The Board of Trustees will have overall legal responsibility and will be held accountable for the operation of James Cook Learning Trust (JCLT), this also includes the schools within the trust. However, the Board of Trustees will work in partnership with the schools within the Trust. The Scheme of Delegation sets out the roles and functions to be carried out by the different levels of structure within the Trust.
Trustees are responsible under the Articles for controlling the trust’s management and administration and ensuring it is solvent and well-run; and delivering the trust’s charitable outcomes for the benefit of the public.
The Trust Board
- Set aims and objectives in accordance with charitable objects set out in Articles.
- Monitor and evaluate performance against aims and objectives.
- Ensure Articles are fit for purpose (subject to certain approvals).
- Appoint some of the governors of Local Governing Body and remove governors.
- Recruit, manage and support Academy / School Head Teachers.
- Set strategic policy for the Multi Academy Trust.
- Set and/or approve academy trust budgets and performance plans.
- Oversee the monitoring, evaluation and challenge of educational standards and performance in the academies.
- Responsible for ensuring funds are used only in accordance with the law, the board’s powers under the FA (including the trust’s articles of association which set out the powers of the trust and its governance arrangements), and the Academies Financial Handbook.
- Responsible for proper stewardship of funds and for ensuring economy, efficiency and effectiveness in their use.
Standards and Curriculum Committee
This committee normally meets once a term
- Monitor, evaluate and challenge educational standards and performance in the academies.
- Monitor, evaluate and challenge school evaluation activities.
- Set/and or approve improvement plans for schools within the Trust and monitor progress against them.
- Ensure that curriculum entitlement is met.
- To develop and monitor policies related to curriculum and pupil performance
Finance and Resources Committee
This committee normally meets once each term and its responsibilities are:
- To support the board of Trustees in ensuring that a framework is established and maintained for optimising the employment of all the resources available to The Trust to enable it to meet its business and financial objectives.
- To ensure that the Trust’s framework of financial planning, treasury management, systems and enable the proper management of the financial resources within the organisation.
- To develop strategies for the employment of staff, communications, procurement, value for money and facilities management.
- To support the board of trustees in providing an added level of scrutiny in the monitoring of financial performance across the federation and the performance of other central and support services.
- To keep the board of trustees regularly informed of the committee’s activities and key decisions.
- To monitor and assess the internal controls of The Trust to ensure that the trust as a whole is operating at appropriate levels of risk and in compliance with the Code of Audit Practice.
- To take responsibility for external and internal audit matters, oversee the work programme and performance quality of the internal and external audit services.
- To support the board of trustees in ensuring that a framework is established and maintained for the identification and management of risk.
- To support the board of trustees in providing an added level of scrutiny in the monitoring of internal and external audit matters, risk management, fraud prevention and detection, and internal controls and health and safety.
- To keep the board of trustees regularly informed of the committee’s activities and key decisions.
Local Governing Body
- The Local Governing Body meets three time a year and its responsibilities are:
- help the Trustees, Head Teachers and senior leadership team to set high standards by planning for the school’s / academy’s future and setting performance targets
- monitor the effectiveness of the academy / school provision including student outcomes, management of financial, physical and human resources, performance against targets
- act as a critical friend to the Head Teacher and senior leadership team, offering support and advice
- help the academy / school respond to the needs of parents and the community
- help make the academy / school be open and accountable to the public for what it does
- work with the academy / school on planning, developing policies and keeping provision under review
- exercise the responsibilities and powers delegated to it by the Trustees in partnership with the Head Teacher and staff
It is not the role of the Local Governing Body to intervene in the day-to-day management of the academy. The Head Teacher, senior leadership team and staff are responsible for the operational delivery of the academy.
