HC Deb 22 May 1979 vol 967 cc865-6
19. Mr. Beith

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy towards the reform of school governing bodies.

Mr. Mark Carlisle

School governing bodies can make an effective contribution to the life of a school. They are an important way of bringing parents and teachers together and of involving parents in the running of the schools attended by their children. We therefore want to ensure that each school should, as a general rule, have its own governing body and that elected parents and teachers should be included on all governing bodies. I hope that a Bill to be introduced later in the Session will include provisions on these lines.

Mr. Beith

I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for that assurance. Does he agree that we made a good deal of progress on the issue when considering in Committee the Bill introduced by the previous Administration? Will he be rather firmer than the previous Administration and try to implement the Taylor principle, namely, that school governing bodies should involve a partnership between parents, teachers and the community and should not be a body on which the local education authority has to have an automatic majority?

Mr. Carlisle

I agree that we made considerable progress in our discussions on that part of the Bill to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I want an opportunity to consider all the speeches that were made when that Bill was being considered and the various proposals being made from both sides of the House before bringing forward our own proposals, which we hope to introduce in the autumn.

Mr. Shersby

What is my right hon. and learned Friend's policy for the inclusion of pupil governors?

Mr. Carlisle

That is a matter which was considered during the progress of the Bill introduced by the previous Administration. I made it clear that I was totally opposed to local education authorities being required to have pupil governors. However, my colleagues and I recognise that in some areas pupil governors already exist and that local education authorities in those areas are anxious to retain the power to have them. That is a matter which I shall have to consider before our Bill is drafted.