Education for the 21st Century (E21C) is a values-led organisation, driven by a determination to create welcoming and open schools for the local community, where every person thrives, makes excellent progress, and succeeds. There are currently four secondary schools and four primary schools within the Trust. Four of the primary schools and three of the secondary schools are located in Bromley, South East London and a further secondary is close to Canterbury in Kent.

Its Primary academies offer an excellent education for children in Reception to Year 6. Children aged 4 to 11 receive support and encouragement from a dedicated team of staff. The family of schools also include secondary academies. Secondary schools in the Trust aim to imbue students with the skills necessary to excel in whatever they choose to do.

The Trust is committed to improving outcomes and transforming lives, realising social mobility, and the transformative power of education. It values the difference in all of its schools while seeking to bring them together around a framework that delivers an enriching experience and a great education for the young people within its care. E21C’s primary academies focus on nurturing each child as a young person, not just academically but socially and emotionally too. It encourages each child to develop a lifelong love of learning.

The Trust is ambitious and the Board is passionate about school improvement and becoming a model for other schools and MATs whilst going from strength to strength and making a real difference in young people and the community. As the Trust reaches the completion of its strategic plan for the previous three years, now is a particularly exciting time to join the Board – as Members play a key role in reviewing and honing the strategy for the next three years, those who join the Board now will have the opportunity to be instrumental both in setting the right strategy and in overseeing its successful execution throughout the duration of their term.

Please click here to learn more about E21C's principles; potential candidates may also like to watch this video to learn more about what E21C offers and its impact.

The Trustee Board is responsible for ensuring E21C's clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction. Trustees are accountable for the Academy Trust's effective financial management and the educational performance of the academies. They hold the schools' executive leaders to account for their performance, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff.

The Trustee Board is itself over seen by the Members of the Academy Trust, who are the guardians of the governance of the Trust. Members have responsibility for ensuring that the purpose of the Trust is met, determining the Trust’s constitution and governance structure, and appointing and removing Trustees. Members have an overarching, hands-off oversight role, with their other responsibilities being to appoint the external auditors and to receive the annual accounts and financial statements from the Trustees.
All Trustees sit on at least one Board Committee, according to where their skillset best fits. This particular appointee is likely to join the Finance and Resources Committee.

As E21C prepares to pursue ambitious growth goals through its new strategy for the next three years, the Board is aiming to round out its existing strong base of skills with professional experience in operations. The right candidate for this position will likely have held the role of Chief Operations Officer or similar, and will bring this experience to bear in advising on the strategic challenges which organisational growth provides; they will advise on best practices within areas like business functions, human resources and administrative processes.

Whilst a passion for education is essential and previous experience within the sector would be a bonus, the Board is very open to candidates who have gained this operational experience in a corporate or charity setting.

No previous non-executive experience is necessary for this position; the new Trustee will have the support of a collaborative and friendly Board, and E21C will be happy to provide any necessary training in the on-boarding process.

Please click here for more information about the Board. 

The Board meets four times per year; these meetings will either be online or in-person (in Bromley and Kent), but this is flexible according to availability. There is also an annual strategy day, and each Board Committee meets three times per year online. All meeting dates will be provided a year in advance. Trustees will be required to prepare for meetings with readings and provide remote support on occasion. This role is unremunerated, but reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.

E21C welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability. It is particularly keen to improve the diversity of the Board and ensure that it is representative of the communities it supports. As those from an ethnic minority background and individuals of different age groups are currently underrepresented 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.