Vale of Glamorgan Council
Cyngor Bro Morgannwg
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Governors

The Governor Support Unit is located in the Civic Offices in Barry 

 

Governors are volunteers who work closely with the Headteacher and school staff and are part of the overall leadership and management. The governing body helps govern the school framework and the Headteacher is responsible for the day to day management. 

 

Together they are responsible for managing the school budget, recruitment of staff, maintaining links with parents and the community and promoting high standards of educational achievement. The Governor Support Unit (GSU) aims to work with governors in the Vale to support and encourage effective governance, through the provision of information, advice and training, appropriate to the needs of governing bodies.

 

Governor Training - Virtual Opportunities 

Most governor training is carried out virtually and details of all available opportunities are emailed direct to all governors and can be viewed on request

 

 

Bookings or enquiries can be made by emailing the Governor Support Unit at governors@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk  

 

Vacancies for Clerks to Governing Bodies

 

  

The Governor Support Unit (GSU)

  • Advises on issues relating to school governance and governing body procedures
  • Schedules a termly training programme for governors and clerks
  • Co-ordinates arrangements for the election of governors
  • Maintains a governor database for all Vale schools
  • Produces a termly Newsletter
  • Produces a ‘Guidance for Governors’ series of publications
  • Updates governing bodies regularly on current local and national initiatives
  • Hosts regular Education Update and Briefing Sessions for Chairs/Vice Chairs of governing bodies in the Vale
  • Jointly arranges Annual Consortium Governor Conference
  • Supports the Vale School Governors’ Association (VSGA)

Vacancies for LA Governors

Applications are invited from those wishing to be considered by the appropriate Advisory Panel for the current Governor vacancies. The Code of Practice on LEA-School Relations states that LA governors should be appointed on the basis of the skills and experience that they could bring to a school's governing body.

 

LA Governor Vacancies

 

Governor Training Programme

Training is essential to support individual governors and ultimately the governing body, to become more effective.

 

The Governor Support Unit (GSU) is committed to ensuring that a quality training programme is provided to enable governing bodies to fulfil their role effectively. We have done this through identifying developments in school governance and governors training needs and offering new courses where required. The GSU also reviews its training programme regularly to ensure it is relevant and meet the needs of governors.

 

There are ever increasing demands placed on schools to demonstrate continued improvement. This means that governor training and development remain a fundamental part of achieving and maintaining the highest standards.

It is strongly recommended that all governors, however experienced, attend training to improve their effectiveness and to keep up with developments that may affect their schools and their roles as governors. This is particularly true of induction;  all new governors must attend mandatory induction and data training in their first year of governorship. 

 

Many governing bodies have training as a regular item on the agenda for their full governing body meetings. Training provides an opportunity to share information and ideas gained as a result of attending courses and to review future training and development needs identified by the governing body.

 

 

Governor Training Programme in the Vale

The GSU distribute the governor training programme at the start of each term to each and every governor in the Vale via email.  The GSU follow this up by sending out reminder emails to governors highlighting upcoming training.

 

Important Note about registering for Governor training Courses

Please ensure that you register for all courses that you wish to attend.  Registration enables us to make all the necessary arrangements for each training session.  It also ensures that we are able to contact all attendees in advance in the rare event that a course is postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

Register for a Course

You can register for a course by contacting us:

All emails will be acknowledged and you will also receive a reminder email with an online access link 1-2 days before the course. 

 

Most courses are currently held virtually, unless otherwise stated. 

 

 Summer Term 2025 Governor Training Brochure

 

Developing our services 

The Governor Support Unit (GSU) is committed to the provision of high quality services that address and support the development needs of Vale governors and enables governing bodies to contribute fully to school improvement.

 

We are continually developing and we are committed to providing you with the best service we can. We welcome your comments, ideas and suggestions which may help us improve our service. 

 

 

You can contact Governor Support Unit (GSU)on 01446 709125

governors@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk