Somerset Road Education Trust Presentation Wednesday 1st November 2017

The Governance Review (March 2017) Focussed on: Positives Negatives Risks Challenge and improvement areas Next steps

Since March 2017… Review solutions/considerations to what must, should or could be done Prioritise and timeline actions in the short, medium and longer term Set up a Transformation Committee to direct/decide/assign ownership/hold to account Set up an Operations Group to research/advise/write action plan/scheme of delegation etc Use reserves, where appropriate, to buy in expertise and bring capacity

Executive Management Team (EMT) HT 1. New Structure Members – 5 Board of Trustees 8-12 CEO is operational lead for the trust but only an associate Trustee – so that accountability of the CEO to the Trustee board is not muddied by them also being a Trustee – CEO is directly accountable to the Board of Trustees. The Trustees need specific link roles: Chair of Trustees (elected by the Trustees), Finance, H&S, Safeguarding, 2x Diocese (not necessarily separate from other identified roles), Standards (education lead), Chairs for each Local Governing Committee (3). Committees: Resources (to include: Finance, HR, Health and Safety, buildings), Standards (to include safeguarding), Audit, Local Governing Committees (what were previously LGBs); Executive Management Team CEO (also substantive HT of one of the academies) Deputy Headteacher or Head of Standards will fulfil this role HT Executive Management Team (EMT) Chaired by CEO HT Local Governing Committee Local Governing Committee Local Governing Committee

2. Articles of Association The Articles are the legal document which outlines the governance structure and how the trust will operate. Some of the changes will reflect best practice and remove the ‘multiple hats’ scenario. For example under the current arrangement an individual can be: A Member (who appoints/dismisses trustees/appoints auditors) A Trustee (who are responsible for the general control and management of the administration of the trust) A Chair of Governors (key leadership role and governing bodies are central to the effective accountability of schools) The new Articles will legally change this and ensure a clearer separation of duty/power. This will enhance accountability and reduce the chance of individuals being answerable to themselves.

3. New Members and Trustees appointed Some new personnel will be found from Academy Ambassadors (a national recruitment organisation who find volunteers to meet skill needs) Members increase from 4 to 5 (best practice advocated in the DfE literature) Trustees to have specific roles e.g. Safeguarding, Chair of LGC etc

4. New scheme of delegation showing delegated responsibilities The scheme of delegation covers several areas: People Systems and Structures Reporting Being Strategic Holding to account Ensuring Financial Probity.

5. Change of committee structures Frequency of meetings and exact dates to be confirmed: Resources (includes Finance/H&S/HR/Buildings) meet three times a year - once a seasonal term Audit meet three times a year Standards (includes Safeguarding) Local Governing Committees meet six times a year – once a short term

6. Local Governing Bodies will change to Local Governing Committees (LGCs) In maintained schools, a Local Governing Body is a statutory body with statutory powers. In an academy, the statutory body is the board of Trustees. Some responsibilities concerning the performance of each academy are delegated to a Local Governing Committee (LGC). The LGC will be chaired by a Trustee – thereby ensuring a direct link to the board if there are concerns and vice versa.

7. New School Improvement Model School Improvement Model established for the trust – focussed on outcomes, building capacity and creating self-sustainability

8. Review of risks/strategy/ priorities/working together New team will review the current risks, decide the strategy and priorities and put together ideas/plans for closer working together between each academy

9. New Leadership This will be vital for setting the strategic direction of the trust. New CEO appointed for 01-01-18 New Chair of the Board for 01-01-18

10. New vision for the trust Changing lives We believe in the extraordinary in everyone We believe that everyone is a valuable part of society, no matter what their needs or difficulties We believe that everyone should be valued and has the right to feel fulfilled and challenged We believe that education is a key to change and that change is both important and necessary

How will this affect you? Greater cross-school working – one organisation Much greater emphasis on staff opportunities – where being part of SRET, and not just your school, is something to be proud of Much greater emphasis on enacting change that impacts on pupil outcomes Building a self-sustaining system that identifies areas of concerns and works together to rectify and build greater capacity across the trust