Governance / Local Governance of an Academy

1. Governance / Local Governance of an Academy Welcome Clive Haines & Rebecca Walker

2. Being in a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) • Sharing best practice • Economic benefits, such as centralised services. The ability to focus funds where they are most needed. • Increased and flexible staffing resources • The opportunity to establish succession planning programmes and, in doing so, retain good staff who might otherwise move on – including headteachers

3. Who does what • Members The members are akin to the shareholders of a company. They have ultimate control over the academy trust, with the ability to appoint some of the trustees and the right to amend the trust’s articles of association. • Trustees The board of trustees (sometimes called board of directors) is responsible for the same three core governance functions as performed by the governing body in a maintained school: setting the strategic direction, holding the headteacher to account and ensuring financial probity. • Local governors Individuals sitting on local governing boards (LGBs) are referred to as ‘local governors’. The board of trustees has complete discretion over what is delegated to the LGBs in the trust. LGBs are sometimes called Academy Committees.

4. Question What is your understanding of your role as governor in a/your Local Governing Board (LGB)?

5. Roles and Responsibilities • In all types of schools, governance should have a strong focus on three core strategic functions: • Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction • Holding the school’s leadership to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils • Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure it’s money is well spent • To ensure the school provides the best possible education for its pupils. • This ‘core role’ focus applies at ALL levels of governance

6. Possible Level/Structure of Reporting

7. Delegation of functions The board of trustees has complete discretion over what is delegated to each LGB. They may, for example, decide to delegate all functions Trustees should be satisfied about the local governing board’s ability to adequately perform any functions delegated to them. How will you know what functions are delegated to the LGB?

8. Scheme of delegation The board of trustees is accountable for the functions it has delegated. Therefore, it is important that it is aware of what is happening in each school. The trust should have a scheme of delegation that sets out which functions have been delegated and how the local governing boards will report back to the board of trustees.

9. Scheme of delegation • Sets out the governance and management structures for the MAT. • Sets out the rules for operation and code of conduct for the trust’s governance, including for the Local Governing Boards. • Sets out who makes the decisions for what: • Members / Directors / LGB / Accounting Officer / Headteacher etc

10. Example scheme of delegation table Key: A = provide advice and support to those accountable for decision making

11. Core role 1: Strategic Direction • What does this role look like for the LGB, in the wider context? • Who is responsible for: • Vision, ethos and values? • Key priorities for school improvement? • Policies? • Leadership appointments?

12. Core role 2: Support and Challenge Governance enhances school leadership by providing support and challenge. Governors hold the headteacher to account for the impact of the school’s work on improving outcomes for all pupils. (Ofsted)

13. The challenge/support cycle • Recognising and celebrating the achievements of the school. • Recognising where the school is not achieving as it should. • Encouraging strategies to bring about school improvement, and ensuring funds / resources are aligned accordingly. • Monitoring the effectiveness and impact of these strategies - OVER TIME

14. Support and challenge in a MAT • How does the trust ensure statutory compliance at school-level? • How does LGB report to the trust on progress in the school’s key priority areas? • What is the process for Headteacher’s appraisal?

15. Core role 3: Financial probity • How does the trust / LGB ensure funds are ‘well spent’, and in alignment with the school’s key priorities? • How is the annual budget plan approved? • How is expenditure monitored over time? • What is in place to ensure that both benchmarking/local issues (input) and the evaluation of impact (output) are informing budget planning and decision making? • How are staff pay decisions made?

16. Communication and reporting LGBs are effectively sub-committees of the board of trustees, with the overall accountability for governance remaining with the trustees. Where a remit, decision or responsibility is delegated to the LGB, there is a statutory duty for the LGB to report back to on the actions it has taken under that delegation, and why. • How does this happen? • What is the evidence? How would Ofsted know? • Are there or could there be a risk of duplication at the different levels of meetings?

17. Communication and reporting How does the trust communicate re its governance arrangements to the outside world? How does the LGB feed into this? Governors must also provide an annual governance statement, which is published by the Education Funding Agency (under the ‘Academies Accounts Direction’) and which should explain governance structures.

18. Resources https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-in-multi-academy-trusts https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811261/Academies_Financial_Handbook_2019.pdf