Governor Services Contracts and Services 2015 - 2016
‘This Government recognises that governors play a vital role in driving up school
and pupil performance.’ Lord Nash – July 2014
Introduction
School Governing Bodies and Boards of Directors are increasingly being held to account to
ensure that every child receives the best possible education by the DfE and Ofsted. School
governors and directors must have access to high quality support, advice and training in
order to fully understand their role, know their core strategic functions, feel empowered
and confident in their ability to challenge and support school leaders, and are up to date in
governance issues. In addition, school governors and directors must ensure that the work
that they do is documented and evidenced to monitor and evaluate the impact of their
work. The role of the Clerk is paramount in assisting governors and directors to achieve
this.
Governor Services provides a holistic service for School Governing Bodies and Boards of
Directors in order to prepare you to meet the challenges and provide support and advice to
help you drive school standards up. We are flexible and adaptable and can meet your
needs whether you are a maintained school, an academy of any structure, or a free school.
We offer a service that provides value for money, and will help equip your governing body
or board of directors, including the governing body clerk with the key skills, knowledge and
understanding in order for you to have the necessary impact and help raise standards in
your school.
Benefits:
By choosing our service, governing bodies and board of directors will receive:
• Dedicated and experienced school governance specialists for maintained schools and
academies
• Cost effective and value for money contracts and services.
• High quality and responsive training and development.
• Needs led, accurate and up to date advice and support.
• Challenge through thought provoking questions and observations.
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Governor Services Contracts
Services for school governing bodies / board of directors will be delivered through a service
contract or on a pay as you go basis. Our school governance contract offers exceptional
value for money and guarantees adaptability according to need and new initiatives.
Our contracts
 School Governance
 Governor Services Clerking Pool
 Clerk Mentoring
£2400
£450/£375*
£775/£700* for 3 x 2 hour sessions
All contracts runs from 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016.
* Discounted rate for those schools in our school governance contract.
School Governance Contract
£2400
This contract includes:
• Governor and clerk training and development programme (20 – 30 sessions a term)
• Bespoke 2 hour training or consultancy session.
• A free place on the Chair of Governors Leadership Development Programme OR The
Clerks Development Programme.
• Governor’s e-learning (GEL.)
• Personalised advice and support.
• Briefings for governors.
• Welcome packs for new governors, chairs and clerks.
• Support in the recruitment of governors, including references.
• Access to a comprehensive, password protected, managed learning environment
containing key documents, briefing papers and best practice guides.
• Telephone and email advice and support on governance procedures and regulations
to chairs, head teachers and clerks.
• Advice on legal requirements including articles of association, constitution and
committee structures.
Training and development programme
Governing bodies have unlimited access to a large, diverse and relevant rolling programme
(subject to availability of places) that is regularly updated in response to changes affecting
governance and to meet the needs of governors. It is customised to meet local need and
can be tailored for particular groups. All training is interconnected with the core strategic
functions of school governance and the requirements from Ofsted. It is also linked in to
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governing body self-evaluation and school improvement and includes training on the
governors’ role in safeguarding, performance management, and financial responsibilities as
well as providing an extremely popular, valuable and impactful induction for new governors
and chairs of governing bodies. Our training venue is located in central Croydon and is
easily accessible via car, train, tram and bus.
Bespoke 2 hour training or consultancy session
Every governing body’s challenges and needs are different, as every school is different. As
part of the contract your governing body is entitled to a 2 hour training or consultancy
session tailored to meet the specific gaps or needs of your governing body. These may be
sessions adapted from the LA training programme, or bespoke training especially designed
for you.
A free place on the Chair of Governors Leadership Development Programme OR
the Clerks Development Programme
Both programmes are licensed by the National College for School Leadership. The Chairs’
Leadership Development Programme is for chairs and aspiring chairs of governors and aims
to provide a framework to explore, develop, and practice leadership skills for effective
governance and school improvement. The clerks’ development programme is delivered
through a competency framework which will provide clerks with clarity about the core
competencies associated with effective clerking and an understanding of how those
competencies are translated into core skills, knowledge and practice for a clerk. As part of
this contract each governing body will either have one free place on the Chairs
development Programme or one free place on the Clerk’s development Programme (each
worth £399.)
Governor’s e-learning (GEL)
We understand that governors are volunteers and are very busy with work and family
commitments. We know governors are sometimes not able to attend face to face training in
key areas that they need in order to perform their role effectively. GEL provides information
and training modules online until governors and clerks can attend the training in person. A
range of modules are available and includes: head teacher recruitment and succession
planning, taking the chair, monitoring performance data and target setting. Governing
bodies who have signed up to the contract have unlimited access to all modules.
Personalised advice and support
With the changes that are happening in school governance and the fast pace changing
landscape in education, governing bodies must have access to prompt and specialist
advice. Contract members can seek guidance and discuss governor related issues via
telephone or email. Governors will be signposted to the most appropriate support.
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Briefings for governors
Keeping informed of educational changes, both locally and nationally, is essential for
governing bodies to be effective. Governors will receive an electronic newsletter at the
beginning of each term and mid-term/end of term electronic updates of key information. A
termly Academies specific newsletter is also provided.
Welcome packs
Effective governors are those that understand their roles and responsibilities. New
governors, new chairs of governors and new clerks will receive welcome packs tailored to
support and guide them in their new role. These welcome packs include, where
appropriate, the latest NGA booklet.
Other Features
 Support in the recruitment of governors, including references.
 Access to a comprehensive, password protected, managed learning environment
containing key documents, briefing papers and best practice guides.
 Telephone and email advice and support on governance procedures and regulations to
chairs, head teachers and clerks
 Advice on legal requirements including articles of association, constitution and
committee structures
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Clerking contracts
‘High quality professional clerking is crucial to the effective functioning of the
board.’ The School Governance (roles, procedures and allowances) (England) Regulations
2013.
Governor Services Clerking Pool Contract
£450/£375*
Governor Services has a Clerking Pool to help governing bodies recruit a high quality
professional governing body clerk. The Governor Services Clerking Pool is an easily
accessible database of new clerks seeking governing body clerking employment. Governor
Services has advertised, shortlisted, interviewed, tested and gained references for potential
candidates. Successful candidates are added to the Clerking Pool which schools can then
access to help them identify and employ their own clerk. By joining the clerking pool the
chair of governors and head teacher will be given access to the Clerking Pool database
where they will see all the successful candidates’ application forms, shortlisting score
sheets, interview & test score sheets and references. Once the information has been
reviewed, they are then able to select a clerk or clerks they are interested in employing for
an informal visit to assess suitability for their governing body.
Benefit
Schools benefit from a streamlined and efficient service for recruiting a governing clerk
from a pool of high quality potential clerks.
Price: £450/£375* for use of the Clerking Pool.
*Discounted rate for those schools in our school governance contract
Clerk Mentoring Contract
£775/£725*
Clerk mentoring supports and encourages new clerks to manage their own learning in order
for them to maximise their potential, develop their skills, and improve their performance.
Through 3 x 2 hour mentor sessions over the course of one term, an experienced clerk will
share their knowledge, skills and experience with the newly appointed clerk to assist them
in understanding the role and what it means in practice. The clerk mentor will motivate and
empower the new clerk to identify areas for development and will help them find ways of
achieving these, not by doing it for them, or expecting them to do it in a prescribed way,
but by sharing different ways of working and facilitating a best practice approach. Each
session is tailored to each individual clerk’s identified areas for support.
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Mentoring allows time for the new clerk to look more closely at current working practices
and to explore their own ideas for different ways of working in order to support the
governing body to become more efficient and effective.
Benefits to your new clerk:
 A smooth transition into their new role
• Professional development
• An experienced clerk to turn to for advice and guidance
• Structured one-to-one mentor sessions
• Objective feedback on skills and progress
• Increased career satisfaction
Benefit to you:
 A highly efficient clerk to support efficient and effective governing body working
Price: £775/£725* for 3 x 2 hour mentor sessions over the course of one term.
*Discounted rate for those schools in our school governance contract
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Additional services
We have a range of services which can be purchased on a ‘pay as used’ basis. This includes
a service contract for independent clerks to support and to keep them updated. Please
contact us for further information and pricing details.
Ad hoc Clerking £300/£275*
If your clerk cannot minute a meeting, a clerk will be provided. This service will consist of:
minuting the meeting, writing up the draft minutes, sending electronically the draft minutes
to the head teacher and the appropriate chair in 7 days for comments, making any
amendments as appropriate and then circulating the agreed draft minutes electronically.
Any governance questions that cannot be answered in the meeting, the clerk will email
governor services and we will provide answers within 48 hours.
Governance review
£1,350/£1250*
An in depth analysis of your school’s governance which will include a report on the
strengths and recommendations for improvement.
Bespoke whole governing body training session £450/£425*
Every governing body’s challenges and needs are different, as every school is different.
This is a 2 hour training session tailored to meet the specific gaps or needs of your
governing body. These may be a bespoke training session especially designed for you or
adapted from the LA training programme.
Governor Consultancy £450/£425*
A two hour session to fulfil a brief in terms of helping governors to find solutions to specific
issues or helping with specific projects.
Chairs of Governors Leadership development Programme £399 per place
This programme is licensed by the National College for School Leadership. The Chairs’
Leadership Development Programme is for chairs and aspiring chairs of governors and aims
to provide a framework to explore, develop, and practice leadership skills for effective
governance and school improvement.
Clerks’ development Programme
£399 per place
This programme is licensed by the National College for School Leadership. It is delivered
through a competency framework which will provide clerks with clarity about the core
competencies associated with effective clerking and an understanding of how those
competencies are translated into core skills, knowledge and practice for a clerk.
*Discounted rate for those schools in our school governance contract
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