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partner Event

Annual Governors Conference 2025

Pavilions of Harrogate

Sat 18 October 2025

09:15 - 16:30

Pavilions of Harrogate

The Annual Governors Conference is back for its second year. Following its successful launch in 2024, we’d like to invite you to join us for this one-day conference on Saturday 18th October. The transformative conference is a unique opportunity for school governors, trustees and leaders to invest in their personal growth, gain insights from keynote speakers and connect with like-minded professionals.

Our conference is designed to inspire and equip education leaders with the tools, insights, and strategies needed to drive school success through effective governance and leadership. Attendees will engage in expert-led sessions, real-world examples, and invaluable networking opportunities that foster collaboration and innovation.

This conference is open to all governors, trustees, and leaders from schools and academies across North Yorkshire and the wider region and will take place at The Pavilions Harrogate: 9:15am – 4:30pm.

Join us for an inspiring conference dedicated to exploring how leadership at every level drive school success. From senior leaders to governors, strong, strategic leadership creates a thriving learning environment where pupils, staff, and communities excel. Through expert-led sessions, real-world examples, and invaluable networking opportunities, this event will empower attendees with the tools and insights to shape impactful governance and leadership strategies. This is a chance to connect, learn, and elevate your leadership approach – because great schools start with great leaders at every level.

This conference is designed with governors, trustees and school leaders in mind, by attending it will help:

  • Gain invaluable leadership insights to enhance governance effectiveness.
  • Learn practical strategies for strengthening board accountability and driving school success.
  • Explore how leadership at all levels contributes to a thriving school environment.
  • Develop a deeper understanding of governance accountability, finance, curriculum, and data management.
  • Elevate your leadership and make a lasting impact on your school community.

Working with our keynote speakers we have created an agenda which will provide attendees with a huge amount of knowledge to support their professional development, as well as support to build action plans to implement following the conference.

On the day we will be joined by:

Andy Buck – Leadership Matters

Andy Buck, a distinguished education leader, author, and speaker, will share his expertise on the importance of strong leadership in schools.

Having served as a headteacher in East London, where his school achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating, Andy has influenced national education initiatives, including the Teaching Schools programme. As the founder of Leadership Matters, he provides development tools and insights to support effective leadership.

An acclaimed author of eight books, Andy continues to shape governance strategies through innovative coaching and leadership principles. His session will offer practical takeaways on how governors and trustees can drive school success through strong leadership.

Harry Charles Thomas James – IGOV

Harry James, an expert in education governance, will demonstrate how governing boards can strike the right balance between challenge and support, fostering meaningful improvements in school leadership and performance.

With decades of experience, Harry has transformed governance structures across multiple schools and trusts. His contributions to national guidance, such as the DfE Governors Handbook and SEND Governance Review Guide, have shaped governance best practices. Attendees will gain insights into how effective governance fosters strategic oversight and strengthens leadership across all levels.

We’re looking forward to seeing you on the 18th October at this inspiring event.

You will receive a 10% discount on booking this event if you are signed up to our Governance SLA outlined below.

Governance SLA

Our Governance SLA provides advice, support and training to enable boards to provide strategic leadership for their school. It ensures that there is appropriate CPD and a training programme so that boards have appropriate people in place with the competencies required to be effective. It provides updates on matters of school governance and officers provide advice and support as required by boards.

Our Governance SLA is £775 for the academic year and includes all of the following:

  • Unlimited governance training for the life of the contract.
  • Access to the Modern Governor e-learning platform which includes approx. 50 web-based courses.
  • Governors’ Toolkit which is updated every year and includes step-by-step guides for governors.
  • Governance helpline where all queries are responded to within 24 hours
  • Half-termly newsletter.
    10% discount on registration for the Annual Governors Conference.

We know from our research that effective boards are those who have a training plan. This offer provides a highly affordable option to train up your entire governing body.

NYES Professional Governance Service

NYES Professional Governance Service shares the government’s vision and ambition for governance to be robust and effective within every school and is committed to supporting the drive of governing boards towards positive outcomes across all aspects of education for all children and young people.

Leadership at all levels – empowering school governance at the Annual Governors Conference

Last year NYES Professional Governance Service successfully held its first ever Governors Conference and received positive feedback from attendees.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss any specific requirements, please do not hesitate to get in touch, we’d love to hear from you:

E: nyes@northyorks.gov.uk

T: 01609 533222

W: www.nyes.info

This is a partner event, please contact the event organiser with any questions or bookings regarding this event.

Event Organiser

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Event Costs

Annual Governors Conference£125

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