Role of the Trustees

• The Trust is a charitable company and so trustees are both charity trustees (within the terms of section 177(1) of the Charities Act 2011) and company directors (within the terms of the Companies Act 2006). 
• Trustees are responsible for the general control and management of the Trust, and in accordance with the provisions set out in the memorandum and articles of association and the funding agreement are legally accountable for all statutory functions and for the performance of all the schools within the Trust; they do this by carrying out the core governance functions.   
• The Trust Board focuses on the three core functions of governance: 

1. Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;  
2. Holding the EHT to account for the educational performance of the academies and their pupils, and the performance management of staff; and 
3. Overseeing the financial performance of the Trust and making sure its money is well spent. 

• The board of trustees approves this written scheme of delegation and committee terms of reference to delegate some governance responsibilities to other parts of the governance structure. The Trustees review this scheme of delegation at least annually and can make amendments to what decisions are delegated.
• The trustees are committed to open and transparent communication and want to ensure there is clear communication between the Trust Board, the School Committees and the Executive Headteacher. This is to enable information to be exchanged and allow the School Committees to share with them any concerns and risks or celebrations they may have. These include:

o    Link Trustees that work with Link Governors from the School Committees on key areas of oversight; Safeguarding, PPG, SEN, Wellbeing and Estates/Health & Safety.

o    The Link Trustee/Governor teams will be focused on monitoring individual schools within a common Trust framework that draws on governance best practice. Risks and concerns will be passed back to the Trust Board via monitoring reports made by the Link Governors.

o    A regular meeting will take place between the Trust Board Chair and the Chairs of the other committees to exchange information, agree priorities, areas of focus and identify any issues.

• The trustees will review each year the training needs for all involved in the governance of the trust and provide opportunities for all levels of governance to develop.