ODST delegates considerable autonomy to its school governing bodies and we regard ourselves as a ‘bottom up’ rather than a ‘top down’ organisation.  We aim to develop strong, accountable governing bodies made up of highly skilled, well-informed, well-trained governors who ensure statutory duties are met, set a standard of excellence and are focussed on improving teaching and learning.

Each of our academies’ governance arrangements are undertaken by a single board of governors, the Local Governing Body (LGB).  LGBs have extensive powers of delegation, as ODST is committed to empowerment at a local level.

ODST develops and supports effective, knowledgeable and well-trained governors through:

• a central Governor Services Officer and support for chairs and clerks
• high-quality governor training & support
• bespoke whole governing body training
• termly events for chairs.

View GOVERNOR events and TRAINING

Our Governor Services Officer will facilitate support for Governors and school governance in a number of ways:

• Support for the appointment process for all governors to ODST academies
• Telephone and email access to advice
• Briefings on statutory changes relevant to trustees and governance
• Places for governors on ODBE organised governor training sessions at a discounted rate
• Support for governors’ independent review panel, disciplinary, capability or grievance hearings
• Briefings for chairs of local governing bodies in ODST and other academies
• Options to attend governing body training events through ODST packages
• Bespoke governing body training created to meet individual school and governing body needs by request.
• Governor representation at Trustee level
• Briefings on specific national and local issues
• Briefings/support/mentoring for Clerks to Governors
• Statutory and other checks and reports
• Support materials for Chairs and other induction.

Want to find out more about our support for governors and governing bodies?
Contact: Julian Hehir, Governor Support Officer