‘School governors need compulsory training to avoid bad decisions’

Feb 9 2008 by Abbie Wightwick, Western Mail

BAD decisions by governors are affecting schools and compulsory training should be introduced, the chairman of Governors Wales said yesterday.

Referring to two recent high- profile cases Hugh Pattrick said governors had not acted in the best interests of the schools they run.

The 26,000 unpaid and often untrained volunteer governors across Wales have wide powers and mostly do a good job, but the Welsh Assembly Government should fund instruction, he said.

He criticised Aberdare Girls’ School governors for challenging pupil Sarika Singh’s right to wear a Sikh bangle in the High Court and said Cwmdare Primary governors were wrong to back convicted head teacher Paul Davies.

Cwmdare governors held Mr Davies’s job open and welcomed him back at the start of this term after he was jailed for dangerous driving after a car crash which left a man confined to a wheelchair.

Mr Pattrick said the General Teaching Council for Wales had rightly struck Mr Davies off for at least two years earlier this week.

Although there is local support and the National Association of Head Teachers Cymru has also backed Mr Davies, he was a bad example, Mr Pattrick said.

“In 99% of cases governors should take advice and legal advice from their local education authority. They need to follow the right protocols, which they obviously have not done in Cwmdare.”

On Aberdare Girls School Mr Pattrick said he was surprised the governing body had taken the matter so far. “Governors in that secondary school have a problem because they presumably have to fund the money for the High Court,” he said. “They made the decision to go on but they probably should not have done.

“There is no other income unless they have some benefactor. Personally, I don’t think it’s the right use of a school’s money.”

The school and governors have refused to comment on the matter or say how it is being funded. Rhondda Cynon Taf local education authority insists it is now between the governors and pupil.

Although LEAs can remove the school’s budget if they disagree with governors, that power is rarely used, said Mr Pattrick, who is also chair of governors at Ysgol Maesydderwen and member of governors at Ysgol Thomas Stephens in Powys.

The WAG confirmed it has no power to remove governors.

Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood, whose South Wales Central constituency covers Aberdare Girls School, wants the law on governors’ powers examined again.

“The powers of school governors and rights of appeal against their decisions needs considering,” she said. “In the past year I have dealt with a number of cases where constituents have had serious concerns about school governors’ decisions.

“This whole area of law needs to be looked at.

“I do not lay the blame with Sarika’s school – the lack of guidance has made the school governors’ situation more difficult.”

NUT Cymru campaigns officer Rhys Williams and Association of Teachers and Lecturers Cymru director Dr Philip Dixon said there was concern over governors’ powers.

Both unions have criticised the number of teachers governors have referred to private investigators looking into abuse allegations, although Mr Pattrick says they were following LEA advice in this matter.

Dr Dixon said, “We’d like a clearer role for LEAs in having some power to override governors’ decisions.

“Governors are well intentioned and give a lot of their time dealing with complex things. But they have a phenomenal amount of power and it needs to be clearer how it is monitored.”

Mr Pattrick said, “There is no mandatory training. We would like to see compulsory induction training but the WAG are not happy about that because they find it difficult to find governors as it is.”

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson said, “Training for school governors is very important and local education authorities are required by section 22 of the Education Act 2002 to make free training available to every governor.”