Non-Executive Director x 4

The Park Academies Trust

The Park Academies Trust currently consists of three schools offering nursery, primary and secondary education in Swindon and aims to inspire pupils (and staff) to turn their potential into performance. The trust seeks four non-executive directors to join its board with skills as a business entrepreneur or in finance, HR, marketing/branding. Most board meetings are held at Lydiard Park Academy, Swindon.

About the trust

The trust is relatively new, with two primaries and one secondary school. The trust provides education to over 2,500 children and employing over 300 members of staff. The current schools in the trust are:
 

• Red Oaks Primary
• Abbey Park School
• Lydiard Park Academy

The trust currently operates with a budget of approximately £14 million and this is expected to increase as the trust continues to grow. The trust has been working with the Regional Schools Commissioner for the South West and will be finalising its plans for a fourth school to join the trust this term.

Plans for the future

The key plans for the trust over the next 12-24 months are:

1. Growth of the trust: the trust aims to double in size over the next five years whilst also driving continuous improvement in its existing schools.
2. Recruitment: the trust has a teacher training hub and is committed to the professional development of staff to add operational leadership capacity as the trust grows. Similarly, the trust wishes to ensure that succession planning is in place to enable the board of trustees to continue fulfilling its strategic functions effectively.
3. Finance: the trust is operating under financial constraints and needs to secure financial stability and sustainability. The trust also anticipates undertaking due diligence to mitigate the risks associated with growth and to develop increased efficiencies to maximise the use of resources for educational outcomes.

Looking further ahead, the trust aims to become the leading local MAT in Swindon offering an educational path from KS2 to KS4.The trust wants to create a local attitude towards its schools and for parents and pupils to say "The Park Academies Trust is where I want to be educated."
 

Trust ethos & values

• Create centers of educational excellence that inspire all pupils to turn their potential into performance.
• Provide a broad and balanced curriculum that allows pupils to develop their talents and ambitions.
• Deliver the highest quality learning opportunities facilitated by excellent teachers.
• Inspire pupils to become confident, motivated and respectful individuals.

URL to full mission statement: https://theparkacademiestrust.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/09/Trust-Agreed-Vision-2022-24.pdf

Role summary Number of positions advertised:

4

Roles 1-4 – Trustee/Non-Executive Director

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.

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: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/583733/Competency_framework_for_governance_.pdf

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/Qualified Accountant; OR
• HR; OR
• Marketing/Branding; OR
• Entrepreneur

Desirable

• Audit
• Growth/Change Management
• Corporate Governance
• Non-executive/ Trustee

Time commitment

6 to 10 hours /month minimum.

The board meets 4x p/a; the Finance and Audit Committee meets 6x p/a and the Education and Standards Committee meets 5x p/a. All meetings run 6-8pm.

Location of board meetings and trust website

Lydiard Park Academy, Grange Park Way, Swindon, SN5 6HN with some rotation around other academies

https://theparkacademiestrust.com

Governance structure

https://theparkacademiestrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/TPAT-structure-2019-v1.pdf

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 22nd November 2019