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Governor Support Team - Tailored support

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The Governor Development Officers (GDOs) are the first point of contact for a school on issues of governance, particularly on the operational aspects of the Governing Body. The GDOs’ objectives are to support a Governing Body to operate correctly and effectively. 

In addition to the Governor Development Programme, the GDOs offer tailored support (often known as ‘In-school sessions’ because we come to your school to deliver!).  These are aimed at individual Governing Bodies and will be delivered by a GDO, in discussion with the Chair, tailored to the input required by the Governing Body. When the GDOs visit a school, they provide the Chair and the Governing Body with a record of their visit, which may contain judgments about effectiveness of the Governing Body if requested.

The most common sessions offered are:

  • Reviewing Governing Body operations: roles and responsibilities; use of delegation to committees and their terms of reference; the conduct of meetings.
  • Workshops on how to develop a strategic vision.
  • Helping governors to take on roles in self-evaluation and school improvement activity.
  • Advice on achieving statutory requirements for governance in preparation for Ofsted inspections.
  • Specific training for governing body members.

Get in touch with your GDO and we will arrange a tailored session for your school.

Team Building Review

A GDO comes to a Governing Body meeting in school, and facilitates structured discussions to enable governors to reflect on their effectiveness as a team, and to formulate an action plan to develop their skills and effectiveness further. 

Governing Body Self Review (GBSR)

We also offer a self-review consultancy which will allow Governing Bodies to identify for themselves, strengths and areas for development.  The GBSR provides the basis for a Governing Body development plan, which can be further supported through the training programme or additional tailored support. 

Support for School Clusters

Schools are increasingly looking to work together and if you collaborate with others to define your collective needs, we’ll provide the support to match at a reduced rate per school.  That is, if two or more schools join together for a session, the standard charge can be shared across the participating schools.