National Governance Association
The National Governance Association (NGA), founded as the National Governors' Association, is a representative body for school governors and trustees of state-funded schools in England. It was formed in February 2006 via the merger of two predecessor organisations: the National Governors’ Council (NGC) and the National Association of School Governors (NASG). It has its headquarters in Birmingham. The National Governors' Council was founded in 1994, on the initiative of Jack Morrish. Purpose. The NGA works for school governors, trustees and clerks by: Membership. School governors, trustees and clerks can join the NGA as individuals or join  up their governing boards as 'standard' or 'gold' members. Local authorities, education organisations and education businesses can support the work of the NGA as corporate members and local governor associations can also become members of NGA. Services. GOLDline: NGA runs a confidential telephone advice line for its Gold members for legal and general advice Training and Consultancy: the NGA offers a consultancy and training service which is open to all governing boards in England Policies. The NGA promotes the work of governors and trustees at the national level. The NGA works closely with and lobbies government and the major educational  bodies to ensure that the views of governors are fully represented in the national arena. In 2014 NGA produced a manifesto calling for: Publications. Welcome to Governance: a guide for newly appointed school governors The Chair's Handbook: a guide for chairs of governing boards Local associations. Local Associations are volunteer local bodies; they are link between a school governing body and its local authority. A strong local association can make an enormous difference to governing body effectiveness. Some local associations have thousands of members, organise meetings and conferences and have their own websites. Others are small local groups. Many  local authorities facilitate the formation of local governor associations, some go further and provide resources and clerking support. The NGA supports local associations with information, and acts as an information conduit to central government, to make sure the local voice is heard. The NGA can offer assistance to support a local association if problems arise with the local authority.