governance arrangements

Trust governance consists of the principles set out below, the Trust Articles of Association and the detail set out in the Scheme of Delegation.

1. The Trust actively carries out self-review to ensure and build its effectiveness. It reviews itself regularly to understand current capacity to support and drive school improvement and to identify how and where to build and strengthen current capacity and potential to grow capacity to support more schools.

2. The Trust does not enter into any connected party transactions with trustees on the Trust’s Board.

3. Governance is underpinned by the Scheme of Delegation: this establishes and documents who is responsible for policy and operational decision making. The Scheme sets out the decisions reserved to the Trust Board and those delegated to LGCs, Heads/Principals.

4. The Trust Board also operates two sub committees of the Trust Board – ‘Finance, Audit and Risk’ and ‘Curriculum, Performance and Standards’; to split out work of the board. The Terms of Reference to each subcommittee set out their delegated remit.

5. The Executive (ie Heads/Principals of the Trust’s Academies and the Trust Operations and Finance Officer), not Trustees or Governors, are responsible for all operational activity and decisions. Trustees and Governors hold the Executive to account for their actions through the system of assurance reporting.

6. The Trust operates a differentiated Scheme of Delegation for Local Governing Committees subject to an annual review. LGCs may arrange themselves into a single committee or into different sub committees with remits as agreed locally within overall delegated authority from the Trust Board.

7. The Trust Board is committed to, and ensures, that financial governance is compliant with the principles and regulations of the Academy Trust Handbook. Where local oversight of finance is in place for LGCs, appropriate assurances are in place from the Trust Board to check LGCs are compliant with the Academy Trust Handbook.

8. The Central Trust provides a range of services to Trust academies. A statement of the services provided, and their cost and funding, is reviewed annually for value for money by the Board and provided to each Local Governing Committee.

9. The Trust Board has overall responsibility and ultimate decision-making authority for all the activities of the Trust, including establishment and management of the academies and admission of additional schools to the Trust.

10. Effective governance in the Trust is supported through:

a. Trust Members – the guardians of the constitution.

b. Trust Board – the trustees

c. Trust Full Board Committees – of which there are two: Finance, Audit and Risk, and Curriculum, Performance and Standards.

d. Link Trustees – a Trustee acts as a link Trustee to each school/LGC in the Trust and is able to attend LGC meetings to share information between Trust and LGC.

e. Heads Group – of the Head Teachers/ Principal within the Trust

f. The Chairs’ Forum – whereon the Chair of the Trust Board meets termly with the Chairs of the Local Governing Committees.

g. Local Governing Committees – technically also Committees of the Full Board, overseeing and providing assurance to the Board as to the effectiveness of the local academy governance.

h. The Trust Leadership Team (TLT) (the Executive) – the Trust Leader (CEO), Headteachers and Chief Operations and Finance Officer. The wider Senior Leadership Teams of the Academies (SLT) supports the TLT.

11. The Trust operates Strategic (Board level) and operational (Local Governing Committee level) risk management. The Risk Registers and related risk management processes are overseen by the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.

12. Annual Business Plans are agreed and in place for the Trust Board, Trust Board Committees and LGCs. These include an agreed Programme of Policy Review, assurance reporting and Governance Improvement Plan.

Intervention Powers

The Trust Board attaches great importance to the role of the Local Governing Committees which underpin the performance of the Trust. Whilst through the Scheme of Delegation, LGCs are granted a varying degree of autonomy, the Trust Board remains ultimately responsible for the conduct and performance of the Trust and of Trust academies. The Trust Board therefore reserves the right to review, vary or remove any power or responsibility which it has delegated, where it considers this to be necessary in the best interests of the Trust.

For example, and as an exception, circumstances may arise which require the Trust Board to intervene and, for example, withdraw or modify delegated authority from an LGC, or from the Executive. Where this became necessary, the Trust Board would work closely with the Trust Principal, TLT and (where required) the academy. Those involved in governance would be expected promptly to implement any advice or recommendations made by the Trust Board and/or TLT.

Local Governing Committees

The Trust Board is legally responsible for the performance of each Academy. The Board requires the active support of LGCs to provide assurance and oversight of effective governance at individual Academy level.

Local Governing Committee links:

Thomas Estley Community College - https://thomasestley.org.uk/governance

Cosby Primary School - https://www.cosby.school/about-us/governors

Hallbrook Primary School - https://www.hallbrook.leics.sch.uk/page/?title=Governors&pid=87

Richmond Primary School - https://www.richmond.leics.sch.uk/governors/meet-our-governors