Suffolk's Parent Governor Representatives
Suffolk's Parent Governor Representatives are here to represent the
views of Suffolk Governors in policy making and other strategic
processes associated with the governance of schools.
What do they do?
The Role of the Parent Governor Representative
The PGRs' role is to hold their local authority to account and
consult and feed back to parents, the local education authority's
discussions and decisions on education. Your task is to represent
parents, not to be mandated by them to act in a particular way or
be their delegate. The role involves:
- speaking for parents and pupils on education matters at local
authority meetings;
- voting in key decisions;
- keeping in touch with general views of parents; and
- acting as a sounding board for the local authority when it
wants to get a feel for whether parents are likely to welcome or
reject a particular proposal.
Although there are no financial rewards from being a parent
governor representative, you can expect:
- to get personal satisfaction from performing an important
public service;
- to develop a better understanding of how your local authority
takes strategic decisions;
- to build effective and valuable working relationships with
officers, elected local councillors, church representatives, and
other appointed committee members such as teachers.
From
Best Practice guidance for parent governor
representatives - DfES
Frequently asked Questions
Who are parent governor representatives
(PGRs)?
PGRs were established in the School Standards and Framework Act
1998, amending section 499 of the Education Act 1996, and are
subject to their own regulations, The Parent Governor
Representatives (England) Regulations 2001. PGRs were elected
from serving parent governors from June 2000 to represent the views
of all parents, in a non-politically biased way, on local authority
committees dealing with education matters.
Which committees do they serve on?
The Local Government Act 2000 requires local authorities to set up
new constitutions, usually involving small decision-making
executives, and scrutiny committees to question and examine those
executives. These new style constitutions must be in place by
1 June 2002. Under these regulations, PGRs are able to vote
on any matters relating to education functions.
Exceptions: the Isles of Scilly and City of London. Not covered by
the 2000 Act, but PGRs there will have the same voting rights as
everywhere else.
What support do PGRs receive from local
authorities?
DTLR guidance on the 2000 Local Government Act suggests that, to
operate effectively, PGRs require similar support to elected
members. This support includes induction and further
training, advice from the committee secretariat, providing relevant
meeting papers, travel and other necessary expenses, access to a
PC, and advice on communicating with parents.
What funding is available to PGRs?
DfES makes available, through the Standards Fund, up to £1200
per authority to help with this support. However, since
2001/2002, due to changing commitments, this amount has not been
ring-fenced and must be match-funded by the authority.
Acceptable expenses would include travel and subsistence, child
care, financial loss allowance (where applicable) and stationery
costs.
Are PGRs entitled to time off work from their employment to
undertake their duties?
No, time off only applies to members, however, the Department has
recently undertaken an exercise to produce a Regulatory Impact
Assessment for DTI Employment Regulations which will, hopefully,
result in PGRs being allowed time off work to undertake
duties.
How many PGRs are there?
Between 2 and 5 PGRs can be elected for each authority. All
but 6 local authorities now have between one and five - a
total of 304 for England as a whole. Elections to fill
vacancies have to be held within a year of posts becoming
vacant.
What is the PGRs term of office?
The term of office for a PGR is not less than two but no more than
four years.
Why are PGRs elected by and from parent governors rather
than all parents?
Logistical reasons. It is much more practical for authorities
to handle elections on this basis; and as PGs are elected by
parents, this is a good 'proxy'.
What other support is available?
When PGRs were first established Ministers promised a support
network. Since July 2000, the Department has contracted the
National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to establish
and develop a paper and electronic-based network, with a website
and termly newsletter, for all PGRs. The network is open to
all PGRs who wish to join and the majority have done so.
From
Best Practice guidance for parent governor
representatives - DfES
Suffolk's Parent Governor Representatives
Who are they?
Tony Dack,
Claydon High School
Suzanne
Travis, Farlingaye High School