- 21 May 2026
Read time: 6 minutes
Summary: Sunita Yardley-Patel is the Head of Governance at Ormiston Academies Trust. In this comment blog she considers who gets to govern and why broadening access and redefining experience is critical to effective boards.
In the UK, the majority of charity trustees come from a narrow demographic. Boards often lack diversity of thought because the backgrounds and experiences of the people round the table is too similar which makes the insights they can give limited.
Broadening the diversity of Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) boards has been proven to improve organisational performance. In a time where children have access to a much wider world than has ever been seen before, it is more important than ever to ensure that decision-making involves voices from different global populations that reflects what our children are engaging with on a daily basis, whether via social media platforms, or the wider range of cultural content available to them. Boards need to reflect the world that our children engage with so that we can fully understand how to best meet their needs.
The charitable objective of MATs is ‘the advancement of education for the public benefit’. To do this effectively, MATs need strong boards that not only understand how to scrutinise educational performance, finances, safeguarding, and inclusion, but also understand the context of their schools, the challenges young people face and how to positively impact the lived realities of pupils, parents and staff. When boards lack diversity, whether in gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic background, or lived experience of the education system, there is a risk of board ‘groupthink’. Assumptions go unchallenged and community needs can be misunderstood. Diversity is about improving the quality of governance and enabling better decision-making, not optics or quotas.
Why diversity matters in academy governance
Recruiting the right trustees is fundamental to diversity of thought and effective decision-making. That means rethinking what we value at board level. We need to give as much weight to lived experience as we do to formal skills. We know that younger people and those from marginalised backgrounds often haven’t had the same opportunities to build traditional ‘board-ready’ CVs, but they bring perspectives that boards can’t afford to miss. Boards must understand inequality as it is experienced, not just analysed. This requires broadening our definition of “value”. The insight of a parent navigating the school system, or someone who understands barriers faced by disadvantaged communities, can strengthen governance in ways technical expertise alone cannot.
When recruiting trustees, boards typically begin with a skills audit and align appointments to strategic need. Increasingly, they are also asking whether they need greater diversity. While these are the right questions, they are often asked within processes that have not fundamentally changed. It can feel uncomfortable having conversations about the specific demographics that boards are seeking to recruit. There is also tendency to avoid those conversations because the board doesn’t feel they are in the ‘right place’ or even that they are not adequately qualified to have them. There will always be a reason not to have these conversations, but boards should aim to break that cycle, embrace the potential for discomfort and have difficult conversations about who is wanted on the board.
Structural barriers to access
If we are serious about diversifying boards, we must also recognise that access to trusteeship is not equal. Trusteeship is unpaid and time-intensive, limiting who can realistically participate. Opportunities are often not visible beyond established networks. Recruitment often relies heavily on personal recommendations. Even when boards move to more formal processes, skills audits, role descriptions, structured interviews, it’s surprisingly easy to reproduce the same outcomes if we’re not careful. Process alone does not guarantee different results.
Many trusts are taking positive steps: widening advertising, engaging new networks, and aligning recruitment more closely with strategy. However, unless boards challenge how they define experience and potential, these efforts will have limited impact. Without a deliberate focus on inclusion and accessibility, recruitment alone will not deliver change.
Clarity also matters more than we sometimes acknowledge. Earlier in my governance career, I saw too many people step away from trustee roles because the reality didn’t match what they expected. Being clear upfront about time commitment, training expectations, and accountability is not about deterring people, it is about making trusteeship accessible and sustainable for those who do step forward.
There is growing recognition that diversity matters, but representation alone is not enough. We need a closer examination of what happens when new voices join the board. Inclusive governance requires creating an environment where all trustees can contribute meaningfully and often means valuing different communication styles, encouraging challenge, and recognising lived experience as a form of expertise. Without this, diversity is only symbolic.
That doesn’t happen by accident. In practice, things like strong induction, early exposure to the organisation, and support from an experienced trustee can make a significant difference to how confident new members feel in contributing. An honest conversation with your incoming trustee about what support they might need in the role can be really valuable to understand how to make sure they feel included but also how you can best utilise them to add value to your board.
Rethinking good governance
Strong governance has traditionally been associated with professionalism, structure, and technical oversight. These skills are critical, but increasingly, effective boards are those that demonstrate curiosity, openness, and the ability to navigate complexity. They understand their communities and are willing to challenge their own assumptions. This requires a broader model of governance, one that integrates technical expertise with social awareness and lived insight. In this instance, diversity is a core enabler of better thinking and better decisions.
If academy trusts are serious about widening participation, the challenge goes beyond improving recruitment.
Practical considerations for boards
For academy trusts looking to move from intention to impact, a few practical considerations can strengthen both access and effectiveness:
Be explicit about expectations early
Clearly set out time commitment, training requirements and responsibilities upfront. This helps potential trustees make informed decisions and supports long-term retention.
Recruit beyond existing networks
Informal connections will always play a role, but relying on them alone reinforces the same profiles. Wider advertising and targeted outreach are essential to reach new audiences.
Balance skills with lived experience
Skills audits remain important, but they should not crowd out different forms of expertise. Lived experience should be considered a valuable contribution to board thinking.
Focus on potential, not just polish
Confidence and traditional career pathways are not always indicators of governance effectiveness. Boards benefit from looking beyond conventional markers of readiness.
Invest in strong induction and support
Early engagement, clear onboarding, and support from existing trustees can make a significant difference in helping new members contribute with confidence.
Be deliberate about inclusion, not just representation
Bringing new perspectives into the boardroom is only part of the solution. Creating an environment where those perspectives are heard and valued is what ultimately strengthens governance.
Academy trust boards shape the environments in which young people learn and succeed. Ultimately, boards don’t need endless numbers of applicants, they need the right people, with the right mix of skills and perspectives, who can genuinely contribute and stay engaged. Improving recruitment is part of the solution, but stronger governance requires a more deliberate approach, one that broadens access, redefines value, and embeds inclusion into board culture.
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