Review into “vital” service for Wirral school governors

Jan 20 2011

COUNCIL officials are to review a "vital" service for Wirral school governors prompting fears it will be scaled down.

Wirral council’s governor support service provides assistance to more than 2,000 governors in the borough and headteachers on all aspects of school governance.

This includes ensuring governing bodies are constituted correctly and vacancies are filled and dealing with daily queries from heads, chairs, clerks, governors and the public.

Other duties include picking up on issues raised in meetings to ensuring procedures are followed in the vent of school closures and mergers.

But Wirral council has confirmed it is looking at a restructure and "reviewing the funding required".

Schools currently contribute up to £30,000 to the service with the council putting in £73,000.

But with councils facing a squeeze in budgets headteachers fear funding will be lost forcing schools to provide the service in-house.

Steven Peach, headteacher at Wallasey secondary the Oldershaw said: "It is a vital service and ensures we have quality governors.

"Most headteachers have said they would be willing to pay but how much depends on what we get in the budget in March.

"Individual schools will have to take decisions depending on their budgets and what their priorities lie."