Non-Executive Director X 2

Montsaye Community Learning Partnership (MCLP)

Montsaye Community Learning Partnership seeks two non-executive directors preferably with experience in HR, compliance or legal to support 3,250 pupils across North Northamptonshire. Board meetings are held at Montsaye Academy, Rothwell, Kettering.

About the trust

Montsaye Community Learning Partnership (MCLP) is formed of one mixed secondary school with a sixth form and eight primary schools with two nursery schools in North Northamptonshire. It serves the market towns of Rothwell and Desborough and surrounding villages.

The trust evolved from a single converter academy - Montsaye Community College - which became Montsaye Academy in August 2011. Under the local authority, an Area Improvement Partnership (AIP) had been in place for many years and grouped together primary schools with a lead secondary - this was Montsaye Academy. In September 2013, seven of the primary schools from the AIP joined with Montsaye Academy to form a Multi-Academy Trust - Montsaye Community Learning Partnership. In April 2019, it is expected that Hawthorn Community Primary School will become part of the MAT.

The trust is currently reviewing its governance structure and central capacity to ensure it is fit to meet the demands of the current and evolving education landscape. The schools’ current Ofsted grades are all Good or Outstanding making MCLP a leading trust in the area.

Plans for the future

The main challenges for the board over the next two years are:

1. To continue to improve the educational outcomes across the trust for all our pupils.
2. To ensure the trust is structured appropriately to meet the challenges ahead.
3. To ensure the financial strength of the trust as a whole is improved and able to sustain the long term objectives.

MCLP plan to grow the trust to meet the demands of local demographics, spreading the good practice and achievement across the trust more widely.  MCLP also plan to expand at secondary level to facilitate sharing of best practice, improving outcomes and collaborative working at that level.

Trust ethos & values

By working collaboratively across the entirety of a child’s education MCLP aim to enhance pupils’ life chances by providing a cohesive educational experience that will help that child to become an independent, thoughtful and resilient learner who makes excellent progress regardless of their starting point. Please see http://mclp.org.uk/index.php/mission-statement for more information.

Role summary Number of positions advertised:

2

Roles 1-2 – Trustee/Non-Executive Director

Trustees – or non-executive directors - are both charity trustees and company directors of the academy trust; the role is to hold to account the executive and senior leadership team. The board of trustees manages the business of the academy trust and may exercise all the powers of the trust. The trustees ensure compliance with the trust’s charitable objects and with company and charity law.

The trust would welcome applicants with a legal or governance background and an HR background.   The incumbent would play a lead role in help move the trust to a new, independent structure, contributing to the growth and development of the trust.

Person specification

MCLP are looking for trustees with specific HR or legal skills or with a general commercial background. A background in business would be complimentary to the existing skills of the board. The post would bring a more commercial view to operations.

The competencies required for this role include:

Essential (due to multiple roles, candidates may be accepted who possess one or more of the skills below)

• HR
•  
• Legal/Compliance
•  

  Desirable

  • Non-executive/Trustee
  • Growth Management
     
  Time commitment

  6-10 hours per month minimum.

  Location of board meetings and trust website

  Board meetings are held at Montsaye Academy, Greening Road, Rothwell, Northants NN14 6BB.

  Please see http://mclp.org.uk/

  Governance structure

  Please see http://mclp.org.uk/index.php/about-us/trust-directors

  The Infant and Junior Schools in both Rothwell and Desborough have been federated in recent years each having one Local Governing Body.

  Background on academy trusts

  Academy schools, which are charities run independently of local authority control, now account for 74% of secondary schools and 31% of primaries – and their number is growing all the time.

  Many of these schools are grouped together as multi-academy trusts (MATs). There are currently 832 multi academy trusts of 3+ schools. If the schools are to fulfil their potential, the trusts need non-executives (known in charity law as trustees) to bring a wide range of skills and experience to help guide strategy, ensure their ambitions can be soundly financed and keep their schools up to the mark delivering for their pupils.

  “Academy boards must be ambitious for all children and young people and infused with a passion for education and a commitment to continuous school improvement that enables the best possible outcomes. Governance must be grounded in reality as defined by both high-quality objective data and a full understanding of the views and needs of pupils/students, staff, parents, carers and local communities. It should be driven by inquisitive, independent minds and through conversations focused on the key strategic issues which are conducted with humility, good judgement, resilience and determination.” 
  Source: Governance Handbook, Department for Education (2017)

  Trusteeship is a voluntary, unpaid role for people who have the energy and skills to make a real contribution to shaping the future of our schools. You do not need to have any specialist knowledge of education. 

  Applications

  Academy Ambassadors is a non-profit programme which recruits senior business leaders and professionals as volunteer non-executive directors onto the boards of multi-academy trusts. If you are interested in applying for the role please send your CV and a short expression of interest detailing which role you are applying for to academyambassadors@newschoolsnetwork.org. Please note: candidates should live within reasonable travelling distance of the trust and/or have a link with the region. For more information, please call 0207 952 8556 or visit www.academyambassadors.org.

  Key dates

  We strongly recommend applying as early as you can to have the best possible chance of being considered as we may change the closing date if we have received sufficient applications. Applicants should be aware of the following key dates in the recruitment process –

  Deadline for applications: 18^th April 2019