Governor recruitment, skills audits & training

13 articles
  • Governor skills & effectiveness
    • 20 key questions for governing boards Download our 20 key questions and sources of evidence to help you evaluate how effective your governing board is.
    • Annual governance statements An annual governance statement is required for an academy, and is good practice for a maintained school. Get guidance on what your statement needs to contain, and take a look at examples from other schools.
    • Chair: role and responsibilities Whether you're the chair of a maintained school, an academy trust board or an LGB, understand your role by downloading our role descriptions. You'll also find skills audits to help you identify your strengths and the skills and knowledge you still need to acquire in your role.
    • Competency framework for governance We summarise the key features of the competency framework for governance in just one page. Download a copy of this QuickRead as a ready-made resource to share with your board.
    • Competency framework for governance: summary Understand what the competency framework for governance is and how you can use it to support training and recruitment priorities.
    • Contributing to meetings: tips for new governors Follow these top tips to get off to a good start in governance. Find out how you can make a positive contribution, bring issues to the governing board and overcome feeling intimidated.
    • External reviews of governance Find out how an external review of governance (ERG) can help you improve your board's effectiveness, and how to commission a review. Know what to expect from the review process and how to make the most of it and benefit from the reviewer's insights.
    • Governing board action plans: template and guidance An action plan can demonstrate effective governance, but they're not an Ofsted requirement. Use our template and guidance to help you develop and monitor yours, and see examples from other governing boards.
    • Governing board self-evaluation: resources Follow these steps and use our resources to carry out your self-evaluation - there's a skills audit, templates to evaluate your board’s performance, and a dashboard for multi-academy trusts to get an overall picture across local governing bodies. Use our 360° feedback form to review your chair's performance.
    • Governor and trustee appraisal: templates and guidance Conduct appraisals to find out what your governors or trustees need to thrive in their role. Uncover training needs, plan future development and offer support in difficult areas. Use our suite of template documents to guide the process.
    • Governors' skills audits Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses using our downloadable skills audit, based on the competency framework - or find out how to create your own audit using free online tools.
    • How to show your board's impact on school improvement Get to grips with how your governing board can show its impact on school improvement, by being clear on your school's objectives and using evidence such as feedback from stakeholders and governing board meeting minutes.
    • Ways to improve your governance Experienced governors give you a taste of what they've done to step up their governance and move their boards from good to great – see if they work for yours too.
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  • Recruiting & retaining governors
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    16 articles
  • Training & induction
    • Finance glossary Be clear on the key financial terms you'll encounter as a governor at a maintained school or an academy, plus download our glossary to share it with your board.
    • Finance training for governors and trustees Strong financial management is one of the pillars of good governance. Find out what training and resources are available to you to enhance your knowledge of school finance.
    • Governance basics glossary The key governance terms you'll encounter, including roles on the board, school types, meeting procedures and key documents. Plus, a downloadable version to share with new governors.
    • Governor and trustee pack templates Get your governors or trustees up to speed quickly with our template governor packs. Give them all the essential school and trust information and policies they need, right at their fingertips. We've also included a customisable school-on-a-page (SOAP), including a top-level version for MAT trustees.
    • How to induct a new governor or trustee effectively High-quality induction ensures that new governors and trustees can hit the ground running. Understand what you need to do to prepare them for their role, and use our checklist to make sure you've done everything you need to.
    • Induction training for governors and trustees A solid induction can help new governors and trustees understand their roles and be effective straight away. Discover resources to help them get off to a great start.
    • Keeping a record of governor training Although you aren't required to keep a record of governor or trustee training, it can be a useful source of evidence. Learn how you can track your board's training, and see examples of training records from other boards.
    • Mentor to a new governor: role Understand your role as a mentor and how to support a new governor or trustee on your board.
    • Ofsted glossary for governors Do you know your graded inspection from your ungraded inspection? There's a lot of jargon involved in the world of Ofsted. Read our definitions and download our handy KeyDoc to get up to speed.
    • Performance data glossary Pupil performance data is full of technical terms and acronyms. Keep our performance data glossary on hand to help you decode your data reports, with a downloadable version to share with new governors.
    • Safeguarding training for governors: guidance Governors should have regular safeguarding training. Find out what the recommendations and requirements are for various types of safeguarding training, so you can help keep pupils safe.
    • Safer recruitment training: statutory requirements At least 1 member of a selection panel must have completed safer recruitment training. Understand what the training should cover and how often it should be refreshed. We also point you to our safer recruitment eLearning.
    • SEND glossary Get a handle on the key terms relating to special educational needs and disability (SEND), with a downloadable version to share with new governors.
    • Staffing and HR glossary The key staffing, HR and employment terms you'll encounter as a governor, plus a downloadable version to share with new governors.
    • Training for governors Getting the training you need to be a good governor has never been easier. Discover all the ways you can step up your governance game to support your school.
    • Who's who: cheat sheets for schools and trusts A handy guide to the most common roles you’ll come across in your school, single academy or multi-academy trust (MAT), so you know who everyone is and what they’re responsible for.
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