Dear Parent
Your right to request a meeting with the school’s governing body
I am writing to you on behalf of the governing body to advise you of changes in regulations regarding new arrangements to meet with the school governing body.
The Schools Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013 (The Act) removed the requirement for school governing bodies to hold an annual meeting with parents instead new arrangements have been introduced to enable parents to request up to 3 meetings in any school year with a governing body, on matters which are of concern to them.
If parents wish to use their rights under the Act to hold a meeting, 4 conditions will need to be satisfied:
1. Parents will need to raise a petition in support of holding a meeting.
The parents of at least 10% of the school’s registers pupils / 30 registered pupils will need to sign the petition. If it is a paper petition, then a written signature must be given as well as the name and class of each child who is a registered pupil at the school. If the petition is in electronic format, the ‘signature’ required is the typed name of the parent plus the name and class of each child who is a registered pupil at the school and the email address of each parent who ‘signs’ the electronic petition.
2. The meeting must be called to discuss matters which affect the school
The meeting cannot be called to discuss such matters as the progress of individual pupils, or to make a complaint against a member of the school’s staff or governing body. The petition should contain brief details of the matter(s) to be discussed, and the reasons for calling the meeting. This information should be clearly displayed at the top of the petition, with parents’ signatures appearing below.
3. A maximum of 3 meetings can be held during the school year
The law allows parents to use their rights to request up to 3 meetings with a school governing body during the school year.
4. There must be at least 25 school days left in the school year
The law makes it a condition that at least 25 school days are left in the school year when the petition is received so that the meeting can be held. A “school day” means a day when the school is open to pupils: it does not include weekends, public holidays, school holidays or INSET days.
The address for service of a petition requesting a meeting with this school’s governing body is:
Chair of Governors c/o St Joseph’s RC Primary School, 204 North Road, Gabalfa, Cardiff, CF14 3BL.
Further advice on how parents may go about requesting a meeting with a governing body is available on the Welsh Government’s website at:
Yours sincerely,
Mr S Lawrence
Chair of Governors