Conference resources 2022
Find school governor resources from the Governors for Schools Conference 2022. Created to support School Governors and Academy Trustees in their role.
Tuesday 27th September
Wellbeing, Good Governance, STEM education, Academisation, Welsh Curriculum, Trustee Recruitment, Safeguarding and SEND.
Conference welcome: Wellbeing governors 2022
How can school governors promote wellbeing in schools? What provisions are available to support pupils’ mental health? We explore such questions and more in this opening session of the Governors for Schools Conference 2022. Andy Mellor, National Director of Wellbeing at Schools Advisory Service, and Faye McGuinness, Director of Programmes at Education Support, discuss key findings from our 2022 Wellbeing Report, as well as how to use these takeaways to improve the efficacy of your board.
Good governance in 2022
What does good governance look like in today’s complex educational landscape? In this panel discussion, governance experts Steve Barker and Linda Waghorn of Better Governor offer cutting-edge insights about best practice in 2022. This session is ideal for busy school governors, offering clear and digestible tips for improving your capabilities as a board member.
Delivering STEM Education with conference sponsors IET
This conference session introduces viewers to the benefits of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and how the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) is empowering educators, parents, careers, and students to access a wide range of free curriculum resources.
Conversations around academisation
As the educational landscape shifts towards academisation, how is governance changing? In this must-see conference session, we hear from Jackie Eason of the Confederation of School Trusts about their first-hand experiences of academy governance, including lessons learned and top tips. Watch now if you’re interested in learning more about the process of academisation and its implications for the education sector.
The Confederation of School Trusts’ website has a wealth of detailed information and FAQ’s that delegates may be interested to review. Many of the questions discussed at the conference session are covered within these pages. To find out more, please see the ‘Joining a Trust’ area of the CST website.
The Welsh curriculum in 2022
This session provides practical advice for Welsh volunteers regarding curriculum changes coming into action this September. Watch experts in the Welsh education field explore how school governors can nurture genuine change across Wales this academic year.
Trustee Recruitment with Governors for Schools
Skilled, diverse, and committed trustees are vital if you want to run an effective board. Fortunately, Governors for Schools is on-hand to help match your school with volunteers who suit your unique requirements. In this session, our very own Head of Trustee Recruitment, David Ardill, provides a detailed overview of Governors for Schools’ services and how you can make the most of our offer.
Safeguarding: Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022
How is safeguarding guidance changing? What should school governors know about the latest updates to the government’s Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2022 guidance?
In this conference session, Smoothwall’s digital safety expert Katherine Howard offers updates on KCSIE 2022, focusing on the vital importance of digital safeguarding. Does your school know how to keep children safe in an increasingly digital world? Are you confident the correct procedures and support are in place to protect your students? Watch now to find out why you cannot afford to ignore this area of KCSIE.
Digital Monitoring: The New Role for School Governors, kindly provided for free by Smoothwall
Following the latest KCSIE guidance, School Governors now need to make sure that schools and colleges can spot students at serious risk online through ‘effective’ monitoring. Smoothwall have kindly provided access to this resource for delegates: ‘Digital Monitoring and the latest KCSIE guidance: A Guide for Governors‘
More resources from The Key for School Governors
School governors and trustees are now required to have regular, appropriate safeguarding training.
Use The Key for School Governors’ online training to stay compliant and learn how to provide sufficient challenge.
The Key for School Governors have also provided free access to two helpful resources so you can keep up with what’s changed and what your governing board needs to do, including:
What does the SEND review mean for your school?
What should school governors know about the recently published special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) review? How will it affect your school and how can school governors support leaders to improve their SEND provisions? Watch this conference discussion to find answers to these questions and more.
Further reading and resources
Note: you’ll need to be a member of The Key for School Governors to access the following articles:
Wednesday 28th September
From Failing to Outstanding, Inductions, Succession Planning, Staff Recruitment and Retention, Attendance, Pupil Premium, and White Paper.
Keynote: My journey from failing to outstanding – A governor’s reflection
Strong and committed school governors have the potential to help transform schools and change children’s lives for the better. In this keynote conference session, we hear from Dominic McGonigal, Trustee at Governors for Schools, and Pat Barber, Member of Independent Governor Support (IGovS), about their first-hand experiences in helping improve struggling schools.
The Terms of Reference document, and the skills audit are kindly provided by Langford and Wilberforce Partnership LGB.
Workshop 1: Effective Onboarding: Steps to creating a governor induction plan
Supporting school governors to settle into their roles is essential if you want to maintain a strong and cohesive board. With this in mind, how can you create a governor induction plan that works for everyone? In this hands-on workshop, Ellie Cheshire, Product Manager at GovernorHub, offers support to help you review and update your governor induction plan and improve current processes.
A resource provided by The Key for School Governors
High-quality induction ensures new school governors and trustees can hit the ground running. Understand what you need to do to prepare them for their role, and how you can provide ongoing support with this helpful induction checklist.
Workshop 2: Succession planning: creating a strong foundation for the future
How can governing boards remain effective as old members leave and new members join? In this practical session, Steve Edmonds, Director of Advice and Guidance at the National Governance Association, discusses how governing boards can create effective succession plans that build a strong foundation for future success.
For further information and support on this topic, we recommend you browse the following document: https://www.nga.org.uk/Knowledge-Centre/Governance-structure-roles-and-responsibilities/Roles-and-responsibilities/Chairing/Preparing-your-board-for-the-future.aspx
Staff recruitment and retention: The crisis of the education sector?
What can be done to help schools retain and recruit valuable headteachers and staff members? Is the sector currently undergoing a staffing crisis, and to what extent does mental health play a role? In this conference discussion, public policy analyst and writer Tony Breslin and Niki Townson, Head of Recruitment Operations at Teach First, discuss issues surrounding recruitment and retention.
Improving attendance rates: How school governors can help
Attendance rates represent an ongoing source of concern for many schools. In this session, we’ll cover the essentials school governors need to know when broaching the issue of attendance rates during board meetings.
What is considered a good attendance rate? What can schools do to minimise absences? Where can school leaders go for support? We’ll answer all these questions and more.
Pupil Premium
In an increasingly tight economy, how can schools make the most of Pupil Premium funding? In this session, Becky Frances, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation, and Georgina Burt, Development Manager at Child Poverty Action Group, discuss questions surrounding the cost of living crisis, pupil enrichment, and more. Watch this session if you’re interested in how governing boards can optimise schools’ budgets.
Resources created by the Education Endowment Foundation
- Review the EEF guide to becoming an evidence-informed governor at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/support-for-schools/bitesize-support/guide-for-governing-boards
- The EEF have created a guide to developing an effective pupil premium strategy which you can find at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/guidance-for-teachers/using-pupil-premium
- Teaching and learning toolkit (an accessible summary of the best available evidence on core areas of teaching and learning) can be found at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit
Workshop 3: White Paper takeaways – Developing an action plan for your board
In this final workshop of the Governors for Schools Conference 2022, our very own CEO Hannah Stolton explores key takeaways from the government’s latest Schools White Paper and discusses how school governors can develop an action plan based on the changing educational landscape. Tune into this session if you’re keen to discover actionable insights that will boost your efficacy as a governor.
To make the most of this video, we recommend you download the following document and blank planning document, referring to them as you watch along.
Thank you to our sponsor
Governors for Schools is grateful for the support of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), who are the official sponsor of the 2022 conference. Thanks to IET’s sponsorship, attendance at the conference has been offered to delegates free of charge.