Current system of school governance is failing in disadvantaged schools
In recent decades, governments have expected school governors to take on more responsibility without ensuring that they have the capacity to do so. New research, released today (5 June) by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has found that the current system leaves governors ill-equipped to cope with the problems they face when running schools especially in disadvantaged areas.
School governing bodies are faced with complex tasks. They are expected to act as critical friends to head teachers, strategic leaders of their schools and represent their local communities. The research found that these tasks demanded time and expertise that many governors did not have. There is also confusion about the precise role of governing bodies. The complexities faced in running schools have changed, but there has not been a rethink about what governing bodies are for.
The research also found that, in disadvantaged areas, it was often difficult to find and retain governors with the necessary time and expertise to face these challenges. This leads to the schools most desperately in need of good governance being least likely to benefit from it.
The leader of the study, Professor Alan Dyson, said: “School governors carry out an important and extremely valuable role in the management of schools. But in the light of these findings we need to ask questions about whether we are asking too much of them – especially in disadvantaged areas.”
The report identified three options for change:
- incremental improvement - governing bodies could remain much as they are, but imaginative practices for widening recruitment and encouraging participation could be introduced (at the same time, the Government could reduce the demands placed on governing bodies and consider more carefully the implications for the work of governors in any future reforms);
- structural change – a radical solution, but it might be feasible to create a core of skilled and committed governors – perhaps paid – to work alongside others and lead groups of schools, with school-specific governors added for particular purposes;
- radical alternatives - the Government is committed to devolving decision-making about public services to local communities (in this context, the democratising role of governing bodies could be taken seriously which could mean developing the links between governors, local communities, and activist groups and giving governors more power to shape the work of their schools to local needs and wishes).
The study was located in three contrasting areas characterised by social and economic disadvantage. The researchers identified the schools (14 in total) serving the majority of children in these areas and interviewed over 100 respondents connected with these schools. These included 73 governors, together with head teachers, representatives of the local authority governor support services and local authority officers involved in regeneration or community development.
The study forms part of JRF’s governance and public services programme. The programme aims to explore key issues of governance – including the most effective ways for citizens and communities, especially those in disadvantaged areas, to engage in the processes of governance for the planning and delivery of key services.
Julia Unwin, Director of the JRF, said “Good governance of schools is essential, especially in the UK’s more disadvantaged areas, where we need to make sure that children and young people get the best possible start in life. Governance of public services needs to engage the wider community as well as service users both to empower local people and deliver quality services. We hope this research will spark a wider public debate about the governance of our schools and the changes we need to make to improve the outcomes for all.”
