Governance Services

Statutory Governor Support Service: Commissioned by Surrey County Council

SAfE assumed responsibility for the LA’s statutory governance functions in September 2021 and is commissioned by Surrey County Council to carry out the following for Surrey’s maintained schools, governors and clerks.

Governor Services

  • Maintenance of Surrey’s governor database

  • Provision of general governance advice and guidance to governors and clerks

  • Provision of specific advice and guidance for the appointment of Parent, Staff and LA governors as well as the re-constitution of governing bodies

  • Provision of FREE Governance Webinars and Clerks’ Briefings

  • Management of Surrey’s Local Authority Governor Appointment processes

  • Maintenance of database of maintained schools Constitutions and reviewing and processing new Instruments of Government

  • Provision of a limited programme of training and development opportunities linked to supporting school improvement. These include termly governance webinars and other events. They are free to all those involved in governance in Surrey schools and academies

  • Provision of a new Governor Welcome Pack and video for all new Surrey Governors

  • Management of the Annual Governance Recognition Awards

  • Development and deployment of our Investigation and Panels Governors (IAG) and Specialist Advisory Governors (SAG) from the Surrey Governance Support Programme. Our IPG and SAG governors are usually deployed to support schools to improve their governance or to mentor new or inexperienced chairs.

Governor Support

SAfE also has the commission from the LA to support headteacher appointments in all maintained schools at all stages of the recruitment process.

Please see our information on how you can access support with the recruitment of a new Headteacher.

SAfE provides a comprehensive welcome pack and video to support governors new to Surrey as they join the governing body. The welcome pack will provide useful information on the Surrey context and help guide them through the first few weeks and months of being a governor. It is designed to sit alongside the school’s bespoke induction processes.

Please click here to view the Welcome Pack

Please click here to watch Welcome Video

If you would like a word copy of the induction checklist, please contact govsupport@schoolsallexcel.com

SAfE and Surrey County Council now have a programme of awards for various categories of governance including for long service and for outstanding contribution and impact at Surrey schools.  We welcome and encourage nominations for governors and governance professionals.

Governance Recognition Programme Sept 25 (GOVERNOR RECOGNITION AWARDS PROCEDURE SEPTEMBER 2025)

Please contact govsupport@schoolsallexcel.com  to request a nomination form (stating the category for which you wish to nominate).

We manage and process nominations for Local Authority Governors. Please see our Guidance document in the Clerks’ Corner .  If you would like any further information or guidance, or to request an application form and supporting statement form, please email govsupport@schoolsallexcel.com.

These nominations are considered by a Local Authority panel twice termly and the dates for this academic year are:

Autumn 2025
Wednesday 24th September 2025 and Thursday 20th November 2025

Spring 2026
Wednesday 21st January 2026 and Thursday 19th March 2026

Summer 2026
Wednesday 13th May 2026 and Thursday 25th June 2026

SAfE Governor Support manages the process of approving and arranging for the sealing of new Instruments of Government on behalf of Surrey. We have produced a detailed guidance document to aid governing bodies who are considering changing their constitution. This document is available in the Resources section of the SAfE GovernorHub page.

If you require any guidance and support in drawing up your new instrument of Government, please contact us at govsupport@schoolsallexcel.com

Governance Insights Webinars

Termly Governance Insights Webinars

Ensuring that governors, trustees and governance professionals have access to valuable resources and networking opportunities is crucial for their effectiveness in their roles. SAfE is committed in supporting this through its free, termly ‘Governance Insights’ webinar which delivers a round-up of the latest changes and developments in the education sector.

Please note that if you are a Surrey maintained school you will now find the slides and recordings from our Governance Insights webinars on GovernorHub.  To access these, log into your GovernorHub account and select the ‘Schools Alliance for Excellence’ page from the left-hand menu bar.  Once on the SAfE page, click on the ‘Resources’ tab where you will find our latest presentations.

If you are an academy and would like to receive a copy of the webinar, please email us at govsupport@schoolsallexcel.com

Legislation, Guidance Documents and Useful Links

Guidance documentation for maintained schools can now be found in the Schools Alliance for Excellence GovernorHub page under the Resources tab.