ABSTRACT
The message from Plowden onwards was clear: parents needed to be persuaded of the value of the school's work and this would best be achieved by involving them in the life of the school. The nature of that involvement, however, was limited. Parents could be encouraged, for instance, to help in fund-raising or improving the school environment. Yet more centrally educational questions were still seen to be the territory of teachers. Similarly, the emphasis of the 1980 and 1986 Education Acts is on the parent as the indirect consumer of education, rather than as a more active participant in the everyday life of the school.
