Set within 34 acres of woodland and playing fields on the Hampshire / Dorset border, Ballard is a thriving and welcoming co-educational independent day school for children aged 2 to 16. Ballard is rated ‘Excellent and Outstanding’ in all ISI inspection categories (the highest accolade any school can achieve). Further, Ballard has been rated a Green Flag Eco School, an Artsmark Gold, and Sports School Gold, as well as having just reached the finals for the Independent School of the Year for Performing Arts.

Believing firmly that all young people should aspire, be challenged and thrive both inside and outside the classroom, Ballard provides a bespoke education for all its pupils based on Christian values. Providing them with responsibilities is another key part of the educational experience, and the School provides this across all areas, especially through its mentoring programme. Additionally, with award-winning arts, sports, and academic provision, and over 120 clubs and GCSE ‘Raising Attainment’ sessions each week, Ballard offers something for everyone. Trips are also an important element of the all-round Ballard education, with a wide-range of travel opportunities offered, from Barton Beach to New York.

In the past few years, Ballard had restructured its leadership, improved its financial position, and invested heavily in educational technology. Going forward, the School’s drive to deliver a first-class education, with a close eye on the future, will continue to shape its ambitious investment and development plans. With exciting new projects under consideration, now is an exciting time to join Ballard.

The Governors are the charity trustees and also directors of the charitable company. They are responsible for the overall management and control of Ballard School including the setting of aims and objectives, strategy, and policies, reviewing performance, budgeting and compliance. 

The key duties of Governors are to:

• Ensure that the School complies with its governing document (its Memorandum and Articles of Association), charity law, company law and any other relevant legislation or regulations, pursues its objects as defined in its governing document and applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objects
• Contribute actively to the Board of Governors by giving firm strategic direction to the School, setting overall policy, defining goals, setting and evaluating performance against agreed targets, working as an effective team, and using the appropriate balance of skills, experience, backgrounds and knowledge to make informed decisions
• Make sure that decision making processes are informed, rigorous and timely, and that effective delegation, control and risk-assessment, and management systems are set up and monitored
• Exercise a clear, agreed and effective approach to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion throughout the School and through their own practice
• Safeguard the good name and values of the School
• Ensure the financial stability of the School
• Support the School through exercising their skill and knowledge as a member of one or more of the School's standing committees

As it seeks to complement the skills of existing Board members, Ballard School is now looking for new Governors with senior strategic experience in either finance, commerce, medicine, construction / estates, or education.

• Finance — The successful candidate will bring strong financial acumen and an ability to constructively and appropriately challenge the senior leadership. They could be, for example, a CFO, Finance Director, or an Audit Partner. An accounting qualification would be ideal, but is not essential. 
• Commercial — The successful candidate will bring commercial nous, strong business acumen and an understanding of the current pressures that organisations are facing. They will be able to contribute effectively to the development of innovative commercial strategy. The could be, for example, a senior leader or CEO of a commercial organisation. 
• Medical — The successful candidate will be able to advise on potential medical issues affecting the School's pupils. They could, for example, come from a senior medical or nursing background. 
• Construction / Estates — The successful candidate will be able to provide advice, guidance and appropriate challenge on how the School can most effectively use / develop its estates as well as achieve its sustainability / decarbonisation goals. They will have experience overseeing large projects and could be either from a construction or architectural background. Alternatively, they could also have been a Director of Estates at another school. 
• Education — The successful candidate will be a senior-level educationalist and will serve on the Education Committee. They could be, for example, a current or recently-retired Head or Deputy Head in either the state or independent sector. 

Above all, the successful candidate will share the School's aim to ignite passions and develop skills, and to identify and unlock every child’s inner genius. 

For a list of current Governors, please see here. 

There are three Board meetings per year (one per term) in March, June and November. Meetings tend to be around three hours each, and start at 2pm. Additionally, Governors will sit on either the Education Committee or the Finance & General Purposes Committee, each of which also meets three times per year. Board and Committee meetings take place in person at the School. The appointment is for a three year term. The role is unremunerated, but reasonable, pre-agreed expenses will be reimbursed. 

Candidates will be able to attend in-person meetings and be UK-based. 

Ballard School is committed to ensuring that its Board is representative of its global reach. It therefore welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. As younger people and those from an ethnic minority background are currently under-represented on the Board, applications from those individuals would be particularly encouraged. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.