Conference

2008 Safe Internet Use

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Highlights of previous SSBA conferences :-

2007 Developing a Parent Council and Encouraging Parental Involvement

2006 The Way Forward for Parental Involvement

2005 Parents in Partnership

2003 Partnerships and responsibilities

2002 SSBA is fit for the future

2001 Roadshow

2000 International
and published book
available here online

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Workshops
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A Voice for Parents - Parents' Councils

The Campaign for State Education began in England in the 1960's as a group of parents lobbying for more money for their children's school. The need for parents to be able to make their voice heard in education, both in their children's schools, at local level and at national level has been a long running aim for CASE. In 1996 CASE launched its campaign Their Schools or Ours which calls for a voice for pupils parents, governors, teachers and the community at school, local and national level. School councils for pupils; parents' councils for parents at school level and a General Teaching Council were part of the aims. Local forums for parent governors would provide a local voice for parents and elect a National Parents' Council. To strengthen the links at school level between parents and parent governors the campaign calls for parent councils which parent governors would have both the right and the duty to consult.

Since the campaign was launched there has been changes in England and Wales both before and after the General Election. A National Governors' Council representing local associations of governors is now fully established. It is represented on working parties set up by the Labour Government at national level. A General Teaching Council is shortly to be launched. By June this year parent governors will have elected parent governor representatives with voting rights onto the Local Education Authority in England and Wales. However when we look more closely at the opportunity for parents to make their voice heard at school and national level it is clear that there are still many gaps.

Parents' Councils in schools
At school level parents have the right to a meeting with governors once a year and an Annual Report, but if they wish to call the governors to account during the year there is no mechanism to do that. Parents had to be consulted in drawing up home school agreements, which were introduced by the School Standards and Framework Act but there was no requirement to have a democratic means of doing that.

Parents have the right to elect parent governors on to the governing body. However they do not have the right to consult or be consulted by them. Parent governors are often reminded that they are not parent representatives but there is no doubt that many parents consider that they are there to represent parents' views and concern but there is no mechanism to do that democratically. In many countries class parents and classroom parent councils would be the natural voice for parents.

Local level
At local level parents will shortly have a voice on the education authority through the elected parent governor representatives. Unless these representatives are able to consult parents locally through parent governors and via them to the parents in schools it will be not be a truly representative role.

A National Parents' Council
At national level there is now an opportunity to provide a national voice for parents through these parent governor representatives. With several teacher unions and soon a General Teaching Council providing a voice for teachers and a National Governors' Council it seems clear to CASE that there is need to provide a clear voice for parents at national level.

CASE believes that real consultation with parents would strengthen education policy making in England and Wales. Unless the missing links of representation of parents from classroom to national

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