BEP, NGA, Webinars via Better Governor

BESST Training – Change of Date – Financial Accountability Training (SFVS) – 1st December @18.30 – 19.30 online

Dear Chairs of Governors and Governance Professionals,

Please share this email with your governing boards

Change of Date – Financial Accountability Training (SFVS) – 1st December @18.30 – 19.30 online

 BESST’s governor training course on financial accountability and the SFVS has been brought forward to Thursday 1st December 2022, at 18.30-19.30 online.

The SFVS is an assessment form for Local Authority (LA) maintained schools made up of a checklist and self- assessment dashboard. It’s an annual mandatory return. Completion of the SFVS assessment aims to help your school manage its finances and provide assurance to Buckinghamshire Council that you have effective financial management in place. Join Cheryl Stead, Schools Finance Advisor at Buckinghamshire Council, on 1st December at 18.30-19.30 online, to understand the purpose of the SFVS and the underlying messages from key financial metrics.

Course Title: Financial Accountability for Maintained Schools

Date: 1st December 2022 at 18.30-19.30 online

Cost: £25 per person pay as you go

To Book – Visit the BESST website

 Attached is the training schedule of BESST courses up to Easter 2023.

Training Schedule -BESST Governor Services

 Remaining topics this term are:

  • Overseeing SEND – 15th November (TOMORROW!)
  • Equality & Diversity – 17th November
  • Championing PSHE – 22nd November
  • Monitoring Visits – 29th November
  • Financial Accountability – 1st December
  • Internet Safety – 6th December

For more information and to book, visit BESST Governor Training | Buckinghamshire (buckscc.gov.uk)

Many thanks,

The BESST team

 

BESST Governor Support & Training

Governor Support & Training

We believe that effective governance is essential to delivering school improvements. By supporting a committed network of governors, we can help to drive systematic change in schools across Buckinghamshire.

The BESST team are building a service to provide advice, information and training opportunities to schools and governing boards to enable them to work effectively and efficiently to promote high standards, fulfil their statutory responsibilities and raise achievement in schools.

Governor Training Packages for the Autumn and Spring terms

The following governor training packages are available to purchase for the Autumn and Spring terms of academic year 2022/23. These packages have been introduced with the aim of enabling governing bodies to cost-effectively plan for training needs.

Bronze Package
Access to 8 (one hour) Governor Training places over to the Autumn and Spring terms. £150 (saving of £50)

Silver Package
Access to 16 (one hour) Governor Training places over the Autumn and Spring terms. £300 (saving of £100)

Gold Package
Access to unlimited (one hour) Governor Training places over the Autumn and Spring terms. £600

Visit our shop to purchase one of these packages

Governor Training

Governor training is a vital element in every governing board’s effectiveness.  Recognising that governors need flexibility, we offer a comprehensive ‘pay as you go’ training programme for all governors throughout the academic year.  Delivered by expert Buckinghamshire Council teams and selected partners, the training is tailored to governors within the county.

Read more about this offer

NGA Membership

We are pleased to be able to offer Buckinghamshire schools a discount on membership to the National Governance Association. In 2022/2 maintained schools will receive a 50% discount on NGA standard membership.

Read More about this offer

New Governor Welcome Package

We are committed to ensuring newly appointed governors are up to speed and effective in their roles as quickly as possible. We, therefore, provide welcome support to all new governors, with two cohorts during the academic year 2022/23 – one starting in autumn term 2022, and the other starting in spring term 2023.

Read More about this offer

Bespoke HR Training for Governing Boards

The Buckinghamshire HR team can provide expert sessions for governing boards in a range of topics including safer recruitment, headteacher recruitment, capability, grievance and disciplinary action.

Please contact us for more information on these bespoke sessions.

Training for Governors November/December 2021

Dear Governors,

There are places available on our 3 remaining governor training sessions for this term.  All sessions are virtual, using Teams and they are 1 hour, 6.30pm to 7.30pm.  The training costs £25 per person and we are able to offer a discount to bulk bookings per school.  To book your place please follow the links highlighted below:

  1. Supporting your School during the Ofsted Inspection – Tuesday 23rd November. During the Ofsted inspection the governing board or academy committee will be expected to meet with inspectors and to answer questions about the effectiveness of their school. During this session we will use insights from the latest Ofsted framework, our discussions with our local HMI and our experience of Ofsted inspections across Buckinghamshire this academic year to help you to get prepared for an inspection. A key session for governors of primary, secondary and special schools. For more information and booking please click here

 

  1. Completing Your Pupil Premium Strategy Statement – Thursday 25th November. With a deadline of the 31st December to complete the new DfE Pupil Premium Strategy Statement, this session will take governors through some key points to consider when reviewing the document. A key session for the Pupil Premium Governor, you will understand how schools must evidence how their Pupil Premium money is spent and demonstrate how spending decisions are informed by research evidence. For more information and booking please click here

 

  1. Building an Effective Board – A Guide for Development Governors – Thursday 2nd December. This training session, delivered by the BASG, will provide an update on what boards need to do to support the upskilling of governors and the development of their boards, and will signpost to available resources and training. A very useful session for all Development Governors who will understand how to make cost effective choices that ensure your board is kept up to date. For more information and booking please click here

We would be grateful if you could disseminate this information to the relevant governors on your board.

If you experience any problems with the booking system contact me at schoolgovernance@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Regards,

Hazel David

School Improvement Team

Children’s Services

 

Governor Training Programme Autumn 2021

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back to a new term.  Please find attached details of the Governor Training programme for the Autumn term, further information regarding the sessions, costs and how to book.

BESST – Buckinghamshire Education School Support & Training

Governor Training Autumn 2021

At present, all training remains online using Teams.

Kind regards,

Hazel

Hazel David

School Improvement Team

Children’s Services

 

For COVID-19 updates visit: https://schoolsweb.buckscc.gov.uk/covid-19-corona-virus-latest-advice/

NGA Annual Membership 2021-22

Dear Colleagues,

Maintained Schools

Buckinghamshire Council are delighted to be able to offer the Standard NGA annual membership, for Buckinghamshire maintained schools for 2021-22, Free of Charge. The package for 2021-2022 covers the Standard membership and Learning Link for all Governors and Clerks in maintained schools.  This has been purchased for all Buckinghamshire maintained schools and those schools do not need to register.

Bucks NGA Membership 2021-22

Maintained schools that wish to upgrade to the Gold package are required to register on the BESST web page  (Bursar log in required) and will be charged £159.

Please register for your upgrades by Thursday 30th September 2021.

Academies

Buckinghamshire Council are also pleased to offer membership at the discounted rate of £94 for the Standard package to all Bucks Academies.  The NGA do recommend that academies take the Gold package, which is also discounted at £253.   If you wish to purchase Learning Link the cost is £69 per school.

To confirm purchase of your annual membership and the package required please visit the BESST web page  (Bursar log in required).

All packages should be purchased by Thursday 30th September 2021.

Full details of membership and support from the NGA are here https://www.nga.org.uk/Home.aspx  Any queries should be sent to BESST@buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Regards,

Hazel David

School Improvement Team

Children’s Services

BESST – Buckinghamshire Education School Support & Training

Dear Chair of Governors and Governor Clerks,

Please find attached above a newsletter introducing BESST – Buckinghamshire Education School Support & Training, a new traded school improvement and governor support service from Buckinghamshire Council.  BESST services are starting small and will be focused this term on governor support & training, the area where our research with headteachers, chairs of governors and clerks has told us the need is greatest.  More information about BESST is available to view on our new webpages.

A comprehensive governor training programme will be running throughout this academic year and will be starting with two sessions week commencing 20th September:

  • Governor Priorities – Autumn Term Agendas, a one-hour session with Paul Randall and Anne Sheddick from the BASG, on Wednesday 22nd September.
  • Prevent Duty – Guidance for Governors, a one hour training session with Alison Watts, Prevent Education Officer at Buckinghamshire Council on Thursday 23rd September.

The whole autumn term training schedule, including the above two sessions, is available to book online.

We will also be running a New Governors Welcome Package, in both the autumn and spring term, to support newly appointed governors get up to speed as quickly as possible.  Please book online for the autumn cohort, before the 29th of September.

Buckinghamshire Council will be renewing the NGA membership for maintained schools for this academic year.  Academies and free schools can purchase NGA membership at a discounted rate and maintained schools can upgrade to gold membership through the BESST webpages.  Please see the details and links in the newsletter for more information.

We hope that your governing boards will find this new service of use and we look forward to welcoming you onto BESST training throughout the year.

BESST newsletter Autumn 1 for governors

Kind regards

The School Improvement Team.

The Ofsted Inspection Framework with Lee Selby HMI. 23rd March 2020

Dear Chairs of Governors and Clerks,

You may remember that last year, our regional HMI, Lee Selby, came to speak to colleagues regarding the implementation of the new Ofsted framework. This meeting was very well received by Head Teachers across the county.

Although Lee has significant pressures on his time, he has offered to return to Bucks next month to share thoughts on the new inspection framework and to take feedback from colleagues.

In order to maximise his time, we have agreed that he will run two hour long sessions 9am to 10am and 10.30am to 11.30am on the 23rd March at the Gateway in Aylesbury.

Please follow the links below to book your place:

9am https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ofsted-inspection-framework-with-lee-selby-hmi-tickets-94125553063?utm_term=eventname_text

10.30am https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ofsted-inspection-framework-with-lee-selby-hmi-tickets-94128698471?utm_term=eventname_text

Any problems registering contact Hazel David hdavid@buckscc.gov.uk

 

 

Do you have a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) at your school?

With teacher retention an issue across the country, it’s critical that your NQT gets support from the beginning from peers and independent professionals. NQTSpace is a FREE online platform which offers:
• Self-evaluation against the Teachers’ Standards
• Online professional developments matched to the Teachers’ Standards
• Resources
• Ask the Expert section
• NQTConnect for peer support
For more information and register, ask your NQT to visit http://www.nqtspace.co.uk