Governors gathered in January for the annual Governor Conference. Our morning guest presenter was Liz Cross who, as well as being an inspirational public speaker, has been a governor at St Mary's Primary School in Moss Side, Manchester, since 1988, during which time she has seen the school go from 'Special Measures' to 'Outstanding'. Governors found her session ‘inspirational’ and ‘thought provoking’ and welcomed the opportunity to take her strong messages back to their governing body.

During the afternoon governors welcomed Emma Knights, Chief Executive of the National Governors’ Association (NGA). Emma took up this role in January 2010. The NGA is the representative organisation for school governors from both maintained schools and Academies in England, and is very influential at national level. Emma is also a governor at her children’s secondary school in Warwickshire.

Workshop sessions examined; visiting your school with a focus on school improvement; using the data to lead your strategic direction and creating more effective and productive working relationships.

As in previous years, awards were presented to those governors and clerks who were recognised as making an outstanding contribution to their governing body.

Feedback received from delegates on the day has been extremely positive and a full report on the event will be published in the spring edition of the Bracknell Forest Governor Newsletter.