ABSTRACT
Governing bodies have a number of statutory responsibilities towards parents. These are primarily
about the information they must give to parents in the school prospectus and the annual report.
But their responsibility to parents goes far beyond the legislation. In their duty to raise standards,
governors need to recognize that the involvement of parents in their children’s learning is an
essential requirement. All the research shows that children whose parents are actively involved in
their learning, doing such things as openly supporting the school, encouraging attendance and
completion of work, acknowledging the professional expertise of teachers — these children perform
better by every measure used. The governors — not just parent governors — are in a unique position
in that their perspective of the school — like the majority of parents — is predominantly a lay one.
