Clause 18 - Governing bodies
Education Bill
8:30 pm
Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale West, Conservative)
I shall be brief. We have had the beginnings of an important debate, fleshing out the bare bones of the clause. Important amendments lie ahead, but I am focusing now on amendments Nos. 176 and 177, of which amendment No. 176 is the more important.
The hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough was right in his assessment of the centrality of the head and the teaching staff to a school's worth. Most people regard it as appropriate for teaching staff to be represented on a school's governing body. They can obviously represent the general interests of teaching staff and also provide invaluable insight into the challenges and difficulties of a particular school. The governors, as a corporate body, should be aware of those challenges and be able to draw on the experience of teachers in their wider deliberations.
I do not go so far as the hon. Gentleman in amendment No. 149, which is designed to secure a proportionate number of teachers on the governing body relative to the size of a school's teaching staff. However, the Bill should contain the stipulation that at least one member of the teaching staff should serve on each governing body. Amendment No. 176 would achieve that.
I accept that under the regulations Ministers would have the power to stipulate that at least one member of the teaching staff should be appointed on all governing bodies, but once again we are confronted with a Bill in which that stipulation has been resisted. It is a glaring omission from the Bill and should be viewed as a serious cause for concern by the teaching profession, which seeks greater security from the Bill. We must all be concerned about Ministers' true intentions. If it is always their intention for a member of the teaching staff to have a place on the governing body, they should have no difficulty building it into the Bill. If that is not their intention, they should come clean and admit it. The Committee and the public should know about it.
The amendment is straightforward. I hope that the Minister will accept that it would hugely reassure not only the teaching profession but all who are interested in the good governance of our schools and want a proper balance on the governing body.
Amendment No. 177 is more of a probing amendment. Reference has already been made to the experience of King's Manor. Concerns have been expressed and a company formed to deal with a school. Where corporate risk is a factor, the position for a major contractor or corporate partner must be clear—