I read with interest your article “Power without responsibility” and your editorial. Both you and Cherie Booth omit to comment on an area of heavy responsibility for school governors. This is their role as the employers of teachers. In voluntary-aided and grant-maintained schools the governors are the employers and in other local education authority schools they act as the employers.
This means that a teacher who is facing a serious charge under the disciplinary code or a threat of redundancy will have to face a panel of three governors who may be untrained amateurs. The only court of appeal that this unfortunate teacher has is to another panel of governors. The appeal panel may be equally trained and conduct their affairs in a non-professional way. It is for this reason that I support the call for compulsory and regular training of governors.
J M CLAMPIT
Wiltshire branch secretary
Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Damerham
Hampshire
