Trustee/Director in Potters Bar

Agora Learning Partnership is a Hertfordshire-based multi-academy trust currently comprising 10 primary schools, and with a new specialist SEND free school due to open in Potters Bar in the autumn. The trust serves around 2,800 pupils and employs approximately 476 staff across a relatively localised footprint, spanning Letchworth, Borehamwood, Welwyn and Watford. Its schools are characterised by strong outcomes above national averages and a consistently positive Ofsted profile.

Central to the trust’s identity is a clear ethos of ‘local decisions for local children’, with a strong emphasis on collaboration, inclusion and community engagement. The trust is seeking to appoint two new trustees as part of a proactive approach to succession planning and board development. With one trustee due to step down and longer-term plans to expand board capacity, this recruitment is not driven by immediate gaps but by a desire to strengthen governance ahead of future growth.

As a result, new trustees will join a stable, experienced and committed board, providing a supportive environment in which to contribute strategically and add value over time rather than responding to immediate pressures. In terms of skills, there is a clear requirement for an individual with a strong education background, ideally with expertise in primary curriculum, assessment and outcomes, and an understanding of the multi-academy trust context. This will support oversight of education performance and safeguarding.

A candidate with demonstrable current or recent experience within the academies sector – in particular in a leadership role within a MAT – or with recent experience as a trustee in a MAT is highly desirable. Alongside this, the trust is recruiting another trustee, the skills of whom may fit into any number of broad or specific areas, including but not limited to finance, HR, estates or other strategic leadership or general management expertise. Emphasis lies on candidates able to operate strategically and contribute to board-level decision-making.

A distinctive feature of Agora is its values-led operating model, anchored in collaboration across governance and leadership. The trust’s ‘Together Strategy’ aligns these areas and the school communities through a shared commitment to improving life chances for children. Agora faces several significant opportunities and challenges. The trust is planning for growth both internally and externally, including increasing pupil numbers, expanding its central capacity, and potentially welcoming new schools into the trust. At the same time, it must navigate tightening financial constraints across the sector. The opening of a new SEND free school marks a key strategic development, reflecting a deliberate move towards greater inclusion and diversification of provision. Trustees will play an important role in shaping this growth trajectory and ensuring that expansion is sustainable and aligned with the trust’s values.

Skills

• Education/Teaching
• Strategic Leadership

What does the role include?

As a trustee/director your key responsibilities are to ensure clarity of vision, ethos, and strategic direction; to hold executive leaders to account – both for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and to oversee the organisation’s financial performance to ensure its funds are directed to the best possible educational outcomes for young people. By volunteering as a trustee/director you will be responsible for contributing to the strategic decision-making of the board, helping the trust to realise immediate and long-term goals, and ultimately ensuring transparency, accountability, and challenge.

What are the benefits?

Volunteering on an academy trust board is a meaningful way to shape young people’s futures and strengthen education in your community. Trustees play a vital role in setting strategic direction and holding executive leaders to account – ensuring schools deliver the best outcomes. Alongside making a tangible impact, you’ll gain valuable experience in senior-level decision-making. This is a great opportunity to support your career development, build a non-executive portfolio, and give back to education.

Further information:

You can also find out more public information about the Trust on the Get Information About Schools Page here. The following webpage also provides useful information and reading to any potential trustee: here. If you have any questions before applying, please contact our Trustee Recruitment Team on trusteerecruitment@governorsforschools.org.uk.