Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The NGA runs programmes in every region of England. You can view our past and present locations on the interactive maps.

Yes, if you or your board are not eligible to receive funding from the Department for Education but would like to pay for your place you are welcome to do so. Please select this option on your booking form when completing it. The team will get in touch when processing your application to finalise the payment of your place.

NGA is working with partners across England to run cohorts in all regions. If there are no cohorts in your area please register your interest and state your preferred location (e.g. Birmingham and Coventry area) and we will be in touch with further details of your closest cohorts.

Yes. To begin the programme, you will need to be a clerk with at least 3 months experience and be associated with a school, as there is a school based project included in the programme.

• The Development for Clerks Programme costs £425. £350 is available for funding from the Department for Education; there will be an additional cost of £75 to attend. 
• Unlike previous programmes our new Development for Clerks Programme includes accreditation. Upon completion of the course you will receive a Level 3 Certificate in Clerking of School and Governing Boards, accredited by ICSA.
• In order to begin the programme you will need to have been a clerk for over 3 months and work alongside a school.
• If you have completed the NCTL Clerks Development Programme recently (approx. the last 2 years) please get in touch with us for more guidance on whether you would be eligible for funding.

In order to confirm whether you are eligible for funding NGA will need to collect some data about you and the board(s) you provide clerking services to, to send to the Department for Education.

You will need:

• Some information about yourself, including how long you have been a clerk for.
• Some information about the board(s) you provide clerking services to, for example whether they are maintained schools or academies
• Two references from boards who receive clerking services from you who must consent to being used as referees. If you provide clerking services to only one board you may complete only one reference.

You will also need to provide details of who will pay the £75 fee; you will need the name of the individual (and if applicable, the organisation) the invoice should be addressed to; and a phone number, email address and postal address.

We have cohorts currently avaliable for our Development for Clerks programmes. The first cohorts will start in March/April 2018. Please click here to see all the cohorts currently avaliable. If there are no cohorts avaliable in your area please register your interest and we will be in touch when we have a cohort in your area.

To apply for a place on the Development for Chairs or Development for Boards programme, you need to be registered on the Get Information About Schools website and have a Governor ID number.

Check whether your school has registered you on the Get Information About Schools website by searching for your name here.

If your name and school appear in the results, click on the ‘download these search results’ option at the top right of the screen and follow the instructions. Once you have downloaded the results, you will be able to see your Governor ID number against your name and school in column C of the spreadsheet generated.

If you do not appear in this search, you have not been registered on the website by your school. You will need to contact your school administrator and ask them to register you – they will then be able to provide you with your Governor ID number. The DfE have provided a User Guide that should aid them in doing this.

• Funding of £1,000 (for two £500 places) is available for each board in England in most circumstances.
• This programme provides chairs, vice chairs, committee chairs and future chairs opportunities for developing leadership skills and confident governance. Any two governors from your board are eligible to apply for funding.  
• If you or a member of your board have completed the NCTL Governor Leadership Development Programme or another DfE provider's programme recently (approx. the last 2 years) please get in touch with us for more guidance on whether you would be eligible for funding. 

In order to confirm whether you are eligible for funding NGA will need to collect some data about you and your board to send to the Department for Education.

You will need:

• Some information about your board, for example your school’s Unique Reference Number (URN) or MAT or Federation’s Unique ID (UID), and your school’s current Ofsted grade. This information is all available on the Get Information about Schools website.
• Some information about yourself, including your Governor ID. If you do not have a Governor ID please click here for some more information about how to get one.
• Two references who must consent to being used as referees - they must not both be from the same board. Referees may be, for example:
  • The Headteacher/ principal/ CEO or another member of the board
  • A National Leader of Governance (NLG) or other external governance expert with regular contact with the board
  • From the Local Authority, a local Teaching School Alliance, or a Department for Education Adviser or Regional Schools Commissioner regional office official.

• Full funding of £2000 is available for Development for Boards to eligible boards. 
• Development for Boards is only funded by DfE for boards or local governing bodies that are either:
  • Governing two or more schools (MAT or Federation), or
  • Governing a school that is located in an Opportunity Area and that is either rated by Ofsted as Requires Improvement or is rated as Good or Outstanding but is identified as Coasting.
• Development for Boards includes a place on Development for Chairs for the Chair of the board; as well as bespoke one-to-one consultancy with the governing board.
• If you or a member of your board have completed the NCTL Governor Leadership Development Programme recently (approx. the last 2 years) please get in touch with us for more guidance on whether you would be eligible for funding.

In order to confirm whether you are eligible for funding NGA will need to collect some data about you and the board(s) you provide clerking services to, to send to the Department for Education.

Before you apply you should check that your board is eligible above.

You will need:

• Some information about your board, for example your school’s Unique Reference Number (URN) or MAT or Federation’s Unique ID (UID), and your school’s current Ofsted grade. This information is all available on the Get Information about Schools website.
•  Some information about the person completing the form (the ‘lead applicant’), including your Governor ID. If you do not have a Governor ID please click here for some more information about how to get one. 
• Two references who must consent to being used as referees - they must not both be from the same board. Referees may be, for example:
  • The Headteacher/ principal/ CEO or another member of the board
  • A National Leader of Governance (NLG) or other external governance expert with regular contact with the board
  • From the Local Authority, a local Teaching School Alliance, or a Department for Education Adviser or Regional Schools Commissioner regional office official.

To register for a funded place on the Development for Boards Programme please click here. If there are no cohorts avaliable in your area for your chair you can still apply and we will allocate your chair a cohort when it becomes avaliable.

The Opportunity areas are part of the government’s national plan for dealing with social mobility through education. 

The 12 opportunity areas are:

• West Somerset
• Norwich
• Blackpool
• North Yorkshire coast
• Derby
• Oldham
• Bradford
• Doncaster
• Fenland and East Cambridgeshire
• Hastings
• Ipswich
• Stoke-on-Trent