About The Good Shepherd Trust

The Good Shepherd Trust (GST), founded in 2012 by the Diocese of Guildford, is a Church of England multi-academy trust committed to delivering high-quality education within a supportive Christian ethos. Since its inception, the Trust has expanded to include 24 schools across Surrey and Hampshire, comprising both primary and secondary institutions. Serving a diverse range of communities in both urban and rural settings, GST is known for its strong track record in turning around underperforming church schools while also attracting good and outstanding schools. This mix enables a collaborative model of school improvement based on peer support and executive leadership development. The Trust’s central support team is based in Guildford.

Whether a parent member, a general member, or a staff member, our Local Committee members bring valuable information from a variety of perspectives to help make strategic decisions about the school as a whole.  The Local Committee is a committee of the trust board and should feel part of the wider structure we have in place for governance, to provide assurance to the trustee directors that every child in our schools is learning, achieving and flourishing in a safe environment.

The role of a LC member is largely a thinking and questioning role; they are not charged with the operational issues in managing a school day-to-day but are required to oversee its long term development in conjunction with the trust.  LCs rely on a variety of experiences and perspectives.  No specific prior knowledge is required and the trust seeks volunteers with a range of skills and backgrounds.  Training and support are available for new and existing members and is free of charge. 

In order to perform this role well, a local committee member is expected to: 

• get to know the school, including by visiting the school occasionally during school hours, and gain a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses; 
• attend induction training and regular relevant training and development events; 
• attend meetings (LC meetings and other events) and read all the papers before the meeting; 
• act in the best interest of all the pupils of the school; and 
• behave in a professional manner, as set down in the Trust code of conduct including acting in strict confidence and adhering to the Nolan Principles – leadership, selflessness, objectivity, openness, integrity, honesty and accountability. 

We are working hard to become a more diverse organisation – which is key to our commitment “to be better, together”. We welcome applications from everyone committed to this ethos and would particularly welcome applications from black and minority ethnic candidates, who are currently under-represented in the Trust as a whole.  We always appoint on merit.