Trust Governance
The Multi Academy Trust has a tiered structure which cascades down from the ‘Members’ who have ultimate responsibility, to the Trustees, the Local Governing Bodies, and finally the Leadership Teams of the individual schools. The members’ role is discrete and distinct; they are tasked with assessing if the board of trustees is performing well and, as such, are ensuring that the purpose of the trust is being met, and its charitable object is being fulfilled. Therefore, members do not need regular business meetings or committees.
The board of trustees delegate responsibility for delivery of the vision and strategy to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The MAT board will hold the CEO to account for the performance of the trust, including the performance of the each academy within the trust. The CEO holds other senior executives and Headteacher to account through line management.
This means that as the CEO is accountable to the board for the performance of the trust as a whole, the CEO will report to the board on the performance of the trust including the performance of each of the Trust’s schools. The CEO is performance managed by the Trust Board. The CEO performance manages the Headteacher. At school level local Governing Boards must understand how the school is led and managed, act as the eyes and ears of the school and its community and have a role in influencing decision making. They should have a direct link to the trust board in case concerns need to be raised.
