Academies
Academies
Groups of academies that join together with one Board of Directors are known as Multi–academy Trusts or MATs. The trust board ultimately carries all the legal responsibilities and is held to account in much more detail and on a wider basis than schools are to Local Authorities. There is a significant amount of reporting on matters of standards, risks, governance as well as finance to both the DfE and ESFA.
Academy Documentation can be found in the section Information for Schools.
There are at present 3 Diocesan Multi Academy Trusts (MATs)
Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, Warrington
Our Lady of Pity Catholic Primary School, Greasby
Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, New Brighton
St Alban’s Catholic Primary School, Wallasey
St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, Runcorn
St Bernard’s Catholic Primary School, Ellesmere Port
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Birkenhead
St John Plessington Catholic College, Bebington
St Mary’s Catholic College, Wallasey
Christ The King Catholic and Church of England Catholic Primary School, Macclesfield
Our Lady and St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School, Oswestry
Shrewsbury Cathedral Catholic Primary School and Nursery, Shrewsbury
Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, Newport
St Alban’s Catholic Primary, Macclesfield
St Benedict’s Catholic Primary School, Handforth
St John’s Catholic Primary School, Bridgnorth
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Winsford
St Luke’s Catholic Primary School, Trench
St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Congleton
St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Middlewich
St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Wellington
St Paul’s Catholic Primary, Poynton
All Hallows Catholic College, Macclesfield
Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, Ellesmere Port
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School, Partington
SS John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Wythenshawe
St Aidan’s Catholic Primary School, Wythenshawe
St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, Wythenshawe
St Elizabeth’s Catholic Primary School, Wythenshawe
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Sale
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Stockport
St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Dukinfield
St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Hyde
St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, Stalybridge
All Saints Catholic College, Dukinfield
St Paul’s Catholic High School, Wythenshawe
St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School, Romiley
St James’ Catholic Primary School, Hattersley
St Philip’s Catholic Primary School, Offerton
Governance in Multi Academy Trusts
Governance in MATs
In a multi-academy trust, a single trust is responsible for a number of academies. The MAT consists of the members and the trustees or directors. In the Diocese we refer to the as Directors so as not to cause confusion with the Diocesan Trustees.
Members
The members are akin to the shareholders of a company. They have ultimate control over the academy trust, with the ability to appoint the Foundation Directors and the right to amend the trust’s articles of association. Within our Diocese the members are usually the Bishop and Diocesan Officers.
Directors
The Directors are responsible for the same three core governance functions performed by the governing body in a VA school: setting the direction, holding the headteacher to account and ensuring financial probity. As charity trustees, they must also ensure that they are complying with charity law requirements. Academy trusts are charitable companies and the trustees are company directors and must comply with company law requirements. This may sound daunting, but, in reality, the duties are largely the same as those of a governor of a VA school, such as regularly attending meetings, managing conflicts of interest, seeking advice from the academy’s leadership team and ensuring the academy has appropriate procedures in place for reporting financial information.
The model articles state that the chair of the board of Directors will also be a member, thereby ensuring a link between the two layers. However this is often not the case in our Diocese. While Directors can also serve as members, the most effective governance models recognise that the members are responsible for holding the Directors to account. Some separation between those serving as directors and those serving as members is, therefore, desirable for achieving robust accountability.
Local Governors
Individuals who sit on local governing bodies (LGBs) are referred to as ‘local governors’.
This is because Directors can delegate governance functions to the local level. Directors have complete discretion over what is delegated to each LGB. They may, for example, decide to delegate all functions to academies in the chain that are performing well and only a few to those academies that need greater support. Alternatively, where a MAT wishes to retain all governance functions centrally, it may establish an advisory body at the school level, which has no formal governance function but which advises the board of Directors on its decisions.
Typical Structure of a MAT Board
Members: Usually 3 made up of the Bishop and Diocesan Officers
Foundation Directors and Academy Directors: There should be a minimum of 5 and their number should exceed the other Directors by 2
Foundation Directors: These are appointed by the Bishop
Academy Directors: These would normally be the Chairs of the LGB – up to a Maximum of 4
Staff Director: 1 director elected by the academies within the MAT
Headteacher Directors: The Headteacher of the individual academies are automatically directors up to a maximum of 4
Parent Directors: There needs to be a minimum of 2 elected parents
Co-Opted:
Members may appoint1 additional director.
Executive principal (If appointed) is a director
Secretary of State may appoint up to 2 directors