Stockport Governor Association

NGA Winter Conference

Wednesday 27 January 2010, Russell Hotel, London.  A departure from usual NGA practice, this event is not a members’ conference, but is aimed at School Improvement Partners (SIPs), Governor Services’ staff, extended schools

The conference and AGM took place on Saturday, 7 November 2009 at the Council House in central Birmingham. A report of the day is on the NGA website at the bottom of the About Us section.  Anne Thompson and Gillian Stunell went from Stockport.  You can read their reports in the next GOVAS newsletter.

NGA Board Elections

At the 2009 AGM Mark Blois, Clare Collins and Terry Douris were elected to the three vacant seats on the NGA Board.

NGA Guides:  new publications

NGA’s popular and much praised Welcome to Governance has been revised and is now joined by three other – brand new – publications.  The Chair’s Handbook is designed to be a comprehensive aid to newly elected chairs.  Welcome to Clerking aims to aid clerks in the performance of their duties.  And Support and Challenge will help governors to meet their legal obligations, at a time when the new Ofsted framework will look keenly at, and judge, governing bodies’ performance. Full details can be found on the NGA website under Publications.
Legal Support for Governing Bodies
NGA has come to an agreement with a legal firm to provide some legal support for governing bodies. For details visit:http://www.nga.org.uk/Resources.aspx

Email Forum

NGA has started a new e-mail forum.  If you wish to be placed on the forum, e-mail Gillian Allcroft at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Policies - a request to members

We are trying to collect copies of policies on pupil behaviour and discipline and on school uniform, and examples of Home-School Agreements. We should be very grateful if members would share these with NGA.  Please e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or send hard copies to the NGA Office.

Governance Review

Still no news!  In mid-November there was a suggestion that the re-written draft Report was ready to go to the Minister and a meeting date would be set.  However, there is no date set as yet.  As soon as it is published we’ll alert members to the report and consultation dates.  Please respond to the consultation, late as it may be.

Meetings Digest

Rather a quiet month for meetings.  NGA was represented at the Training and Development Agency Governors’ Group, where one issue in particular raised at this meeting was worth noting.  TDA plans to publish a document demonstrating how Extended Services provision is making a difference to community cohesion. This will be aimed at headteachers as well as at governing bodies and will contain case studies.  It was also confirmed that the MTL (Masters in Teaching and Learning) degree would be piloted in the North West from January. There was concern that governing bodies may not as yet realize the the implications of the offer in terms of staff time out of school.

Other November events or meetings attended by NGA representatives (or for which NGA provided chairs or speakers) included the National College Succession Planning Advisory Group, Allies (A local lawyer in every school), Reading Governors’ Association Annual Conference and AGM, National Heart Forum Conference and AGM, SGOSS Consultative Group.

The NGA First Certificate in Governance

First Certificate is based on the best selling NGA Guide ‘Welcome to Governance’. Governors using Welcome to Governance can test their understanding and evidence their learning via a multiple-choice questionnaire.  The newly revised NGA First Certificate allows new governors to go through an induction programme at their own speed and in their own time. It is intended to complement a school or local authority governor training programme and has been developed in partnership with EduCare, expert providers of distance learning. 

The online assessment for First Certificate costs just £14.50 (plus VAT) and includes marking and a personalised EduCare/NGA certificate.

Copies of Welcome to Governance cost £10 and can be obtained from the NGA Office, for the online assessment please contact Educare via their website - www.educare.co.uk.

Report:  The Impact of Federations on Student Outcomes

A study commissioned by the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services has concluded that collaborations between higher and lower attaining schools can have a positive impact on student outcomes.  Although the study talks about ‘federations’ in fact only 15% of the sample were true federations, that is, properly constituted federations with a single governing body, The vast majority are actually collaborative arrangements.  The research, carried out by the universities of Manchester and Nottingham, looked at 264 schools across 122 collaborative agreements. This report is available at  http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/impact-of-federations

Consultations

Some DCSF consultations which may interest you.  They can all be found at www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations
Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the School Premises Regulations on School Kitchen and Dining Facilities  In May 2009, the Secretary of State wrote to all schools and local authorities seeking their ongoing support with transforming the school meals service and increasing the take up of school lunches. He urged everyone to tackle inadequate kitchen and dining facilities in support of these aims.  DCSF and the School Food Trust have produced a range of resources for this work, including Kitchen and Dining Spaces, a design note, checklists to use when refurbishing or building kitchens and dining facilities, and A Fresh Look Guide on effective kitchen and dining spaces. This consultation sets out the proposals on amendments to the School Premises regulations.  

Pupil and School Information Regulations  The Children's Plan Progress Report commits the Government to reviewing the secondary legislation, which governs the information that schools record and provide on pupils (in educational and curricular records and school reports); and on themselves (in prospectuses). This consultation sets out proposed amendments to this legislation, which are intended to help parents to have better access to information about their children's learning and development, at the right time. When implemented, the revised regulations will be accompanied by guidance for schools and local authorities. Views on the content of the guidance are also welcomed.  

Health and Safety of Learners Outside the Classroom (HASLOC) –

Revision of guidance  HASLOC will replace Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits: a good practice guide 1998 (known as HASPEV) and the 3-part supplement published in 2002.  HASLOC will have a wider audience across all children's services (not just schools).  It sets out the enabling nature of sensible risk management and how to reduce 'red tape'. It flags up the lessons learned from serious incidents.  HASLOC also sets out how and why staff can expect to be treated fairly if a participant is injured despite their care.  In general, HASLOC works at a high level and leaves most of the detail to the operational parts of the Learning Outside the Classroom Council's website, which will carry downloadable material. In this consultation, DCSF seeks views and suggestions to help it make this an accessible, user-friendly and effective guide for front-line professionals.  NGA has some concerns about the HASLOC guidance and will be responding accordingly to the consultation.

Drugs: Guidance for Schools

The purpose of this consultation is to gather views on the draft document, Drugs: Guidance for Schools. This document provides guidance to maintained primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units (PRUs) in England on all matter relating to drugs education and the management of drugs within the school community.  Headteachers and governing bodies are required by law to have regard to the guidance.