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There are around 300,000 school governors in England. They have been described as the largest volunteer force in the country, yet their contribution is rarely recognised in our national debate. As local government makes its case in the current discussions around democratic structures and models of leadership in local government, and in areas such as healthcare and policing, very little attention is paid to governance of schools, or in children's services more broadly. The LGiU, working through our Children's Services Network (CSN) aims to put this right. Recently, I chaired the Annual Governors Conference, co-ordinated by CSN and the National Governors Association. We heard from Jim Knight, the minister for schools, talking about a major review of the role and purpose of school governors. To support the review, research has been undertaken which highlights the vacancy rates, at almost 11%, the lack of diversity on governing bodies, and the tendency for small ‘core groups' of governors to form within the wider body. Research also shows that many governors find it difficult to challenge the head teacher, and prefer to work collaboratively with them. Perhaps, most significantly, evidence suggests there is a relationship between good governance and pupil achievement, prompting ministers to say that strong governance is the key to raising standards and delivering the children's plan. So, we know the Government means business. But, so far, in the way of these debates, ministers are circling the issues by establishing a review group. Indications from ministers are that a ‘small is best' approach will be adopted. The argument for this is based on the work of the small three to six-member interim executive boards which have been established to take over the governance of failing schools, and are seen by the Government to have been successful. Another idea gaining currency is that more business people should be involved, drawing on the experience of governance in academies. Smaller governing bodies will probably spell the end of the stakeholder model, which brings together local authority-appointed governors, with teacher and parent governors. If this happens, it is likely that the Government will propose parent councils, but it is not clear how this body would relate to the governing body, or what powers it would have. The LGiU has been raising the role of councillors, and the issue of how governing bodies link to communities. Many councillors are also governors, and by combining the roles, they bring to governing bodies a clear connection to the democratic process. But this is not by design. In countries such as New Zealand and the US, school governors are directly elected. This approach would create a democratic link between school governance and communities. But there is a big question, as with ideas for direct elections in healthcare and policing, of who would come forward to stand for office, and what kind of turnout would there be? The American experience is of hotly-contested school board elections, but those boards have a broad remit and, in some cases, are even state wide, so, in a UK context, would effectively have the same role as local authorities. We favour a strengthening of the councillor and local authority role. Councillors should have the right to attend school governing bodies in their area, and have full rights of participation in decision-making, with regular bilateral meetings between the councillor, chair of governors and head teacher. Clearly, arrangements would have to suit the size of councillors wards and the demands on their time, but the principle of involvement should be clear in the Government's review. We also want to see that local government is challenged to strengthen the accountability of any local authority-appointed governors who are not councillors, provide stronger support and training to all governors, and ensure that links are strong between local governor associations and children's trusts. We also want to see a student council in every secondary school, with the right to nominate associate pupil governors who can report on matters raised at their council, an arrangement that is working well in Wales. The LGiU will be consulting with our member councils over coming months on the future of school governance, as part of our wider work on accountability and democracy in public services. Andy Sawford is chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, which runs the Children's Services Network

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CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Time to get on board

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