The problem Dianavan is that we don't have the same system of management/trustees as other places, we do have school governers who are drawn from local parents. The thing is that in reality it is often difficult to find people to fill the posts, and often those that they do find have a personal agenda. The present UK government is fixated on centralisation, and only pays lip service to local democracy. Over here the Town Hall administration doesn't change with the government, and because of that the ruling party want to take decisions about education and other social engineering, away from local authorities and keep them under the control of their own grand plan. The primary instrument for expressing dis-satisfaction with national governments is local elections, where people feel safe in lodging a protest vote. This results in many local authorities being in direct opposition politically, to the government of the day. So the natural impulse is to deprive these authorities of any meaningful power. Therefore you get a 'National Plan' which pays no attention to local needs or requirements. The problem with the word, and the practice of democracy, is that it betrays its' Greek roots by having bugger all to do with the people it purports to represent.
Cynical me??
Giok