ONE Governance

We are one legal entity with one set of articles governing all our Academies. We have a Master Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State, plus supplemental funding agreements with each of our academies.

Governors and trustees are responsible for the three core functions of governance:

• Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Holding executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the effective and efficient performance management of staff; and
• Overseeing the financial performance of the organisation and making sure its money is well spent

To assist this, between the Trust and each school there is a Scheme of Delegation. The scheme of delegation is designed to provide clarity and define responsibilities within the Trust-School relationship.

The layers of governance within the trust provide accountability, oversight, support and challenge close to the point of delivery.

ONE Academy Trust Terms of Reference and the Scheme of Delegation jointly set out the structure, constitution and delegated responsibilities of the Board of Trustees and School Local Governing Bodies in detail.  These are reviewed annually.

The Articles of Association set out the legal framework under which we operate.

Terms of Reference

Scheme of Delegation

Articles of Association

Members

The members "own" the multi-academy trust and their rights and responsibilities are set out in the Articles of Association.  They are responsible for ensuring that the charitable objective is being fulfilled and they hold the directors (the trustees) to account. 

In ONE Academy Trust, the members meet annually in December at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to review the annual accounts and hold the directors to account.  They are also responsible for appointing the auditors of the trust and the appointment of directors.  Some decisions may be made by written agreement out-of-committee.  

Trustees (Directors)

The ONE Academy Trust Board is the accountable body and is responsible for the oversight of all activities within the multi-academy trust. It is responsible for the three core governance functions in relation to the trust, making key decisions and conducting the business of the trust. It must ensure compliance with charity law, company law, and the trust's funding agreement. Its responsibilities are set out in the Articles of Association and the Scheme of Delegation.  

In accordance with the Scheme of Delegation, the trustees delegate responsibilities to:

• the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
• the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• the Human Resources, Education and Standards Committee
• the Finance, Audit & Risk Committee 
• the School Local Governing Bodies (LGBs)
• the Head Teachers

In ONE Academy Trust, the Trustees meet six times throughout the year as a minimum.  Some decisions may be made by written agreement out-of-committee.  The Finance, Audit & Risk Committee and the Human Resources, Education and Standards Committee also meet throughout the year

Local Governance

Each school has a Local Governing Body which is a committee of the Board of Directors and has been delegated specific functions and responsibilities in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation.

The governors on each Local Governing Body are responsible for the three core governance functions (as set out above) in relation to their school.

Each Local Governing Body operates in accordance with the Terms of Reference.

As part of their statutory responsibilities, members, trustees and governors are required to publish their terms of office and attendance at meetings. For local governors, this information is published on each school's website. For members and trustees, the information is set out in the document below.

Appointment & Attendance Register

Members, trustees and governors are required to publish their personal and pecuniary interests which could potentially influence their decision making.  These are reviewed at the start of every meeting and reviewed annually by our external auditors to check for accuracy.  Where a conflict of interest exists, the individual is required to declare the conflict of interest and will not take part in discussion or decision making.

The personal and pecuniary interests details for local governors can be found on the school websites.

The details for the members and trustees, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer can be found below:

Register of Business Interests