The members of the Trust were the original signatories to the memorandum of association and agreed the Trust’s first Articles of Association. The members appoint trustees to ensure that the Trust’s charitable object is carried out. Members are also responsible for approving any amendments made to the Trust’s Articles of Association. Furthermore, only the members can authorise a decision to admit a new school to the Trust, to change the name of the Trust or to alter the principles in The TRUE Learning Partnership Charter, by passing a special resolution which requires a 75% majority.
The trustees are company directors and ‘charity trustees’ (within the terms of section 177(1) of the Charities Act 2011) and are responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the Trust in accordance with the provisions set out in the Articles of Association and the terms of the Trust’s Funding Agreement with the Department for Education.
The TRUE Learning Partnership Trust Board delegates responsibility for implementation of the vision and strategy to the Trust Leader (CEO) (and statutory ‘Accounting Officer’ responsible to the Department for Education and to Parliament for the proper use of public money). The Trust Board will hold the Trust Leader to account for the performance of the Trust, including the performance of individual schools within the Trust.
The Trust Board will ensure that each school has its own Local Governing Body, whose role is to exercise leadership on behalf of the Trust in the running of the individual school and to provide information to the Trust Board on its operation and performance; as well as monitor the application of the Trust’s vision and values at a local level. Full details of roles and responsibilities can be found in the Scheme of Delegation.
You can contact the Chair of the Trust Board, Karen Tomlinson, via The TRUE Learning Partnership office address or by e mailing info@truelearning.org.uk
Minutes of meetings are able to be viewed through appointment, please e-mail info@truelearning.org.uk if you wish to make an appointment to view minutes of a particular Trust Board or sub committee meeting.
Click here for the link to Get Information About Schools (GIAS)
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Alan has many years’ experience in economic development, including the management of regional strategy development agencies in London and Greater Manchester. Throughout his career, he had responsibility for strategy and project development in 3 major industrial sectors and worked in over 40 countries.
Alan has also been involved in local race relations and other community organisations as a volunteer, and local politics. He has been appointed to a series of School Governing bodies over 20 years, including a Special Needs school, Infant/Junior schools, a State Comprehensive and a Grant aided Grammar school. He has also been a Chair of a Governing Body and more recently, been a member of the Governing Body for Poynton High School.
Alan retired in 2013, and now his activities include Tai Chi practice, Pilates and painting with local art groups and classes.
Andrew is head of SHEQ and legal compliance at Beaumont Morgan. He has experience in identifying and controlling risks and hazards; formatting and presenting CPD training; site inspection and audit; development and implementation of management procedures and policies; job safety analysis and implementation of emergency plans and procedures.
In his role he has developed and delivered training programmes, created an integrated management system and implemented a model for behavioural enhancement and a positive cultural enforcement across all aspects of Healthy, Safety and Environmental Management.
Andrew is a member of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management and the Institute of Industrial Accident Investigators. He has achieved various qualifications including Diplomas in Legal Studies, Psychology and Occupational Safety and Health Management, and National Certificates in Occupational Safety and Health and Environment Management.
Karen has a wealth of managerial experience and over 24 years’ service with the Environment Agency, currently working as an Environment Planning and Engagement Manager. She is also part of the Environment Agency’s Area Leadership Team for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire. Over the years Karen has led and managed several departments across the North West, with large teams of staff and budgets.
Karen studied at Poynton High School, before achieving a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Studies at Sunderland University. Since then, Karen has achieved Chartered Manager status and completed a Level 5 Certificate in Management and Leadership.
Karen is also a trained media spokesperson, a trained Incident Duty Manager and represents the Environment Agency at Gold Command/Strategic Coordination Groups (SCG) during Major Incidents.
Lesley is a retired Primary School Headteacher, leaving Micklehurst All Saints, Mossley in 2011. She has a Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Manchester University. Prior to taking up the headship of Flash Primary School in 2005, she taught at Disley Primary School from 1991.
Lesley was actively involved in the development of the Poynton High School bid for Creative Arts College Status alongside the High School Expressive Arts department. She is currently on the Governing Board at both Disley Primary School and Whaley Bridge ERS Primary School and has a vast experience of Ofsted inspections from her various roles.
Lelsey is married with two daughters, who both attended Disley Primary School, followed by Poynton High School. Lesley volunteers for the National Trust at Lyme Hall, and is a Warden at St. Mary's Church, Disley.
Karen is a Teaching Assistant at New Mills High School, and is studying Sociology with the Open University. Karen has experience of running a retail business, as well as working in the early years setting. She has an NVQ in Childcare and Education. Karen was previously the Chair of Governors at Disley Primary School and made a significant contribution to the governance of the school, gaining experience in enhancing effective communication between the governing board and pupils, staff, parents and the wider community; organising, planning and communicating to ensure that all governors fully participate in the strategic governance of the school; reading and interpreting school data; as well as developing working relationships with Headteachers and Senior Leaders.
Shiona is a director of a business providing consultancy services to the life science industry, including start-up companies. Having qualified as a Solicitor, Shiona worked as an in-house lawyer for AstraZeneca - a FTSE 100 company - for over 25 years, gaining extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Working as a senior member of global cross-functional teams, Shiona was required to provide pragmatic and constructive advice to facilitate the achievement of strategic goals. She is experienced in the identification, assessment and mitigation of legal risks across a spectrum of activities and is closely acquainted with the requirements of corporate governance.
David is the Trust Leader for The TRUE Learning Partnership, as well as the Head Teacher at Poynton High School and Vice President (2019-20) for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL). David has extensive experience within strategic leadership roles, both from within school employment and through consultancy roles from various national organisations. David passionately believes in building partnerships through collaboration and this has been shown throughout his career through the networks that he has been involved in. David has been involved in the establishment of collaborative leadership structures and skills across Local Authorities, including Bolton, Rochdale and Oldham. In addition to this, he has worked for organisations such as the SSATrust and The Learning Schools Trust in establishing quality excellence in teaching and learning and whole school raising of achievement strategies.
My professional background is primarily in HR. I spent 20 years working for Xerox, starting as a trainer then moving into HR, but ending my career there as a Customer Satisfaction and Quality Manager. I then moved to AstraZeneca, initially as an HR Business Partner and eventually as a Communications Manager. I feel that the opportunities I had with both these leading employers significantly improved my communication and interpersonal skills and my understanding of people and of business.
Thomas is an Independent Financial Advisor. He became a Financial Services Authority authorised and regulated Financial Advisor in 2002, and created his own Financial Services company in 2005. Thomas's company, One & All Financial Services, now has advisors based in 4 offices across the UK. The bulk of his work falls under the remit of "Financial Planning" on a personal and business basis, including mortgage advice, pensions, retirement planning, cashflow reviews and insurance.
Richard Collins is a highly experienced lawyer who qualified in the UK as a solicitor in 1988. He has worked both for City law firms and also, since 1995 as a senior lawyer working for various businesses, including 7 years with a business specialising in the education sector. He is now the General Counsel at a UK listed company based in Wilmslow, Cheshire. His technical experience as a lawyer covers all aspects of the law relevant to the MAT.
He is also a Governance expert, having been the Company Secretary of UK listed and private companies since 1997. In this regard he is hugely experienced in the proper governance of all organisations, both private and public sector.
Richard lives in Prestbury, Cheshire and is married with three children, the youngest of whom attends a local academy.
Mike is the Executive Principal of Knutsford Multi-Academy Trust. He began teaching in 1987 and was a successful secondary school headteacher before being appointed HMI in 2002. During his time with Ofsted, Mike was National Director. Mike has extensive leadership and management experience and has worked with the most senior figures in education. He is married with two children who are both at secondary school.
Gwenda is a Health Care Professional within the NHS. She is an active member of the Poynton local community. Gwenda was previously a governor at Poynton High School for 10 years, with children having attended the school. She was also the Chair of the Curriculum and Welfare governing board subcommittee.
Kathryn is a Child Care professional within the Early Years setting. She was previously Chair of Governors for Lostock Hall Primary School. Following her appointment as a Member of the TRUE Learning Partnership Kathryn has stepped down as Chair of Governors, however still serves as a parent governor with a specific role on the staffing committee. Kathryn currently manages a number of nursery settings within Cheshire East schools. She is an active member of the community and bring s a great deal of experience of running her own business and of primary and early years educational settings.
Majid is a Director of Advoco Consulting Services Limited, a company specialising in the provision of healthcare consulting and expertise to the public and private sectors. Advoco Consulting Services Limited offers a range of services including occupational health for clients in the biotech sector; a patient-focused, doctor-led online sexual health testing service; and healthcare recruitment, specialising in the provision of GPs to healthcare providers across the wider North West and West Yorks.
The following trustees are on the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee
Andrew Wilson (Chair)
Alan McGarvey
Karen Tomlinson
Thomas Rooney
The following trustees are on the Human and Physical Resources Committee
Shiona McGilivray
Karen Glasgow
Andrew Wilson
David Waugh
The following trustees are on the Standards and Curriculum Committee
David Spendlove (Chair)
Lesley Kincey
David Waugh
Induction procedures for new governors and trustees can be found in our document library
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