Training - Centre for Governance and Scrutiny

We work across local government to provide a wide ranging training and development offer for councils and councillors.

We are able to offer a comprehensive offer to councils on induction to scrutiny for new members. The 2022 local elections, like those in 2021, 2019 and 2018, are expected to result in high member turnover, which will place induction demands on councils at a time of significant uncertainty. You can find out more about what we can offer here.

We have reinvented our work to enable us to offer support entirely remotely. We offer support in the following ways:

One-off webinars – usually live, and for free, on some key subjects relating to overview and scrutiny;
Short courses – designed to meet the needs of members and officers on the building blocks of good scrutiny, with remote learning which fits into your daily routine over the course of 10 days;
Longer courses – designed for scrutiny chairs and scrutiny managers to delve into more complex matters relating to scrutiny leadership over the course of a 3 week period;
In-house training – we deliver one off training, series of workshops, and coaching and mentoring services to local authorities.

One off webinar sessions

We deliver live, and for free, webinars on the following issues:

Scrutiny basics;
Articulating scrutiny’s role;
How to make an impact through scrutiny.

You can watch prerecorded webinars on council finances and online meetings during the pandemic.

Please check the events page for a schedule of events, or e-mail us at info@cfgs.org.uk to be notified when event booking goes live.

Short courses

Our short courses are designed to provide a small cohort of around 20 people – councillors and officers – with the practical tools they need to address pressing issues in their own authority. Short courses involve:

Initial 45 minute webinar between participants and facilitator to discuss objectives;
Live 90 minute webinar introducing key concepts;
Access to a short workbook to carry out short self-led exercises;
Evaluation and feedback on exercises from your peers and an expert trainer;
Signposting to further learning including putting together an action plan;
Award of certificate

Short courses are designed to be completed remotely over 10 days, and cover the following subjects.

Introduction to scrutiny
Scrutiny improvement
Work planning
Managing information (with a particular focus on understanding financial and performance information)
Understanding scrutiny for senior officers
Basics of health scrutiny
Chairing skills
Questioning skills

Please check the events page for a schedule of events, or e-mail us at info@cfgs.org.uk to be notified when event booking goes live. Each course is run at least once over the course of a year.

Longer courses

We offer longer courses designed for scrutiny managers and scrutiny chairs to dig into more advanced issues. These courses are designed for a smaller cohort, and are delivered over the course of around three weeks.

Establishment of study group on Slack;
Group discussion of objectives;
Two 45 minute live webinars, each followed by 30 minute group discussion;
Access to a longer workbook to carry out short self-led exercises with peer and course leader support;
CfGS and peer evaluation of workbook material, signposting to further learning through an action plan;
Award of certificate.

Courses offered:

Advanced scrutiny skills
Scrutiny of commercial activity and contracts
Building positive working relationships
Advanced chairing

Please check the events page for a schedule of events, or e-mail us at info@cfgs.org.uk to be notified when event booking goes live.

Councillor training

Any of the subjects set out above can be catered for in your own council – through a single, short evening training session, through multiple workshops, or through coaching and mentoring. We have a long and successful track record in delivering high quality in-house member training to local authorities. Some of this training can be delivered for free through our LGA-funded support programme.

Please e-mail Ian Parry on ian.parry@cfgs.org.uk to find out more.