Governance
Our Multi Academy Trust is a public institution responsible for spending public money for the benefit of our children. The decisions we make, including how we staff our schools, have a real impact on the lives of our pupils and their families.
Governance is about how we make decisions at a strategic level; it includes the mechanisms by which decisions are made, how leaders are held to account and how assurances are sought that value for money is obtained at all levels, for the education of all children in our Trust. Good governance involves challenging and supporting leaders, whilst seeking and responding to the voices of all stakeholders, including pupils, staff and community members.
Directors
Directors are supported in their efforts at the individual school level by Support & Challenge Advocates, who form School Progress Boards in order to ensure a dual focus on both individual school, and collective improvement and excellence across the Manor MAT family of schools. Advocate roles are streamlined with specific roles and responsibilities in order to enhance and support the strategic priorities of each school and the Trust, and to avoid bureaucracy and duplication of accountability.
MAT Governance Structures
Governance structures at Manor MAT are designed to both reflect and deliver the Trust’s ‘One Trust’ vision through a single Board of Directors, a single Scheme of Delegation and specific Terms of Reference for each Committee established by the Directors.
The role of Members
Members of Manor Multi Academy Trust ensure that the Trust acts within its charitable objectives as set out in the “Articles of Association of the Multi Academy Trust”. The Members of the Academy Trust are the signatories to the “Memorandum of Association”. The Diocese of Lichfield acts as Diocesan Corporate Member for the Trust and the DCM appoints one other Member. Remaining Members are then appointed by the Members as a group. The Members appoint our external auditors and also appoint non-Co-opted Directors to the Trust Board.
For more information about our Members please click here.
The Board of Directors is the Governing Body for all the schools within the Manor Academy Trust. It has three core functions:
1. To ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction of the Trust.
2. To hold the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Chief Executive Advisor (CEA) to account for the educational performance and wellbeing of the pupils and staff taught or employed in the schools of the Trust.
3. To oversee the financial performance of the individual schools of Manor Multi Academy Trust, ensuring value for money and compliance with the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) Academy Trust Handbook.
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Our Directors adhere to the Nolan Principles of Public Life.
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For more information about our Directors please click here.
The role of the Board of Directors (Trustees)
The Role of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Executive Advisor (CEA)
The CEO is accountable for the leadership of our Trust, ensuring its overall success, effectiveness, and sustainability and is responsible for the collective performance of the schools within our Trust as well as advancing its mission and objectives.
The Chief Executive Adviser provides advice and support on all aspects of the work of the Trust including governance, policy, compliance and accountability responsibilities, quality of education and curriculum. The CEA also leads on Trust Projects including Teaching School Hub.
The CEO and CEA are accountable to the Board of Directors. Both act as Advisors to the Board and are not Directors themselves (the CEO has chosen not to take up the ex-officio CEO Director role set aside in our Articles) and thus do not count towards meeting quorums.
Directors are supported in their efforts at the individual school level by Support & Challenge Advocates, who form School Progress Boards in order to ensure a dual focus on both individual school, and collective improvement and excellence across the Manor MAT family of schools. Advocate roles are streamlined with specific roles and responsibilities in order to enhance and support the strategic priorities of each school and the Trust, and to avoid bureaucracy and duplication of accountability.
Further information about the role of Advocates can be found in the Role Descriptor available in the MAT Governance Documents section.
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The role of an advocate is to:
- provide support and challenge to Heads
- support and challenge headteachers to be great leaders
- monitor the impact of MAT practice at local level
- champion Manor MAT practice at local level
- review school progress and strategic priorities
- ensure the school is putting children at the heart of everything they do
The role of Advocates
The Parent and Community Advisory Forum (PCAF)
The Parent and Community Advisory Forum is vital to the success of the school. Our Forum members have an important role to fulfil that directly affects the education and wellbeing of children and improves standards throughout school. The PCAF therefore demonstrates our collaborative engagement with stakeholders, with PCAF outcomes discussed and considered by termly Heads’ meetings and full Directors’ meetings, leading to feedback from Directors being fed back down to the PCAF, thus providing a constant cycle of feedback and accountability.
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The role of the Forums are to:
Consider parent and community engagement within the School
Represent the Directors on relevant panels e.g. Pupil Discipline, Complaints and staffing matters
Increase parent and community engagement between the School and Directors
Report through the Headteacher to the Board of Directors
Contribute to school improvement
Provide advice to Directors
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Further information about each school PCAF can be found on the respective school website. Links to our family of schools are available here
The Manor MAT Governance Structure
Should you need to contact the Chair of Directors,
please email the Trust Governance Professional at lprosser@manormat.com.
