Non-Executive Director X 2

Tees Valley Education MAT

Tees Valley Education, a multi-academy trust comprising five primary academies in the Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland areas, seeks to recruit up to two individuals possessing significant skills in HR and/or Finance, to strengthen its board arrangements. Board meetings are held at Tees Valley Education, Fulbeck Road, Middlesbrough.

  About the trust

Tees Valley Education Multi Academy Trust (MAT) is a sponsor trust, established in June 2015. Today, it comprises five primary academies across Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland Local Authority (LA) areas: Brambles Primary Academy, Discovery Special Academy, Dormanstown Primary Academy, Pennyman Primary Academy and Wilton Primary Academy.

The two founding academies, Brambles and Pennyman, formed a dedicated partnership in 2010, underpinned by a passionately-shared commitment to improve outcomes for all children and their communities.

Within Tees Valley Education (TVE) there is a wealth of knowledge and expertise across both mainstream and specialist provision and as a result, TVE is renowned for being a centre for local, regional and national excellence for inclusive pedagogy and leadership.

The trust works closely with key partners such as Schools, Students and Teachers Network (SSAT), Local Authorities, Regional Schools Commissioner, Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), DfE, Schools North East and Apple.

The trust recognises ‘we are all diamonds: none of us start off polished, but with the right environment, time, support and development we become brilliant’. As such, TVE has developed the following Diamond Standards:

• Commitment: To achieve, succeed and create the best life and future.
• Curiosity: Be inquisitive, be brave and learn.
• Courage: To face our challenges and the unknown.
• Care: For ourselves, each other and our communities.

Plans for the future

The key challenges for the board over the next 12-24 months are:

1. Free School delivery - commitment to the delivery of Discovery Special Academy, which was officially opened in September 2018 and will be in temporary accommodation for two years. There is a joint project team with ESFA and DfE to ensure the Free School grows in line with its original plan and is on its own dedicated site by September 2021.
2. Support for other schools - commitment to supporting schools/academies within the areas of Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland in the first instance through a range of means, for example school improvement and/or access to the trusts core offer;
3. Finances - to review periodically the trust’s integrated curriculum financial planning by ensuring it is delivering sustainable, excellent and inclusive provision. This will include staffing to ensure the trust has the right balance of resources to provide direct curriculum, business support and outreach provision

Trust ethos & values

The TVE Diamond Standards underpin the trust’s motivation to continue and build on its success through daily commitment, care and courage to deliver its fundamental belief, embodied by Aristole’s quote:

‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.’

Role summary Number of positions advertised:

2

Roles 1&2 – Trustee/Non-Executive Director

The key responsibilities of the trustees at TVE include ensuring a clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction; ensuring the quality of educational provision; challenging and monitoring the performance of the trust and its leaders; ensuring excellent financial management and probity; supporting the leadership in management of staff.

Trustees – or non-executive directors - are both charity trustees and company directors of the academy trust. The core functions of their role are: ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction; holding executive leaders to account for the educational and financial performance of a charitable company funded by the public purse.

The board of trustees manages the business of the academy trust and may exercise all the powers of the trust in compliance with its charitable objects, company and charity law.

Non-executive directors will be responsible for maintaining stability and the management of a dynamic structure. The role also includes contributing to financial planning for sustainability and potential growth, and holding the CEO/CFO to account.

In the interests of safeguarding, all trustee appointments would be subject to an enhanced disclosure and barring service check.

Person specification

Every trustee is expected to abide by the trust’s code of conduct and the seven principles of public life set out by Lord Nolan: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

The Competency Framework for Governance (DfE) 2017 details the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for effective governance.

The strategic expertise required for this role includes:

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

 

• CFO/ Finance AND
• HR

 

 

Desirable

 

• Audit Committee Chair
• Non-executive/ Trustee
• Succession Planning
• Corporate Governance

 

 

 

 

The trust is seeking up to two talented individuals who have the ability to work strategically with experience of leadership at senior management or director level. Applications will be welcomed from individuals with experience in HR or Finance, in particular with a relevant qualification in either of these key fields.

Candidates possessing prior knowledge or experience from an educational background. including experience in safeguarding, education standards or special education needs and disability (SEND) are highly sought, although this is not a prerequisite for application.

Time commitment One day per month including preparation time. Location of board meetings and trust website

Board meetings are held at Tees Valley Education, Fulbeck Road, Middlesbrough, TS3 0QS.

www.teesvalleyeducation.org.uk

Governance structure

https://www.teesvalleyeducation.co.uk/governance

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.

“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 focussed on the key strategic issues which are conducted with humility, good judgement, resilience and determination.” 
Source: Governance Handbook, Department for Education (2019)

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: Friday, 6^th September 2019