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Non-Executive Director

Employer
Academy Ambassador
Location
Chelmsford, Essex
Salary
Unpaid/voluntary
Closing date
27 Sep 2019

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Attain Academy Partnership

The Attain Academy Partnership Trust is a trust which educates approximately 1,000 pupils across four primary academies, all with the shared desire to be innovative, inclusive and inspirational. It now seeks one non-executive director/trustee to join its board. Board meetings are held in Chelmsford.

About the trust

Attain Academy Partnership Trust was established in 2017, founded on the strong local alliances formed by Newlands Spring Primary School, including the River Chelmer Partnership.  Newlands recently became the lead school for the Chelmsford Teaching Schools Alliance and the Essex Primary School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT). Other schools in the trust also partake in local networks, including the Notley Family of Schools.

The Trust currently comprises of 4 primary schools:

  • Newlands Spring Primary School - 420 students - aged 4 to 11 (rated Outstanding by Ofsted)
  • Rayne Primary and Nursery School - 259 students - aged 3 to 11 (rated Good by Ofsted)
  • Elm Hall Primary School - 181 students - aged 5 to 11 (rated Outstanding by Ofsted)
  • Gosfield Community Primary School 140 students -aged 5 to 11 (awaiting Ofsted inspection)

The trust currently employs 125 staff (full-time equivalent) and its annual income is circa £6million. With plans to grow, the trust is in early discussions with a small number of other primary schools with a view to their joining the trust at a future date.

Plans for the future

This is an exciting time to join Attain Academy Partnership which aims to grow the trust, retain the ethos and the 'local feel', yet provide an ever-improving educational and pastoral experience for its students and to make the trust a 'great place to work'.

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

1. Expansion of the trust to a reasonable size where economies of scale come into play but also ensures that the pedagogy and ethos of the current trust, and its academies, is not diminished.

2. Recruitment and retention of trustees from a non-educational background.

3. Ensuring that future plans for expansion/growth do not overstretch the key central team/resources or additional funding is provided on a long term to recruit more key personnel to the central team.

Trust ethos & values

The trust’s ethos is to ensure that every child is a happy and successful learner, a confident individual and a responsible citizen and to grow a collaboration of schools with a shared desire to be innovative, inclusive and inspirational.

Role summary Number of positions advertised:

1

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.

Person specification

Every trustee is expected to abide by the trust’s code of conduct and the 7 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: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/583733/Competency_framework_for_governance_.pdf

Role 1 – Trustee/Non-Executive Director (HR)

Following a recent review of the board’s blend of skills and experience, the trust now seeks an experienced HR professional in order to add capacity to the Board and provide strategic advice as the trust grows.

Person specification

The competencies required for this role include:

Essential

 

  • HR
  • Employment Law
  • Staff management experience

 

 

Desirable

 

  • Organisational restructuring
  • TUPE

 

 

 

 

  Time commitment

6 hours /month minimum.

Location of board meetings and trust website

For more information, please visit http://attain.essex.sch.uk/essex/primary/attain.

There are six board meetings a year (each half term) 1830 – 2030, with the expectation that trustees will also attend committee meetings.

Board meetings are held at Newlands Spring School, Dickens Place, Chelmsford, CM1 4UU.

  Governance structure

Details can be found here: http://www.attain.essex.sch.uk/essex/primary/attain/site/pages/governance/boardoftrusteeinformation

Background on academy trusts

Academy schools, which are charities run independently of local authority control, now account for 69% of secondary schools and 33% 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 900 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 focused 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 4th October 2019

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