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Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn - Isle of Anglesey County Council

School governor development and training programme


This is where you will find information about our governor training and development sessions.

These have been prepared for both new and experienced governors, and if new requirements become evident during the course of the year we will be arranging extra sessions to meet these needs.

Governors are welcome to attend as many non-mandatory courses as they wish, but we encourage you to attend at least one course per year. 

Since September 2013 the Welsh Government has introduced new regulations which state that 4 courses are statutory and must be completed within the specific period or governors face being removed temporarily/permanently from the governing board:

  • New Governors Induction: all new governors that have been appointed since September 2011 must complete the training (unless that have already done so). Thereafter all new governors must complete the training within 12 months of being elected (unless they are being re-elected)
  • Role of the Chair: All newly appointed Chairs since September 2013 must complete this training within 6 months of being appointed unless they have been re-appointed and have completed the training session in the past 2 years. There will also be an expectation for all Chairs who have not completed a training session in the past 2 year to do so
  • Clerks Training: All Clerks to complete the training within 12 months of being appointed
  • Understanding Data: All governors are required to attend this training unless you have attended a course since September 2012. All new governors must attend this course within 12 months of being appointed. These courses will be held within individual schools under the direction of the head teacher

*The above training courses are available through e-learning (see below).

Note that it is the responsibility of the governing board to maintain an up to date and current record of all training completed by members (these include face-to-face sessions and online training).

The e-Learning modules have been developed to enable those governors and clerks who find it difficult to attend the Local Authority scheduled school governor development programmes for the mandatory training. E-learning is not intended to replace face-to-face training, but to complement it.

All clerks and governors now have access to the mandatory training, and on completion a certificate must be printed and a copy given to the clerk for the record.  Please provide your clerk with your email address. The clerk will then contact LlywodraethwyrGovernors@ynysmon.llyw.cymru to obtain your individual log-in details.

A collection of free courses have been developed by the The Open University in Wales.

These courses are aimed at helping you to develop additional skills that may assist you in your role as a school governor. They will help you reflect and learn based on your school, no matter what age group or area of Wales. These courses are supplementary to any mandatory training you may undergo as a school governor.

The courses include

  • an introduction to leadership for school governors – provides a brief introduction to the field of educational leadership
  • teamwork: an introduction for school governors – introduces governors to the importance of teams and partnership in an educational context
  • inclusive education: knowing what we mean - introduces school governors to the contested area of educational inclusion

Our partners in GwE, North Wales’s School Improvement Service, also offer 'bespoke' sessions for individual governing boards subject to request through their Supporting Improvement Adviser:

  1. Getting the Call – Estyn
  2. How to be a Critical Friend
  3. Effective Use of Data
  4. Book scrutiny – explaining the process
  5. School Treasure Hunt – what should you expect to see when walking around the school?

Also, if you require information about the support available to governing boards regarding staffing-related matters, please contact the Isle of Anglesey County Council’s Human Resources Department.