Governors Support Services

We are committed to supporting you in meeting the challenges of School Governance and the requirements set through the Department for Education framework.

Government reform of the education system has led to an increasing reliance on school-based system of Governance to provide increasing accountability and control. This has meant that the Role & Responsibilities of the Governing Board become directly responsible for finance, standards, school improvement, best value purchasing requirements, regulatory and disciplinary matters and personnel/HR issues.

Governor Training & CPD

Edsential provide training to Governors through a series on of online training sessions and workshops.  Edsential has developed a training model whereby delegates can be provided with a blended approach to learning using simple to access, pre-prepared resources to support delegates in engaging in short activities, live webinars and surgeries delivered by an experienced team of presenters.

All training is:

Delivered Live (no generic sessions)

Clearly planned opportunities for delegate engagement through Q&A, breakout rooms and networking.

Presented by experts in the particular field including those working for Local Authorities.

Recorded and made available for delegates after the session for all Governors at the school.

Training sessions can be purchased individually, but did you know our annual Governor Training SLA presents great value for money? For one annual cost, your whole governing body can access a full training programme for the full year. See below for more details.

Clerking Service

Our team are not just minute takers and are rightly classed as Governance Professionals due to the expertise, support and guidance provided to schools. Above all, one of our team will become an integral part of the school and support the school in achieving its outcomes. We invest in knowledge and development to ensure that clerks have the skills and expertise to provide efficient administrative support and impartial advice and guidance.

Edsential’s School Governance Service is experienced in supporting schools with Complaints panels, Admissions Hearings, Exclusion Hearings and Disciplinary Hearings for both maintained and academy schools.  We also provide support to Governing Bodies for Headship and Deputy Headship appointments.

Support for Independent Clerks

Edsential offer a support package for school-employed, independent clerks. This is available to all schools not purchasing Edsential clerking.

This package supports Clerks in their role and provides advice on governance matters as required.

  • Half Termly networking sessions on current issues
  • Ongoing updates to clerks on changes to legislation and advice
  • Access to advice between meetings through the governor helpline 0151 541 2170 (extension 2002)
  • Online and email support from experienced governance professionals
  • Membership to Edsential Independent Clerks area on GovernorHub (supported by Edsential Governor Services)

Governor Hub

 

Governor Hub is an online service designed to help governing boards run efficiently.  It is used by over 6,000 schools across the country. Governor Hub helps trustees, governors and clerks to communicate and store documents, membership details, meeting schedules and other information in one secure and accessible place.

This includes:

  • News and information from the local experts within the Governor Services or MAT team.
  • Answers to most commonly asked questions.
  • Standard documents from your Governor Services or MAT team.
  • The ability to book training, track your training record and download certificates for courses taken.

Local Authority Governance

Statutory guidance for governing bodies of maintained schools and local authorities in England, May 2017 states:

“Local authority governors are nominated by the local authority but appointed by the governing body. The local authority can nominate any person who is eligible to be a local authority governor, but it is for the governing body to decide whether their nominee has the skills required to contribute to the effective governance and success of the school and meets any other eligibility criteria they have set. Local authorities should therefore make every effort to understand the governing body’s requirements and identify and nominate suitable candidates.

An individual eligible to be a staff governor at the school may not be appointed as a local authority governor”.

The guidance also states that “A key consideration in the appointment and election of all new governors should be the skills and experience the governing body needs to be effective. The skills they need are a matter for governing bodies to decide having regard to the Department’s Competency Framework for Governance”.

All Local Authority Governors in maintained schools need to be nominated by the Local Authority. The application form for Cheshire West and Chester can be downloaded by clicking the button below:

Once completed it can be submitted to schoolgovernance@edsential.co.uk where it will be considered by the Local Authority panel.  Applications can take up to twelve weeks to process so please ensure that the applications for renewals are submitted in plenty of time so that terms of office do not expire.

Re-Constitution of Maintained Schools Governing Bodies

The constitution of maintained schools governing bodies is outlined in The Constitution Of Governing Bodies Of Maintained Schools: Statutory guidance for governing bodies of maintained schools and local authorities in England.

Section 20 of the Education Act 2002 requires all maintained schools to have an instrument of government which determines the constitution of the governing body and other matters relating to the school. Part 5 of the 2012 Constitution Regulations makes provision regarding the contents and form of the instrument and the procedure for making and reviewing it.  Every governor should have had sight of it, if not a copy of the document.

All Governing Bodies had to reconstitute by September 2015 by law, so your instrument of government should be relatively up to date, but it is good practice to review this annually.  Any changes to the instrument have to be:

  • proposed as an agenda item at a full governing body meeting,
  • agreed as a proposed amendment to a draft instrument at that meeting
  • a draft instrument prepared and sent to, and agreed by the Local Authority and the Diocese (if relevant)
  • approved at a full governing body meeting (not the same one where the initial proposal was made.

Your clerk will able to support you with this process.