Schools and learning

Governor Development Co-ordinator

Over the years Governor Development Co-ordinators (GDCs) in Hertfordshire have played an important role in helping their governing bodies to plan and implement effective training and development programmes.

The GDC needs to be an active and enthusiastic governor who:

• ensures that the governing body welcomes and inducts new governors
• provides leadership in organising support and training for the governing body
• encourages governors to voice their training needs
• tries to meet governors’ needs by informing them of what is available or by communicating the need to others
• acts as a link between governors and Governance
• liaises with other GDCs locally to provide local, cost effective training to meet their governors’ needs
• ensures that the governing body agrees and monitors a training and support budget appropriate to their needs.

How do I encourage my fellow-governors to attend training courses?

A frequent concern for GDCs is the need to encourage other governors (especially older/longer-serving governors) to attend training. The following points may help you:

• the provision of governor training is a legal obligation for LEAs;
• for over a decade there has been government funding (currently The Standards Fund) to make training available at little or no cost to the school or governor;
• governors have legally accountable duties (personnel, finance, SEN, etc): training helps them to better understand these responsibilities;
• using your training budget is not depriving pupils or teachers of vital resources – particularly if the funds are earmarked;
• training makes the governing body more effective;
• if earmarked funds for governor training are not used it could give the message that our governors aren’t particularly interested;
• headteachers and chairmen of governors can helpfully support you in encouraging governors to take up training opportunities, as they want a skilful and empowered governing body;
• in items of rapid educational change, few of us can keep up on our own;
• the governors should be an important and committed part of the school learning community;
• attending training shows the school staff (including the head), other governors and parents (and OFSTED!) that you take the role seriously;
• if your school subscribes to the governor training service, it makes sense to get best value;
• it is a great opportunity to meet governors from other schools, and to learn from them;
• you may find it helpful to carry out a skills audit and identify training needs;
• if you keep a training log you will have a good overview for future use;
• it’s really useful to put governor training on the meeting agenda once a term.

We hope these suggestions help. If you can add to this list, please do.