the parents should be informed by a quick and reliable means, should be told how long the suspension is to last and should be given full particulars of the reason for it. A record should be made in a register kept specifically for the purpose within the school and available to the governing body;

vi the governing body should be empowered to extend the suspension for a strictly limited period, specified by the local education authority for all cases, during which the interested parties should be brought together to seek an acceptable solution;

vii if no satisfactory solution is found within this period the case should be referred to the local education authority;

viii there should be provision for appeal by the parents to the local education authority, to be heard within a specified period, against the continuation of a suspension beyond a specified period or against any other action proposed as an alternative to the child's resumption of attendance at the school. Parents should be told how and to whom they should appeal, when the appeal will be heard and what procedure will be followed. (9.18.2 i-viii)

i. no registered pupil is debarred from attendance at his school, except on medical grounds, otherwise than in compliance with the suspension procedures arranged by the local education authority;

ii. no registered pupil is expelled from a school except by the decision of the local education authority responsible for maintaining the school, who should inform the governing body of its decision. (9.18.3 i, ii)

64. The local education authority should authorise the governing body to have urgent minor repairs carried out up to a limit set by the authority. (9.22)

65. The local education authority should, after consultation with the governing bodies of all county schools in its area, formulate an overall policy on school lettings. (9.31)

66. The governing body should provide the head teacher with a set of guidelines for the consideration of applications to use the school premises. (9.31)

67. In any dispute between the governing body and an outside organisation about the use of the premises the final decision should rest with the local education authority. (9.32)

68. Governing bodies should continue to have the power to grant occasional school holidays, other than mid-term holidays, subject to the agreement of the local education authority in each case. (9.44)

Chapter 10: Training the new governors

69. AIl local education authorities should be required to ensure that initial and in-service training courses are available for governors. (10.8)

70. All governors should have a short period of initial training as soon as this is practicable. (10.8 i)

71. AIl governors should attend in-service training courses regularly. (10.8 ii)

72. A person to be designated by the local education authority should be responsible for coordinating the training of school governors. (10.8 iii)

Chapter 11: Procedural arrangements for the new governing bodies

73. The Fourth Schedule to the Education Act 1944 should be amended to make it necessary for the agreement of at least one third of the members of the whole governing body to be obtained to the convening of any meeting other than one arranged by the chairman and clerk in the ordinary way. (11.3)

74. The Fourth Schedule should be amended to provide for meetings to be held at least twice in each school term. (11.6)

75. The time at which meetings are held should be left for decision by the individual governing body so that they can be arranged at a time convenient for most of the members. (11.8)

76. Proceedings should not be confidential unless a governing body specifically so decides in regard to a particular item of its business, in which case any confidential items in the minutes should be recorded separately. (11.9)

77. Copies of all agenda, reports and minutes of proceedings of governing bodies should be sent to the local education authority and to all members of the governing body. (11.10)

78. Information about the membership of governing bodies should be made widely available to parents and others. (11.11)

79. It should be open to the governing body to elect as chairman anyone of its members, except those who are paid members of the staff of the school. (11.13)

80. The local education authority should decide in the light of the local situation the most effective, practical and economic system of clerking for its governing bodies. (11.18)

81. Attendance allowance should not be payable to any school governor.

82. Financial loss allowance should be payable to all governors in respect of proved loss of earnings.

83. Local education authorities should be empowered to pay travelling and incidental expenses to members of governing bodies in accordance with arrangements made by authorities with the object of securing that no individual would be debarred from membership of a governing body by reason of the cost of attending meetings of the body. (11.21 i, ii, iii)

Chapter 12: The government of voluntary schools

84. To the extent that our other recommendations can be implemented without giving rise to any issue of principle in relation to the structure of the 'dual system', their application in respect of voluntary schools should be given by those concerned equal consideration with their application in respect of county schools. (12.9a)

85. The Secretaries of State should put in hand as soon as possible consultations with representatives of the providing bodies, the local education authorities and all other parties concerned with a view to the adoption for voluntary schools of arrangements for management and government following as closely as practicable the lines of those recommended for county schools. (12.9b)

Chapter 13: Our recommendations and their implementation

86. A statutory duty should be imposed on all local education authorities to make arrangements for the government of the county schools in their areas conforming to the requirements which we have stipulated as essential to the implementation of the new approach to school government, to publicise the arrangements and to make them known to all concerned. (13.6)

87. The Secretaries of State should, within five years after this legislation comes into effect, call for reports from local education authorities on the working of the new system and in the light of these reports issue such further guidance as may be thought desirable and also, if need be, amend the regulations. (13.8)

88. The Secretaries of State should arrange for progress and problems to be monitored and reported, and to be studied from an early stage by an independent agency such as a university research group, working in close association with local education authorities and the Department of Education and Science. (13.8)

89. Legislation should be initiated as soon as possible to give effect within five years to Recommendation 86 (paragraph 13.6) and, immediately, to Recommendations 3 (paragraph 3.24); 7 (paragraph 4.10) and 60 ,61, 62 (paragraph 9.18) (13.14)