Helpline

Telephone: 0845 60 20 100

Governors Wales’ confidential helpline provides independent advice and support on any issue concerning school governance in Wales, ranging from legal responsibilities, meetings and committee procedures to target setting and many more.

The helpline is available from 9.00am to 10.00pm during weekdays and 11.00am to 4.00pm at weekends, excluding Public and Bank Holidays. All calls to the helpline are local rate and a bilingual service is available. The helpline is operated by an expert team of helpline staff and governor volunteers who are supported, when necessary, by independent legal advisers retained on Governors Wales’ behalf. Ongoing support and training via regular meetings is provided to all who assist with the helpline.

You might like to email your query on school governance to

helpline@governorswales.org.uk

Helpline News

The most frequent issues on which advice was sought during April 2013 related to:

• Procedures for meetings / minutes
• Complaints procedures
• Appointment of headteachers / deputy headteachers
• Disciplinary Procedures

If you have used the helpline service before either by telephoning or contacting us via email, we would be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to complete the online survey via this link Click here to take survey

Helpline and Website News for 2011-2012

Independent Legal Advice

The helpline service is underpinned by independent legal advice provided by a blue chip, nationwide, legal practice brokered by Judicium Consulting Ltd. Although Governors Wales takes great pride in its ability to respond authoritatively to queries from helpline calls and e-mails, by reference to statutory regulations and published guidance, a relatively small proportion of enquiries present greater difficulty. These queries will often relate to circumstances that are at the margins of the law or where regulations and guidance may appear to be ambiguous. Governors Wales is able to obtain independent legal opinion in such circumstances, providing callers with a legally informed response, when this is appropriate.