Governor Training

Warwickshire Governor Services have places available on the following courses:

 

Induction to Governance	Tuesday 7 February 2017 9.30am-4.30pm	Racemeadow Primary School, Atherstone
Induction to Governance	Wednesdays 1, 8 & 15 February 2017 7pm-9.30pm	Boughton Leigh  Junior School, Rugby
“Essentials” update for experienced governors	Monday 6 February 2017 7pm-9pm	Racemeadow Primary School, Atherstone
Taking the Chair	Monday 30 January 2017 9.30am-4.30pm	Bulkington Village Centre, Bedworth
Handling Complaints	Tuesday 31 January 2017 7pm-9pm	Stratford-Upon-Avon School
The Governor’s Role in School Improvement, part 1 of 2: School Self-Evaluation & Improvement Plans	Thursday 9 February 2017 7pm-9pm	Nicholas Chamberlaine School, Bedworth
Ofsted Inspection: the role of the governing body	Tuesday 31 January 2017 7pm-9pm	Boughton Leigh  Junior School, Rugby
Using School Performance Data – Primary	Monday 6 February 2017 7pm-9pm	Stratford-Upon-Avon School
Quality of Teaching – A Governor’s Guide	Tuesday 7 February 2017 7pm-9pm	Boughton Leigh  Junior School, Rugby
Child Protection & Safeguarding	Monday 30 January 2017 6.45pm-9.15pm	Racemeadow Primary School, Atherstone
Closing the Gap – the achievement of pupil groups	Monday 16 January 2017 7pm-9pm	Stratford-Upon-Avon School
Special Schools Chair’s Group	Thursday 2 February 2017 7pm-9pm	River House School, Henley-in-Arden
Special Educational Needs and the Governing Body	Thursday 9 February 2017 7pm-9pm	Stratford-Upon-Avon School
Finance Part 2: Budget Management – a Closer Look  (new)	Wednesday 1 February 2017 7pm-9pm	Stratford-Upon-Avon School
Health and Safety FOR ALL SCHOOLS WHERE WCC IS THE EMPLOYER	Wednesday 18 January 2017 10am-12pm	Stratford College
Clerks’ Induction	Monday 23 January 2017 9.30am-3.30pm	Pound Lane Learning Centre, Leamington Spa
Clerking Exclusion, Appeals & Complaints Hearings	Thursday 26 January 2017 7pm-9pm

 

To book a place please contact Gail Evans as follows:

 

Gail Evans

Admin Assistant

Warwickshire Governor Services

Education & Learning

Communities Group

Saltisford Office Building 3

Warwick

Tel   01926 745120

Email   gailevans@warwickshire.gov.uk

Counter terrorism training for Governors

Invitation to Chair of Governors/Safeguarding Governor

Warwickshire schools Counterterrorism event - January 2017

Purpose: To receive a strategic overview of the Government's CONTEST strategy with a specific briefing on the 'Prevent' and 'Prepare' responsibilities.

Time: 6-8pm (registration opens at 5.30pm)

Date: Monday 23 January 2017

Location: The Ricoh Arena Community Space, Phoenix Way, Coventry CV6 6GE

Audience: This event is aimed at school governors with a responsibility for safeguarding.

The event is open to both Warwickshire County Council-maintained schools and academies at no charge.  If you wish to register to attend, please follow the links to the attached Google form:

https://docs.google.com/a/warwickshire.gov.uk/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScHlKVx2zVLhEafBNLdiDY8z85JWHUZ0o5lA3l2shxd6Y8IEg/viewform

NB this event will now run from 6-8pm on Monday 23 January 2017 at the Ricoh Arena Community Space and not at 7-9pm as stated on the above Google form.

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Below is a summary of what the event will cover:

PREVENT

The Prevent strand of the Government’s CONTEST Strategy is all about the pre-criminal space, providing support and redirection to vulnerable individuals at risk of being groomed into terrorist activities. In this event we will be looking at how governors can ensure their school is effectively implementing their responsibilities under the Prevent Duty.

PREPARE

The Prepare strand seeks to minimise the impact of a terrorist attack where it cannot be stopped. In this event we will be looking at how governors can strategically direct and support the School Senior Management to develop and implement a School Emergency Plan in line with best practice.

FAQ from Governors

A very Happy New Year from Governor Services!

EduBase Update

We continue to be asked a number of questions regarding EduBase and have provided this update together with some frequently asked questions and answers which will hopefully help all members of the Governing Board.

The Department for Education has confirmed that academy trusts and maintained school governing boards must provide the Secretary of State for Education with the details of all those involved in governance from September 2016.

For academies, EduBase will have been pre-populated with the information provided through the Education Funding Agency's Information Exchange; however, these entries will still require checking and updating where necessary.

For maintained schools, EduBase will not have been pre-populated. Therefore, information will need to be provided by governing boards to populate the fields. Details about the information to be collected can be found here.

Please note that EduBase is not replacing our Warwickshire Governor Services database, and we still require information from Clerks to enable us to keep our records up to date and to allow us to provide a high quality service to Warwickshire governors.

Q: Is it compulsory for governors to allow their information to be collected for the database?

A: The DfE press release says that from September 2016, academy trusts and governing boards are under a duty to provide the information required for inclusion in the national database. For academies, it explains:

From September 2016 the Academies Financial Handbook will require academy trusts to provide information about their members and trustees as well as (in the case of MATs) those sitting on any local governing boards that may be in place.

For maintained schools, it says that section 538 of the Education Act 1996 sets out the duty to provide the information required on EduBase from September 2016.

Q: Must the database include information on previous governors?

A: The required information includes information on individuals who have served as governors at any time in the 12 months before the requirement was introduced.

Q: Must the head teacher’s details be submitted?

A: All those involved in the governance of the school, including those who are employed at the school, should have their details submitted.

Q: How do we get access to EduBase?

A: Clerks and Governors do not have access to EduBase. 

EduBase is accessed via the school’s secure access account therefore someone within the school’s office (Business Manager, Administrator) will have the log in details and the overall responsibility for keeping it up to date.  Clerks / Chairs can assist this person by ensuring that the governing / trustees board information is always kept up to date and shared as appropriate.

Q: What can we do if a governor does not want to be included on the database?

A:  As this is a legal requirement for maintained schools and academies, it is not possible for an individual to 'opt out'.  It is being suggested to governors that including this requirement in a governing board code of conduct, and making sure it is also covered in any induction programmes will mean both new and existing governors and trustees will understand the requirement and how it relates to them. 

If a governor or trustee remains resistant to the idea of having this information held on the database, it may be necessary for the Governing Board to reconsider his or her suitability for the public role of governor or trustee.

Q: Do we have to keep the information up to date?

A: Yes! 

Academies

Paragraph 4.7.4 of the 2016 Academies Financial Handbook says that an academy trust must notify the DfE of the appointment to or vacating of the positions of:

• Member, trustee and local governor
• Chair of trustees and chair of local governing board, accounting officer and chief financial officer

The notification must be made within 14 days of any change by completing all the specified fields on the governance section of EduBase.

Maintained schools

The DfE says that a maintained school's information must also be kept up to date when those involved in governance change. 

The DfE will update the Governance Handbook to reflect the new requirement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscriptions to Warwickshire Governor Services

It’s the time of year when Warwickshire Education Services (WES) contact schools to give them the opportunity to purchase or renew their subscriptions. Governors should be aware of the packages Governor Services provide to enable them to fulfil their statutory responsibilities and to feel confident in meeting an ever increasing range of challenges.

Governor Services provides:

A Training and Support Programme

• A Professional Clerking Service
• GovernorHub
• GEL
• The KEY for School Governors

Please contact Gurby Dhesi on (01926) 745137 or gurbydhesi@warwickshire.gov.uk to find out more information or talk to your Head teacher or School Business Manager to see what your school currently subscribes to and how you would benefit from any of the other packages.

 

 

Information for Clerks

Suggested agenda items for your Spring Term Meetings- please click here