1. Strategic Management
Marcus Taylor

2. Scope and Contents Introductions and attendance list
Restrooms and Exits
Refreshments
Agenda and timings
Multi-Academy Trust DfE Principles
Strategic Direction
Nolan Principles
20 Questions for Local Governing Bodies
10 Financial Checks for Local Governing Bodies
Tableau Game
Buffet Supper
CAST Reorganisation

3. https://www. publications. parliament

5. an ability to recruit and retain powerful and authoritative executive leaders,
with a clear vision for bringing about higher standards;
• a well-planned, broad and balanced curriculum that equips pupils
with a strong command of the basics of English and mathematics,
as well as the confidence, ambition and team-work skills to succeed in later life;
• a commitment to provide a high-quality education for all pupils,
in a calm and scholarly atmosphere;
• investment in professional development of teachers and the sharing of knowledge
and expertise across a strong network of constituent schools;
• a high priority given to initial teacher training and leadership development to
secure a pipeline of future talent;
• clear frameworks of governance, accountability and delegation;
• effective use of assessment information to identify, escalate and tackle problems quickly;
• a cautious and considered approach to expansion

6. RSC SW (In 7th Report to Education Committee)
The only thing that I would add is that I think the very best MATs have an
alignment of values and a vision that enables schools to work together as one [ … ]
Great MATs give an opportunity for us to reduce within-school
variation at a different scale so that all schools are performing to the level of the very best by learning from the very best.
To do that, you have to have real clarity around what your economic model is, what your target operating model is and what your education model is.

8. NGA School Destiny Paper
Shared accountability can lead to better progress and attainment for pupils, and help schools meet rising expectations.
School leaders and teachers can share thinking and planning to spread expertise and tackle challenges together.
Leaders, teachers and staff can be shared across more than one school.
Groups of schools can fund and share specialist expertise
Governors and trustees can work more strategically, especially during challenging times.
The economies of scale through group business management and collective purchasing made possible within larger groups can help schools cope better with shrinking budgets.

9. Strategic Direction Establishing the strategic direction, by:
Setting the vision, values, and objectives for the school
Agreeing the school improvement strategy with priorities and targets
Meeting statutory duties
Ensuring accountability, by:
Appointing the headteacher
Monitoring progress towards targets
Performance managing the headteacher
Engaging with stakeholders
Contributing to school self-evaluation
Ensuring financial probity, by:
Setting the budget
Monitoring spending against the budget
Ensuring value for money is obtained - Ensuring risks to the organisation are managed

10. Nolan Principles So what are the Nolan principles of public life?
Introduced in 1995 and last formally revised in 2015.
The seven principles are outlined below:
Selflessness – Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other benefits for themselves, their family or their friends.
Integrity – Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties.
Objectivity – In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit.
Accountability – Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.
Openness – Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.
Honesty – Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.
Leadership – Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.
Further Information (NGA Code of Conduct)

11. 20 Questions [Every Governing Body Should Ask itself] 3 Areas:
Effectiveness
Vision Ethos and Strategy
Accountability
7 Sections therein:
Skills
Role of Chair
Strategy
Engagement
Impact

12. 20 Questions (Q’s 1-5)
Right skills: Do we have the right skills on the governing board?
1. Have we completed a skills audit which informs the governor specification we use as the basis of governor appointment and interview?
Effectiveness: Are we as effective as we could be?
2. How well do we understand our roles and responsibilities, including what it means to be strategic?
3. Do we have a professional clerk who provides legal advice and oversees the governing board’s induction and development needs?
4. Is the size, composition and committee structure of our governing board conducive to effective working?
5. How do we make use of good practice from across the country?

13. 20 Questions (Q’s 6-9)
Role of the chair: Does our chair show strong and effective leadership?
6. Do we carry out a regular 360° review of the chair’s performance and elect the chair each year?
7. Do we engage in good succession planning so that no governor serves for longer than two terms of office and the chair is replaced at least every six years?
8. Does the chair carry out an annual review of each governor’s contribution to the board’s performance?
Strategy: Does the school have a clear vision and strategic priorities?
9. Does our vision look forward three to five years, and does it include what the children who have left the school will have achieved?

14. 20 Questions (Q’s 10-14) /cont..
Strategy: Does the school have a clear vision and strategic priorities?
10. Have we agreed a strategy with priorities for achieving our vision with key performance indicators against which we can regularly monitor and review the strategy?
11. How effectively does our strategic planning cycle drive the governing board’s activities and agenda setting?
Engagement: Are we properly engaged with our school community, the wider school sector and the outside world?
12. How well do we listen to, understand and respond to our pupils, parents and staff?
13. How do we make regular reports on the work of the governing board to our parents and local community?
14. What benefit does the school draw from collaboration with other schools and other sectors, locally and nationally?

15. 20 Questions (Q’s 15-20)
Accountability of the executive: Do we hold the school leaders to account?
15. How well do we understand the school’s performance data (including in-year progress tracking data) so we can properly hold school leaders to account?
16. Do governors regularly visit the school to get to know it and monitor the implementation of the school strategy?
17. How well does our policy review schedule work and how do we ensure compliance?
18. Do we know how effective performance management of all staff is within the school?
19. Are our financial management systems robust so we can ensure best value for money?
Impact: Are we having an impact on outcomes for pupils?
20. How much has the school improved over the last three years, and what has the governing board’s contribution been to this?

16. 10 Financial Checks
The following top 10 planning checks are to support school and academy governors by providing information to help governors understand effective financial management.
Governors can then use this information to make sure their school is efficient in managing its resources.
Governors should use these checks early in the annual budget planning cycle and when looking ahead at the 3 to 5 year position.
Senior staff in schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs), including finance directors and business managers, will also find this guide useful.

17. 10 Financial Checks Staff pay as percentage of total expenditure
Staff pay is the single most expensive item in the school budget, representing typically over 70% of expenditure.
Questions governors might want to ask include:
how much of the budget is spent on staffing compared to other similar schools?
how does the percentage for teaching staff, for curriculum support staff and for other support staff expenditure lines compare to other similar schools?
how does your school’s pupil outcomes – such as value added – compare to other similar schools relative to spend on staffing?
what are staff costs as a percentage of total expenditure compared to similar schools? Financial benchmarking tools help with this
what are staff cost as a percentage of total income? Staffing costs over 80% of total income are considered high. (Costs as a percentage of total expenditure can appear artificially low when a school is overspending and expenditure is higher than income, hence this question in addition to the one above).
if teaching costs are relatively high, is this due to the number of teachers or a relatively high proportion of high paid staff?

18. 10 Financial Checks 2. Average teacher cost
This measure is calculated by dividing the total teaching cost by the full time equivalent (FTE) number of teachers.
Questions governors might want to ask include:
if the average teacher cost is high in comparison to other similar schools; is this due to the staffing grade profile, such as a high number of staff on the upper pay scale, or is it due to the responsibilities structure in the school, such as the Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) scale, or another reason?
how far is your school utilising its pay flexibilities – for example, to differentiate pay by teachers’ performance?

19. 10 Financial Checks 3. Pupil to teacher ratio (PTR)
This measure is calculated by dividing the number of FTE pupils on roll by the total number of FTE teachers. A relatively low PTR suggests small class sizes. In addition to benchmarking the PTR schools may want to review the average PTR and pupil to adult ratios in state funded schools by type by looking at the national school workforce statistics.
The ratio of pupils to all curriculum adults is also relevant, especially in primaries where the use of teaching assistants in place of teachers can skew the PTR. The Education Endowment Fund has published advice on effective use of support staff. Their survey of current evidence found that teaching assistants are a ‘high cost’ intervention with a ‘low impact’ on pupil outcomes.
Questions governors might want to ask include:
what is the PTR for different educational levels within their schools?
how does the school’s PTR compare with other similar schools? If it is significantly different, what is the rationale for this?
how does the ratio of pupils to adults (teachers and support staff) compare to similar schools?

20. 10 Financial Checks 4. Class sizes
The smaller the class size the greater the cost of delivery per pupil. Governors should ensure that class size plans are affordable whilst supporting the best outcomes for pupils.
You may find it helpful to look at the Education Endowment Foundation’s evidence on the impact and costs of reducing class size
Questions governors might want to ask include:
what are the average class sizes by key stage, and by options at key stages 4 and 5?
what class sizes does your school aim to achieve – and what is the educational rationale for this?
are there any small classes where the funding generated by the pupils does not cover the cost of delivery? This can be especially important at key stage 4 and 5 where class sizes for some subjects can fall.
do you know the maximum average class size that the school can operate at within the context of the pupil admissions, the structure of the building, the numbers in different year groups and the need for intervention strategies?

21. 10 Financial Checks 5. Teacher contact ratio
This measure is calculated by taking the total number of teaching periods timetabled for all teachers in the school and dividing that by the total possible number of teaching periods (the number of teaching periods in the timetable cycle multiplied by the FTE teachers).
All teachers should have a guaranteed minimum of 10% timetabled planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time. Therefore the teacher contact ratio will always be lower than 1.0.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) advocates 0.78 as an aspirational target for the ratio, on the basis that that represents approximately 10% of all teacher time in planning and preparation, 10% in management activity and allows 2% margin. You can view the ASCL model.
Questions governors might want to ask include:
how does the school’s teacher contact ratio compare to other schools?
how does the utilization of curriculum staff impact the overall budget efficiency? The higher the ratio the more efficient the curriculum planning is.
how does your school compare against the ASCL aspirational target? What is the rationale for any difference?
are teaching staff undertaking roles that could be deployed to support staff?

22. 10 Financial Checks
6. Proportion of budget spent on the leadership team
Schools have many different leadership and management structures and comparisons are not straight forward. The total number of teachers in the leadership group (FTE) is collected in the Workforce Census annually and each school’s underlying data is included in published school workforce statistics.
Some schools calculate the cost of non-class based leadership time as a percentage of total expenditure and compare to similar schools by collaborative exchanges of summary information. Likewise, multi academy trusts can compare across their member schools where they are similar.
Questions governors might want to ask include:
how does this compare to similar schools taking into account any contact time the leadership staff have?
if there is more than one school in your trust/federation are the leadership structures proportionally the same?
how has your school made decisions on the proportion of its budget to be spent on the leadership team?
if this is relatively high or low compared to similar schools, is this because of the size of the leadership team, or their pay?

23. 10 Financial Checks 7. 3 to 5 year budget projections
Governors will want to see 3 to 5 year financial projections and the assumptions made to cost them.
Assumptions you may want to review include projected pupil numbers, free school meal numbers, likely pupil premium income and projections of the staffing that will be necessary in these years. Schools should plan their staffing based on multi-year projections of curriculum needs.
Questions governors might want to ask include:
how confident are you that pupil number projections are realistic? If there is uncertainty then Boards should be given three scenarios: cautious, likely, and optimistic. This applies to all key assumptions but especially pupil number projections and funding rate assumptions.
if the optimistic scenario indicates financial difficulties is the school addressing a recovery plan now?
if the cautious budget indicates potential financial difficulties do you know what contingency plans the school has to overcome them?
are there any issues in the medium term that should be addressed now?
how will current decisions impact medium term budgets?
what do we need to put in place now to ensure we have the necessary funding in the future?

24. 10 Financial Checks
8. Spend per pupil for non-pay expenditure lines compared to similar schools
MAT trustees may want to compare their level of top slice to other MATs, what it is used for, and how it provides value for money (VFM) for member academies
Questions governors might want to ask include:
what is the spend per pupil for catering, ICT, estates management, business administration, energy and curriculum supplies?
if benchmarking indicates a relatively high spend on a particular expenditure line do you know why?
are the reasons unavoidable or are further efficiencies possible?
if the cost of energy seems high compared to similar schools, are there opportunities for investment in energy-saving devices to reduce the cost?
if spend on learning resources seems high compared to similar schools, are there opportunities for collaborating with other local schools to bring costs down?

25. 10 Financial Checks
9. School improvement plan priorities and the relative cost of options
The budgetary process sits firmly within the strategic leadership framework and should link into the overall management and planning cycle rather than being seen as an additional activity that is the sole responsibility of the finance manager.
Questions governors might want to ask include:
are school improvement initiatives prioritised and costed and linked to the budget?
are all new initiatives fully costed before the school is committed to the proposal?

26. 10 Financial Checks 10. List of contracts with costs and renewal dates
Each year your school will need to review its contracts across all of its services to determine which ones are due for renewal. It is important that contract renewal is planned for and aligned with school requirements.
Questions governors might want to ask include:
are all contracts due for renewal re-tendered/reviewed for VFM before renewal?
are there any regular payments for services that are an invoice only contract?
are these included on the contracts list and reviewed for VFM too?
You can find out about schools and other organisations offering support with financial management and efficiency on the schools financial efficiency: sharing best practice page.

32. Governance and Management
Trust Board of Directors
Trustees for all Academies in Trust
Senior
Management
Staff Appointed by
Board to discharge
their duties
Members
Independent oversight
of Board
Federated Governing
Bodies
Skills based appointments to
oversee performance
of group of
Academies
Academy Council
Group of local stakeholders to
represent Academy
if necessary
Head of School
Parent
Staff
Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction.
Hold Academies to account for educational performance.
Oversee financial performance.
CEO
Head
School
Improvement
COO
Executive
Principal
Area HR
Finance
School Improvement Officer

34. Organisational Development
‘As-Is’
‘To-Be’
Members
CAST Board of Trustees
CEO
Regional Officer
Area Advisers
Head of
School Improvement
LGB
Federated Governing Body
Academy
Councils
Executive Principal
Academy
Head Teacher
Head of School
Deputy/Assistant

35. Summary Responsibilities and Authority
Governance LevelCouncil
Membership
Meetings
Responsibility / Authority
Reporting
References
Members
Sponsors of Plymouth CAST and all Academies
Annual
Appoint / remove Foundation Directors and Governors
Sign off financial statements and annual report
Change Articles of Association NA
Companies Act
Articles of Association
Board of Directors
Foundation Directors*
Academy Directors
Co-Opted Directors
Ex-Officio Directors
* Appointed by Bishop
Minimum half termly plus 1 AGM
Ensure quality of educational provision
Ensure Catholic values and ethos
Challenge and monitor performance
Manage Finances and Property
Ensure compliance with legal obligations
Ensure compliance with Funding Agreement
Approve Chairs and Members of Local Advisory Boards
Report to Members at AGM
Annual Report
Financial Report and Accounts
Academy Financial Handbook
Governance Handbook
Finance Committee
(could be combined with Audit and Risk)
Up to 4 Directors plus Senior Management
Co-Opted Director (Finance)
CEO (and Accounting Officer)
Director 3
Director 4
Principal Financial Officer
1 x Executive Head
6 per year (half termly)
To exercise financial oversight of all matters pertaining to finance within the Trust and Academies
To ensure the annual Budget Forecast Outturn to ESFA is completed
To ensure the in year financial accounts are audited and prepared
To ensure forecast budget predictions are submitted on time.
To submit accounts in accordance with Charity and Company Law
Reports to Board through approved minutes
Committee Terms of Reference

36. Summary Responsibilities and Authority
Governance Level
Membership
Meetings
Responsibility / Authority
Reporting
References
Audit and Risk Committee
Up to 4 Directors plus Senior Management
Co-Opted Director (Risk)
Director 2
Director 3
COO
1 x Executive Principle
6 per year (half termly)
To exercise oversight of all matters pertaining to Risk within the Trust and Academies
To ensure the Risk Register is maintained
To ensure internal controls and governance are maintained.
Reports to Board through approved minutes
Committee Terms of Reference
Governance Handbook
Federated Governing Body
Chair (appointed by Board)
Executive Head (s)
Staff Member Representative
Parent Member Representative
Regional Officer
Area Finance Manager
Area HR Manager
Not less than half termly
Ensure quality of educational provision
Ensure Catholic values and ethos
Challenge and monitor performance
Oversee operational business that may require escalation.
CEO
Scheme of Delegation
Academy Financial Handbook
Academy Council
Head of School
Staff Representative
2 Parent Representative
To represent the needs and interests of individual academies
To allocate budgeted funds generated internally or received on an individual Academy or pupil basis.

37. Summary Reporting Matrix
Who
Appointed By?
Reports to?
External Audit?
Remarks
Members
N/A
Liability to Parliament and Charity Commission
CAST Board
(Directors / Trustees)
Chair and Foundation Directors appointed by Members.
Other Directors appointed by Foundation Directors
Regional Schools Commissioner
Education and Skills Funding Agency
Charity Commission
CEO is an Ex-Officio Director
CEO
CAST Board of Trustees /Directors
Chairman
Statutory Financial Audit(s)
RSC Directed Assurance Checks
Ofsted Focused Review
Health and Safety Executive
Information Commissioner
Senior Management Team
Federated Governing Body
Statutory Financial Audits Ofsted directed assurance
Regional Officer
Head of School Improvement
Academy Council
Executive Principal
Ofsted
Head of School

38. Next Steps
16 June. Today
Enhanced Support Group formed with RSC support
14 July. Consultation Concludes
Advice on how to consult is in covering letter
19 July. Board review consultation
20 July. Meet Sir David Carter, National Schools Commissioner
15 September. (no later than) CAST Board publish response to consultation and outline plan for implementation
15 October. (no later than) Publish detailed plan for population of chosen structure and implementation plan

39. Plymouth CAST’s Journey
Catholic Life and values.
Where every parent wants to send their child.
Above average learning outcomes.
Employer of choice.
Stabilise and Diagnostic
Due Diligence and consultation
Choose the Bus
Process and System Enhance/build
Agile development with stakeholder input
Get people on the bus
Learn and Grow
Protect business as usual. Modify plans. Sensible Risk
Drive the bus
Continuous Improve
Learning Organisation with
high reliability

40. ?