Volunteering as a trustee, local governor or member

OWN Trust was formed in 2019, the letters of our name taken from our guiding philosophy – Opportunity, Working together, Nurture. 

Joining OWN as a trustee, local governor or Member contributes to the local community, helps secure a good start in life for the children in our area and will contribute to Peterborough’s future. 

Trustees, local governors and members of OWN Trust are all volunteers. The roles are unpaid but hugely rewarding, and we support you throughout with training, guidance, and mentoring. The time commitment, duties and expectations vary by role so even if you have limited time available we are still keen to hear from you.

Because we believe that strong governance lies at the heart of any successful organisation, we want everyone who has a stake in our community and our children to be able to participate.  To ensure this, OWN Trust has a three-tier governance structure:

Members are a small group who act as the guardians of governance for the trust, and they appoint, and can remove, trustees. Members are “eyes on, hands off” and meet at least annually.

Trustees act as both charity trustees and directors of the company (OWN Trust). They are responsible for the strategic direction, educational standards and financial probity of the trust and its schools. Trustees meet as a Board five or six times per year and each trustee serves on one of our committees (which meet three or four times per year, virtually).

Local governors are our “boots on the ground”. They are appointed or elected to the Local Governing Body of a school, and it is their role to ensure the children in their school are safe and well, have opportunities to grow as individuals and benefit from a broad and balanced curriculum. Local Governing Bodies meet termly, and local governors visit the school or meet staff in between. Local governors may have portfolio responsibilities for a key area such as Safeguarding, SEND, Finance and Quality of Education. As part of the portfolio role, local governors meet with counterparts from other schools as part of cross-trust networking groups.

If you would like to explore the opportunities and options further, please email governance@own-trust.education 

For more information about Members, Trustees and Governance at the OWN Trust, please visit the Important Information section of our website.