Governor Service
The Service Offer
Subscription Services
Buy as You Need Services
Training Courses
Subscription services
The WES Governor Development Subscription provides your governing body with unlimited access to the centre-based training courses outlined in our latest programme.
We offer training on a wide range of subjects including managing school resources and leading the governing body but the strongest focus is on governors’ engagement in School Improvement.
For new members of your team there is the one day induction course which works through the essentials of governance.
Subscribers are also entitled to an annual in-house training session customised to your needs.
Governors, clerks and head teachers will have access to a dedicated Governor Helpline providing advice and support on all governance matters.
For any additional services you need beyond the standard subscription you will benefit from a reduction in the standard charge including for extra in-house training sessions.
For two or more schools working in collaborative partnerships, our Collaborative Subscription enables governing bodies to plan and receive joint training sessions as well as receiving the other benefits of the main Governor Development Subscription.
We welcome requests from groups of schools for a coordinated programme of in-house training sessions in their area.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements for this service.
Our Clerking Service provides a professional clerking standard to ensure the effective operation of your governing body.
This services provides clerking for six meetings per year. This can include committee meetings as well as full governing body meetings up to six meetings in total.
The service includes:
- Production of effective meeting minutes
- Guidance on regulations, policies and procedures and statutory website content
- Advice on constitution and elections
- Maintenance of governing body records
- Unlimited access for your clerk to our helpline for advice.
Our Clerking Service provides a professional clerking standard to ensure the effective operation of your governing body.
This services provides clerking for 10 meetings per year. This can include committee meetings as well as full governing body meetings up to 10 meetings in total.
The service includes:
- Production of effective meeting minutes
- Guidance on regulations, policies and procedures and statutory website content
- Advice on constitution and elections
- Maintenance of governing body records
- Unlimited access for your clerk to our helpline for advice.
Our Clerking Service provides a professional clerking standard to ensure the effective operation of your governing body.
This services provides clerking for 12 meetings per year. This can include committee meetings as well as full governing body meetings up to 12 meetings in total.
The service includes:
- Production of effective meeting minutes
- Guidance on regulations, policies and procedures and statutory website content
- Advice on constitution and elections
- Maintenance of governing body records
- Unlimited access for your clerk to our helpline for advice.
GovernorHub has been devised by experienced school governors to facilitate the effective operation of governing bodies by providing access to a range of online information and tools.
It includes:
- Education news locally and from around the country.
- A private area for the members of your governing body to communicate online and exchange messages and information.
- Sharing of documents online so they are all accessible centrally by the members of your governing body.
- A shared calendar of meetings which can be seen on the Web and synchronised to governors’ smartphone, work or tablet calendar.
- Easy links to DfE and Ofsted data about the school.
- Tools especially designed for clerks to help them track membership, roles, committees and easily organise meetings.
- A governing body healthcheck questionnaire to help with self-evaluation.
- An iPad app which can be used to download documents to use in meetings where there will be no Internet access. It is intended to add an Android app in the future
- Access to reference and guidance information provided by Warwickshire Governor Services.
We help you to ensure your academy board and local governing bodies have the knowledge, skills and confidence to exercise effective governance of your academy. In particular we can help you show evidence that your board is acting to develop its members’ capacity in a way which responds to the high expectations of Ofsted and the DfE. We know the importance of strong leadership and raising standards and we work with governors and headteachers to help your academy deliver the best possible education outcomes for your pupils.
Benefits
- We provide relevant, up to date training delivered by experienced governors and leaders to ensure your governors are more confident in carrying out their role effectively.
- We provide a comprehensive programme to ensure your governors have access to the range of skills and knowledge expected by Ofsted, the DfE and others. This includes new and updated course topics to meet the changing needs of governance.
- We provide governance support and advice to governors and clerks, to headteachers and school business managers.
- Our guidance and course content is focused on helping to identify practical solutions to your governance questions, not just theory.
- We are an integral part of Warwickshire’s Education & Learning team and operate in close partnership with Schools HR, Schools Finance and your school’s Learning Improvement Officer, to ensure our work complements other LA support.
Why Buy Our Service
An effective governing board holds an academy to account for its performance and works in partnership with the headteacher to secure high quality teaching and improved outcomes for pupils. Carrying out the statutory duties required of governance, particularly those related to school finance, staff performance and effective implementation of statutory policies requires an academy board and local governing bodies which have the right mix of skills and abilities to fulfil their responsibilities.
Our Service provides access to a wide range of training, support and guidance to enable governing body to operate effectively and carry out statutory duties. We support you to develop an effective governance structure which makes the best use of governors’ time and skills and distributes responsibilities across all members.
Please see our Governor Training and Support Programme 2017-18.
The Effectiveness of our Service
- Last year the number of governor attendances at our training sessions increased from 1700 to over 2800.
- 92% of delegates on our courses rated their experience as good or very good.
- 99% of enquiries made to the Governor Helpline were responded to within 5 days.
Our Specialisms
- Governor roles and responsibilities
- Insights into school improvement
- External reviews of governance as required by Ofsted
- Leadership and management
- Professional development and training
- Clerking
Tailored Services
Our services are flexible and can be tailored to meet your individual needs – please contact us if you would like to discuss arranging a tailored package for your academy.
