The process of discussing the constitution

The process of discussing the constitution

In this post I outline why the proposed process for discussing the new School Constitution is problematic.

Lack of communication campaign

In the last AGM the trustees agreed to enable some feedback sessions in January and March 2025, i.e. in advance of the next AGM whose main purpose will be to agree the consitution. January and March passed without any discussion. The School trustees sent a WhatsApp message on the 3rd of April with a letter, where on page 2 parents were invited to email the trustees to book a 30min slot to provide feedback about the constitution.

Over the past few years the communication methods used by the School to engage the parents have shown excellent examples of promoting events, with rich visual material, uplifting narrative and reminders and repetitions of content to ensure that the message reaches the parents and that parents participate.

However, when it came to the discussion about the new constitution, apart from the reference in the WhatsApp letter, there has been no other notification or communication. This was despite the fact that there have been:

• two issues of the School Compass newsletter on the 4th and the 11th of April and
• numerous WhatsApp messages since on the Community channel since.

It would have been very easy to add reminders of the feedback slots in these communications, but the trustees chose not to. This is an indication that the absolutely minimum has been done in terms of communication.

Limited options over Easter

The first proposed slot for feedback was on the 5th of April, i.e. too soon for parents to make plans within 2 days of the announcement. The next one (26th of April) was within the Easter break when typically families are away and the School is closed. This leaves the 10th of May as the only reasonable option with only a week away from the AGM. This leaves only a week for any feedback to be taken on board and acted on which is another indication that there is not enough time for discussion.

Feedback versus discussion

The concept of feedback is problematic. At the last AGM I argued for meaningful discussion with community engagement. Feedback is not discussion.

Control over decision making

Feedback means that the trustees retain control over the decision making process. Parents may provide feedback, but the trustees may choose to ignore it. Generally speaking, feedback sessions are often used as a tick-boxing exercise. They allow a body (in this case the trustees) to say that they have consulted with stakeholders (in this case the parents) without having to make any changes in the items that they are consulting about (in this case the constitution). This in itself reduces the value of the exercise as the stakeholders feel it is pointless to engage.

Control over information

By isolating the parents in individual consultation slots, the trustees retain control over the objections that parents have and whether they are communicated. This control means that concerns of parents are not shared with other parents. If a concern was shared, it could have received support from other parents thus increasing pressure for change. By isolating the discussion that pressure is controlled but the democratic process is compromised.

Lack of discussion

The consitution is the cornerstone document of the new charity for the School. It deserves scrutiny and critical examination. Parents may read it and have concerns or comments about it, but ideas for improvements only develop after discussion. Discussion is the only way for ideas to progress and the collective thinking of a community to be articulated and reflected in a document.

By blocking discussion the trustees remove the capacity of the parent community for collective thinking.

Call for an inclusive process

The repeated delays have led to a situation where there is now very limited time for any meaningful engagement and discussion on the constitution. For the above reasons, the trustees are asked to:

• establish a rich and targetted campaign to motivate parents to contribute to the feedback sessions;
• document and share parents’ comments during the feedback with all parents in a transparent process;
• allow for extra feedback sessions;
• create an open channel on WhatsApp for parents to exchange ideas on the constitution;
• bring every comment for discussion and vote to the AGM.

The Greek Leek