School governors are booting up their computers for a new service to swap ideas and advice on education.
Essex County Council is launching an online service on 20 September that will offer a forum for its 9,000 governors.
"There will be discussion boards and areas to leave documents and share good-practice examples," said Ian Kemp, senior administrator for governor services. "There are lots of areas of law and, being volunteers, it's a lot of work to put in." He explained that governors had asked for the service, which is yet to be officially named.
A Department for Education and Skills spokeswoman said there were no plans for regional online initiatives, but its existing site, www.governornet.co.uk, was well used. A new advice section on the National Association of School Governors site, www.governorline.co.uk, comes online next month.
