Innovate Multi Academy Trust (iMAT) is an expanding trust currently made up of six primary academies in rural locations in Northamptonshire. Our mission is to establish great primary academies that are centres for innovation and excellence for leadership and teaching, where pupils are safe and engaged in their learning. To do this, we rely on support from our talented team of trustees and we are currently recruiting additional trustees to help our future growth.
What we are looking for:
Contrary to popular thought, you don’t have to be a parent or connected to the trust in some way to be a trustee, nor do you need a background in the education sector. At the moment, we are particularly in need of new trustees with experience in Finance, with an enthusiasm for improving the educational experiences of primary aged children.
What is required:
Our trustees meet seven times a year for full board meetings, with the option to join additional committee meetings if desired. Documents are sent out at least a week in advance, and training is provided on an ongoing basis. The time commitment is around eight hours per month. Trustees ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction. They hold executive leaders to account for the educational performance of our children, and oversee the financial performance of the MAT.
The benefits of becoming a trustee with iMAT:
Volunteering as a trustee will give you the opportunity to develop your own personal skills while helping to make a difference to the educational experiences of hundreds of school children. You will gain experience in strategic planning and decision making, holding senior leaders to account, finance and budget oversight, human resources and performance management, project management, and marketing.
About iMAT:
At iMAT, our aim is to create great schools that are centres for innovation and excellence, founded on our values of growing lives, being ready, empowering thinking, inspiring high aspirations and working together (GREAT). Over the next twelve months we plan to:
Improve the educational outcomes of all children across the trust with high quality teaching and learning
Further develop the trust wellbeing programme offered to both children and staff
Move to a fully cloud-based IT system with Google workspace
Explore further opportunities for sustainable growth, both in terms of the number of schools in the trust, and the number of children attending each school
Church and Community Schools:
iMAT is made up of two community schools and four, voluntary controlled, Church of England schools in the Diocese of Peterborough. As well as four-yearly Ofsted inspections, every five years our church schools are inspected under a process called SIAMS, during which the following question is explored:
“How effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and adults to flourish?”
As part of the leadership of the trust, trustees have an important role to play in ensuring the effectiveness of our schools' Christian vision.
Experience tells us that our trustees not only make a significant difference to the trust, but also gain much personal and professional satisfaction from the role.
For more information on the trust, or an application form, please contact the governance professional to the board, Heather Fishwick at heather.fishwick@innovatemat.org
