Organisations supporting governance
There are several handy resources which governors can use to access the latest advice, guidance, regulatory frameworks and examples of best practice. In short, before you try to re-invent the wheel, why not see if other schools and boards have already done what you are trying to do?
Many of these sites require a subscription to the provider’s service. If you don’t have a login, check with your clerk as you may find your school buys into the service for you. If not, most offer a free trial, or contact us at RGA and we will probably be able to help.
The National Governance Association
The National Governance Association (NGA) is one of our partners. They are an independent charity representing and supporting governors, trustees and clerks in maintained schools and academies in England. The NGA’s goal is to improve the wellbeing of children and young people by increasing the effectiveness of governing boards and promoting high standards. It does this by providing information, advice, guidance, research and training.
The Key for School Governors is the national information service that provides governors with guidance, insight and instant answers to their questions on all aspects of school governance. The Key requires subscription but you can sign up for a free trial. N.B. The Key for School Governors is a separate, additional service to The Key for School Leaders. Your school may well subscribe to the latter, and so you may be able to negotiate a lower fee for adding the governor package.
‘Online support for school leaders and governors that’s so personal, it’s like having an extra member of staff. We clarify the latest changes in education, across all stages, and explain what you need to do next. Once you’ve taken action, we let you know if anything changes — so you’re always up-to-date.’ Hub4Leaders requires a subscription but also offers a free trial.
Do you need to find new governors with the right skills for your board? Inspiring Governance connects skilled volunteers interested in serving as school governors and trustees with schools in England. This is a charity providing its services for free.
Brighter Futures for Children (BFfC) (formerly Reading Education Services)
There is a range of training available from Brighter Futures for Children. You can find all the courses available using this link. This covers all types of training so just select ‘governor’ as your role in the filters on the left side of the page and then click search to see only relevant training and events.
Department for Education (DfE) funded training…it’s FREE!
There is currently up to £1,000 of training available for every governing board. This is for Chairs, Vice Chairs, Committee Chairs or aspiring future Chairs, and covers up to two members of the board. There is also £500 separately available for clerks which is also being funded by the DfE. There are two providers you can choose between. The main difference between them is that the NGA’s Leading Governance programme relies more on physical mentoring sessions in groups where you will interact with other governors while Entrust’s GovernorSpace programme uses limited telephone mentoring and relies more on on-line training content. You might want to consider which will suit you best. The NGA’s solution has a 100% recommendation from attendees, who find that going to classroom led training and interacting with other governors is a richly rewarding experience. But, at the time of writing the nearest cohort taking bookings is Windsor and Maidenhead, so bear in mind that online training is easier to access remotely, especially if it is for multiple members of the governing board.