Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance on the length of time parental representation can be excluded within academy trusts where a school is underperforming.

Academy trusts should have reserved places for parents, carers or other individuals with parental responsibility within their governance structure. Single academy trusts should have at least two such places on the trust board. Multi-academy trusts should have at least two such places on the board or on each local committee, where they are established. Trusts should hold elections to fill these places as appropriate.

The department has not issued guidance allowing for the removal of parents from trust governance arrangements where a school is underperforming. Trusts are expected to maintain the governance arrangements that are set out in their articles of association, funding agreement and the Academy Trust Handbook.

Expectations for high-quality governance are set out in the Trust Quality Descriptions, which identify effective engagement with parents, carers and local communities as a feature of high-quality trusts. These expectations will be renewed through new Trust Standards. In addition, the department has committed to publishing minimum expectations on parental engagement for schools, which trust boards will oversee.

As set out in the Schools White Paper, the government intends to consult on requiring academy trusts to have local governance structures covering all their schools, helping to ensure that trust boards hear directly from parents and school communities. We will also be introducing Ofsted inspection of trusts.