Attendance at training
According to the views of coordinators across five case study areas, the extent to which governors were encouraged to attend training varied across institutions. One coordinator felt that it was dependent on the attitudes of leaders (such as the chair of governors and the headteacher) on the governing body. In two cases, it was reported that training and development featured as an item on the governing body agenda as a way of promoting and raising awareness of opportunities.
A few governors across two casestudy areas reported that training and support is cascaded back to other governors in the school through the governor meetings. However, in a further area, comments indicated that no cascading took place; rather, the chair of governors described it as a process of individual contact between individual governors and trainers.
Barriers to attending training
The majority of coordinators identified a lack of time as the main barrier to governors attending training (85 per cent, 53 individuals). Casestudy interviewees reported logistical issues such as employment and child care commitments as reasons for why time was limited. Opportunities to access training online or holding face to face training at different times of the day were suggested as ways to overcome these challenges.
Other frequently cited barriers amongst survey respondents included a lack of support from employers in terms of, for example, paid time off to attend training (63 per cent, 39 individuals) and an unwillingness to travel (60 per cent, 37 individuals).
In response to the latter comment, one case-study coordinator reasoned: ‘Governors can be reluctant to come home from work having commuted and then go out again and have to go to training.’
Another theme that emerged from the casestudy data was the reluctance amongst governors to use the school budget to pay for their continuing professional development needs. One coordinator, for example, reasoned that governors were cautious of taking funds away from the pupils. This suggests that the value of training needs to be highlighted to governors.
The full Nfer Report by Tami McCrone,Clare Southcott and Nalia George can be found below
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/LGMS01/LGMS01.pdf
I am fortunate that the school I am a Govenor for opts for the full acess package to training. Hampshire also have a large number of online courses to combat a lot of the barrier above. However I personally think that it would be benefical to hold a few courses in the holidays. Although I don't think this would change some of the hurdles, I do feel that most parent & staff govenors would be willing to give up a bit of time that they already have off.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion point.
@NatalieJayW