Committee announces inquiry into role of school governing bodies
5 November 2012
The Education Committee is announcing an inquiry into the role of school governing bodies.
This inquiry will look at the existing role of governing bodies, and the implications of recent Government policy developments in education for them, as well as a range of issues concerning recruitment, reward and responsibilities.
Written submissions of evidence are invited considering the following points:
- the purpose, roles and responsibilities of school governing bodies, within the wider context of school governance and leadership
- the implications of recent policy developments for governing bodies and their roles
- recruiting and developing governors, including the quality of current training provision, and any challenges facing recruitment
- the structure and membership of governing bodies, including the balance between representation and skills
- the effectiveness and accountability of governing bodies
- whether new arrangements are required for the remuneration of governors
- the relationships between governing bodies and other partners, including local authorities, Academy sponsors and trusts, school leaders, and unions
- whether changes should be made to current models of governance.
The Committee's inquiry will begin taking oral evidence in the New Year.
As part of a scheme to encourage paperless working and maximise efficiency, the Committee is piloting a new web portal for online submission of written evidence. Written submissions for this inquiry should therefore be sent via the Education Committee website
The deadline is Monday 17 December 2012.
As a guideline submissions should be no longer than 3000 words. If you need to send hard copy please send it to: The Clerk, Education Committee, 7 Millbank, London, SW1P 3JA.
Submissions should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document should, if possible, include an executive summary. Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee. Please bear in mind that Committees are not able to investigate individual cases.
The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or by making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.