The MAT governance structure below adopts the strengths of the highly efficient and effective governance structure that has been key to Chepping View Primary Academy’s many years of success.

  

5 Members have ultimate accountability and can remove and appoint trustees. Members will meet independently of the Board of Trustees but will also be able to sit in on other meetings as they see fit. The scrutiny of the Trustee Reports and Accounts at the AGM is of particular concern to them.

 

At least 11 Trustees (including the Executive Principal Trustee) deliver the three core functions of governance:

  • Clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction
  • Holding Executive Principal to account
  • Overseeing financial performance

Trustees will also attend Academy Committees and act as Local Representatives

 

1 Executive Principal will also be a Principal of one of the academies whilst the MAT is still relatively small in size. The Executive Principal and will also be the MATs Accounting Officer. The Executive Principal will be reporting to the Board and will provide advice and guidance to inform decision making and strategy. This will ensure representation and prevent decisions from being removed from the point of impact.

Academy Committees will provide a forum for local representation to assess whether the Academy is working within agreed Trust policies and meeting agreed individual Academy performance targets. Each Academy Committee will have the ability to scrutinise their delegated authority in greater depth than the Trust Board and will ‘feed’ information up to the Trustees in a timely and succinct manner. Academy Committee members will also act as ambassadors for an individual Academy as well as the Trust by engaging directly with stakeholders. Each Academy Committee will comprise of three or more local representatives elected from the Board of Trustees along with the Senior Leadership Team from the relevant Academy. These Academy Committees can also be supported experienced Trustees from the Board. These committees will focus upon local performance, local resources and local management. Theses Academy Committees may initially be combined into a single meeting chaired by the Board Chairman and then split into individual Academy Committees and chaired by a Local Representative Trustee. Individual Academy Committees will need to arrange their own clerking.

 

Future structure

The proposed structure is designed to provide effective and cost-efficient governance for our MAT whilst it is in its infancy. We anticipate the need to restructure our MAT governance as we grow and further develop our understanding of MAT governance and respond to changing DfE governance requirements. The DfE will scrutinise our governance structure each time we look to add another Academy. This will present a natural opportunity for the Trust to self-evaluate and secure improvements in structure and procedure.

 

Meeting Structure

Initially to continue to have 6 meetings per academic year plus an AGM and the senior leadership team from all the Academies in the Trust will be invited to and expected to attend all Trustee and Academy Committee meetings.

 

The first meeting of each term is to be a Formal IFPT Trustee meeting attended by all Trustee with Members invited to attend.

 

The second meeting of each term will be held at the Academy Committee level and attended by each Academy’s local representatives from the Board of Trustees.

 

IFPT Finance and Resources Committee (Including Audit and Risk)

This committee will have nominated representatives who are expected to attend the IFPT Finance and Resources Committee meetings, all other Trustees are encouraged to attend along with the Chief Finance Officer. At these meetings the focus will be upon Trust level finances and resources. This committee will approve individual Academy budgets and engage in all Trust auditing and risk requirements as per the Academies Financial Handbook.