Clerks' briefing sessions January 2010 - notes and evaluations

Once again, the Essex Clerks' Association and Governor Services jointly hosted clerks' briefing sessions at the beginning of the spring term - unfortunately clerks in Mid Essex who had planned to attend either of the sessions at Great Baddow were disappointed as both were cancelled because of severe weather conditions. Please accept our apologies for this - we won't let it happen in April!

The agenda for the briefings included:

• A look at the spring term agenda and a look ahead to the summer term agenda;
• A detailed and helpful presentation about the introduction and benefits of the new Governor Self Evaluation Tracker (GSET) tool, which has been given to all Essex schools free of charge;
• An information update about the new School Staffing Regulations 2009 and the "Guidance on managing employment in schools", with a reminder that, from January 1st 2010 it is mandatory for one member of any appointment panel to have undertaken and been accredited with safer recruitment training;
• A reminder that the new Guide to the Law has been published and CD roms are now in school to be distributed to governors;
• Information about the need to establish Equal Opportunites policies in school, and to ensure that your governing body has developed a plan (in respect of equal opportunities, community cohesion, racial equality, gender equality etc) and has a system in place for monitoring the impact of the plan;
• An invitation to Refresher Training for Established Clerks.   A course will be running in the Spring term and there will be two sessions on Wednesday 24 February, at 2.00 pm - 4.30 pm and 7.00 pm - 9.30 pm. Please book on to whichever session is more convenient, by contacting Kim on 01245 436374 or by email to schools-id@essex.gov.uk        We will run future sessions at different locations across the county, depending on demand.

Notes of the session, including references and guidance, are available for your information.

The evaluations for the meetings were positive again - everyone who attended the briefings found the sessions valuable and the format helpful. The full summary of evaluations can be found on the website.

Future dates for your diary

Please note the following dates in your diary - we look forward to seeing many Essex clerks at future meetings and the annual conference in June.

ECA Annual General Meeting         10.00 am    Wednesday 31 March 2010

Summer term 2010 Clerks' briefings

Great Baddow Centre        Wednesday 21 April          7.00 pm - 9.00 pm

Wickford Centre                  Thursday 22 April             10.00 am - 12 noon

Colchester Centre               Friday 23 April                  2.00 pm - 4.00 pm

Great Baddow Centre         Monday 26 April                10.00 am - 12 noon

Harlow Centre                     Tuesday 27 April               2.00 pm - 4.00 pm

Clerks' Annual Conference   Thursday 17 June         Stock Brook Country Club, Nr Billericay