The courses - Becoming a trustee and The first 100 days as a trustee - have been developed by the two organisations to boost good governance in the sector, by providing training targeted at school trusts.
The launch comes as Trustees Week shines a light on the role of trust boards, and their crucial role in helping education charities deliver for the nation's children.
Becoming a trustee gives an overview of the role for people considering joining a trust board. With research by CST earlier this year finding that more than half of trusts have a board-level vacancy, the short course is aimed at demystifying the role.
The first 100 days as a trustee is a more comprehensive course, outlining trustees’ duties and responsibilities and providing an overview of the sector. The course also provides tips and exercises for new trustees to help them get to grips with their role.
Both courses are available for free and on demand, so trusts can easily share them with new or aspiring trustees.
Governors for Schools CEO Hannah Stolton said: "With more than half of pupils now educated in academy schools, it is vital that school trust boards have the right skills around the table. We set up our Trustee Recruitment Service to ensure that these boards can access the volunteers they need.
"We hope this eLearning provides a gateway to a long, successful, and fulfilling experience of governance within the education sector.”
Confederation of School Trusts Director of Trust Governance Samira Sadeghi said: "We know that new trustees can sometimes find it difficult to get to grips with their role, not least because a lot of training material confusingly tries to cover governance at both school trusts and maintained schools, despite them having very different needs.
"These new courses bring together CST’s and Governors for Schools’ expertise in this area and provide a great starting point for people thinking of joining a school trust board and for new trustees taking their first steps in the role, and complements our range of in-depth training courses in school trust governance and leadership.
