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.

Appendix G Aims into practice
[pages 215 - 222]

Translating the school's aims into practice: examples illustrating the part to be played by the new governing bodies

Note

These six examples have been chosen simply to illustrate a possible allocation of responsibilities and the procedures that might be followed. It is assumed that account will always be taken of any existing local education authority policies, and that where appropriate a head teacher, before approaching the governing body about a particular proposal, will consult his staff. It should not be inferred that the procedures outlined will necessarily be followed in deciding such matters in individual schools, nor should it be assumed from the examples quoted that a particular method of teaching or of school organisation is considered to be better or worse than another.

Example A

Consideration of a proposal for the introduction of the initial teaching alphabet (ITA) as a means of teaching reading into the infants' department of a junior and infants' school.

1. Originator

The teacher in charge of the infants' department.

2. Action by head teacher

a. To ensure that it has been discussed at least by all the teachers in the infants' department and by those teachers in the junior department who may be involved.

b. To bring it before the next meeting of the governing body.

To request the head to ascertain whether there was any LEA policy on the matter by discussion with the LEA adviser, to prepare a report on the merits of the proposal. The governing body might wish him to mention, in particular, such considerations as:

a. the place of reading in the school's aims and objectives;

b. the information available about the advantages of teaching reading through ITA rather than other methods;

c. the resource implications within the school (training of teachers in ITA, books, equipment);

d. the possible response of parents, and in particular access for them and their children to supplementary reading matter in ITA (e.g. from the public library);

e. the steps by which ITA might be introduced if the proposal were accepted;

f. if it were introduced, by what means progress could be monitored and the scheme evaluated.

Governing body to consider the report and reach a decision to proceed or not to proceed with the proposal, or to require further information.

Conclusion

In general the choice of reading material to be used might be regarded as one for the teachers although the governing body could expect to be informed and its members would be free to raise questions about it. But the question of introducing ITA as a basic approach raises more general issues and might therefore be considered an appropriate matter for a decision by the governing body.

Example B

Consideration of a proposal to introduce the teaching of French into a primary school (ages 7-11)

1. Originator

A parent, in a letter to the head teacher.

2. Action by head teacher

i. To acknowledge the proposal.

ii. To hold preliminary consultations with the teaching staff.

iii. To report to the next meeting of the governing body.

Request to head, after further discussion with teachers, to consult local education authority adviser(s) and the appropriate secondary school(s) and to make a full report on:

i. the educational merits of the proposal;

ii. the implications for the overall aims and objectives of the school;

iii. the resource implications (teachers, books, equipment etc);

iv. effects on existing timetable, including the steps by which the teaching of French might be introduced;

v. the steps necessary to monitor progress and evaluate the scheme if it is introduced, including any resource implications of such measures;

vi. implications for other primary schools feeding the same secondary school(s).

The governing body might decide to convene a meeting with representatives of the local education authority and the appropriate secondary school(s) to discuss the proposal further. This is clearly not a matter which the governing body should decide in isolation. Only the local education authority can decide whether additional resources can be provided. If the school were to attempt to proceed without additional resources (eg of staff, of equipment) its ability to achieve its agreed aims and objectives might be impaired.

The governing body would reach a decision in the light of all the considerations mentioned. If they decided to go ahead, they would ask the head teacher to take the necessary steps and to propose arrangements for monitoring the effects and effectiveness of the teaching so that it could be evaluated in due course. If they decided not to go ahead, they would ask the head to convey and explain the decision to the parent. The matter would in due course be mentioned in the head's annual report.

Example C

Proposal to replace a system of streaming (1) by mixed ability (2) grouping in a secondary school

1. Originator

Members of the teaching staff.

2. Action by head teacher

Discussion with the proposers, then preparation for the governing body of statements of:

a. the educational and social reasons for considering the proposal;

b. particulars of the changes proposed (e.g. years affected, time scale envisaged by the proposers);

c. any consequential changes necessary, for example in remedial programme, in arrangements for preparation for public examinations, any other form of selective grouping of pupils proposed (e.g. 'setting' (3))

d. the training implications for teaching staff and how they were envisaged for each department;

e. possible resource implications (e.g. changes or additional staff, books, equipment);

f. steps by which the change could be introduced, including comments on the time scale required.

a. Request to head for information as to monitoring and assessment of standards of attainment under the new system, in order that their effects on the achievement of the school's aims and objectives could be estimated.

b. Suggestion that the local education authority advisers should be brought into the discussion.

c. To reach a decision.

Unless the local education authority has a policy within which this question would have to be decided, the governing body would reach their decision on the basis of their own views modified as necessary by their conclusions about the practicality and effectiveness of the arrangements proposed. By its nature, this question might be considered by the local education authority and the governing body to be appropriate for the latter to decide, whereas it might be considered that a question of setting for an individual subject should be decided by the head teacher after consultation with the staff concerned and reported to the governing body.

Footnotes

(1) Streaming: Grouping children, usually for all their lessons, in classes within two or more parallel chronological strata (or streams) by reference to particular criteria (e.g. performance in tests described as of general, or verbal, ability). The intended result is to facilitate teaching by making classes more homogeneous in ability.

(2) Mixed ability grouping: Grouping in classes which each contain children of a wide range of ability. Selection is frequently random and not by reference to estimated ability or attainment.

(3) Setting: Grouping by attainment in a particular subject with the object of rendering teaching more effective by making classes more homogeneous in respect of ability in that subject. A pupil may for example be in the top set for English and in the bottom set for Mathematics.

Example D

Proposal to organise pastoral care in a secondary school on a year group system instead of the existing house system

1. Originator

The head teacher, who suggests that a tutor should be appointed to each year group who would be responsible to heads of lower and upper school.

2. Action by head teacher

i. To consult teaching staff and LEA officers including advisers.

ii. To prepare for governing body statements of:

a. the general case for the proposal, including the results of the preliminary consultative referred to in i;

b. full particulars of the proposal;

c. the effects on form and departmental organisation;

d. the resource implications (distribution of scale posts etc).

i. To request the head to:

a. prepare a statement of the steps and timescale by which the scheme might be implemented;

b. prepare a plan to monitor and evaluate the scheme.

4. Conclusion

The above assumes that at each stage the governing body will discuss the matter thoroughly in order to form a judgement about the usefulness and practicability of the proposal as a means of improving the existing situation.

Example E

Consideration of a proposal to improve careers teaching in a secondary school

1. Originator

Community representative members of the governing body who have criticised the scheme of careers teaching as being out of touch with the needs of local industry and employment opportunities.

2. Action by the governing body

a. To consider whether there appears to be a case for changes in the system, and if so;

b. after discussion to arrange a meeting of governors, teachers, parents, careers officers, and representatives of local industry to discuss the matter and attempt to define aims and objectives.

c. Thereafter to request the head to prepare plans to show how the objectives might be pursued.

After discussion with the teaching staff, careers officers and local education authority advisers, to prepare plans to show possible courses of action. For each alternative the plans would show:

a. details of the objectives to be pursued;

b. organisational changes involved;

c. staffing requirements, eg posts of responsibility, in-service training needs;

d. other resource implications;

e. steps by which the changes could be introduced, including the timescale, with an indication of the acceptability of the proposals to the staff concerned;

f. procedures suggested for evaluating the results.

To receive and discuss the report received from the head. If the plan, or one of the plans, is considered suitable with or without amendment, to consider what further steps must be taken to implement it.

Example F

Consideration of a proposal to introduce the teaching of Welsh as a second language/cease teaching of Welsh/to make second language Welsh an optional subject

1. Originator

A parent or an action group.

2. Action by head teacher

It is assumed that the local education authority has no established policy on the teaching of Welsh as a second language. This being so the head should prepare statements for the governing body on:

i. the general case for teaching Welsh in the light of the linguistic and cultural background of the school's catchment area;

ii. parental demand and attitudes towards the inclusion of Welsh in the curriculum as a compulsory or optional subject;

iii. the effect on the school timetable and the implications for the overall aims and objectives of the school;

iv. resource implications (availability in the school or local education authority of suitably qualified Welsh speaking teachers, books, equipment etc) including an assessment of the resource implications of providing alternative tuition for small groups of children wishing to opt out of Welsh;

v. the steps necessary to monitor progress and evaluation of Welsh teaching if it is introduced, including any resource implications of such measures.

The governing body would reach a decision in the light of all the considerations mentioned but would, before implementation, have to refer their decision as a recommendation to the local education authority in cases where resource implications extended beyond the school or where additional resources would be required.

[NB: Questions concerning first language Welsh or Welsh as a medium of instruction will almost always fall to be considered in relation to a local education authority's language policy.]