Chair of Governors and Speech and Language UK Trustee - Meath School

Chair of Governors and Speech and Language UK Trustee - Meath School

Chair of Governors and Speech and Language UK Trustee

Start date: As soon as possible

We are Speech and Language UK – we want every child to face the future with confidence. For 1.7 million children in the UK, learning to talk and understand words feel like an impossible hurdle.

Without the right help, this can destroy their world. They feel disconnected from their family. Unable to make friends. Unfairly punished for not following instructions they don’t understand. What does the future hold for them?

We are looking to appoint a new Chair of Governors for Meath, a Speech and Language UK School in Surrey. This post will also be a Speech and Language UK Trustee, who will bring fresh thinking and share our ambitions for Speech and Language UK future. We are not looking for a particular skillset, but you will bring to the table a 'can-do' frame of mind, excellent inter-personal skills and a passion for our mission.

These roles require around twelve days of your time each year - and lots of ideas and support in between! In relation to the school role, the Chair of Governors will provide leadership to the rest of the governing body, as well as support to the School Principal, who is line managed by Speech and Language UK’s Director of Education. The successful candidate will, ideally, live within a commutable distance of Meath school, as well as the ability to attend Trustee meetings at our Head of Office in Central London.

You will need to be able to commit to attending governors’ meetings up to seven times per year, and trustee meetings four or five times per year.  The meetings are currently being held in person and remotely. Additional calls on your time may be required on occasion; for example, with your specific expertise you may be asked to provide some insight and support to the Board.

Being a Governor and Trustee is a voluntary role but highly rewarding, and this is a particularly exciting time to be involved with Speech and Language UK. We are currently reviewing governance structure and processes and this role is a vital part of that process.

Please review the information pack accompanying this advert for more details.

If you are interested in this role, please fill in this form and contact the PA to the Senior Leadership Group on anne.ballard@meathschool.org.uk, to arrange a tour of the school and opportunity to meet with the Principal.   If you would like to speak to me, please don’t hesitate to get in contact on neil.maslen@speechandlanguage.org.uk

Interviews will be carried out by Speech and Language UK’s, Director of Education, a Trustee specialising in Education and one of the serving members of the Governing Body

Any appointment will be proposed to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Closing Date: Wednesday, 30^th November 2022

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS and Section 128 checks and appointment is dependent on two written references.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:

Speech and Language UK is committed to equality of opportunity, supports and encourages under-represented groups and values diversity. We seek people from a wide range of backgrounds, who will bring a fresh perspective to the Board and having reviewed our existing Trustees diversity, skills and experience, we are keen for our Board to reflect the diversity of the communities that we work with and we therefore welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and we carry out safer recruitment principles, as well as appropriate vetting and verifications on all school staff