How is St. Crispin’s Governed?

St. Crispin’s School

How is St. Crispin’s Governed?

From 1st February 2018, St. Crispin’s School became an academy and a member of a multi-academy trust (MAT) called The Circle Trust www.thecircletrust.co.uk  As a charitable company The Circle Trust has adopted the Department of Education’s model articles of association.

Alongside these articles is the scheme of delegation which is a document that clearly sets out the responsibilities schools involved in our Trust. These legal documents set out the governance composition and operational procedures for the Trust.

The people on the main board of a The Circle Trust are known as trustees. These roles come with specific legal responsibilities which include:

• ensuring the organisation remains solvent and spends money in accordance with its charitable objectives
• ensuring the schools in the MAT provide a good standard of education
• managing any conflicts of interest

MATs are required to have a group of Members who sit above the board of Trustees. The Members have a hands-off, but significant, role. They monitor the performance of the trust and hold the trustees to account. They appoint Trustees and the Executive Headteacher. They will intervene if the Trustees are not performing by making changes at board level. The names and biographies of all the Members and Trustees in The Circle Trust can be found on the Circle Trust website – www.thecircletrust.co.uk

Both Members and Trustees were selected to serve in these roles through a skills matrix which ensures that the trust is overseen by people with expertise in the areas of education, finance, business, HR and legal. Trustees govern The Circle Trust. The Trustees are accountable for the operation and performance of the Trust as a whole and ultimately all schools in the Trust. Therefore, St Crispin’s existing Governing Body has ceased and has reconstituted to become a Local Advisory Board (LAB).

An essential core value held by The Circle Trust is the belief that schools should be run by, and their improvement driven by, their staff led by their Leadership Team and Local Advisory Board (LAB). As a result, the Trustees delegate many of their powers and functions with regard to the leadership and performance of each school in the Trust to the school’s LAB. However, the Trustees have legal accountability for the operation and performance of all academies in the Trust and for any decisions taken under delegated authority. Because the Trustees carry ultimate legal responsibility and accountability, LABs have key functions to focus on pupil progress and experience in the school. This includes, but is not limited to; ethos, vision, core values, budget priorities, curriculum and students’ educational performance.

The Circle Trust requires that a LAB has a minimum of 8 Advisors. The Chair of the Local Advisors meet termly with the Chair of Trustees to share information and exchange views. The Chair of the Local Advisor’s is Mr Simon Cottee ChairofLocalAdvisors@thecircletrust.co.uk

St. Crispin’s Local Advisory Board is comprised of:

Mr Simon Cottee – Chair of the Local Advisors
Dr Jenny Griggs – Co Vice Chair of the Local Advisors
Mrs Maura Brittain – Co Vice Chair of the Local Advisors 
Mrs Jess Groves– co-opted Local Advisor
Mr Steve Checkley - co-opted Local Advisor
Mrs Sarah Marston - co-opted Local Advisor
Mrs Janine Bull - Parent Local Advisor 
Mrs Joanne Yeung - Parent Local Advisor
Mrs Sharon Ketley  - Governance Officer