Governor support

This service is for all schools and academies.

The Governor support team, based within education and skills, aims to provide support and guidance to clerks and school governors to help improve standards in schools.

All packages include Governorhub as a standard. We are pleased to be able to offer packages that include GovernorHub Knowledge (previously called The Key for school governors). This has the advantage that it is a very reasonable price and is accessible from your GovernorHub account. Modern governor e-learning is also available and accessible through your GovernorHub account.

We have TheSchoolBus available as a bolt-on again. You choose the option that suits your governing board best. All packages have access to GovernorHub. Discounts are available for all the external organisations if buying through Derby city council.

What the service provides

Governor Support	Clerks' Helpline	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Checking and sealing of instrument of government
Access to the local authority's governor support helpline who can provide immediate advice and support
Support and advice for dealing with complaints
Clerks’ fact sheets regularly updated
Attendance at governor recruitment events as required
Termly chairs' briefing sessions	‌
Governor recruitment support and resources
Governing body model agendas (one each term)
Access to the governor support subscriber pages on the SIP	Clerks page only
Access to the weekly school circular
Free places available on selected courses and conferences with discounted prices on courses from the annual training programme for governors and clerks	Clerks Network Briefing only
Governing body training record
New governor induction training (two free places then subsidised including the NGA welcome to governance handbook)
Training certificates
Support for new clerks and new chairs available	Clerks only
GovernorHub membership includes access to FAQs and resources
National governance association membership (standard or gold)			(standard)	(gold)

Benefits

Access to governor team members who are based within the professional advocates for children in education team and have school and local authority knowledge.

• Access to expert knowledge on department for education (DfE) governance handbook
• Training is delivered by senior local authority (LA) officers, professional advocates for children in education with experience of inspections, LA officers, head teachers, experienced governors, external educational consultants
• Ability to network and share good practice with other governing boards and clerks
• Access to national leaders of governance (NLG) and external reviews of governance brokered
• On-site visits available to new clerks are available
• Choice of external memberships benefitting from discounted prices negotiated as part of the Derby city council governor support and improvement packages.

GovernorHub membership benefits

All governing bodies will receive access to GovernorHub in all of our governor support and improvement packages benefitting from a 75% discount.

As a school governor you know that expectations are high. The demands on you are greater than ever. GovernorHub was invented by school governors to make life as a school governor as simple as possible. We give you the information and tools that you need - online and instantly.

• Keep up to date with the latest news and announcements from local and national sources
• Have private online discussions with your fellow governors
• Plan and book your meetings and school events in a shared calendar and link this to your personal diary on PC, tablet or phone
• Store all of your governing body documents in one place
• Find key data about your school via links to local and national sources
• Look at data for similar schools or search for other schools
• Browse and book training courses from your LA governor support team.

Benefits of GovernorHub

• Governing body noticeboard and discussion page
• Shared storage for all your governing body documents, minutes and policies
• Events calendar for members, at your fingertips or linked to your smartphone
• Latest national news for schools and governors
• Your governing body membership list, committee membership and key roles
• Governing body constitution record and vacancy report
• Quick governing body health check for key ofsted criteria
• ipad app for viewing your documents offline enabling your meetings to be paperless
• Latest local news for schools and governors
• Integrated support from your LA governor support team
• Ability to book training courses online with the LA.

GovernorHub for multi academy trusts (MATs)

Please see the Governor Support and Improvement for MATs page.

GovernorHub has built in support for MATs, offering support for trust boards and local governing boards. In particular it provides:

• A private area to store and track trust board members, meetings and documents 
• Access for trustees and members to all local governing board (LGB) documents and details 
• An area for MATs to share documents and news across all their LGBs. 

NB Access for the local governing board is included, but an extra charge is incurred for the multi academy trust board.

GovernorHub has partnered up with The key for school governors and modern governor to offer a one stop service for all your governor needs through one sign in. Gain access to GovernorHub, the key for school governors and modern governor through a single username and password (see details below).

GovernorHub Knowledge (previously called the key for school governors membership) Benefits (nb: only available with GovernorHub) 

Being a school governor is quite the task. Knowledge gaps and limited time mean it is sometimes hard to feel confident making decisions and holding leaders to account. The flow of changes in education create a justified anxiety that something might be missed.

• The Key app provides you with access to articles and news when you need it most
• Instantly view policies, research and daily news round-ups on the move and in your governing body meetings
• DfE guidance and the law, clearly explained, easy-to-read articles tell you how legislation and statutory requirements affect your school and board
• Step-by-step advice on how to make big decisions, follow our expert advice on how to respond to changes in the sector and keep your compliance in check
• Templates, checklists and audits - ready to use, avoid reinventing the wheel when it comes to the nuts and bolts of governance like elections and agenda writing
• One-minute briefings to share with governors, share these alongside meeting papers to get your entire board up to speed on key issues
• Ofsted preparation resources, you’ll know exactly what inspectors are looking for, and be ready to show your board at its best
• Questions to ask during meetings and visits, arrive knowing what you need to ask (or quickly search our website mid-meeting), to make sure you get the information you need. 

Help to write, review and implement high-quality policies. You will know what good, compliant policies look like, and have access to more than 30 editable model documents.

National governance association membership benefits

This year we are again offering governing bodies the choice of benefitting from the discount negotiated with NGA if you subscribe through our governor support and improvement package. The silver package includes NGA standard membership and the gold package includes the NGA gold membership.

Silver package - The NGA standard membership entitles all governors in your governing body to:

• Receive the weekly e-newsletter 
• Access the members’ area of the website 
• One free place at all NGA member events 
• Three paper copies of the NGA magazine governing matters to home addresses 
• Member discounts on NGA guides.

Gold package - The NGA gold membership entitles the whole governing body to:

• Receive the weekly e-newsletter
• Access the members’ area of the website
• Receive paper copies of the NGA magazine governing matters to home addresses
• Get a free pack and member discount on NGA guides
• Three free places at member events
• Access the NGA GOLDline – legal advice service. 

NGA for MATs (Please refer to catalogue item below, governor support and improvement for MATs.)

• Receive the weekly e-newsletter
• Access the members’ area of the website
• Trust board members receive paper copies of the NGA magazine governing matters to home addresses
• Get a free pack and member discount on NGA guides
• Three free places at member events
• Access the NGA GOLDline – legal advice service. 

Bolt-on – TheSchoolBus

We are pleased to be able to offer TheSchoolBus as a bolt-on to our governor support offer. Governing bodies will benefit from 10% discount (subject to confirmation from TheSchoolBus).

With TheSchoolBus, you gain access to over 3,000 actionable articles, 1,000 practical templates and 300 compliant model policies applicable to all aspects of school leadership. Plus, if you can't find what you need, we'll make it for you.

Every solution is thoroughly quality assured and made in-house using the latest DfE and Ofsted guidance – we never provide un-vetted third-party examples.

To see why thousands of schools and academies rely on TheSchoolBus to remain compliant, stay informed and drive educational standards, take a free trial. Get started at hub4leaders.co.uk.

Membership includes an account for all staff members and governors.

Bolt-on – NGA learning link e-learning

NGA learning link is an e-learning service via NGA which focuses on supporting governors, chairs, clerks, and trustees to develop their governance skills and knowledge.

The national governance association has teamed up with virtual college, one of the UK’s top e-learning providers, to deliver accessible, engaging and convenient e-learning. With 24/7 multi-device access to 50 modules, learning can be completed anytime, anywhere and at any place that suits the learner.

Bolt-on – modern governor e-learning (only available with GovernorHub)

Modern governor is an e-learning service that offers a constantly-growing collection of e-learning modules for governors and trustees in maintained schools, academies and free schools. By subscribing you will unlock a catalogue of engaging and interactive e-learning modules designed to work on smartphone, tablet and desktop. Even better, new modules are constantly added and made available to subscribers at no additional cost – so your modern governor service keeps getting better.

GovernorHub and modern governor have partnered up to bring you these benefits:

• Completion of modern governor modules reflected in your personal training record stored in GovernorHub
• Inclusion of all modern governor modules completed by your board in your board’s training log
• Access to your personalised modern governor completion certificates from within GovernorHub. 

Cost

*Please note: Prices are subject to be altered as we are awaiting confirmation of subscription prices from all external partners – NGA, Learning Link, GovernorHub, The Key for School Governors and TheSchoolBus. 

**March2023 - prices confirmed from all external partners. 

Governor support package

Governor support package to include GovernorHub Knowledge (previously called The Key for school governors)

Bolt-ons

E-learning

TheSchoolBus

CiA name: Governor Support
Internal supplier code: 5884

Contact

Jayne Hadfield
Governor Support Manager
Tel: 01332 640364
Email: jayne.hadfield@derby.gov.uk

How to order

Now you have selected the services you require, please visit the how to order services section to find out how you can place your order.