Governance
As a UK registered charity no. 1136600, we are fully compliant with UK charity law and guidance and follow the Governance Code.
The code has seven principles; leadership; integrity, decision making, risk and control, board effectiveness, diversity, openness and accountability, all underpinning organisational purpose. The Charity Governance Code represents a standard of good governance practice to which all charities should aspire.
Aprender places the standards and practices prescribed in the code at the heart of our foundation. They shape our behaviour, attitudes and culture. They guide our trustees to make informed decisions.
Trustees
The Board are accountable to our donors and the UK Charity Commission and are responsible for the charity's compliance with charity regulations and UK law including safeguarding and data protection. They are also volunteers, providing their time, practical advice, skills and raising funds.
Phil Hawkins
CEO
Phil is the founder of Aprender. He has 20 years teaching experience in the UK working in schools in London. He holds a Post-Graduate certificate in Education, the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and a Diploma in Whole School Evaluation. He was Deputy Head Teacher for 5 years before moving to Brazil for 6 years, returning to the UK in 2016, where he now works in international education development.
Neil Walker
Chair of Trustees
Neil currently works in the IT sector and brings business and corporate governance experience from the retail, financial services, information services and health industries to the Board. He is involved with a number of charities and community groups.
Helen Gash
Treasurer
Helen has a background in school finance and supporting educators in leadership roles. She is currently HR Manager for a Surrey Multi Academy Trust. She has also been involved in fundraising for local charities.
Mary Nima
Lead on Safeguarding
Mary is a highly experienced secondary English teacher who has management responsibility in a large state school. Her areas of expertise include curriculum planning, assessment systems, pedagogy and teacher performance management. She enjoys building relationships with students and educators.
David Plummer
Trustee
David is an entrepreneur, experienced senior executive and turnaround specialist with a broad frame of reference and depth of experience gained within his own, private and public companies. He has held senior leadership positions in a number of public companies, worked in over sixty countries around the world and possesses a high level of functional expertise as well as thirty years experience of leading and managing change.
Waheeb Nima
Trustee
Waheeb is a Syrian-born university professor who has taught English Language and Literature in Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian universities. For the past 16 years he has been based in the UK and now runs a computer-hardware computer solution company.
Policies
Aprender has developed a full range of policies and would draw special attention to the following, copies of which are available on request:
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Safeguarding & child protection
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Equality & diversity
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Modern slavery
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Privacy
Sustainability
We take our commitment to green travel seriously. We only fly when necessary which means either:
At the start of a project to assess needs on the ground and to build relationships - key for any transformation, or;
To carry out monitoring and evaluation that is not possible via remote assessment.
We aim to be carbon neutral and, where possible, carbon negative. We do this by using Coco+, a green, carbon offsetting, travel company, and by investing in carbon offsetting projects around the world through Ecologi.
Values
Our values drive everything we do, all decisions that we take, and all relationships that we build. We know that when teachers are empowered, included, loved, known and valued, amazing things happen in a school and community.
