Chairs of Governors Development Programme

PLEASE NOTE - OUR SESSIONS ARE ONLY FOR THOSE WORKING IN AND WITH CE SCHOOLS IN THE DIOCESE OF YORK

This new Chairs Development Network is designed to provide both training opportunities to enhance Chairs and aspiring Chairs around vision led strategic leadership, together with an opportunity to network with other Chairs and aspiring Chairs to share practice and discuss both opportunities and challenges.

Engagement with the network will help to promote:

• Development of your governance leadership skills to enable you to effectively develop and lead the strategic direction of your board;
• Development of your understanding of the role of a Chair in a church school in leading the vision and ensuring it has impact;
• An understanding of your role within the context of school improvement and the role of the board in supporting and challenging the educational flourishing of your school as a church school including a focus on preparation for inspection;
• Learning how to develop your boards' effective monitoring and evaluation of the schools' theologically rooted Christian vision;
• Opportunities to network with other chairs from other similar schools to you to share best practice and discuss wider matters.

These sessions are intended to compliment the deeper training provided as part of our Development and Digging Deeper sessions. Chairs are encouraged to attend these sessions alongside the network to unpack unique church school aspects in greater detail.

The sessions for 2025/26 will be as follows:

Session 1: Tuesday 14th October 2025 - 6.00 - 8.00pm - The role of the Chair and vision driven, effective leadership - booking here is for this session only

Session 2: Thursday 23rd April 2026 - 6.00 - 8.00pm - TBC - the content of this session will be decided by the network in Spring 2026 and will lead on from themes arising in our Development and Digging Deeper sessions - please book onto this session separately

Cost

• These sessions are provided free of charge for schools but places must be booked via Eventbrite

An Online Module for a self-led introduction to governance in a Church school is also available for all new foundation governors and any other governors who may find it useful. For details, please contact George Edmond, Assistant Director [School organisation & governance] george.edmond@yorkdiocese.org