The final, Festive, Training Times of the autumn term is in schools with a spotlight on Herts for Learning’s Early Years team. The link to the on-line version can be found at http://bit.ly/TTdec14, or click the picture.
See page 7 for the HASG Outstanding Governors of the Year as awarded in November! Other articles are on CPD, HfL’s Parent2Parent ® programme, Website refresh, Funding for Closing Gaps, the North Herts Transition Project and selected school news.
This HfL monthly newspaper has something for governors and staff based in schools, whether looking for a little light reading on current educational news or for courses to further your professional development. It aims to keep you up to date with what’s on offer from HfL, to share news from local schools, explore current issues from the education sector and to inform you a little more about your Schools’ Company – who we are and what we do.
Extra copies or feedback?
If your chair of governors would like to receive extra copies for the governing body please get in touch. We welcome any feedback or content suggestions for future editions.
These are fast becoming a useful tool to demonstrate and improve the effectiveness of your governing body. The review was originally designed for ‘Requires Improvement’ (RI) schools and is led by the National College for Teaching and Leadership. It has become more popular with governing bodies wanting to be Outstanding, and Outstanding governing bodies needing to run a ‘health check’ to ensure they are in line with the current framework.
In Hertfordshire the framework has been modified over the last two years, and a team of external reviewers have been trained and mentored. This good practice has been nationally recognised and, more recently, Hertfordshire (HfL Governance) has been involved in updating the national guidance and training which is currently being rolled out.
The Hertfordshire reviews are rigorously quality assured by the governance team, and the reviewers (all selected through an interview process) are given regular updates to ensure their work is of a high standard. Kathy Dunnett, Governance Officer and a National Leader of Governance, is leading on the process. She said, “More and more is being asked and expected of governors. A review can encourage a governing body to reflect and regroup. It is developmental and enables governors to know they are on the right track.”
HfL’s Governance Team are linking up with Hertfordshire Association of School Governors (HASG – www.hertsgovernors.org/) and SGOSS Governors for Schools (voluntary governor recruitment agency – www.sgoss.org.uk/) to run a series of weekend roadshows during May and June to support schools in recruiting governors, and to raise the profile of the role.
The responsibility of a school governor has changed dramatically over the last five years and so have the expectations. School governance is now a professional role, and governors therefore need the right skills and training to make the greatest impact. With current demands on everyday working life, recruiting good governors has become more and more difficult in some parts of the county.
To support governing bodies and schools, six dates have been confirmed with possibility of the Hertfordshire County Show (to be confirmed):
(9am – 4pm)
16th May – Wolsey Hall, Cheshunt
6th June – District Council Offices, Stevenage
27th June – The Roundhouse Volunteer Centre, Hemel Hempstead
HCC Offices (10am – 3pm)
9th June – County Hall, Hertford
15th June – Apsley, Kings Langley
29th June – Stevenage
If you would like to book a slot at one of these events or get involved in raising the profile of the governor role, please contact: kathy.dunnett@nullhertsforlearning.co.uk.
Sponsored by the Hertfordshire Association of School Governors, and organised in association with Herts for Learning
These awards aim to celebrate outstanding and distinguished service of school governors in Hertfordshire, and are an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to governors that demonstrate exceptional practice. The winners will be announced at the Hertfordshire Governors’ Annual Conference in November 2015.
Awards & Prizes
each winning governor (total of three) will be awarded a £50 prize
prizes of £500 will be awarded to the schools of the three winning governors. The £500 is to be spent so it directly benefits the students; it is not to be spent on teaching or teachers as we would like the money to be spent on something the school has not included in its budget
all nominators will be put into a prize draw and three will be drawn at random and be awarded a £25 prize.
Entry
The awards are for individual school governors’ work, service, or commitment and not that of a governing body as a whole; the submission therefore needs to make clear the specific role that was played by the governor. Nominated governors will need to have given a total of at least five years’ service within Hertfordshire schools. However, this is not restricted to governorship at any one school.
Closing date for nominations: Friday 22nd May 2015
Shortlisting will take place during the summer of 2015. A member of the judging panel will then visit finalists’ schools for discussions with the nominator(s).
Hertfordshire Outstanding Governor Awards 2015 Nominations Open
Following the success of the 2014 awards the HASG are happy to announce that nominations have opened for the 2015 awards. We aim to celebrate outstanding and distinguished service by school governors in Hertfordshire. The winners of these awards will be announced at the Hertfordshire Governors’ Annual Conference in November 2015.
About the Awards
This is an award for an individual school governor’s work, service, or commitment and not that of a governing body as a whole. The submission therefore needs to make clear the specific role that was played by the school governor, as opposed to any other body or person involved in the school.
You may wish e.g. to nominate the governor who:
regularly goes above and beyond a school governor’s typical commitment,
has successfully dealt with a crisis or has been recently successful with a specific project or initiative, which was driven by the individual governor,
has contributed to improvement in the schools sector – for example, by supporting other governing bodies to improve.
These are only examples and should not be considered as entry categories – other ways of outstanding or distinguished service will be equally worthy of consideration.
Awards & Prizes
Each winning governor (total of three) will be awarded a £50 prize
Prizes of £500 will be awarded to the schools of the three winning governors, as given on the nomination form. The £500 is to be spent so it benefits directly the students; it is not to be spent on teaching or teachers as we would like the money to be spent on something the school has not included in its budget.
All nominators will be put into a prize draw and three will be drawn at random and be awarded a £25 prize.
Outstanding School Governors in Hertfordshire recognised
Outgoing & Incoming Chairs (Paul Rosen (l) & Mike Scandrett (r)) with the winners Lin Keen, Jacky Webby & John Sloan
The outstanding work of school governors in Hertfordshire has been recognised this weekend at the first Outstanding School Governors Awards 2014. The awards, run by Hertfordshire Association of School Governors (HASG) and the UK’s largest, not-for-profit School company, Herts for Learning, took place on Saturday 15th November at Hertfordshire Development Centre in Stevenage and formed part of the Hertfordshire Governors Annual Conference.
The awards, the first of their kind in Hertfordshire, have been established to publicly recognise, not only the contribution of individual school governors, but to celebrate the dedication and commitment of all governors in Hertfordshire’s 525 schools.
Schools across the county were asked to nominate a governor/s who they believe has really made a difference and helped to improve the educational outcomes of children in their school. Many nominations were received and reviewed by an independent panel of judges from HASG and Herts for Learning, and from these, a short-list of 38 governors was drawn up. After further review, eight finalists were selected, with three receiving the Outstanding Governor of the Year award; winning £500 for their school and a £50 individual prize.
Finalists selected from 38-strong short-list
The eight finalists represent schools in South Mimms, Hitchin, Berkhamsted, Stevenage, Watford, St Albans, Tring and Ware.
The three Outstanding Governor of the Year Awards went to:
Lin Keen, Sandringham School, St Albans
John Sloan, St Margaret Clitherow RC Primary School, Stevenage
Jacky Webby, Ashlyns School, Berkhamsted
The five runners-up were:
Rosemary Bolton, Presdales School Academy Trust, Ware,
Colin Minton, Hitchin Girls’ School Academy, Hitchin,
Paul Elley, Goldfield Infants’ and Nursery School, Tring,
Kevin Rylett, St Michael’s Catholic High School, Watford,
Canon Brenda Tipping, St Giles CoE Primary School, South Mimms.
What made the difference
The shortlisted candidates merited their selection through some glowing nominations some key elements of which are given below:
Lin Keen – for her role in guiding the school through its journey of improvement to that of an Outstanding school.
John Sloan – an ability to ask searching questions and raise the level of strategic thinking, built a strong team of experts to support the school and ensured Outstanding Ofsted.
Jacky Webby – taking over at a low-point her energy & enthusiasm has helped the school turn round, increasing pupil numbers by 50% and securing additional facilities.
Rosemary Bolton – leading the school through the conversion process from school to academy.
Colin Minton – highest levels of professional support leading the drive for change, canvassing for funding for much needed facilities and contributing to Outstanding Ofsted.
Paul Elley – strong leadership maintaining Outstanding Ofsted, managing major project replacing ICT.
Kevin Rylett – support to the wider community in his role as Trust Academy Director and as a National Leader of Governance.
Canon Brenda Tipping – unswerving support for her school over the past 9 years.
Celebrating Governors
Commenting on the Outstanding School Governor Awards 2014, Paul Rosen, Chair of Hertfordshire School Governors Association said:
We are delighted to be able to celebrate our governors in Hertfordshire for the efficient and dedicated work that they do within their schools to support children and young people in receiving the education they deserve. We had an overwhelming response from schools across the county to the awards, and whilst we chose three awards this year, we could have chosen 33 or 300 – it still wouldn’t be enough!
We value enormously the contribution made by governors in this vital role and thank all of them for willingly giving up their time, expertise and commitment to support our schools.
The Hertfordshire Association of School Governors is an independent organisation that supports and informs school governors, to ensure their views are heard and to promote high standards in school governance.
Herts for Learning Ltd, is the UK’s largest School company. Developed from Hertfordshire Local Authority’s education services, the company is 80% owned by schools (20% by Hertfordshire County Council), with 98% of Hertfordshire schools now owning a share of the company.
A not-for-profit organisation dedicated to raising standards and improving teaching and learning, Herts for Learning Ltd provides high quality teaching, learning, leadership and business support to schools and education settings in Hertfordshire and beyond.
Other short-listed nominees
In addition to the eight finalists, the other 30 short-listed governors were:
Adrian Jackson-Robbins, Roundwood Park School, Harpenden
Andrezej Gaudyn, Great Gaddesden CoE School, Great Gaddesden
Anita Parfitt, Kimpton Primary School, Kimpton
Barbara Whitford, Holtsmere End Junior School, Hemel Hempstead
Bernard White, Burleigh Primary School, Cheshunt
Brian Drummer, Howe Dell School & Children Centre, Hatfield
At the annual conference in November HASG announced the Outstanding School Governor Awards 2014, sponsored by the Hertfordshire Association of School Governors, and organised in association with Herts for Learning.
We aim to celebrate outstanding and distinguished service by school governors in Hertfordshire. The winners of the first awards will be announced at the Hertfordshire Governors’ Annual Conference in November 2014.
Nominations Closing date: Friday 23rd May 2014
NOMINATIONS NOW CLOSED..
Awards & Prizes
Each winning governor (total of three) to be awarded a £50 cash prize
Prizes of £500 – to be awarded to the schools of the three winning governors, as given on the nomination form. The £500 is to be spent so it directly benefits the students; it is not to be spent on teaching or teachers and we would like the money to be spent on something the school hasn’t already budgeted for.
All nominators will be put into a prize drawn and three will be drawn at random and be awarded a £25 cash prize.
STOP PRESS
The half-day conference previously announced for May 10th 2014 is no longer taking place, our regular Forums, though, will still provide you with lots of networking and idea sharing opportunities.
Training Times – December 2014 Edition
