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This resource is the essential guide for anyone seeking their first non-executive director or trustee role on an academy trust board.
Whether you are an aspiring NED, or looking to map your senior leadership experience to the needs an academy trust board, this will help you to achieve your goal.
NSN's Academy Ambassadors Programme is expert at attracting strong board candidates from business and the professions and has placed over 2,000 senior business leaders as non-executive directors (NEDs). Academy Ambassadors are motivated by a desire to give back. They also want to develop the skills of school leavers and to boost social mobility for pupils from deprived backgrounds.
This guide provides an introduction to the Academy Ambassadors Programme and how the team can help you recruit the board your academy trust needs.
A useful breakdown of the remits between the ESFA and RSC.
As with any sector, understanding the acronyms and language is key to understanding and getting to grips with the role. Created by the National Governance Association, this glossary aims to decode the language of the education world.
The importance of diverse and inclusive trusts is widely recognised by academy trusts across the country, and the Academy Ambassadors Programme is committed to ensuring that all trust board recruitment support is focused on helping boards achieve their aims and intentions.
The below information is provided as an initial guide to attracting and selecting candidates; however, it is not intended to replace any legal advice or guidance that your trust may receive.
Encouraging applications
It is legal to take positive action to encourage applicants from different groups. However, to decide not to interview a candidate because they are not part of that group could lead to to potential claims of positive discrimination towards the employer (academy trust), which is unlawful. There is also the risk of inadvertently excluding other applicants who have different protected characteristics, such as disability.
Further advice can be found on Gov.uk: When recruiting, you must not ask candidates about “protected characteristics”, and “You cannot choose a candidate who is not as suitable for the job just because they have a protected characteristic.”
Academy trusts must treat all candidates fairly and assess them equally against the role criteria set out.
Then, in the case where two candidates have been assessed by the trust to be equally qualified, positive action may be lawful in appointing the candidate who will help to address the under-representation or disadvantage for that particular characteristic. This must be done on a case by case basis. (Employing people with protected characteristics.)
Please note that separate guidance applies when recruiting to the responsible body of a school which has a religious ethos. In the case of recruiting Foundation Trustees, please refer to s29 of the Equality Act.