Governance
Brontë Academy Trust is an education charity that runs schools as well as a company and is therefore subject to both charity law and company law. Brontë is a company limited by guarantee, which means that it does not have share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as guarantors.
Although Brontë Academy Trust is a charity, it is exempt from registration with the Charity Commission as it is regulated by the Education and Skills Funding Agency [ESFA]. This means it does not have a charity number, but it must comply with charity law and operates in all other respects as any other charity. As a company, it is also subject to the regulator for companies called Companies House.
Brontë has set up a governance model that ensures clear and non-duplicative roles and responsibilities within the overall governance structure. There is clear separation between Members and Trustees, and Executive and Non-Executive. The Executive Leadership Team facilitates communication between levels of governance.
There is a close relationship between the different parts of governance in the Trust, but each has distinct responsibilities as outlined in the Scheme of Delegation and their Terms of Reference.
Members: the guardians of the constitution [Articles of Association] who ensure the charitable objects are fulfilled. As outlined in the Department for Education’s Governance Handbook, members have a strategic ‘eyes on, hands off’ role. The Academy Trust Handbook and the Trust’s Articles of Association, together with relevant legislation, contain key information on Members. Members have specific roles which can include amending the articles of association, appointing or removing Members of the Trust Board, appointing the Trust auditors and receiving the audited annual accounts and the power to change the Trust’s name, and ultimately, wind it up.
Trust Board: [also known as Directors under Company Law] accountable to the Members, Secretary of State for Education and the wider community for the quality of the education provided to pupils and students and for the appropriate expenditure of public money. The Board is the non-executive body who hold ultimate legal accountability and are required to have systems to assure themselves of the quality, safety and good practice of the affairs of the Trust. It is recognised that, whilst the Board can choose to delegate some of its functions, it cannot delegate its responsibilities.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO): with the Executive Team; responsible for delivering the educational and operational outcomes for Brontë Academy Trust as set by the Board. The CEO is included to reflect their role as the Accounting Officer and their personal responsibility to the EFSA and DfE.
Headteacher: responsible for the performance and defined operational delivery areas within their own school, including oversight of their Senior Leadership Team. Individual schools may have alternative titles for this position such as Executive Headteacher.
Academy Governance Committees: accountable to the Trust Board, they provide a crucial monitoring, scrutiny and support role at a local level and have some delegated responsibilities particularly for their own school. The Department for Education [DfE] has produced a guidance document designed to provide high level information about the roles and responsibilities each structure and person holds in academy trust governance. This document can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/-governance-in-academy-trusts
The structure of governance at Brontë follows the hierarchy below:
Haworth Primary
AGC
Andy Longden (Chair)
Anne McCann
Chris Davidson
Gabby Wright
Oakworth Primary
AGC
Jo Pagdin (Chair)
Chris Godwin
James Hobson
Tracey Thompson
Catherine Atherton
Ruth Gavin
Lees Primary
AGC
Jenny Mercer (Chair)
Gareth Williams
Sarah Greenwood
Danielle George
Catherine Lindley
Emma Nutton
Oldfield Primary
AGC
Denise Booth (Chair)
Sarah Barnett
Sophie Jonas
Christian Parker
Wayne Hunn
Rebecca Stephens