Development / Training

This year, we are setting out details of all the services we provide and clearly identifying which of these are available to all governing bodies and which are best accessed through subscription.

Differentiated Support 

This is the main focus of the work of GDOs. Priority is given to those governing bodies that need the greatest levels of support to ensure that they meet statutory requirements relating to governance and so that the school will achieve at least a satisfactory outcome in its Ofsted inspections. 

Differentiated support takes priority over all other commitments. This means that requests for additional development activities from schools whose governance is deemed secure can only be met where the GDOs have the capacity to do so.

An Introduction to Governance

This day conference will give an overview of governors’ work, responsibilities, roles and how to develop in their work. We strongly recommend that all new governors attend and that you will encourage them to do so. There is no charge for new governors to attend, but for those attending as a refresher, charges will apply. We also offer two separate two hour lunchtime or evening sessions covering the main roles.

Training Programme 

This year, the GST programme includes the same number of courses and, in all but two cases, will be delivered by the GDOs. Training provided by other parts of Children’s Services, such as Safeguarding, Finance, and Health and Safety, are signposted here, but do not form part of the GST’s service level agreement and separate charges may apply. This means that our programme can focus on ensuring that new governors can learn about their key responsibilities, but also offer support for those that carry out the lead roles of the governing body: the chair, the clerk and the link governor. There will be sessions for new clerks and for those with more experience as well as sessions targeted at those governors who have a particular responsibility for curriculum, staffing and special educational needs (SEN). More experienced governing bodies will want to take advantage of the sessions aimed at developing further their effective governance and leadership. New sessions this year include; Dealing with Complaints, Understanding Data, and Responsibilities for SEN. The autumn and spring workshops will provide updates on changes and developments in the field of governance as well as the opportunity to offer dedicated time on sharing good practice.

Modern Governor

Last year, a number of schools decided to subscribe to the GST programme, enabling access at a reduced rate. Whilst the introductory subsidy offered last year by Cumbria is no longer available, the reduced rate still applies. Modern Governor is an online training package provided by learningpool.   Additional information can be found at http://www.moderngovernor.com/ (external link).

This is offered as an extra resource to complement those that we already provide. There has been an increasing need for governors to have easy access to reliable information on a range of topics – many of you have discussed this possibility with us – and this resource will help to meet that need. It can be used either by individual governors or to inform a governing body meeting on a particular topic. There are links to sources of further information, including contact details for your GDO/GST team and relevant websites. We see this as a resource that will help your governing body to consolidate areas of good practice and improve areas where you are not so confident. By increasing your effectiveness in this way, you will be able to focus more clearly on how you can use our expertise to assist with further development. 

Subscribing to Modern Governor through the local authority is more cost effective than directly as an individual school. The cost of a stand-alone purchase direct through learning pool  is £299 for primary schools and £399 for secondary schools. Through the SLA, this falls to £89 and £99 respectively.

Administration 

In addition to running the booking service for the programme, our administrative team provides the following: 

·   A service for the issuing of amended Instruments of Government 

·   Self-declaration and List 99 check with the Criminal Records Bureau. All governor appointments are subject to the completion of a self-declaration that the governor is not disqualified from serving, and a satisfactory List 99 check. At the time of writing, the DCSF is preparing to confirm the details of changes to these requirements, likely to mean that all governors will be required to have a full CRB Disclosure check.

·   A database register of the members of all schools’ governing bodies. Whilst schools cannot access this database, it enables us to target better, our training and advice service. This information is not shared with any third party

·   Liaison with the Local Area Committees that appoint local authority (LEA) governors. 

·   A Policy Audit Tool, to help governing bodies to check that that they meet all requirements for policies, plans and procedures. 

Cumbria Continuing Professional Development (CCPD)

This publication is available in two large ring binders (one for primary and one for secondary schools).

It contains the professional development opportunities for the 2009-2010 academic year planned by all parts of the education service. It will be supplemented by updates as new initiatives are developed, and in response to schools' needs. This fulfils our aim to meet schools' requests for greater coherence and better coordination in LA provision and enabling annual planning to meet their staff's development needs. The programme provided by GST is contained within and in the future, the CCPD publication (see link below) will be the main source of information for governors seeking training opportunities. 

CCPD Publication