Trustee

Becoming a Trustee

for Autism Early Support
2026

Firstly, thank you for your interest in becoming a Trustee for Autism Early Support Trust Ltd.
(“AES”) in doing so you would become part of our exciting and dynamic organisation.

At AES we are extremely proud of the quality of the services we provide and our commitment
and  proven  track  record  of  supporting  families  and  children  with  autism  and  other
communication difficulties.

But, we live in challenging times, and critical to the future success and sustainability of AES is
strong governance.  We have ambitious plans for expansion and for the development of our
pioneering services, and as an organisation we believe that our Trustees are central to our
success.

Our Trustees have the responsibility for developing and guiding our strategic direction, as well
as for ensuring that the activities and policies adopted by AES support the achievement of our
charitable objects and purposes.  The role can be challenging, but at the same time, it is also
extremely rewarding.

You would be joining us at an exciting time, as this year we celebrate our 25th Anniversary of
supporting local children and their families.

We outline here the full extent of the Trustee role and the work of Autism Early Support and
you can see our work in action here.

Best wishes

Graham Wylie

Chair, AES Board of Trustees

  © 2026 Autism Early Support Trust Ltd  Company No: 07553552 registered in England
The Old School, Middle Claydon, Buckingham, MK18 2ET
Registered Charity No: 1141868

Who we are

Autism Early Support Trust Ltd. (“AES”) offers early support and specialist education to autistic
children, children with sensory, communication and interaction differences and their families.

We believe every child should have the chance to find their place in the world, be able to
communicate their needs and learn alongside their peers with acceptance and support.

We aim to work alongside parents and practitioners to give every child the foundations they need for
the next stage of their education. If we can enable a child to feel safe and understood, they become
happier and they can flourish.

AES was established in 2001 and was formerly known as the Puzzle Centre.

What we do

Our early support and specialist education encompasses specific, structured and targeted
neurodiversity affirming approaches founded on established research, evidence-based practice and
our extensive experience.

Through our services, we aim to equip all children with the tools and confidence they need to
communicate, explore, play and enjoy the world around them. In response to the child’s needs,
wants and preferences, we make environmental adaptations and create the support a child needs to
feel ready to learn.

Help is accessed through the Circle Centre, our specialist nursery near Buckingham and our Outreach
Service, which supports families in the community and online through projects including The Parent’s
Portal, Parent Support Groups, and Assessments and Support Packages.

Our Approach

Through our services we encourage autistic children and children with sensory, communication and
interactions differences to be their authentic selves without needing to mask or change themselves
to feel accepted in a non-autistic majority society. Our specialist multi-disciplinary team of teachers,
occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, nursery co-ordinators and learning
assistants identify and put the supports in place to make a child feel safe and regulated so they can
enjoy learning. Alongside this, we work with parents and carers to help them to feel confident in
supporting their child and in advocating for their individual needs.

Our supports are always:

Child-led: We look at everything through the child’s lens first, their well-being and happiness is
always our priority. We focus on understanding and appreciating the child’s perspective, we do not
work towards trying to change them. We accommodate each child’s needs to maximise function and
use their skills and strengths to enable the child to thrive, learn and develop.

Needs-led: Regardless of diagnosis, we listen to the parent, we observe the child and we work with
them to support the areas of need.

Focussed on a child’s strengths: We design our support around the child’s strength, interests and
preferences to optimise engagement and enable the child to thrive.

  © 2026 Autism Early Support Trust Ltd  Company No: 07553552 registered in England
The Old School, Middle Claydon, Buckingham, MK18 2ET
Registered Charity No: 1141868

Neurodiversity affirming: We listen to and believe there is always more to learn from the
neurodivergent population. We strive to adapt and tailor our support to reflect these perspectives.

Our Strategy & Purpose

To fulfil the purpose and aims of our organisation, we follow a strategic plan as a framework for our
roadmap. Our current strategy focuses on three key objectives:

•  Deliver exemplary children’s services
•  Develop and grow our outreach services
•  Build a sustainable income and resource base.

And within our objectives we have five aims:

•  Children’s services are an exemplar of best practice
•  Maintain ‘Outstanding’ (Ofsted) in our flagship nursery
•  Support more families and practitioners through outreach
•  Develop and empower an active parent support network
•  Cultivate, retain and develop our key stakeholders
•  Drive growth through voluntary and trading income.

Our longer-term plans map out our drive to:

Improve outcomes for more autistic children and their families

•
•  Become recognised as UK leaders in autism education
•  Achieve financial stability & independence
•  Develop strategic partnerships to raise our profile and influence change

  © 2026 Autism Early Support Trust Ltd  Company No: 07553552 registered in England
The Old School, Middle Claydon, Buckingham, MK18 2ET
Registered Charity No: 1141868

Today’s Challenges

A key part of the trustee’s role is to help the charity navigate the changing landscape by staying
abreast of change and supporting the senior team to stay deliver on remain agile and able to deliver
on our strategic aims.

Today the UK charity sector is impacted by a unique and challenging set of circumstances driven by
global and national economic and political forces. Demand for services is increasing, while high levels
of inflation and increased costs are affecting income. Donations year-on-year are worth less in real
terms and sector-wide, there is a reported 40% drop in donations as the cost-of-living crisis is directly
impacting levels of disposable income.

Like many small charities, we are finding the current economic climate challenging.
By response, we are doing everything possible to remain agile and minimise risk by accessing funds
from a range of sources and enhancing our offering through new services like The Parent’s Portal.
Plus, we have recently restructured our fundraising team to include marketing experience, as we see
this as critical to our continued growth.

Another sector-wide issue affecting us today is staff recruitment and retention. A recent CAF
Research Report found 60% of charities are struggling to recruit or retain suitably qualified
candidates and volunteers, and 70% of charities say the rising cost of living is affecting their
workforce.  Moreover, we are reliant on professions of which there is a national shortage -
occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and early years practitioners are incredibly
hard to find and recruit.   It is therefore key that we continually invest in our talent through well-
being initiatives, training and professional development.

Whilst we ourselves navigate these challenges, we are acutely aware that for the families we support
this is an added layer of pressure for their struggle.  So, despite today’s backdrop, our staff and
trustees remain focussed on our cause and on making a lasting difference to the children and
families we work with.

  © 2026 Autism Early Support Trust Ltd  Company No: 07553552 registered in England
The Old School, Middle Claydon, Buckingham, MK18 2ET
Registered Charity No: 1141868

Why become a Trustee?

You give back to your community

As a Trustee, you can donate your skills, time and attention to a cause you love.
Trustees are often drawn to a charity because they’re passionate about a particular cause, whether
that’s something they're interested in or something they've experienced themselves

You can expand your professional experience

Trustees are exposed to a wide range of skills needed to oversee a charity: strategy and business
planning, governance, HR, finance, marketing, fundraising, evaluation, property law and more. It can
be an effective way to build your skills and your CV.

You can share your skills, knowledge and experience

Everyone has something unique and valuable to offer a charity.  Serving as a Trustee can be
extremely personally rewarding.

Our Board of Trustees

Our Board is responsible for agreeing the strategic direction of the charity, setting the budgetary
framework and deciding upon major undertakings. Responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the
charity is delegated to Sarah Sweet-Rowley, our Chief Executive Officer, who reports to the Trustees
on a regular basis. This ensures that our Trustees have all the information they need to monitor
progress and agree any strategic or budgetary adjustments which may become necessary.

As a Board we must always:

➢  act in the best interests of Autism Early Support Trust Ltd. (“AES”), exercising the same

standard of duty of care that a prudent person would apply if looking after the affairs of
someone for whom they have responsibility
➢  act collectively as a group and not as individuals
➢  ensure that all of our decisions and actions are consistent with AES’s values and how the
charity is seen by the people and organisations who are involved in our work and by the
wider public

➢  have regard to the proper use of our power and act in line with our Charity Articles and our

own aims and values

➢  ensure that AES follows the law

We also consider rules, codes and standards, and follow regulatory guidance, the Charity Ethical
Principles and other good practice initiatives that promote confidence in charities and create a
supportive environment. You are not expected to have a detailed knowledge of the legislation that
governs our work, as our staff will support you. However, you should be aware that legislation exists
and where necessary you should be satisfied that the charity has Policies and Procedures and
reporting mechanisms in place in order to ensure compliance.

As a Trustee you will need:

➢  a commitment to the vision, mission and values of AES
➢  to be willing to meet the minimum time requirement
➢
➢  good strategic vision and independent judgement
➢  creative thinking skills

integrity

  © 2026 Autism Early Support Trust Ltd  Company No: 07553552 registered in England
The Old School, Middle Claydon, Buckingham, MK18 2ET
Registered Charity No: 1141868

➢  team working skills
➢  an understanding of the experiences, needs and challenges faced by the people we support

(or at least a willingness to learn more)

➢  to comply with our Code of Conduct and AES policies

What’s involved in being a Trustee

Time commitment

Our Board meets six times a year. Meetings usually last for two hours and they start at 6pm. They are
either of Zoom or face to face at the charity’s office in Buckingham. We distribute digital papers one
week in advance of meetings.

Trustees are invited to attend a strategic Away Day which is held on a weekday once a year.

In addition, Trustees are each assigned oversight of an area that presents key strategic risk or
opportunity and this usually relates to their specific interest and expertise.  This allows for a
mechanism to audit procedures, stay focussed on priority areas and provide a further layer of
counsel to the senior team.

Trustees are asked to take part in our cycle of monitoring visits and to visit the Circle Centre nursery.
Primarily to meet the children and parents to understand first-hand the nature of our work, and the
challenges and differences the children face. The visit also helps trustees appreciate where they can
best support the organisation and staff.

It will vary from time to time, but the role could require up to 2-3 hours per week.  Many of our
Trustees work full time, so could advise on balancing the time commitments.

Term of office

Trustees are appointed for a minimum of 3 years and can continue for a further two periods of 3
years (maximum term 9 years).

The role is voluntary

Trustees are volunteers and their role is unpaid. This does not form any type of employment contract
and should not be interpreted as such.

The role holds responsibility

•  Trustees have, and must accept, ultimate responsibility for directing the affairs of AES,

ensuring that it is well-run and delivering the charitable outcomes for the benefit of the
public for which it was formed. The Board ensures that all of its decisions and actions are
consistent with the charity’s values.

•
•

•

•

Trustees have a formal responsibility to ensure that AES complies with:
charity law, and the requirements of the Charity Commission as regulator
the requirements or rules, and the charitable purpose and objects, set out in AES’s own
governing document (our Charity Articles).
the requirements of other legislation and other regulators which govern the activities of the
charity including OFSTED (The Office for Standards in Education Children’s Services and Skills)
the requirement for Trustees to act with integrity, and avoid any personal conflicts of interest
or misuse of charity funds or assets

  © 2026 Autism Early Support Trust Ltd  Company No: 07553552 registered in England
The Old School, Middle Claydon, Buckingham, MK18 2ET
Registered Charity No: 1141868

Duty of prudence:

•  ensure that AES is and will remain solvent
•  use charitable funds and assets wisely, and only to further the purposes and interests of

AES

•  avoid undertaking activities that might place AES’s property, funds, assets or reputation

at undue risk
take special care when investing the funds of AES, or borrowing funds for AES to use

•

Duty of care:

•  exercise reasonable care and skill as Trustees, using personal knowledge and experience to

•

ensure that the charity is well run and efficient
consider getting external professional advice on all matters where there may be material risk
to AES, or where the Trustees may be in breach of their duties

•  protect and safeguard people, Trustees must take steps to protect from harm the people

who come into contact with AES, including:
o  people who benefit from our work
o  staff
o  volunteers

Trustees must ensure that AES:

•  pursues its Objects and Purposes, as set out in its governing document (our Articles)
•  uses its assets exclusively to pursue those aims
•  always acts in the interest of its beneficiaries

Trustees should also:

•  make decisions for the good of AES
•  uphold and promote the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism, and
ensure that these are embedded in the organisation and that they help to deliver the
charity’s public benefit

•  avoid conflict with personal interests (in accordance with our Conflict of Interest policy)
•  ensure there are no profits resulting from the role.

  © 2026 Autism Early Support Trust Ltd  Company No: 07553552 registered in England
The Old School, Middle Claydon, Buckingham, MK18 2ET
Registered Charity No: 1141868

The process of becoming a Trustee with AES

It will start with the submission of an application form, a meeting with our CEO and Chair and a visit
to the Circle Centre.

Following these stages, all trustees then undergo:

1.  A Trustee disqualification check

Individuals are automatically disqualified as charity Trustees if they:

•  have unspent convictions for offences of dishonesty or deception
•  are currently declared bankrupt or subject to bankruptcy restrictions or an interim order
•  are subject to a debt relief order, a debt relief restrictions order or interim order
•  have been disqualified from being a company director
•  have previously been removed as a Trustee, or as a charity officer, agent or employee, by the

Commission or the High Court due to misconduct or mismanagement.

2.  An Ofsted EY2 submission and Enhanced DBS check

The check will show the full details of a person’s criminal record such as cautions, reprimands,
warnings, spent and unspent convictions.
Any information given will be treated in the strictest confidence. Suitable applicants will not be
refused a role because of spent offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or
make them a risk in, this role.  All cases will be examined on an individual basis.

3. The request for two recent reference

On successful completion of these requirements an induction process would begin which in the
first instance would involve meeting the full staff and trustee team.

  © 2026 Autism Early Support Trust Ltd  Company No: 07553552 registered in England
The Old School, Middle Claydon, Buckingham, MK18 2ET
Registered Charity No: 1141868