Labour MP Rosie Cooper sets out the issues raised in her Westminster Hall debate on procedures for appeals against school governing body decisions.
The debate intended is to highlight how the existing complaints procedures within schools governing bodies can fail children and their parents.
I argue that the current practices cannot guarantee that complaints will be treated with absolute independence and objectivity, how the very nature of governing bodies makes them reliant on education professionals, and the lack of alternative means for parents to make complaints.
The problems facing parents making complaints are illustrated by a number of cases, including one where they've had to wait for over nine months for a complaint to be investigated. Governing bodies are limited by time and training and are in many cases are often over-reliant on the education professionals. The very people against who parents are complaining. This is simply because of the close relationship between the headteacher and the governing body.
Also, where parents are dissatisfied with the outcome of a complaints investigation there is no further redress beyond the governing body. Once a school's complaints appeals committee has made a decision, this is the end of the road for the parents. Local authorities and government departments are loathed to interfere in local decisions and limited to specific areas in which they can intervene.
Ensuring minimum standards and maintaining the quality of decisions is one of the most fundamental problems with the governing body. There has to be an independent adjudicator whose role is to ensure that not only is justice done but is seen to be done.
In a previous research report, the respected Joseph Rowntree Foundation actually suggests that governing bodies are not structured to handle complex cases.
Therefore, I strongly welcome the new provisions with the Apprenticeship. Skills, Children and Learning Bill currently before Parliament, which proposes a new parental complaint service to be operated by a local commissioner and for this to be introduced as a pilot programme.
It remains the case, whatever system is introduced, that parents need to be assured that governing bodies will deal with complaints in a fair and unprejudiced way which reassures them that their concerns are being listened to and that their children's future education is protected.
Where this is not the case, parents must have the option to pursue the complaint with an outside body and seek justice, and young children have their voices heard and are protected.
