The Trust Overview Structure

Each Local Governing Committee meets four times a year as part of a planned programme of meetings (an Interim Board would meet 7 times per year). The Scheme of Delegation sets out the responsibilities of the Local Governing Committees, which focus on the quality of provision for the young people.  Governors are expected to know their school and to take responsibility for a key improvement area or a key group (e.g. SEND, student Premium students) and visit once per term so that they can report back at a strategic level, and the Local Governing Committee can be assured that it  can ask informed questions and effectively support school leadership in the continuous improvement of the school.

The Local Governing Committee is also informed by the independent School Improvement Partner’s termly report on progress on school priorities and receives a data dashboard prepared by the Trust twice a year sharing progress against targets and outcomes.

Local governors also provide the statutory panels in case of a student exclusion or may be asked to be members of a complaints panel.  They check an anonymous sample of performance management records to quality assure consistency and robustness. This underpins the recommendation of performance related pay awards. A designated governor quality assures safeguarding in line with Trust policy, including the annual audit, the Single Central Register and pattern and nature of referrals, to inform school and/or Trust policy.  A designed governor checks progress on Health and Safety issues as identified by the Trust’s provider and on a rolling programme. Local governors receive the budget, mid-year report and the outturn and performance to question whether the budget reflects school priorities.

Financial Governance sits with the Trust Board and is scrutinised in detail by the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee. The Chair, Vice Chair and Chair of Audit Risk and Finance also receive monthly financial management reports.

The Trust Board is the employer for all staff in the Trust and determines all HR policy in line with employment law, following consultation with recognised unions through the JCNC.

The Trust Board’s Standards Committee scrutinises and monitors school and trust performance using data, SIP reports, qualitative reports and deep dives, which call on local governance reports to establish that local governors are active and conscientious in their role.

To find out more about the governance of The Cranmer Education Trust please visit the Trust website by clicking here