Governance
Strong governance is an essential element in achieving our aim of outstanding academies. Our governance structure ensures robust monitoring of strategy, systems and procedures and policies, which ensures the highest levels of support for our schools – making remarkable change happen.
Our Governance Structure
The Trust Board
The members of the trust have a different status to trustees. The members appoint trustees to ensure that the trust’s charitable object is carried out and so must be able to remove trustees if they fail to fulfil this responsibility. Members are responsible for approving any amendments made to the trust’s Articles of Association. In order to retain a degree of separation of powers between the members and the trust board, and in line with DfE expectations, the chair of the trust board is the only trustee who is also a member. Members are not permitted to be employees of the academy trust.
| Name of Member | Appointed by | From |
|---|---|---|
| Lesley Christine Birch | Appointed by academy members | 11/12/2017 |
| Paul Marshall | Appointed by academy members | 11/12/2017 |
| Christine Quinn | Appointed by academy members | 15/07/2020 |
| Mike Gee (Represents our Member CDET) | Appointed by academy members | 18/12/23 |
The trustees are the charity trustees (within the terms of section 177(1) of the Charities Act 2011) and are responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the trust in accordance with the provisions set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. The board of trustees is the accountable body for the performance of all schools within the trust and as such must: – Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction – Hold the executive to account for the educational performance of the schools and their pupils, and the performance management of staff – Oversee the financial performance of the trust and make sure its money is well spent. Because trustees are bound by both charity and company law, the terms ‘trustees’ and ‘directors’ are often used interchangeably. We use the term trustee as it avoids the possible confusion caused when executive leaders are called directors but are not company directors and trustees.
| Name of Trustee | Appointed by | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Willett | Appointed by board | 04/02/2020 | 03/02/2024 |
| Lloyd Spencer-Whitcomb | Appointed by academy members | 04/02/2020 | 03/02/2024 |
| Laura Barbrook | Appointed by academy members | 08/05/2019 | 08/05/2023 |
| Gordon D S Jones | Appointed by academy members | 01/04/2019 | 01/04/2023 |
| Ian D Jacobs | Appointed by academy members | 01/04/2019 | 01/04/2023 |
| Dean Patrick Sykes | Appointed by academy members | 18/10/2021 | 17/10/2025 |
| Tim John Coulson | Appointed by board | 01/07/2017 | |
| Roger Edward Quince | Appointed by academy members | 18/10/2021 | 17/10/2025 |
| Christine Quinn (Chair) | Appointed by academy members | 03/07/2020 | 02/07/2024 |
| Appointed Chair by board | 15/07/2020 | ||
| Janet Morris | Appointed by academy members | 15/09/2021 | 14/09/2025 |
The Chief Executive has the delegated responsibility for the operation of the trust including the performance of the trust’s academies and so manages the academy headteachers. The Chief Executive is the accounting officer so has overall responsibility for the operation of the academy trust’s financial responsibilities and must ensure that the organisation is run with financial effectiveness and stability; avoiding waste and securing value for money. The Chief Executive leads the executive management team of the academy trust and will delegate executive management functions to the executive management team and is accountable to the trust board for the performance of the executive management team.
| Name of Director | Role/Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Dr Tim Coulson | Chief Executive Officer |
| Sarah Garner | Deputy CEO & Director of Finance & HR |
| Darren Woodward | Executive Director of Primary |
| Matthew Fuller | Director of Primary |
| Toni Kittle | Director of Primary |
| Gemma Frost | Director of Primary |
| Stephen Astley | Executive Director of Secondary |
| Rosemary Prince | Director of Secondary Education |
| Debbie Willson | Director of Operations |
| Andy Samways | Director of Unity Research School |
| Lucie Calow | Director of SEND |
| George Ellis | Director of SEND |
| Nick Froy | Director of Secondary |
| Angela Bull | Director of HR |
| Lisa Taylor | Trust Secretary |
Past Members & Trustees
The list below is compiled of Members and Trustees that have served in the last 12 months and who are no longer serving.
| Name of Member or Trustee | Role | Appointed by | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Elbourne | Member | Members | 01/04/18 | Resigned 21/09/2021 |
| Nick Jenkins | Trustee | Members | 08/05/19 | Resigned 15/01/2021 |
| Michael Parish | Chair of Trustees | Members | 14/06/17 | Resigned 28/03/2020 |
| John Smith | Non-Executive Director | Members | 22/11/17 | Resigned 04/02/2020 |
| Mark Spencer Ellis | Represented our Member CDET | Members | 10/02/22 | Resigned 31/06/23 |
Trust Committees
| Committee | Members | Remit |
|---|---|---|
| Audit & Risk Committee | Laura Barbrook (Chair) Roger Quince Ian Jacobs | The Committee will provide an independent and objective view of the Trust’s internal control environment and the systems and processes by which the Trust leads, directs and controls its functions in order to achieve organisational objectives. Terms of Reference |
| Finance Committee | Andrew Willet (Chair) Gordon Jones Christine Quinn | The Committee will provide an independent and objective view of the Trust’s responsibility and accountabilities highlighted within the Articles of Association, Academies Financial Handbook and the Trust Scheme of Delegation. Terms of Reference |
| People Committee | Lloyd Spencer Witcomb (Chair) Vicki Badham Gordon Jones Dean Sykes Ruth Dickens | The Committee will agree with the Board the framework or broad policy for the remuneration of the Trust’s chief executive and the board directors, plus any other designated senior executives, in line with the Trust’s agreed strategic objectives and priorities. Terms of Reference |
| Standards Committee | Christine Quinn (Chair) Ian Jacobs Roger Quince | Terms of Reference |
| Safeguarding Monitoring Committee | Ian Jacobs (Chair) Lloyd Spencer Witcomb Roger Quince | The Committee has responsibility for monitoring the Trust’s safeguarding culture and practice across its schools, ensuring compliance with law, guidance and advice. The Committee will assist the Board to fulfil their strategic leadership responsibility for schools’ safeguarding arrangements, ensuring that they comply with their duties under legislation. These include ensuring policies, procedures and training are effective and comply with the law at all times. Terms of Reference |
Our Local Governing Bodies
The role of the Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) has evolved, particularly in the past two years, and governors are now focusing more on the quality of education and the curriculum to ensure that every child is receiving a broad and balanced education, improving outcomes for all pupils, and wider community engagement.
We develop and support our governing bodies so that they can competently discharge their three core strategic functions:
- Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
- Holding the headteacher to account for the educational performance of the academy and its pupils
- Overseeing the financial performance of the academy and making sure its money is well spent
The relationship between each academy and the trust is clearly defined through Terms of Reference and Scheme of Delegation. They provide clear lines of responsibility and accountability and help governors on Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) focus on what really matters – performance and achievement in the classroom.
We expect our governors to uphold and promote the trust’s core values.
We have a structured approach to holding governance reviews that show what governors are doing well and identify the support and training that they need.
Our induction training provides all governors with a clear idea of what good governance means to the trust and how they can fulfil this important role.