| Event description |
Event Introduction
Effective Governing Boards have a significant impact on school improvement. Board members, including Staff Governors, therefore require a sound understanding of their role and responsibilities. Currently, all maintained school governing boards have an elected Staff Governor. Staff governors are elected by the school staff, generally for a term of office of four years. Should they cease to work at the school during that period, they would need to step down from their position of staff governor.
Teaching and support staff who, at the time of election, are employed by either the governing board or the local authority to work at the school under a contract of employment, are eligible to be a Staff Governor.
It is important that Staff Governors understand the nature of the role of a governor – and specifically that their role will not be to represent staff, but to act as an individual representative from the staff workforce. Staff Governors operate as part of the collective Governing Board to provide strategic leadership.
This course will help governors to separate their role as an employee and as a staff governor.
Event content
The role of a Staff Governor can be both challenging and rewarding and presents an excellent opportunity for the individual member of staff to contribute to the decisions that are made by the Governing Board as well as to build strong links between the Governing Board and the staff of the school. Experience of being a School Governor is also very useful for any teachers who aspire to move into school leadership and management, it is a great professional development opportunity.
This session will consist of a presentation plus a number of questions that will be used for group discussions. The questions relate to common issues encountered by Staff Governors. Sharing approaches raised in discussion significantly improves participant’s confidence in handling issues in school appropriately.
The session will cover the importance of the Governing Board as a whole and the following key factors in the role of the Staff Governor including; dealing with complaints from parents and staff; handling issues raised by staff; distinguishing between the relationship with the Headteacher as a member of staff and as a Staff Governor; conflict of interest and handling confidential matters; the challenging role as a Staff Governor.
This session is ideal for any new staff governors or experienced governors who would like to refresh their knowledge. However, it will not explore the role of the Governing Board in depth therefore it is advised that any new staff governors attend the relevant induction training for governors before booking to attend this session.
This session will be co-delivered by Angela Langford, Head of Governor Support and Lyn Barnes, Senior Governor Support Officer. Together they have in excess of 30 years’ experience in the field of governance. |
