Member / Trustee / Local Governor

The Hinchley Wood Learning Partnership (“HWLP”) is a growing Multi Academy Trust founded on putting pupils at the heart of all we do and enabling our staff to do deliver the same.

We are looking for volunteers to support us at all layers of governance to play a key role in the future direction of our schools, be a role model in the school community and contribute towards making a difference to one of the local community’s most important assets. Governance roles include being a Member, a Trustee / Director or a Local Governor.

You will be making a real difference to the lives of the pupils at our schools by ensuring that our governance and strategic direction decision-making are carefully managed to provide excellent education. You will help create positive change for young people and commit to the mission and values of the Hinchley Wood Learning Partnership. We would love to use your professional abilities to the best advantage of our pupils, in order to raise standards of achievement across our schools.

If you join our team, we can offer you:

• Board room experience with the Senior Executive teams.
• The option to join our Finance or HR Trust Committees to influence strategic decisions around our finance management or people strategies within the challenging environment of the Education sector.
• A training programme led by experts in the governance arena.
• Access to key resources to help build your knowledge.
• The opportunity to work with the CEO or Headteacher and understand how schools are run.
• A welcoming governing body environment.
• A thorough induction programme with a knowledgeable clerk who will be able to help with most queries.
• Support through your term, particularly during your first year.

Many corporations recognise the board level skills that being a Member / Trustee / Local Governor can bring to the workforce. Some of these benefits which you will gain include:

• Experience of decision making at Board level which influences the whole school and especially the lives of the pupils at the school
• Working with the Senior Leadership team and development of leadership skills including asking challenging and robust questions
• Building professional skills in areas such as strategic thinking, budgeting and people management
• Developing networks outside of the workforce

We have 3 key layers of governance: Members, Trustee and Local Governors. A summary of their roles is outlined below:

Members: Members are the guardians of the governance of the trust and have a number of statutory rights. Whilst Members must hold the Trust Board to account for the effective governance of the trust, their role is very much ‘eyes on, hands off’. The DfE’s Governance Guide makes it clear that the role of Members in the running of the trust is minimal, and one of oversight. A frequent comparison is made to company shareholders, but shareholders have a financial investment in a company whereas the Members of an academy trust’s prime function is to safeguard trust governance. Members will therefore have a ‘hands-off’ role when the trust is working well, but they have a crucial role in ensuring the academy trust’s charitable objective is being met, ensuring that trust governance is effective, and holding the board to account for the improved progress and outcomes for the pupils. You will be required to attend 2 meetings per year in person at our office in Hinchley Wood.

Trustees: Our Trustees are appointed to the Trust Board and are the organisation’s key decision makers. Trustees are both charity trustees and company directors of the Multi-Academy Trust. They are responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the Trust and all the constituent academies and have responsibilities under both the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006. They are responsible for governing the HWLP and how it is managed and run. Our Trustees also ensure that the Trust complies with all legal and statutory requirements. The Trust Board works closely with the Chief Executive Officer to ensure that areas for which they are responsible are being delivered effectively. The role of the Trust Board is strategic with the Executive Team being responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the Trust and its schools. The Trust Board remains the employer of staff and the admissions authority. In order to fulfil its obligations, the Trust has set up several committees: Finances and Resources Trust Committee; Human Resources Trust Committee; Senior Pay Committee; Local Governing Bodies at each school. Each Trustee also sits on one of the Trust committees using their skills to deep dive into the key strategic areas of managing the Trust. There are 4 Trust Board meetings a year which we prefer are attended in person, however can accommodate virtual attendance as well. There are 6 finance meetings a year held virtually. The 3 HR meetings are in person or virtual. The Senior Pay committee meet twice a year and meet virtually.

Local Governors: Local Governors are key members of governance at the local school level. You will be required to support our Trust objectives by providing local eyes and ears on the running of the school. The LGB Constitution and Terms of Reference confirm what powers the Trustees have delegated to the LGB and are set out in the HWLP Scheme of Delegation. The role of Local Governors is to provide focused governance for the school at a local level. It monitors the school’s key performance indicators and acts as a critical friend to the Headteacher, providing challenge where appropriate.


Application process:
If you are interested in knowing more about any of the roles mentioned above, please contact our Clerk to Trustees for an informal conversation about your interest or see our specific governance page: https://www.hwlp.co.uk/24/governance-structure . Should you wish to discuss an application further, our Clerk to Trustees will arrange for you to meet informally with the CEO or Headteacher (where relevant) who will show you around the school and share more about the strategic vision for the Trust and schools. As part of the application process, you will also meet with the Chair of Trustee or Local Governors to understand a bit more about the role and challenges our schools face.

We look forward to hearing from you!