Governance
The Vale Academy Trust has a multi-tier governance structure, consisting of Members, Trustees and Governors. All of these positions are voluntary and unpaid, and we are extremely grateful to the highly skilled group of people who commit their time and expertise to our Trust and schools.
Although Members are not directly engaged in the general running of the Trust, they do have significant governance responsibilities, including the appointment of Trustees, appointment of auditors and oversight of Trustee performance. Our Trust has five Members, including the Chair of the Board of Trustees (by virtue of the office they hold). Their biographies can be found on the Our Members page. Please see the Articles of Association and the Scheme of Delegated Authority, below, for details of the role and responsibilities of Members.
Trustees sit on the Board of Trustees, which is the body with legal responsibility for the governance and performance of the Trust and all of its schools and operations; the Trustees are also 'directors' under company law. Their biographies can be found on the Our Trustees page. The Board is accountable to the Secretary of State for Education, and is composed of twelve Trustee positions, of which nine are appointed by the Members and three by the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (ODBE), reflecting the blend of community and church schools in the Trust family.
The Board holds approximately eight Full Board meetings each academic year. In addition, it has four committees, each meeting multiple times a year, bringing focus to the key areas of Education, Finance and Operations, HR and Pay, and Audit and Risk. The Education Committee also operates a special Behaviour Working Group, which meets as and when required. A record of Trustee attendance at meetings in the last full academic year can be found below.
The Board assigns local governance responsibilities to the Local Governing Body (LGB) of each school, in accordance with the Scheme of Delegated Authority and the LGB Terms of Reference (see documents below).
Each LGB has between eight and twelve Governors, dependent on school size, composed of Board-appointed Governors, elected Parent and Staff Governors, and the Headteacher (by virtue of the office they hold). LGBs for Church of England schools also have Foundation Governors, appointed by the ODBE.
The LGB provides oversight of the school's management, performance and finances, in line with the development plan for the Trust. The LGB also ensures Trust-wide and local policies are implemented and monitored, and that meeting and reporting structures are aligned with those of the Board.
More information about the LGB for each school can be found on individual school websites.