Governance
Outstanding governance is central to the success of Spencer academies, helping to set the direction of our schools and providing the supportive challenge needed to raise standards.
The governance structure of Spencer Academies Trust is detailed within a master funding agreement, along with supplemental funding agreements between the Trust and the Department for Education for each individual academy.
The Trust’s Members are, in essence, the shareholders of the company. They are appointed by the Sponsors and their number always includes the Chair of the Trust Board. The Members have several functions:
- To sign the memorandum, to sign/amend the articles of association and to determine the name of the Trust;
- To appoint Members and Trustees (also known as Directors);
- To ensure that the Trust’s charitable objective is being met;
- To receive the Trust’s accounts and report, and to appoint/remove the auditors; and
- To dissolve the Trust.
The Members hold an annual general meeting, usually each December.
The Directors of Spencer Academies Trust (also known as Trustees), who sit on the Trust Board, are legally required to discharge a range of powers and responsibilities, working in close partnership with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Academies Directors, other Executive Directors and the Principals of the academies, to ensure that the academies provide the best possible education for all students.
The Trust Board sets the vision and aims of the Trust and its academies, as well as the strategy and policy to deliver its key objectives. It has ultimate responsibility for all aspects of safeguarding, education and financial provision and management, compliance and risk.
As well as ensuring good governance, the Trust Board’s primary objectives are to assist the Executive in delivering the best possible outcomes for all students, and to hold the Executive to account for the ways in which this is delivered. It does this with the support of Local Governing Bodies (LGB), which consider any local implications for the organisation and ensure that the Trust Board decisions are carried out at local level.
The Local Governing Bodies are responsible for providing day-to-day support and challenge for the academy to which they serve. Leadership and managerial decisions are delegated to the Academy Principal. Local Governing Body members (Governors) are appointed as volunteers for their knowledge, skills and links with the local community. LGBs can include parent and staff governors. The Academy Principal is also a member of the Academy LGB.
The Scheme of Delegation
Authority and decision-making powers within the trust are set out in the Scheme of Delegation.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees, known internally as the Board of Directors, is the legal governing body of The Spencer Academies Trust.
Information on the membership, responsibilities and mandated sub-committees of the Board of Directors is held in the Trust Scheme of Delegation.