Job Description

About Hackney Education

Hackney Education provides a range of services to support the education of children, young people and adults in our inner London borough. Hackney is one of the UK\'s highest performing local authorities, serving one of London\'s best places to live and work. Within our diverse borough we serve a wide range of children and young people. We have a particular focus on supporting less advantaged families: Hackney figures in the 10% most deprived boroughs in England on a number of measures.

Hackney Education\'s key priority is to improve the life chances of every child, young person and learner: making Hackney the most forward looking education system in the UK, where schools, settings and partners provide an exciting environment which ensures inclusion and success for everyone. We see our borough as being one of the best places in the country for young people to grow, learn, develop and achieve -and one of the best places for colleagues to work and thrive in our education system.

Details of the role

Job title Sessional Clerk to Governing Boards

Salary Starting at \xc2\xa3150 and up to \xc2\xa3250 per clerked meeting

(depending on length; usually includes administration, agenda and minute preparation)

Terms and Conditions

We are seeking to appoint school governance professionals / clerks. with high levels of literacy, a strong ability to process complex information, and experience of interpreting and advising on procedures and policy, legal aspects, and matters of compliance.

You will be expected to provide a professional and comprehensive clerking service to a group of governing boards in accordance with statutory requirements. This will enable governors to discharge their statutory functions most effectively. Your duties will include effective administration, information management, and advisory responsibilities, displaying best practice to support strong governance of schools. We particularly welcome applications from the educational, legal, or policy fields.

This is an opportunity to work flexibly, largely home-based, with either virtual or in-person attendance at meetings and hearings at school sites at various times during the academic year.

Governing board meetings usually last approximately 2 hour long, and are held term-time only. In the main, they are scheduled in the afternoons or evenings (typically anytime between 4pm-8:30pm). Some meetings may be scheduled in the mornings (typically anytime between 7:30am-10am). These times exclude travel times. Day time availability for extraordinary meetings would be desirable, but not essential.

Each meeting activity typically involves around 10 hours of work on average, including prior preparation, attendance, and drafting of minutes. While we do not guarantee a number of meetings, and the assignments are typically negotiated, we would expect a provisional availability of at least 15 meetings, or 150 working hours per year, during term time, at a minimum. If you are currently employed in a full-time role, please ensure that you have discussed your wish to apply for the role of sessional clerk with your current line manager, and obtained their approval to occasionally release you for morning or evening meetings, as appropriate.

This role will enable you to gain unique insights into how schools are run at a very high strategic level, and how governance drives school improvement. You will be instrumental in making a difference, supporting strong governance of schools which will lead to changing the life chances of every child in our community and beyond. This is particularly relevant for those from the most disadvantaged starting points and those whose progress is stalled by challenging barriers, whatever they might be.

As the post holder, you will be part of our diverse team of clerking professionals and have access to high quality professional training in governance clerking, as well as ongoing support and guidance of an experienced core team. You will be able to draw on the wider expertise of Hackney Education and have access to a wide range of resources including those necessary in order to develop expertise to provide statutory advice and guidance to governing boards, Head teachers and senior officers. Our high quality in-house training is mandatory for all clerks.

Hackney Education is an innovative and forward thinking organisation determined to help schools improve the life-chances of young people. The services of Hackney Education are available well beyond Hackney and to all educational settings: academies, free and independent schools, as well as maintained schools.

For an informal discussion about the post please contact governorservices@hackney.gov.uk.

Closing date: 22:59, 8th October 2023

Test/ Interviews: Date in October TBC

Further information

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy and maternity, age and marital status. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people and people from a black and ethnic minority background as these groups are currently under represented in our workforce.

DBS check required for this role: No

Available documents

How to Apply

Please apply online via the link provided.

Apply Now

Hackney Education