SGS Effective Governing Body Programme
Governors and clerks of schools that subscribe to the Effective Governing Body Programme will have access to a comprehensive range of courses, publications and resources designed to support governors in making their important and distinctive contribution to successful and improving schools.
Governors and clerks of subscribing schools are entitled to:
- attend any course listed in the Course Programme FREE OF CHARGE
- attend any course arranged with Somerset Governor Services by their federation or cluster of schools FREE OF CHARGE
The course programme for governors and clerks covers provision at all levels of experience and across the full range of responsibilities.
For most courses, Somerset governors will be able to choose to attend a published course in either Somerset or Dorset FREE.
The course programme has been modified and improved following wide and detailed consultation. Where necessary, courses have been re-written and updated.
The programme for 2005/2006, described in detail in the 'Network' magazine for governors and on the Service website, includes the following courses, some planned and advertised in advance in Network magazine and others available on request as federation events:
Courses for New Governors - Level 1:
- Welcome to New Governors and the Effective New Governor: delivered over one full day or two separate evening sessions
- New Church School Governors
- Educational Inclusion: An Introduction for New Governors
Key Roles of the Governing Body - Level 2:
- The Strategic Governing Body
- The Governing Body and Critical Friendship
- The Governing Body and Accountability
(The above courses are available as a distance learning option and are also available as a taught version for federation events)
- The Annual Report to Parents/Annual Parents' Evening
- Managing Inspection
- Church School Governors - Preparing for your Section 23 Inspection
- New Instruments of Government in Church Schools
Key Responsibilities of the Governing Body - Level 2:
- Governors and the Curriculum
- How schools get their money
- How school spend their money
- Appointing staff
- Health & Safety: Governors' responsibilities
- Workforce Reform: Remodelling your school
- The role of the Governors in the pupil exclusion process
- SEN and the Disability Act 2001: Governors' responsibilities
Courses developing Strategic and Critical Friendship Roles - Level 3:
- Monitoring the Curriculum
- Monitoring and Target Setting
- Understanding Pupil Performance Data - PANDAs
- Using Targets
- How governors monitor the Budget
- Handling the Media
Courses developing the Accountability Role - Level 3:
- Everything you need to know about the work of Committees
Further Courses concerned with Key Responsibilities - Level 3:
- Appointing a new Headteacher
- Performance Management - the role of Appointed Governors
- Managing Staff Pay
Courses for Chairs and Vice Chairs - Level 3:
- New Chairs - Leading the Team
- Chairing the Governing Body - Developing the Role
- 'Managing the Business' - Heads, Chairs and Clerks
- The Effective Governing Body
- Evaluating your Governing Body
- Self evaluation in Church schools
Courses for Clerks
- Termly Introduction to Clerking (Level 1)
- Termly Clerks' Briefings and Training - all levels of experience
Where a course is organised for neighbouring schools or a Federation, any of these schools that subscribes to the Effective Governing Body Programme will be entitled to send as many governors as they wish free of charge.
Governing bodies of schools subscribing to the Effective Governing Body Programme are entitled to discounts for school-based courses.
Subscribing schools are entitled to send one delegate free to all conferences arranged by Governor Services. Additional delegates from subscribing schools benefit from discounts.
Governor Services produces Network, a termly magazine describing good practice and introducing new initiatives. For subscribing schools, every governor and the clerk receives a copy, sent to their nominated address.
The Resource Centre is based at the Elmhurst Centre in Street. It provides a bank of self-help material - enabling governors to update their knowledge in the light of recent developments and to complement the course programme offered by Somerset Governor Services.
The Centre is staffed on three sessions each week in term time. The Centre Administrator can be contacted by email, fax or 'phone and is able to advise on appropriate materials and to research the availability of information on the internet.
Recommended reading lists are also published on our Service website.
Pre-arranged personal visits by governors to the Centre are welcomed.
Governors of subscribing schools may order any number of resources. These are delivered to the school or a governor's home address and can be collected from the school.
The features of the 2005/2006 Effective Governing Body Programme
In designing the programme for 2005/2006, emphasis continues to be on:
- focusing on the strategic role of the governing body
- encouraging more governing bodies to access courses tailored to their need and in their locality by promoting 'federation' provision
- building a team of experienced educationalists and governors as 'associate trainers'
- further developing the value and relevance of published materials
- continuing to develop 'open learning' versions of key courses as appropriate
- attaching a level of experience to all courses, making course selection easier
- improving course provision for new governors and experienced governors with specific responsibilities within their governing body
- better meeting the needs of governors in special and secondary schools
- enhancing the programme of support and development for clerks to governing bodies
- reconsidering and where necessary re-writing courses, and developing high quality course materials.