Advanced Certificate in Health Service Governance

About

Please note that this module is no longer part of the Qualifying Programme

The aim of this module is to provide the knowledge and key skills necessary to act as adviser to governing bodies across the NHS in England. The advice of the company secretary/governance professional will include all aspects of the governance obligations of NHS organisations in England, covering not only legal duties, but also management of potential risks and applicable and recommended standards of best practice.

After successful completion of this module you should:

• Understand the basic principles of governance and the development of corporate governance and demonstrate the specific dynamics that apply to health service governance, underpinned by an awareness of the theoretical frameworks and approaches.
• Be able to advise on the structure and composition of the board, governing body or council, as well as the duties of directors, to maximise effectiveness and meet regulatory requirements.
• Understand the importance of culture and behavioural factors in the development of an effective board, governing body or council, and how this is supported by the roles of committee members and the company secretary.
• Understand the specific governance arrangements and resulting issues for foundation trusts, clinical commissioning groups and new models of care, including an awareness of membership arrangements and the impact of shared governance arrangements.
• Be able to critically appraise and apply health service governance principles and best practices in risk management, assurance and the role of audit for the board or governing body.

Study text

Please ask your course administrator for a copy of the study text

Exam material

In the table below you will find:

• Exam paper - this is the paper that was set at the exam session
• Mark scheme - this is the document markers used to assess students' answers
• Examiner's report - this is the examiner's comment on the examination performance
• Student answers - for some sessions we can show examples of answers students wrote in the examination
• Pass Rates - These pass rates refer to exams from the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Associated Territories (all territories administered by the Chartered Governance Institute’s office in London).

Webinars

The presenter webinars are recorded and are available below (uploaded after the first session in September).  

The recordings for the 2021 cohort can be accessed here.

Archive

The previous version of the Qualifying Programme, the Chartered Secretaries Qualifying Scheme (CSQS), ran from June 2011 to June 2019. Some of the modules were very similar to the content of the new Qualifying Programme, particularly the strategy, governance, corporate law and secretarial practice content.

You may find it useful to refer to this material while preparing for your studies, but please remember this material has not been updated since the exam was set; also, remember that the new exams have a different format to CSQS exam papers.

Download the Archived Health Service Governance module syllabus.