15th July 2026
Over the last year, after hearing from a great many parents, teachers and people involved in volunteering activity, Connect worked on a response to the flaws in the PVG Act.
We carried out a survey which found a great number of experiences where the legislation isn’t working in school and in turn for the young pupils that Parent Councils and school leaders are trying to support. One particular issue is that while fees are waived for Parent Councils, PTAs and other voluntary organisations, schools still have to pay for parents who are volunteering to support activities that the school manage, such as in the classroom or school trips.
Following this work - and making a number of detailed suggestions - we wrote to both the Minister and the Education Committee with our findings. You can read our letter here.
A response from the Minister has just been received and we can share it with you here.
Gavin Yates, Executive Director of Connect said:
“I’m pleased that the Minister will now evaluate the impact of this legislation. We know from what parents and teachers have told us is it’s having a deleterious impact on school volunteering and the richness of events being provided for young people. We hope that when the Education Committee reconvenes that they will also look into this key issue.
"Whilst I can see that the PVG Legislation was drafted to include a much wider range of areas of voluntary and paid activity for children, young people and vulnerable adults, the law isn’t working as it was intended and it needs to be amended.
"At the very least, the substantial fees being expected to be paid by schools for parent volunteers need to be abolished, as they are for Parent Councils and other volunteer bodies. The original financial memorandum did not account for this, and it needs to go.
“I hope that in the spirit of co-operation we can find a way forward that will help kids access more activities and experiences, whilst at the same time offering protection which is what everyone supports.”