About Purple Governance

Purple Governance is the trading name for Jane Owens, a National Leader of Governance (NLG) based in Wirral. Jane is the sole director.

Jane is a highly experienced governor. She is currently chair of trustees of Peninsula MAT (a Single Academy Trust in Wirral) and was previously Chair of Governors at that Secondary School. She is also chair of trustees at The Oak Trees MAT, a Wirral based Multi Academy Trust comprising of 6 Primary Schools. Jane is also chair of governors at a local Special School, The Observatory School. She is also a Member of The Weaver Trust, based in Cheshire West and Chester.

Jane was delighted to be appointed as one of the first cohort of governors appointed National Leaders of Governance in 2012 and she was re-designated in 2014. In this capacity she helped support the National College of Teaching and Leadership to develop the External Reviews of Governance (ERG) process which was in response to the drive towards more effective governance.

As an NLG Jane also supports and mentors local and national Chairs of Governors (referred to as ‘deployments’). There is no cost to a Chair for this support. Jane sees this as a critical aspect of her role as a National Leader of Governance. Support offered is confidential and Jane understands that we all occasionally need that independent person to offer an ‘outsider’s view’ as we navigate those, sometimes, difficult situations with our colleagues. Jane has many conversations of this nature so please feel free to get in touch.

Jane works locally and nationally completing External Reviews of Governance (ERG), Health Checks and Performance and Impact Reviews and holds the firm belief that strong effective governance improves the quality of experience and education that all children deserve regardless of their starting point. ERGs and Health Checks have been successfully completed across the Primary, Secondary and Special School sectors including Multi Academy Trusts.

Jane has chaired Interim Executive Boards at maintained schools and at schools within a Multi-Academy Trust and worked, on a consultancy basis, with a national Multi-Academy Trust as they developed their governance structures.

She also worked as a consultant for 12 months during the trial period when the National Governors’ Association were developing their training and consultancy service. Jane also acts as a telephone consultant for The Key for School Governors and The Key for School Leaders.

Jane has also mentored several chairs of governors across the North and Midlands as they complete an accredited training programme and is currently mentoring several chairs of governors across the country on a no cost basis.

Lately, Jane has been developing her training packages from formal training sessions for groups of governors through to more informal ‘conversations with’ governors which can help inform their future development needs. She encourages governor colleagues to view ‘training on governance’ as their own continuing professional development and, occasionally, assists the Local Authority with locality governor training. Jane also frequently supports a Northwest Governor Association with training/information sharing on a regular basis.

Jane is also an non executive member of the board at Edsential (www.edsential.com), a community interest company formed between Wirral and Cheshire West and Chester councils. Edsential provide a wide range of services to schools.

Jane is an affiliate member of the ICSA – The Governance Institute and a member of NASEN which promotes the advancement and development of all individuals with SEN or ALN and has recently joined one of their advisory groups. Jane is a personal member, and a member through her schools, of the National Governance Association. Jane is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a Professional Affiliate of the Chartered College of Teaching.

Jane works with a variety of governor colleagues (associates) and can call on their expertise if she is unable to assist you personally.

Jane is an avid user of social media, has a closed Facebook group for chairs, headteachers and clerks , unimaginatively called ‘Jane-School Governor Group, which aims to support colleagues and encourage debate and she shares information from conferences, when Covid rules allow, she attends via her @GovPurple Twitter account or her governor Twitter account @WirralGov. Jane also has a profile on Linkedin.

Jane has an Enhanced DBS certificate (updated September 2019), has a current Safer Recruitment training certificate (September 2019) and has updated her Safeguarding training to DSL Level (September 2020). Jane completes many online training courses, attends webinars and online events to ensure that she remains up to date with governance requirements.

Jane has recently completed a Trustee Leadership Programme.

Jane is delighted to have received an MBE in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June 2016 for ‘services to education in Wirral’.

Jane was also nominated for the Wirral Award 2018. Jane received this prestigious civic award from the Mayor at a ceremony in March 2019. The award is for Jane’s voluntary involvement with schools and education in Wirral.

Do get in touch with Jane if you would like to have a conversation about governance in your school/s.

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