Lord Jim Knight has been appointed E-ACT’s new chair of the Board of Trustees and will formally take up his position at the start of the new academic year.
He is currently vice chair of the all-party parliamentary group for the teaching profession. As a government minister, he served as Minister of State for Schools and was a cabinet member.
He has since held various leadership roles including at Tes Global, where he was chief education and external officer. He also founded Tes Institute, which is now the fifth largest qualifier of teachers in England, and has managed Tes Resources, a global teacher community of 13.5 million users.
Lord Knight succeeds Michael Wemms who served two terms as E-ACT’s chair of the Board of Trustees. He said: “I am delighted to be joining E-ACT as the chair of the Board of Trustees and look forward to working with people across trust to support the great work already happening in our academies.
“The trust is in brilliant shape, and it is an exciting time to be part of E-ACT. This is down to the incredible efforts of many talented people across the trust who have dedicated themselves to supporting our pupils to develop skills in new and exciting ways.
“It is our priority to continue to encourage our children to believe in their own power to change their lives.”
E-ACT’s Chief Executive, Jane Millward, said: “In Lord Knight, we have an outstanding chair who will provide stewardship and support at this pivotal moment in our trust’s history.
“Coupled with his incredible passion for improving outcomes for children and young people, I have no doubt that Jim’s intimate knowledge of our sector and understanding of the broader landscape position him well for his role as chair.”
Staff across E-ACT are very much looking forward to Jim joining us and benefitting from his broad experience and knowledge.