Congratulations on joining a board!

The resources you need, all in one place

We provide comprehensive support for all new school governors placed through our service. This page is designed to be your go-to hub for training, guidance, and resources to help you in your new position. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to build on your knowledge, you’ll find a range of tools here, including eLearning modules, live webinars, downloadable guides, and exclusive access to platforms like GovernorHub Knowledge and Governors Cymru Services.

We recommend you bookmark this page so you can return anytime during your governance journey.

The basics

 eLearning modules: Our collection covers a variety of important topics in governance, from driving school improvement to mental health and wellbeing. If you’re new to governance, we strongly recommend you start with our Governor Induction module. It covers the basics of your role and will help you prepare for your first meeting. 
Key reading: We’ve curated several useful resources for you to easily access, all on one page. These include the Department for Education governance guides that will help you understand what your role involves, depending on your particular school setting. We’ve also added Keeping Children Safe in Education, which is the key safeguarding document you’ll need to read. Finally, our handy acronyms and abbreviations guide will help you navigate the terminology you’ll hear at governing board meetings.
Webinars: These sessions are designed to facilitate continued learning and provide you with the opportunity to ask relevant questions. You can register for upcoming webinars, and watch back all previous sessions on our website.

Additional support

Become an Effective New School Governor resource

You also have the option to purchase our Become an Effective New School Governor premium resource, which is a multi-part eLearning series designed to give you all the information you’ll need to hit the ground running in your new role. It can be utilised both before and after you have been appointed and is priced at £30 for permanent access. 

View resource

GovernorHub Knowledge

As a Governors for Schools volunteer you have 12 months’ free access to GovernorHub Knowledge, which is an online resource bank for school leaders and governors. It provides clear, comprehensive support and guidance. It’s hosted on GovernorHub – a website designed by – and for – governors and trustees that allows boards to centralise their work (including meeting schedules and agendas).  We’ll be in touch during your first few weeks with details on how to register.

GovernorHub 

Governors Cymru

If you’re volunteering in Wales, you’ll also have access to useful information from Governors Cymru Services – a unique, independent organisation that provides a range of services for school governors to ensure they’re supported. Please contact Governors Cymru Services directly to sign up to their database in order to receive updates and the welcome support material. Please indicate that you are a Governors for Schools governor, as well as your school and Local Authority.

Contact 

Sustainability Governor Network

We’d also like to invite you to join the Sustainability Governor Network, a place where school governors can get additional support to deliver on sustainability objectives in their setting. If you have an interest or expertise in this area, we encourage you to join the network for insightful events and knowledge sharing around sustainability.

Join the SGN 

Young Governance Ambassadors Network

If you’re aged 18-30, join our YGAN. This network will support you to connect with your peers, share best practice, and stay up to date with sector developments. You’ll get support and advice when you need it, as well as being invited to termly live events and given access to exclusive resources.

Join YGAN

Join the mailing list

We’ll keep you up to date with details of upcoming webinars, news, and training through regular email communications. If you’d rather not be added to our mailing list, please let us know at [email protected].  

Join mailing list

Are you joining the board as a chair of governors?

If so, we’re here to help you thrive. You’ll also receive chair specific training and mentoring from our partners at IGovS. In order to be assigned a mentor for your first four months in post as a Chair of Governors, please complete this form. Further, please let them know in the comments section that you’ve been recruited as part of the Governors for Schools Chair Recruitment Service. They’ll then get in touch to discuss the next steps. We’ll also enrol you on the next Chair specific online training programme, which you’ll receive more details on in due course.

Lastly, a request from us…

You’re now part of the largest volunteering workforce in England and Wales but, with thousands of vacancies nationwide, we need more volunteers like you to step forward. If you have a moment, the following will go a long way in broadening our reach as a charity:

Can you share with your networks that you’ve joined a board, and encourage them to them to get involved in school governance using our helpful tips and guidance?
Do you work for an employer who could run a school governor programme with us, and fund Governors for Schools to maintain our free governor matching service? Get more information about working with us.
Can you engage our social media channels to help us raise our profile? Follow us on Linkedin.
Can you help us grow our University Partnerships? Visit the University Partners page on our website to find out more and contact [email protected] if you’d like to discuss this further.