The three core functions of the Board of Directors are to:
Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
- Ensure the Trust has a clear idea of what it wants to achieve, and a plan for how to achieve it.
- Help set and embed the Trust’s vision, ethos and strategy, and use these to monitor how the Trust is doing.
Hold executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff.
- Ensure that Trust leaders are using their professional judgement properly and managing the performance of staff and pupils effectively.
- Ensure that the information received from the Trust leaders is accurate.
Oversee the financial performance of the organisation and make sure money is well spent
- Monitor the Trust’s finances and make sure the trust is achieving value for money.
- Ensure that public money is spent correctly in the best interests of your pupils.
The Board of Directors
Ethos, Learning & Standards Committee Remit
Chair of Committee
Barbara Manning
Constitution
Three Directors
Invited representatives
CEO
Director of Education
Review:
- Hold the Trust’s leadership to account for academic performance, quality of care and quality of provision.
- Monitor the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the educational leadership and management of the Trust and of each school.
- Review the Trust’s self-evaluation of the above areas and agree priorities for improvement in future development planning.
Curriculum, Standards, Teaching and Learning
- Receive reports from the CEO and Head Teachers on curriculum and standards matters across the Trust. Monitor trends in attendance, exclusions, punctuality and discipline.
- Receive reports on the quality of teaching and learning across the Trust and identify improvement actions where required.
- Monitor the Trust’s provision for children with special needs and ensure all relevant legal requirements are being met.
- Ensure that each school fulfils its legal requirement to publish information about their standards and curriculum.
- Regularly review Section B11,B12,D1 and D5 of the Risk Register for each school and ensure that:
it is up to date
the judgments set out there are sound
the actions identified are appropriate and are being delivered
Safeguarding
- Receive reports from the CEO, Head Teachers and external agencies on safeguarding matters. Monitor trends in referrals to and from other agencies, attendance, exclusions, punctuality and discipline.
- Regularly review Section C4 and C5 of the Risk Register 2022-23 for each school and (where appropriate) the Trust and ensure that
it is up to date
the judgments set out there are sound
the actions identified are appropriate and are being delivered
Policies
- Consider and recommend revisions to policies which relate to the Committee’s remit including special educational needs, support for learning, gifted and talented students, spiritual, moral and cultural development, attendance, punctuality, behaviour, healthy schools, rewards and sanctions, home-school agreements, uniform, homework, educational visits, equal opportunities, sex and relationships and drug awareness education.
Engagement
- Promote partnership working between parents / carers and the Trust’s schools to promote high standards of attendance, behaviour and learning by students.
- Promote positive relationships with the communities served by the MAT, including parents, other professionals, the local authority and the diocese.
General
- Review or investigate any other matters referred to the Committee by the Board.
- Advise the Board of any changes the Committee considers necessary to its terms of reference or the sections of the Risk Management Framework for which it is responsible.
- Draw any matters of concern to the attention of the Board
Resources, Pay and Performance Committee Remit
Chair of Committee
Julie Argyle
Robyn Fisher
Constitution
Three Directors
Invited representatives
CEO
Chief Finance & Operations Officer
Review
- Review the financial implications of each year’s indicative funding and advise the Board of any issues arising.
- Review and recommend to the Board for agreement the financial and resourcing elements of the Trust’s and each school’s improvement plan. Monitor performance against these plans and any other KPIs established by the Board.
- Liaise with and receive reports from other committees and make recommendations to those committees and the Board about the financial and resourcing aspects of matters being considered by them.
- Hold the Trust and each school’s leadership to account for their financial performance and use of resources.
Financial Management
- Monitor and review compliance with, and the effectiveness of, the Trust’s financial procedures.
- Monitor the overall effectiveness and efficiency of financial resource management and financial reporting at Trust and school levels.
Health and Safety, Premises and Assets
- Receive reports from the CEO , Head Teachers and external agencies on matters relating to health and safety, premises and assets. Identify required actions and make recommendations to the Board accordingly.
Data Protection
- Receive reports from the CEO , Head Teachers and external agencies on data protection matters including GDPR. Identify required actions and make recommendations to the Board accordingly.
Staffing and Pay
- Receive reports from the CEO , Head Teachers and external agencies on staffing matters. Identify required actions and make recommendations to the Board accordingly.
- Act as the Pay Committee for the purpose of approving the pay recommendations of the CEO and Head Teachers.
Financial Reporting
- Keep under review the actions and judgements of the Board and officers which affect the Trust’s financial reporting, in particular;
- key accounting policies and practices
- decisions requiring a major element of judgement
- unusual or complex transactions in the year and how they are disclosed
- the clarity and transparency of disclosures
- significant adjustments resulting from the audit
- going concern issues
- compliance with accounting standards, legal and DfE requirements
Policies
- Consider and recommend revisions to policies which relate to the Committee’s remit including finance, financial regulations, charging and remissions, health and safety, business continuity, data protection, pay, discipline, capability, grievance.
Risk, Compliance & Audit Committee – Scope
Chair of Committee
Leonie Mackenzie
Jane Swift
Constitution
Three Directors
Invited representatives
CEO
Chief Finance & Operations Officer
The Committee will:
- advise the board on the effectiveness and resources of the external/internal auditors or scrutineers to provide a basis for their reappointment, dismissal, retendering, or remuneration.
- ensure there is co-ordination between internal audit/scrutiny and external audit and any other review bodies that are relevant
- consider the reports of the auditors/scrutineers and, when appropriate, advise the Trust Board of material control issues.
- encourage a culture within the Trust whereby each individual feels that he or she has a part to play in guarding the probity of the Trust, and is able to take any concerns or worries to an appropriate member of the management team or in exceptional circumstances directly to the Board of Trustees
In relation to external audit, the Committee will
- review the external auditor’s plan each year
- review the annual report and accounts
- review the auditor’s findings and actions taken by the Trust’s SLT in response to those findings
- produce an annual report of the committee’s conclusions to advise the board of Trustees and members.
In relation to internal scrutiny, the Committee will
- take delegated responsibility on behalf of the Board of Trustees for ensuring that all systems and methods of control both financial and otherwise including risk analysis and risk management are regularly reviewed; and for ensuring the Trust is complying with the overall requirements for internal scrutiny, as specified in the Academies Financial Handbook.
- conduct a regular review of the risk register
- agree an annual programme of internal scrutiny / audit, which is objective and independent, covering systems, controls, transactions, and risks.
- advise the Board on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Trust’s systems of internal control, governance, and risk management processes,
- consider the appropriateness of executive action following internal audit/internal scrutiny reviews and to advise the Board on any additional or alternative steps to be taken
Chairs of LSC Forum
Constitution
- Chair of the Board of Directors
- LSC Chairs
Key Responsibilities
- To provide an environment for open and honest communication and discussion on matters of celebration or improvement.
- To ensure the Christian distinctiveness and ethos are upheld in our church schools.
- To ensure that the ethos and vision is upheld in our community schools.
- To contribute to and be advised of strategic developments of the School Trust and individual school.
- To receive information updates from the Board.
- To ensure that the information from the Board is disseminated to the Local Schools Committees.
- To provide feedback on areas of consultation requested by the Board.
- To agree relevant items to be taken to the Board.