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GovernorHub is getting a mini makeover

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ARTICLE Orto

We’ve been working under the bonnet to strengthen our foundations for a while and it’s soon time to make changes to the pages that you will see.

Don’t panic though…  the changes are small and, most importantly, Ortoo the Owl is staying 😌

Find out what’s ahead and why this all leads to better ‘Governor-Hubbing’ in the future.

GovernorHub General Manager Ellie Cheshire explains more about our plans.

The background...

We now support two out of every three schools in England, which is great. Those of you who know us will know that we’re a team that’s genuinely passionate about effective governance and supporting schools.

An example of how much we’ve grown is how many documents we now store - at the last check it was 10 million! That’s quite a leap from 1.9 million just a few years ago. We’ve had to make sure GovernorHub is up to the job of managing this load - especially as we’re always looking to improve and add new features. 

Next Generation GovernorHub

Over the last 18 months, our engineers have built a new version of GovernorHub from the ground up using cutting-edge technology - a kind of ‘super-charged’ version of GovernorHub. This new technology provides bigger, sturdier foundations for us. 

You might remember last April, we had a short period of downtime on GovernorHub during a busy period which was very unusual for us. Ever since, we’ve been future-proofing the site so it’s even more robust. 

Our engineers have replicated every last detail of GovernorHub on new foundations with the aim of retiring old GovernorHub and moving over to the new site securely.  

We’re going to release Next Generation GovernorHub very shortly and ask some of you to test it for us, starting with our clerks feedback group. We know clerks will do a great job of finding anything that’s not working as it should and letting us know. When we’re absolutely sure the site is working perfectly, we’ll move things over. 

What’s going to change?

The new site isn’t very different from the old site. However, we are moving what we call ‘the washing line’ at the top of the page - that’s where you find all of your boards and groups.

Some of our clerks and busiest users can struggle with the washing line at the moment as there’s not much space and not all of their groups can be displayed on it which can be quite frustrating for them.

The washing line also takes up a fair bit of space which can be a problem if you’re looking at the site on a small laptop screen.

So we’ve taken the bold move of removing the washing line from the top of the screen and using a left-hand sidebar instead. I realise that’s not as interesting as we can’t call it a washing line but it’s actually going to be much more practical as it allows us to give you more space and will hopefully make navigating around the site much easier.

Over time, we’ll be able to add lots of new features as well that we wouldn’t have been able to do previously.

New features coming in 2024/25

One of the first things that we will be adding is a ‘super search’ function. At the moment, if you’ve got GovernorHub Knowledge and you’re looking for some expert guidance, advice or training you have to click on to the blue K icon on the washing line and go to a separate site. 

Our super search function will allow you to ask the question you want to ask from within GovernorHub - surfacing the answer for you right where you’re working.

We’re also releasing a new self-efficacy tool for boards. It has some of the functionality of a Skills Audit but much, much more too and will help boards to understand where and how they can be more effective.

Ortoo the Owl

It’s important to point out that Ortoo the Owl will be staying! It’s just that his perch is moving a little.

As I’ve mentioned, we’ll be doing some user testing of the new site over the coming weeks, especially during the school summer holidays when it’s quieter. Once we’re ready - we’ll make the move to the new site.

As always, feedback is really important to us so if you’re testing the new site, please drop us a line in the chat if there’s anything you want to mention. Our intention is that Next Generation GovernorHub will feel just as good if not better than the GovernorHub you’re used to.

Feedback

Thanks to everyone who has engaged and commented on our article and for the many feature requests - much appreciated.

As always, we have noted all of the suggestions and will keep track them.

We are always working to improve GovernorHub and Next Generation GovernorHub is part of this process.

Please put any future suggestions to us at [email protected] or use the help chat icon on the website.
Thank you for your continued support :smile:

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Comments

  • John Knott 16 Jul 2024, 13:13 (10 months ago)

    We would like to see less information sent on e-mails - for example if something is posted about a complaint those details get shared on e-mail. Ideally would like a way in which the complaint can be discussed via Governor Hub and all data retained on there.

    By submitting your details, you agree to have your name and email address stored for the purposes of managing your enquiry. For more information see GovernorHub's Privacy Policy.

  • Melody Floyde 16 Jul 2024, 09:59 (10 months ago)

    Please can we have the function to edit noticeboard posts once they have been posted. Also the option to "add a title" and topic to the post when writing it, rather than having to do this afterwards (unless I am doing this wrong and there is a way to do this!)

    Thanks

    By submitting your details, you agree to have your name and email address stored for the purposes of managing your enquiry. For more information see GovernorHub's Privacy Policy.

    • The GovernorHub Team 17 Jul 2024, 16:12 (10 months ago)

      Hi Melody - We get asked this a lot, however there is a good reason we have not allowed this functionality. That's because messages would have already been emailed with the original message, if it's changed on the noticeboard then you don't know who's seen what and this could then lead to lots of issues.

  • Carol Kelsey 15 Jul 2024, 15:07 (10 months ago)

    Good to hear that you are updating the site and a clear overview of the changes

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  • Lauren 15 Jul 2024, 10:20 (10 months ago)

    I think it's great that you are continually developing and improving, particularly in response to user feedback.

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  • Denise Gray 14 Jul 2024, 18:41 (10 months ago)

    There are times when I would like to add a non governor to a Specific folder for access. Can this be a function of the new site please?

    By submitting your details, you agree to have your name and email address stored for the purposes of managing your enquiry. For more information see GovernorHub's Privacy Policy.

    • The GovernorHub Team 18 Jul 2024, 11:38 (10 months ago)

      Hi Denise - Unfortunately this can't be done at the moment, but we agree this would be very useful and it is on our future roadmap. 🛣️

  • GRAHAM BROWNETT 12 Jul 2024, 10:23 (10 months ago)

    Good to hear that some of the frustrations are being sorted. If the Next Generation GovernorHub could talk to Handsam it would be really helpful. Looking forward to seeing how the new version operates.

    By submitting your details, you agree to have your name and email address stored for the purposes of managing your enquiry. For more information see GovernorHub's Privacy Policy.

  • Catriona Tuplin 12 Jul 2024, 09:38 (10 months ago)

    Would it be possible to customise the downloads, I find I am doing a lot of cutting and pasting to ensure the information on the school website meets the requirements of the ESFA. It would be good to have an ESFA compliant download like you have for GIAS.

    Great news about the skills audit, an online board self evaluation tool will be really useful, perhaps an online governor visit form that uploads to governors profile and can be viewed by other members of the board. Something similar to doodle, Framadate - thank you for listening/ reading. I am looking forward to working with the new GovHub.

    By submitting your details, you agree to have your name and email address stored for the purposes of managing your enquiry. For more information see GovernorHub's Privacy Policy.

    • GovernorHub Team 12 Jul 2024, 13:34 (10 months ago)

      Hi Catriona - We are looking at improving our reporting and downloads to be customisable in the coming months. An EFSA complaint report sounds like a great idea. Thank you 🦉

      An online governor visit form is also in our plans so watch this space!

  • Julie Clarke 12 Jul 2024, 07:34 (10 months ago)

    The most irritating aspect of governor Hub is that documents don't appear in chronological order with most recent first.

    Perhaps you could sort that out.


    Thanks.

    By submitting your details, you agree to have your name and email address stored for the purposes of managing your enquiry. For more information see GovernorHub's Privacy Policy.

    • The GovernorHub Team 16 Jul 2024, 10:44 (10 months ago)

      Hi Julie - Thank you for flagging this to us. We know that the document area needs a little love, rest assured it is on our list.

  • Lee Phipps-Bartley 11 Jul 2024, 22:31 (10 months ago)

    I don't know if it is related to your mini makeover, but the Governorhub app is no longer available on the Google Play store.

    This is unfortunate as the app is extremely useful for managing messages and documents on mobile.

    Has this intentionally been removed?

    By submitting your details, you agree to have your name and email address stored for the purposes of managing your enquiry. For more information see GovernorHub's Privacy Policy.

    • The GovernorHub Team 16 Jul 2024, 10:48 (10 months ago)

      Hi Lee - Unfortunately the app is built on old technology that is no longer compatible with Google Play 😔

      One advantage of Next Generation GovernorHub is that it will be completely mobile friendly 😊

  • Anna Richardson 11 Jul 2024, 19:57 (10 months ago)

    Totally agree with Paul Drake - also (and someone may tell me I can already do this) but it would be useful to be able to post an article in the Resources section and include a link to something I have put in the Resources folders - I know I can copy and paste the link but to be able to do it like I can on the noticeboard would be helpful. Thank you!

    By submitting your details, you agree to have your name and email address stored for the purposes of managing your enquiry. For more information see GovernorHub's Privacy Policy.

    • The GovernorHub Team 12 Jul 2024, 16:37 (10 months ago)

      Hi Anna - This can be done 👍 Go to the 'chat' button at the bottom right of your screen when you're logged into your GovernorHub account to speak with a member of the support, and they'll be able to set it up for you.

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"GovernorHub is getting a mini makeover " was published on by Jo Phillips - GovernorHub.

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