Agenda item

This third interim report on the scrutiny review of the role of School Governors presents information resulting from responses to the survey sent out to all Governors in January, as requested at the last meeting, and invites Members to comment on a draft version of a further questionnaire to be sent to Governing Bodies.

Note:

Annex J to the above item, marked ‘to follow’ in the report, was included in the agenda and published on-line on 20 February 2008.

Members considered a third interim report on the scrutiny review of the role of School Governors (Part A), which presented information resulting from responses to the survey sent out to all Governors in January, as requested at the last meeting.  The report also invited Members to comment on a draft version of a questionnaire to be sent to Governing Bodies.

Details of information taken from the survey responses had been fed into the database in order to provide a set of reports on the ethnicity, gender, age and economic profile of school governors, together with some comparative information on the ethnicity of York residents and school pupils.  These reports were attached as Annexes A to I to the main report.  The draft questionnaire had been provided separately as Annex J.  Regarding the costs of the survey, it was confirmed that the Scrutiny Management Committee had agreed on 25 February to release an additional £650 to cover those administrative costs that needed to be funded from the Scrutiny budget.

Members noted that there had been a excellent response rate to the survey, with 1,090 forms sent out and 1,050 returned.  However, they were concerned that many respondents had declined to answer the questions relating to ethnicity, age and gender, resulting in a lack of data in these crucial areas.  Rather than speculate on the reasons behind this, it was suggested that the matter be explored further with those governors who had agreed to attend the informal consultation session after the formal meeting.  It would also be possible to amend the draft questionnaire, in the light of the consultation, in order to gain the information required via the survey of Governing Bodies. 

RESOLVED: (i)         That the interim report, and Members’ comments on the survey results, be noted and that the reasons behind some of the responses be explored further during the informal consultation session with school governors scheduled to follow this meeting.

                        (ii)        That the Scrutiny Officer amend the draft questionnaire at Annex J to the report in the light of the outcome of the consultation session and circulate it to Members for their comments and agreement before sending it to Governing Bodies.

REASON:      In order to progress the review as agreed, whilst complying with scrutiny procedures, protocols and work plans.