HC Deb 18 February 1998 vol 306 cc732-3W
Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many representations he has received in support of the removal of local council representation on the boards of school governors; and if he will make a statement. [29380]

Mr. Byers

There will continue to be minor authority representation on all primary school governing bodies, where a governing body wants it. Regulations made under the School Standards and Framework Bill will make clear that governing bodies of all primary schools should consider co-opting a minor authority nominee. We will also, through guidance, strongly encourage LEAs to appoint minor authority nominees as LEA governors where a primary school serves a minor authority area and where the school has not already made provision for minor authority representation. We will consult fully with all the interested parties as we develop both the regulations and the guidance.

The proposals to achieve minor authority representation through co-option was made in the Technical Consultation Paper on the Framework for the Organisation for Schools, which the Department issued last August. Forty five respondents supported our proposals on co-option.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals involving school governors he has to improve school standards. [29356]

Mr. Byers

As we said in our White Paper "Excellence in Schools" the purpose of governing bodies is to help provide the best possible education for their pupils. Accordingly, Clause 37 of the School Standards and Framework Bill places a new requirement on governing bodies toconduct the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement at the school".

We are supporting governors in this role by ensuring that they have access to the information they need and by providing ring fenced funding for governor training under the 1998–99 School Standards Fund. The fund includes specific funding for training in target setting, as well as training for governors alongside professional staff as part of our National Literacy Strategy.