Learn Sheffield Governance Service
Projects
Governance Engagement Project
Learn Sheffield continues to work in partnership with Sheffield Association of School Governing Bodies (SASGB) and Sheffield City Council (SCC) to encourage volunteer engagement in school governance and assist school boards with governor recruitment.
In the most recent report from the NGA Annual Governance Survey, 66% of respondents said it was hard to recruit new governors and trustees. 15% of boards nationally reported that they had three or more governor vacancies.
We are aware of the challenges facing Sheffield boards and this project aims to increase the pipeline of volunteers interested in becoming involved in the governance of Sheffield settings, with a focus on increasing diversity amongst Sheffield governors and trustees.
The team worked alongside Opus Films to develop a short film promoting involvement in school governance. You can watch the video on YouTube here.
In recognition of this work, Learn Sheffield won the Visible Governance Award at the National Governance Association’s (NGA) Outstanding Governance Awards 2025, which you can read more about here.
The Governance Engagement Project seeks to:
Build trusted partnerships to recruit from
Learn Sheffield has built partnerships across the city to support the recruitment of volunteers.
Links with Boards for Education remain strong. Their Governors for Schools programme remains focused on helping schools find skilled, committed volunteers.
Support for volunteers from the Governance Team
Volunteers come to Learn Sheffield from a variety of sources and partner organisations.
An application form and skills audit are completed, before volunteers attend an informal interview with a member of the team to ensure they are well informed about the role and to gather information to support the placement process.
Match volunteers to appropriate vacancies
Board vacancies are monitored via our database, and boards may also advise us directly regarding support with filling specific vacancies. These are under regular review.
The team also manage vacancies posted via Boards for Education.
Applications for governor roles may be for a specific advertised vacancy. For other applications the team cross reference the volunteer application to known vacancies to find a suitable match based on location and preferences relating to skills, the educational phase and any specific roles. Introductions with the school are then made.
Deliver induction and a wider training offer
All new governors are provided with a comprehensive welcome and induction pack and are advised to undertake a series of three induction sessions. Three cohorts are offered over the year.
Governors also have access to information, resources and online training through Learn Sheffield, the NGA website, Governor Hub and Learning Link.
Provide ongoing mentoring and support
Mentoring and ongoing support is provided by the Governance team, and boards are encouraged to identify mentors for new governors.
SASGB members have also offered to act as buddies where needed.
Members of the team check in with new governors to offer support and highlight training and useful resources.
For further information about this project or to get involved please contact susanna.bradbury@learnsheffield.co.uk or rebekah.rowan-robinson@learnsheffield.co.uk.